New York's Archbishop Dolan Likes the Front Lines with the Folks, Catholic San Francisco, November 17, 2010

New York's Archbishop Dolan Likes the Front Lines with the Folks

Catholic San Francisco
November 17, 2010

http://www.catholic-sf.org/news_select.php?newsid=1&id=57853

Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., and New York Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan during a press conference at the U.S. Bishops’ fall meeting.

NEW YORK (CNS) — Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York is a man familiar with the inner workings of the Catholic Church but once described himself as "a sort of fish-fry and bingo guy" who preferred being "in the field ... on the front lines ... with the folks."

In a surprise vote, the U.S. bishops elected Archbishop Dolan, 60, to head the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for the next three years and chose Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., as vice president. Archbishop Dolan succeeded Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago as USCCB president at the close f the bishops' fall general assembly Nov. 15-18 in Baltimore. Although the New York archbishop is widely seen as one of the country's most prominent Catholic voices, the high profile position puts Archbishop Dolan even more on the front lines.

By selecting Archbishop Dolan from a field of 10 candidates that included Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas of Tucson, Ariz., USCCB vice president, the bishops diverged from the usual practice of electing the USCCB vice president as president.

Since being installed as head of the New York Archdiocese in April 2009, the gregarious prelate has continued to show the strong administrative style he exhibited as head of the Milwaukee archdiocese where he served from 2002 to 2009. Archbishop Dolan announced a strategic plan to close underperforming New York Archdiocesan elementary schools while promising a place in a Catholic school to any child who wants one. He addressed the growing controversy over plans to build an Islamic community center and mosque a few blocks from Ground Zero, and met with Jewish and Muslim leaders to work out conflicts as they occur.

Earlier this year, Archbishop Dolan issued his first New York pastoral, urging Catholics to make Mass the center of their Sunday, saying the observance of the Lord's day is essential for the Church," the vibrancy of our faith" and the "clarity of our Catholic identity."

With his election as chairman of USCCB president, Archbishop Dolan will step down as chairman of the board of Catholic Relief Services, the U.S. bishops' overseas relief and development agency, and will appoint his successor. He is co-chair and moderator of Jewish affairs for the USCCB.

In March, as allegations of clergy sexual abuse in Europe, particularly Germany, made news, he told New York Catholics that the "tidal wave of headlines" about the abuse and new stories about an old case in Wisconsin have "knocked us to our knees once again." He also defended Pope Benedict XVI against claims by some, including the media, that he had not done enough to address the abuse situation. Pope Benedict XVI named him in June to a panel sent to investigate priestly sexual abuse in Ireland.

Archbishop Dolan was ordained a priest in St. Louis in 1976, and served in parish ministry before earning a doctorate in American church history at Catholic University of America. In 1994, he was named rector of the North American College, serving in Rome until 2001, when he was named auxiliary bishop of St. Louis by Pope John Paul II. Pope John Paul named him archbishop of Milwaukee in 2002, and he served there until Pope Benedict appointed him to New York.