Timothy Dolan named archbishop of New York.
February 23, 2009, 12:44 am
Posted by Grant Gallicho
Just as the AP calls it, the Journal-Sentinel reports that Timothy Dolan will be New York’s next archbishop.
It’s official. Here’s the press release from the Archdiocese of New York.
Even if they’re mistaken, and I seriously doubt that, you’ll be interested And be sure to read Archbishop Dolan’s article in the February 27 issue of Commonweal. For a sneak peek at “Blueprint for Peace: Pope Benedict’s Call to Fight Poverty,” click here.
Link dump: New York Times (Powell), Dolan quotes from AP, USA Today, NCR, CNS, New York Times (Goodstein), Dolan’s letter to Milwaukee priests and archdiocesan staffers.
Heard it on NY1 this morning! And then I saw the new AP headline: “Monsignor Timothy Dolan Is Next NY Archbishop.” I guess they were caught by surprise?
Bob, what’s the Italian for Bishop? Isn’t it similar to monsingnor?
yes, monsignor Vescovo.
Nice start. Great comments in Commonweal. Sterling outreach to New York Catholics. He will be given a chance to prove himself. Doctorate in church History? Will he ever?
Thanks for the article, Grant. He has a refreshingly attractive voice–hopefully will be a uniting leader.
“On matters of substance, Dolan pledged greater financial accountability, and followed through by hiring an independent auditing firm and mailing their results to every Catholic household in the 10-county archdiocese.”
Already a meteoric difference if he does this in NY. Here is the rest of Allen’s article today.
http://ncronline3.org/drupal/?q=node/3357
In regard to Archbishop Dolan’s letter: I can just see it now…sensitive New Yorkers are flooding the chancery with packzi in an effort to refute his final comment.
May this not lead to another incident.
But then, if this does not, one will arise when Archbishop Dolan is asked, “So, Yanks or Mets?” and he puts on his Cards hat.
I pray that he continues to lead well and that he continues to give good explanations about faith and practice as he has done for many years.
Thanks, Cathy, I hadn’t thought of that. False Italian cognates strike again!
I guess THE unacceptable heresy would be rooting for the Red Soxx.
Cathy: Not for those New Yorkers whose atavistic passions were for the Brooklyn Dodgers and for whom the NY Yankees were the Anti-Christ. Rooting for the Red Sox any time they play the Yankees would be quite acceptable.
When I was a student at the University of San Francisco, the late Msgr. John Tracy Ellis lived there and taught there. I never took a class from Msgr. Ellis but we sort bonded. For reasons I never understood, nor did he I would assume, we were constantly taking buses at the same time. While we waited for the bus we would chat. He was a friendly and intense man. I liked him. Eventually he knew my name. As I understand it, Msgr. Ellis was one Timothy Dolan’s mentors. I hope the people of New York have as good an experience with their new bishop as I did with his old teacher.
Joe Komonchak writes:
Now, this is what I call speaking with the full force of the (Dodger) magisterium.
It goes without saying that I speak here with complete neutrality, objectivity, disinterestedness, and all that good stuff – though I guess I should acknowledge that I was (thanks be to God) born a mile from Ebbets Field.
Pat Rice, former religion writer extraordinaire for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, has an excellent online colun: http://www.stlbeacon.org/nation/dolan_to_shepherd_new_york_catholics
But my favorite so far is this collection of Dolan quotes:
http://www.todaystmj4.com/news/local/40076637.html
Two favorites:
“You’re asking, maybe, if there’s any difference between Archbishop Weakland and me? And there is a big one, about 50 pounds right off the bat.” — at an introductory press conference in 2002.
“I have to tell you I can read menus in 12 languages.” — to 94.5FM radio hosts Reitman and Mueller in 2002.
Cathy and Joe, rooting for the Red Sox and living in Mannhatten, may make disliked almost as much as Bernie Madoff(I’m not sure of the spelling). It would not be a great way to start. A die-hard Yankee fan.
This section from the Pat Rice article cited by David G. seems noteworthy:
Dealing with scandal
Dolan returned to St. Louis and in June 2001 was named an auxiliary bishop in St. Louis. In February 2002, weeks after the clerical sex abuse scandal cracked open in Boston, Archbishop Justin F. Rigali, then of St. Louis, assigned Dolan to deal with the survivors of sexual abuse here, yank abusive priest from parishes and work up preventative measures so the St. Louis Archdiocese could better protect children.
Dolan was public about the matter. He often said he was making himself hoarse asking for victims to phone him. He went on television and radio asking St. Louisans to come forward with tragic stories of clerical abuse no matter how old the abuse incidents.
He met with victims. In Rigali’s name, the just-minted bishop dismissed abusive priests. Then, also in Rigali’s name, he visited with lay parishioners to talk about the removal of their often well liked priest at Masses just before the removal news was made public. Many shocked and disbelieving parishioners hotly questioned evidence, accused Dolan of being on a “witch hunt” and stood by the priests – at least, in the early weeks.
As a bishop, Dolan worked at the chancery office on Lindell Boulevard but lived and celebrated Mass at the flourishing South City parish of Our Lady of Sorrows. Two of the men he relieved of their priestly ministry over sex abuse allegations were the two priests that shared the “Sorrows” rectory with him that winter of 2002.
He has said he used to pray that when a survivor named his clerical abuser that priest would be buried “in Calvary Cemetery” not active in ministry. In those first six months of 2002, Dolan worked to midnight, ate at his desk, got scant exercise, gained weight and deep bags under his eyes. The secretarial staff worried.
Some legal advocates for victims of sex abuse have criticized all bishops including Dolan. When David Clohessy, national spokesman for SNAP (Survivors’ Network for those Abused by Priests) heard that Dolan was under consideration for the New York post, Clohessy issued a press release saying that Dolan was a poor choice. SNAP made similar comments about other bishops mentioned for New York and other cities. However, several victims called Dolan kind and encouraging and eager to provide free psychiatric care.
“He called me back and he listened,” said Michael Powel, of St. Petersburg, Fla., an alleged 1970s victim of sexual abuse by a religious order brother living in St. Louis. Powel phoned Dolan in the winter of 2002. When the pope sent Dolan to Milwaukee, Powel expressed disappointment. Dolan had not only returned Powel’s several phone calls but listened to him an half hour or more at a time, Powel told this reporter.
I guess the next Commonweal reunion in NYC will be ecumenical –as to baseball that is!
I’m watching the footage of the press conference on the ABC website right now, and I just have to say I love the way Dolan says “New Yark.”
…Also “Our Lard Jesus Christ.”
Except for the few comment makers here who think (as in the discussion of the Times of London on BXVI) that hierarchal jounalism should be adulation, not appreciation, I think the Times piece by Laurie Goodstien was quite good and balanced.
Of particular note to me was the short New York Magazine note that stressed that we have another Irish Archbishop there in the increasingly “browned” and diverse New York.
Given Bishop Dolan’s yoithfulness, this may indeed be a major issue down the road.
And he’s got mucho mas on his plate:
-priest morale
-schools
-parish reconfiguration
-seminary
-minority apostolate
-finances
-lay involvement
-and, pace SNAP and his own defenders, the sex abuse issue.
Of course, for the more profound posters here, will he please both Yankee/Met fans or Giant/Jet fans or Knicks/Nets etc….??????
Those of you responders who are parochial enough to imagine that the Yankees and the Red Sox are the only two teams that matter in major league baseball might ask yourselves the name of the reigning World (sic) Champions. Hint: they come from a city closer to NY than is Boston. (I write this as a former Philadelphian).
Or perhaps you are like some of the websites that I find (inexplicably) on the Commonweal blog page that tell us that Vatican II was totally invalid, and refuse to recognize any so-called popes in Rome since those days. If Paul, John Paul I and II, and Benedict are really anti-popes masquerading as the real thing, then presumably any “world” champion other than NY or Boston is an anti-champion. (Me, I’m waiting for the triumph of the Hiroshima Golden Carps).
(I do hope Commonweal is getting some revenue from the likes of
http://www.catholic-vocations.net/Catholic_Vocations.html
with its picture of the current real Pope Michael, which appears on the blog page)
Ah, the joy of randomly-generated advertisements…
***
As one of the “few,” Bob, I can say that you’ve missed my point entirely. Journalism should keep high ethical standards and a certain reserved detachment. There should be a certain transparency: letting the facts speak for themselves. I don’t think the Times article kept that crucial one step back, as can be seen by the often silly details that are piled on to paint a general, impressionistic picture.
The article in the Times was unbalanced in another way. Ordinarily in articles on religious subjects there is a custom of giving another point of view–this is the reason Fr. McBrien is quoted in the article on confession, for example. That article follows standard US secular journalism’s religion reporting form: interesting subject, wider perspective, opposing point of view, wrapup. In the Times article there is no visible attempt to include a balancing opinion. Meanwhile there are several unanalyzed paragraphs, interesting but unchallenged, quoting a single source.
The “wider perspective” section is within normal custom, but is a negative type. Usually an unremittingly negative “wider perspective” section is reserved for generally acknowledged nefarious characters, such as Enron or Madoff. But here it refers to a religious leader.
I’ve already mentioned that I think some of the details are silly, and my logistical doubt that Re’s comments are verbatim. Could be, but the article does not say how these words were recorded. I believe that souces of direct quotes should be attributed, but realize this is a difficult rule not to break.
I think Pope Benedict is on the move, and anyone on the move gets smacked around. Archbishop Dolan is going to get smacked too, but I just hope he gets a fair hearing as well.
This is not a comment about Archbishop Dolan. Instead it’s about what it must be like to be a bishop in the U. S. today.
Here arre a few of my impressions. Have they any validity? I can’t be sure.
It seems that U. S. bishops are in a pretty weak condition. They can condemn and denounce, but can they take substantial initiatives? Doesn’t the shortage of priests and religious make it practically impossible for them to promote things like good adult education, continuing pastoral education for their priests, setting pretty high standards for catechists and religious ed teachers?
They also seem to be hampered by having no clear idea about how to call upon talented and educated lay people to work in collaboration with them. Of course, they can ask lay people to take on some tasks, but do they know how to share responsibility with them?
So, what must iot be like to be a bishop? Lots of problems and few resources?
I can’t imagine a much worse job.
“Doesn’t the shortage of priests and religious make it practically impossible for them to promote things like good adult education, continuing pastoral education for their priests, setting pretty high standards for catechists and religious ed teachers?”
I’d like to suggest that the situation is more promising than it may at first appear. There are a lot of lay people with the theological education necessary to help address these issues. Just consider the number and quality of the Masters’ degree programs in the New York area open to lay people, such as the Fordham School of Religion and Religious Education, and the Archdiocese’s own Institute for Religious Studies, and you see that the resources are there. Also, the Catechetical Office of the Archdiocese sponsors a thorough course of studies for certification of catechists and directors and coordinators of religious education.
In the area of continuing education for clergy, the situation varies very much from diocese to diocese. I recently offered a clergy education event in New York that brought together priests, deacons (permanent and transitional), and seminarians. It was the first of its kind here. But there are other dioceses that offer such in-service opportunities to their priests yearly. New York has the advantage of having the National Pastoral Life Center located here, which offers an annual event for pastors, but I believe it’s not open to all priests.
Rural dioceses face many more challenges, but it doesn’t mean they have an impossible task. The increase of extension programs, teleconferencing and the like has opened up many opportunities. The big question for all dioceses is the second one Mr. Dauenhauer raises, namely collaboration.
Everything being said about Archbishop Dolan is very hopeful. The media, of course, is obsessed with things like the hearty, good natured laugh and the arm-around-the-shoulder camaraderie (?). I am much more impressed with accounts of how pastoral he is, especially with victims of priestly abuse. I am troubled, though, by some media accounts that he was chosen because he is “center right”. It’s no secret that the Pope’s leanings are in that direction, but what I find troubling is that the powers that be think that a “center right” choice is acceptable as long as he is friendly and cordial. It smacks of “bella figura”!
Nicholas, I’m not seeing that link, but I’m guessing it popped up in the Google ad box? (The internet’s greatest source of incidental irony.) We don’t endorse or control what turns up there — I think it’s keyword triggered (hence the links I’m seeing at the moment related to Milwaukee and baseball) — but if you find something objectionable let us know. I believe we can block certain ads. And yes, for what it’s worth, it does generate some revenue to keep dotComm going!
I guess it needs be said that another advantage Bishop Dolan brings is the uneven performance of his predecessor as another fine piece of Journalism on the Cardinal Egan years by Gary Stern shows.
One will suspect, I think, a honeymoon period for the new Archbishop and he apparently will move quickly. The question will then be will it be a move forward?
“I’d like to suggest that the situation is more promising than it may at first appear. There are a lot of lay people with the theological education necessary to help address these issues. ”
Rita, you took the words right out of my mouth!
I would add – all bishops undertake initiatives, but istm that most of them cause barely a ripple in the awareness of the people of God. We’ve all gotten into the habit of ignoring (and critiquing) our leaders. I’m the last to say we shouldn’t use the brains God gave us, but we’re also called to follow our shepherds. Is our relationship with our bishops in the appropriate balance?
I think Jim is dead right that relationships to Church leadership requires appropriate balance.
However, I think “we’ve all gotten into the habit of ignoring (or critiqing) our leaders” is both stereotypical and defensive.
What has happened is a problem of lost balance in the eyes of many as in the move to the right and the past in the regimes of JPII and now BXVI (and the Bishops chosen by them for loyalty.) So now (as wee in another thread) a worldwide petition to BXVI calling on him to reaffirm and follow VII (despite Jim thinking there’s no reason to doubt that he is.)
The division and polarization in the Church, I’d suggest, is rooted in imbalance, rooted in ecclesiological differences that can’t be harmonized without dialogue and listening (with the ear of the heart, of course.)
Thanks to Rita Ferrone and Jim Pouwels for pointing out the weaknesses in my impressions about the resources bishops have at their disposal for new positive initiatives. I’m glad to have been shown to have too bleak a view of the possibilities.
We hope that the new archbishop will reopen Our Lady of Vilnius Church, which was closed 2 years ago. The parishioners have not dispersed and went to the church and civil courts preventing its destruction and selling for millions of dollars to developers. It is also a monument to Lithuanian immigrants.
This last request is among those put forward by New York VOTF -will the new ASrchbishop listen to them?
Actually, their demands are rather within the parameters of faithful Catholicism to almost all.
Then there’s David Gibson’s short New York magazine piece on the challenges awaiting the Archbishop.
Will it get a thread here?