Cardinal Dolan

Timothy Michael Dolan (born February 6, 1950) is an American Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of New York since 2009 and as a cardinal since 2012. Dolan served as the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) from 2010 to 2013. After being made a cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012, Dolan participated in the 2013 papal conclave that elected Pope Francis and in the 2025 papal conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV.

Dolan is seen as representing conservative values. He previously served as rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome from 1994 to 2001, as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Louis from 2001 to 2002, and as Archbishop of Milwaukee from 2002 to 2009.

Biography

Early life

The eldest of five children, Timothy Dolan was born on February 6, 1950, in St. Louis, Missouri, to Robert (1925–1977) and Shirley (née Radcliffe) Dolan (1928–2022) . His father was an aircraft engineer, working as a floor supervisor at McDonnell Douglas. Timothy Dolan has two brothers, one of whom, Bob Dolan, is a former radio talk-show host, and two sisters. The family later moved to Ballwin, Missouri, where they attended Holy Infant Parish.

Dolan exhibited a strong interest in the priesthood from an early age, once saying, "I can never remember a time I didn't want to be a priest." He would also pretend to celebrate mass as a child. Dolan entered Saint Louis Preparatory Seminary in Shrewsbury, Missouri, in 1964. He later obtained a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy degree from Cardinal Glennon College in Shrewsbury. Cardinal John Carberry then sent Dolan to reside at the Pontifical North American College in Rome while studying there. Dolan earned a Licentiate of Sacred Theology in 1976 from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.

Priesthood

Dolan was ordained a priest at Holy Infant Church on June 19, 1976, for the Archdiocese of St. Louis by Auxiliary Bishop Edward O'Meara. After his 1976 ordination, the archdiocese assigned Dolan as an associate pastor at Curé of Ars Parish in Shrewsbury and Immacolata Parish in Richmond Heights. In 1979, the archdiocese sent Dolan to Washington D.C. to begin his doctoral studies at the Catholic University of America under Reverend John Ellis, concentrating on the Catholic history of the United States. Dolan's doctoral thesis centered on Bishop Edwin O'Hara of Kansas City; it was eventually published as a book.

Upon Dolan's return to Missouri in 1983, the archdiocese assigned him to pastoral work in parishes for the next four years. During this time, he collaborated with Archbishop John L. May in reforming the archdiocesan seminary. In 1987, the Vatican appointed Dolan as secretary of the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington, serving as a liaison with the American dioceses. Dolan left Washington in 1992 after Archbishop John May named him as vice-rector of Kenrick-Glennon Seminary. He also served as spiritual director at the seminary and taught Catholic history. Dolan was also posted as an adjunct professor of theology at St. Louis University in St. Louis.

Rector of Pontifical North American College

Dolan returned to Rome in 1994 after the USCCB appointed him as rector of the Pontifical North American College. During his tenure in Rome, he published ''Priests for the Third Millennium'', and taught at the Pontifical Gregorian University and St. Thomas Aquinas. He was granted the title of monsignor by Pope John Paul II in 1994.

Auxiliary Bishop of St. Louis

On June 19, 2001, Pope St. John Paul II appointed Dolan as an auxiliary bishop of St. Louis and titular bishop of Natchesium. He received his episcopal consecration on August 15, 2001, from Archbishop Justin Rigali, with Bishops Joseph Naumann and Michael Sheridan serving as co-consecrators. Dolan chose as his episcopal motto: ''Ad quem ibimus'', meaning, "Lord, to whom shall we go?" ().

Archbishop of Milwaukee

On June 25, 2002, Pope St. John Paul II appointed Dolan as the tenth archbishop of Milwaukee. He was installed at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Milwaukee on August 28, 2002. Dolan said he was challenged and haunted by the sexual abuse scandal in Milwaukee, which broke during his tenure. According to radio station WTAQ news, "An attorney says at least 8,000 kids were sexually abused by over 100 priests and other offenders in the Milwaukee Catholic Diocese."

Dolan took a special interest in priests and vocations, and the number of seminary enrollments rose during his tenure as archbishop. In an outdoor mass in September 2002, Dolan briefly wore a "cheesehead" hat during his homily in tribute to the Green Bay Packers football team. While in Milwaukee, he wrote ''Called to Be Holy'' (2005) and ''To Whom Shall We Go? Lessons from the Apostle Peter'' (2008), and co-hosted a television program with his brother called ''Living Our Faith''.

Apostolic administrator of Green Bay

On September 28, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI named Dolan as the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Green Bay. Continuing to serve as archbishop in Milwaukee, Dolan's term as administrator ended on July 9, 2008, when Benedict XVI appointed Bishop David L. Ricken as the next bishop of Green Bay.

Archbishop of New York

Appointment as archbishop and installation

On February 23, 2009, Dolan was appointed the tenth archbishop of New York by Benedict XVI. Dolan succeeded Cardinal Edward Egan, who had reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 for prelates in 2007. According to Dolan, Apostolic Nuncio Pietro Sambi notified him by phone of his appointment in New York "nine, ten days" prior to the official announcement. Dolan said that when he was appointed auxiliary bishop of St. Louis and archbishop of Milwaukee, he was told on the phone that John Paul II "would like imto" take the posts. In contrast, Sambi told Dolan that "the Pope enedict XVIhad appointed im to New York, giving Dolan little choice other than to accept it.

Before Dolan's appointment as archbishop of New York, observers had repeatedly mentioned him as a possible successor to Egan. However, Dolan downplayed such speculation, saying, "Anytime there's kind of a major see that opens, what have we seen with Washington, Baltimore, Detroit, now New York, my name for some reason comes up. I'm flattered." John L. Allen Jr., Vatican correspondent for the ''National Catholic Reporter'', noted that Benedict XVI's appointment of Dolan followed his pattern of choosing prelates "who are basically conservative in both their politics and their theology, but also upbeat, pastoral figures given to dialogue."

In an interview with the ''Associated Press'' before his installation, Dolan pledged to challenge claims that the Catholic Church was unenlightened due to its opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion. Dolan said that he hoped to rebuild confidence among Catholics who were disenchanted with the church after the sexual abuse scandals; he described these scandals as "a continuing source of shame".

Dolan was installed as archbishop of New York at St. Patrick's Cathedral on April 15, 2009. He wore the pectoral cross used by his 19th-century predecessor, Archbishop John Hughes. Eleven cardinals and several New York elected officials attended the ceremony. Dolan received the pallium, a vestment worn by metropolitan bishops, from Benedict XVI on June 29, 2009, in a ceremony at St. Peter's Basilica.

Dolan is the Grand Prior of the USA Eastern Lieutenancy of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.

Closing of schools and parishes

Soon after his arrival in New York, Dolan oversaw two "strategic planning" processes on the utilization of archdiocesan schools and parishes. "Pathways to Excellence," held from 2009 to 2013, examined the elementary schools. "Making All Things New," from 2010 to 2015, examined the parishes. Like in many other American dioceses, Dolan closed dozens of underutilized schools and parishes would close or merge with others in their neighborhoods, due to decades-long trends of shifting populations, increasing expenses, declining attendance, and decreasing clergy.

Dolan served as chair of the board of directors of Catholic Relief Services, in which capacity he visited Ethiopia and India, until his election as USCCB president. He remains a member of the Board of Trustees of The Catholic University of America.

Apostolic visitations

Dolan was the apostolic visitor to Irish seminaries as part of the Apostolic visitation to Ireland following the 2009 publication of the Ryan and Murphy Reports on sexual abuse. Dolan was part of a team that included Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, archbishop emeritus of Westminster; Cardinal Seán Patrick O'Malley of Boston; Toronto's Archbishop Thomas Christopher Collins; and Ottawa's Archbishop Terrence Prendergast. They reported their findings to Pope Benedict XVI in 2012.

On January 5, 2011, Dolan was appointed to the newly created Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization. Also in 2011, at the Vatican's request, Dolan led a visitation (investigation) of the Pontifical Irish College, the seminary for Irish seminarians and priests studying in Rome. His 2012 report was highly critical of the college. It said that "a disturbingly significant number of seminarians gave a negative assessment of the atmosphere of the house". The report said that the staff were "critical about any emphasis on Rome, tradition, the magisterium, piety or assertive orthodoxy, while the students are enthusiastic about these features". It also said: "The apostolic visitor noted, and heard from students, an 'anti-ecclesial bias' in theological formation.

Dolan's report recommended that the college make staff changes. As a result, the college reassigned three staff members back to Ireland and a fourth one resigned. The four Irish archbishops (Cardinal Seán Brady, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin; Archbishop Michael Neary; and Archbishop Dermot Clifford) responded to the report, saying that "a deep prejudice appears to have coloured the visitation and from the outset it led to the hostile tone and content of the report".

Other actions

On December 29, 2011, Dolan was appointed a member of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications for a five-year renewable term. On April 21, 2011, he was appointed a member of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches. On January 24, 2012, Dolan went on a religious pilgrimage to Israel and the West Bank, where he met the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Fouad Twal. On November 30, 2013, Pope Francis named Dolan a member of the Congregation for Catholic Education.

On September 3, 2014, Dolan denied requests by the Diocese of Peoria to receive the remains of Archbishop Fulton Sheen, who had been entombed in St. Patrick's Cathedral since his death in 1979. The diocese sued the archdiocese, claiming that it owned the rights to remains. On November 17, 2016, Judge Arlene Bluth of the New York State Supreme Court ordered the archdiocese to transfer the remains to Peoria. On September 13, 2014, Dolan was appointed a member of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

Dolan completed a pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Knock in Knock Ireland, in 2015. On May 13, 2017, he celebrated a requiem mass when John Curry, the youngest witness to the Knock apparition, was re-interred in St. Patrick's Old Cathedral cemetery in Lower Manhattan after being disinterred from an unmarked grave on Long Island. At the inauguration of US President Donald Trump on January 20, 2017, Dolan delivered the first benediction. His invocation included a recitation of King Solomon's prayer from the Book of Wisdom.

In August 2020 offered the opening prayer for the 2020 Republican National Convention. In February 2023, Dolan announced that the archdiocese was closing 12 schools that had not recovered financially from the COVID-19 pandemic. On April 13, 2024, during a visit to Jerusalem, Dolan and his entourage were forced to take cover due to an Iranian missile attack on the city. The attack was a response to an April 1 Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria. No one in Dolan's group was injured. Dolan on October 1, 2024, announced that the archdiocese was suing its insurers, Chubb Group, for its alleged failure to pay insurance claims related to the sexual abuse scandal.

USCCB

Within the USCCB, Dolan chairs the Priestly Life and Ministry Committee and sits on the Subcommittee on the Church in Africa. In November 2007, he lost the election for USCCB vice president, being defeated by Bishop Gerald Kicanas by a margin of 22 votes. Dolan was elected on November 16, 2010, to the USCCB presidency, becoming the first New York prelate to hold this post. Dolan replaced Cardinal Francis George, who did not run for re-election. In a vote of 128 to 111, Dolan defeated Kicanas and eight other candidates to win the three-year term. Dolan took office two days later and served as president until November 12, 2013.

Cardinal

Dolan was elevated to the rank of cardinal by Benedict XVI on February 18, 2012. The day before the consistory, Dolan addressed the pope and the College of Cardinals on spreading the faith in a secularized world. He was created Cardinal Priest of the Nostra Signora di Guadalupe a Monte Mario church in Rome. Dolan was the first archbishop of New York since 1946 not to receive the titular church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, as that title was still being held by his predecessor, Cardinal Egan. After Benedict XVI announced his retirement as pope due to ill health, effective February 28, 2013, the press suggested Dolan as a ''papabile'', a possible successor to Benedict.

According to several reports, Cardinal Dolan acted as a kingmaker in the 2025 papal conclave, gathering strong support for Robert Francis Prevost, who was eventually elected pope as Leo XIV.

Views

Artificial contraception

In February 2012, Dolan criticized the contraceptive mandate enacted by the Obama administration requiring employers offering employee health insurance to provide at least one form of artificial contraception to their female employees. In a televised CBS interview, Dolan charged the federal government with forcing Catholic organizations to provide birth control coverage, even though it contravened Catholic teaching.

In March 2012, after the administration amended the rule to require the insurers, not the employers, to provide the birth control coverage for employees, Dolan said that the "first decision was a terribly misguided judgment" and that the March revision was "a first step".

Race and police issues

On June 2, 2020, Dolan spoke on his podcast about the protests and police actions following the 2020 murders of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, along with the 2020 shooting of Breonna Taylor in Louisville. In this interview, he attempted to speak to both protesters and police. He argued that police were mostly good people and compared them to priests. He also said that the protesters had an important message. Dolan then said that black lives matter, joining that statement with "all lives matter" and " police lives matter".

In a June 28, 2020, ''Wall Street Journal'' opinion piece, Dolan argued against removing statues of American historical figures because they had been slave owners or fought for the Confederacy in the American Civil War. Dolan said, "If we only honor perfect, saintly people of the past, I guess I'm left with only the cross. And some people would ban that."

In a July 1, 2020, opinion piece for the ''New York Post'', Dolan called for ending the perceived demonization of the New York City Police Department. He said that "the most stinging rebuke f the murder of George Floyd by a policeman in Minneapoliscomes from ... cops I chat with on the sidewalks of New York". He added that "in a recent meeting with community activists, one black leader reminded us, 'Don't give me this 'get-rid-of-the-cops' rant! You on Madison Avenue or Park Avenue might not need the police. We up in The Bronx sure do!

Moral issues

In November 2009, Dolan signed the '' Manhattan Declaration'', a manifesto circulated by conservative Christian groups in the United States. The declaration called for Christians to commit acts of civil disobedience against laws forcing them to participate in abortion or treat same sex relationships as if they are marriages.

LGBTQ

In October 2017, Auxiliary Bishop John O'Hara, acting on Dolan's behalf, stopped St. Mary Parish in the Archdiocese of New York from hosting the International Human Rights Art Festival. This was because the festival had scheduled two performances that included gay and transgender content. After the archdiocese complained about it, the festival director moved the event to an Episcopal church in Brooklyn.

In June 2023, Outreach Catholic, an LGBTQ Catholic advocacy group, held a conference at Fordham University. Francis sent his best wishes to the conference attendees. Prior to the event, Dolan sent a letter to Reverend James Martin, the leader of Outreach, stating: "It is the sacred duty of the Church and Her ministers to reach out to those on the periphery and draw them to a closer relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church. Your vital and important ministry is a valuable and necessary contribution to that effort."

War and capital punishment

In 2009, Dolan defended his silence in 2001 regarding US President George W. Bush's appearance at the University of Notre Dame. Some Catholics had criticized Bush for his support of capital punishment. Many Catholics later condemned him for the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. Dolan said, "Where President Bush would have taken positions on those two hot-button issues that I'd be uncomfortable with, namely the war and capital punishment, I would have to give him the benefit of the doubt to say that those two issues are open to some discussion and are not intrinsically evil. In the Catholic mindset that would not apply to abortion."

Sexual abuse scandal

In 2002, Archbishop Justin Rigali of St. Louis assigned Dolan to investigate priests accused of sexual misconduct in the archdiocese. Dolan spoke with parishioners, victims, and the media about the scandals, and invited victims to come forward with their allegations. Commenting on his meetings with victims, Dolan said "it is impossible to exaggerate the gravity of the situation, and the suffering that victims feel, because I've spent the last four months being with them, crying with them, having them express their anger to me." Dolan's dismissal of abusive priests from public ministry angered some parishioners, who denounced his investigation as a "witch hunt". In a 2003 letter to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Dolan requested that the Vatican expedite the laicization of priests whom he believed were "remorseless and a serious risk to children". In the letter, Dolan wrote: "As victims organize and become more public, the potential for true scandal is very real."

In 2011, Dolan thanked Bill Donohue, leader of the conservative group Catholic League, for a press release that was reproduced on the Archdiocese of New York website. In the statement, Donohue denounced Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) as a "phony victims' group". SNAP had previously criticized Dolan. In May 2012, ''The New York Times'' revealed that the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, then headed by Dolan, had paid some abusive priests up to $20,000 to resign the priesthood immediately rather than wait for the Vatican to laicize them. The archdiocese noted that these priests, all suspended from public ministry, were still receiving full salaries and would continue to do so until their laicization. Furthermore, these payments were motivating them not to contest being defrocked; Dolan had previously termed accusations of giving "payoffs" to accused priests as "false, preposterous and unjust".

In July 2013, documents made public during bankruptcy proceedings for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. They showed that Dolan, then archbishop of Milwaukee, in 2007 had sought permission from the Vatican to shield $57 million in church funds from victims lawsuits. In the letter, Dolan wrote: "By transferring these assets to the trust, I foresee an improved protection of these funds from any legal claim and liability."Goodstein, Laurie (July 1, 2013)
"Dolan Sought to Protect Church Assets, Files Show"
. ''The New York Times''. "Files released by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee on Monday reveal that in 2007, Cardinal Timothy F. Dolan, then the archbishop there, requested permission from the Vatican to move nearly $57 million into a cemetery trust fund to protect the assets from victims of clergy sexual abuse who were demanding compensation." Dolan had previously denied shielding assets from child sex abuse victims claiming compensation, calling the accusations "old and discredited" and "malarkey." The Vatican approved the 2007 request from Dolan five weeks later.

In September 2018, after the August release of the Pennsylvania grand jury report on sexual abuse in Pennsylvania dioceses and the sexual abuse allegations against then Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, a ''CNN'' interviewer asked Dolan whether he believed that homosexuality was a cause of clergy sexual abuse of minors. He answered: "I don't think that's the sole root of it. The sole root of it is a lack of chastity, a lack of virtue. This isn't about right or left. This isn't about gay or straight. This is about right and wrong."

In 2019, The ''Washington Post'' reported that Dolan, along with some other American prelates, had received substantial cash gifts from Bishop Michael J. Bransfield, which he took from investments owned by the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston. Bransfield had resigned following allegations of sexual misconduct and embezzlement, and was later forced by the Vatican to make restitution to his diocese. Dolan never commented on this allegation.

Terrorism

In April 2009, Dolan visited Ground Zero, the Manhattan site of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Dolan recited the same prayer offered there by Benedict XVI during his 2008 visit to New York, commenting, "We'll never stop crying. But it's also about September 12th and all the renewal and rebuilding and hope and solidarity and compassion that symbolizes this great community and still does."

Letter to cardinals

In July 2020, the progressive National Catholic Report reported that Ignatius Press sent copies of the book ''The Next Pope: The Office of Peter and a Church in Mission,'' by conservative author George Weigel, to all 222 cardinals. The publishers included a copy of a letter from Dolan, stating: "I am grateful to Ignatius Press for making this important reflection on the future of the Church available to the College of Cardinals." Some cardinals saw this as a violation of the 1996 apostolic constitution ''Universi Dominici gregis'' in which John Paul II "forbid(s) anyone, even if he is a Cardinal, during the Pope's lifetime and without having consulted him, to make plans concerning the election of his successor." Dolan had earlier been critical of the way Francis had organized the 2015 Synod on the Family. Replying to criticism about his book, Weigel stated that it "does not contain a single sentence about a future conclave. No potential candidates are named and no conclave strategy is discussed. The book is a reflection on the future of the Office of Peter in what Pope Francis has called a Church 'permanently in mission'. Period."

Distinctions

* Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, awarded on December 11, 2011, by Victor Emmanuel, Prince of Naples.
* Knight Grand Cross of Justice of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George
* Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the Order of Malta
* Isaiah Award for Exemplary Interreligious Leadership, presented on November 2, 2015, by the American Jewish Committee (AJC). It cited Dolan for "his steadfast contribution and ongoing commitment to the relationship between our respective faiths".

Published books

*Dolan, Fr. Timothy M. (1992). ''Some Seed Fell on Good GroundThe Life of Edwin V. O'Hara''. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press. .
*Dolan, Fr. Timothy M. (''circa'' 1993). ''A Century of Papal Representation in the United States''. South Orange, New Jersey: Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology of Seton Hall University. .
*Dolan, Monsignor Timothy M. (2000). ''Priests For The Third Millennium''. Huntington, Indiana: Our Sunday Visitor. . (A collection of talks given to the seminarians and priests at the Pontifical North American College, a school in Rome, Italy, for Roman Catholic seminarians and priests.)
*Dolan, Archbishop Timothy M.; Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis (2001). ''Archdiocese of St. LouisThree Centuries of Catholicism, 1700–2000''. Strasbourg, France: . .
*Dolan, Archbishop Timothy M. (2005). ''Called to Be Holy''. Huntington, Indiana: Our Sunday Visitor. .
*Dolan, Archbishop Timothy M. (2007). ''Advent ReflectionsCome, Lord Jesus!''. Huntington, Indiana: Our Sunday Visitor. .
*Dolan, Archbishop Timothy M. (2009). ''Doers of the WordPutting Your Faith into Practice''. Huntington, Indiana: Our Sunday Visitor. .
*Dolan, Archbishop Timothy M. (2009). ''To Whom Shall We Go?Lessons from the Apostle Peter''. Huntington, Indiana: Our Sunday Visitor. .

See also

* Catholic Church hierarchy
* Catholic Church in the United States
* Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States
* List of Catholic bishops of the United States
* Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops

References

External links

*
*
* (personal website)
Profile at the Archdiocese of New York website
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*
Article on Dolan's installation as archbishop
from the ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel''
Priestly Life and Ministry Committee
, at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website
Subcommittee on the Church in Africa
, at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dolan, Timothy
1950 births
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