NY Archbishop Dolan to Join Cardinal Ranks

NY1
January 6, 2012

www.ny1.com/content/153720/ny-archbishop-dolan-to-join-cardinal-ranks/

[with video]

New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan announced this morning that he is one of 22 prelates being elevated to Cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI.

Cardinals act as the pope's key advisors, who will eventually choose his successor.

Dolan, 61, is the eighth archbishop of New York to be named a cardinal.

Speaking after this morning's mass at Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Dolan said he is "honored and humbled" and congratulated the community in New York for also being recognized by the pope.

"It's almost as if Pope Benedict XVI is putting the red hat of the cardinal on top of the Empire State Building, or upon the Statue of Liberty or home plate at Yankee Stadium, on the spires of this great St. Patrick's Cathedral or any of our wonderful parish churches," Dolan said.

His predecessor, Edward Cardinal Egan also released a statement saying, "I extended to him my heartfelt congratulations and assured him of my prayers."

A spokesman for the New York Archdiocese says the appointment is more than Dolan's personal acknowledgement from the pope.

"It's a great tribute to Archbishop Dolan himself obviously. He will now be a cardinal in the church. It is a sign of his status in the church and how he's looked upon, but at the same time it's a recognition of the importance of the church here in New York," said New York Archdiocese Spokesman Joseph Zwilling.

Among those being elevated is Bronx native Archbishop Edwin O'Brien, the current Pro-Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.

The new cardinals will be formally elevated in a ceremony February 18.