Dolan takes the reins of New York archdiocese

NEW YORK — Heralded as an ebullient and down-to-earth shepherd for a city craving optimism in tough economic times, Timothy Dolan was installed as the 10th archbishop of New York on Wednesday (April 15) with all the pomp and ceremony that Manhattan could muster. In a big-tent homily that bowed to the church’s pastoral and […]

NEW YORK — Heralded as an ebullient and down-to-earth shepherd for a city craving optimism in tough economic times, Timothy Dolan was installed as the 10th archbishop of New York on Wednesday (April 15) with all the pomp and ceremony that Manhattan could muster.

In a big-tent homily that bowed to the church’s pastoral and activist traditions, Dolan quoted former New York Mayor Ed Koch, who once called the Catholic Church “the glue that keeps this city together.”

Dolan succeeds Cardinal Edward Egan in taking the helm of St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the 2.5-million-member archdiocese, which spans the Hudson River from the tip of Staten Island up to the peaks of the Catskill Mountains.


At a young and energetic 59, Dolan’s appointment to what Pope John Paul II once called the “capital of the world” could be one of Pope Benedict XVI’s lasting imprints on the U.S. church. The St. Patrick’s pulpit usually carries with it a cardinal’s red hat and a vote in the conclave to elect the next pope.

Dolan gave a nod to a wide range of famous Catholic New Yorkers, from prominent theological figures such as the late Richard John Neuhaus and Cardinal Avery Dulles to prominent lay Catholics like Gov. Al Smith and the radical anti-war activist and writer Dorothy Day.

“The church is a loving mother who has a zest for life and serves life everywhere, but she can become a protective mama bear when the life of her innocent, helpless cubs is threatened,” said Dolan, who was transferred to Manhattan from Milwaukee.

“Everyone in this mega-community is a somebody with an extraordinary destiny. Everyone is a somebody in whom God has invested an infinite love. That is why the church reaches out to the unborn, the suffering, the poor, our elders, the physically and emotionally challenged, those caught in the web of addictions.”

Acknowledging the archdiocese’s large immigrant and Spanish-speaking membership, the Irish-American cleric spoke briefly in Spanish, and also noted the need to work with “respected neighbors and friends of other Christian families, our Jewish older brothers and sisters in the faith … and with our Islamic and Eastern religious communities.”

Dolan also referenced the church’s damaging sex abuse scandal that Benedict himself addressed at St. Patrick’s during his visit almost a year ago.


“We continue realistically to nurse the deep wounds inflicted by the horrible scandal, sin, and crime of sexual abuse of minors,” he said, “never hesitant to beg forgiveness from God and from victim survivors and their families, committed to continue the reform, renewal, and outreach Pope Benedict encouraged us to last year.”

In perhaps the most endearing moment, Dolan said he told his mother upon his appointment in February that, “`whatever God gives me in life, his greatest gift to me is that I am Bob and Shirley Dolan’s son.’ I mean that. And I’m so glad Mom is here this afternoon … especially because there’s a sale on at Macy’s.”

Such informal remarks, which have become a trademark for a man who prefers bear hugs over handshakes, are likely to endear Dolan to members of an archdiocese that, by many accounts, never warmed to Egan’s sometimes aloof manner.

At a Wednesday morning news conference, Dolan acknowledged there would be a change of style from his predecessor. But Dolan also said there would be a continuity of a traditional Catholic message.

“I couldn’t change things if I wanted,” he said, “because they’re not mine to change.”

Still, Dolan acknowledged “that the pulpit of the archbishop of New York has a particular prominence, whether I like it or not” and said he is not likely to “shy away” from speaking out on such hot-button social issues as same-sex marriage.


That issue could become one of Dolan’s first as New York Gov. David Paterson, who attended Dolan’s installation, plans to introduce legislation this week permitting same-sex marriage in New York.

“I would be active and present” on that issue, Dolan promised.

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