The New York Times published a famous editorial in 1989, which Catholics haven't forgotten:

[T]he 26th of November, 1989, when a New York Times editorial solemnly warned Catholic bishops that their resistance to abortion-on- demand threatened the "truce of tolerance" by which Catholics were permitted to play a part in American public life: a warning that was, even by Times' standards, an exercise in brazen chutzpah. Christian Conviction,By George Weigel, First Things, March 1994

The editorial, [The Bishop and the Truce of Tolerance, not online] was about Leo Maher, the Bishop of San Diego, who had "denied communion" to a pro-abortion California Assemblywoman, who had no trouble finding a liberal Bishop who would give her Communion. In any case, this was a purely internal matter of religious discipline. But the Times insisted that this was a terrible day for American democracy:

In any case, if other bishops follow the San Diego example, many non-Catholic Americans may once again be moved to withhold their trust from Catholic candidates who could no longer credibly promise to follow the Kennedy and Cuomo examples.

The "Kennedy and Cuomo" examples. There's a shining star to follow! And of course, the Times is assuming that voters want their legislators immoral, but never mind. Fast forward to 2006, and Cardinal Roger Mahony crosses the Church-State line, call for the priests of his diocese, and "faithful lay Catholics" to break immigration laws, give aid and comfort to illegals, and engage in what the Times calls "civil disobedience" but I call "organized crime." And the Times is all for it!

It has been a long time since this country heard a call to organized lawbreaking on this big a scale. Cardinal Roger Mahony of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the nation's largest, urged parishioners on Ash Wednesday to devote the 40 days of Lent to fasting, prayer and reflection on the need for humane reform of immigration laws. If current efforts in Congress make it a felony to shield or offer support to illegal immigrants, Cardinal Mahony said, he will instruct his priests—and faithful lay Catholics—to defy the law.[The Gospel vs. H.R. 4437, New York Times March 3, 2006]