Abp. Dolan - First Take

Abp. Dolan - First Take

The most notable bits of Dolan coverage I've read so far ... from my feeds to your screen:


His first words to New York:

In a statement, Archbishop Dolan addressed New Yorkers, saying, "My brother bishops, priests, religious women and men, seminarians, committed Catholics of this wonderful Church, I pledge to you my love, my life, my heart, and I can tell you already that I love you, I need so much your prayers and support, I am so honored, humbled, and happy to serve as your pastor."

His reputation:

"Best known for his contagious, energetic enthusiasm, love for priesthood -- and, of course, media-savvy -- Dolan will be installed as head of the nation's second-largest local church on Easter Wednesday, 15 April, in the nation's best-known house of worship."

Revealing story:

“I was at the vespers when he was installed as [arch]bishop. And there’s a part where the bishop knocks on the door. Most do it timidly. Tap, tap. Not him — ‘Bang! Bang!’ It echoed through the cathedral and let everyone know that Timothy Dolan was there.”

Dolan was informed of the appointment "9, 10 days ago", reports Rocco:

"As opposed to his appointments as an auxiliary of St Louis and archbishop of Milwaukee when he was told that the Pope "would like [him] to" take the post, he added that Archbishop Pietro Sambi "was quite factual" in that the nuncio to Washington told him that "the Pope had appointed me" to New York -- in other words, that he had little choice but to accept."

update: Archbishop Dolan is strongly pro-life:

For the pro-life movement, Dolan has been a strong friend and ally and has been called a "hero" by leading pro-life advocates.
"It bothers me if any politician, Catholic or not, is for abortion," Dolan has said. "Because in my mind, we're talking about a civil right, we're not talking about a matter of Catholic Church discipline. We can't allow the noble pro-life cause to be reduced to a denominational issue."
Last year, Dolan took House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice-President Joe Biden to task for misrepresenting Catholic pro-life teachings.

update 2: Fr. James has posted excerpts of an interview he conducted with Abp. Dolan.