Dolan Gets Thumbs-Up From His New Parishioners

Archbishop Timothy Dolan, newly installed as the head of the NY Archdiocese, gave his first mass yesterday at St. Patrick's Cathedral. While the NY Times found he offered "only indirect signs of the activist role he has hinted he will take as an advocate of the church’s agenda in the public sphere" (have faith and "trust in what cannot be seen," not just “on empirical, scientific evidence"), some parishioners are pleased with Dolan, with one telling the paper, "His focus is on the Catholic point of view and if he keeps doing that he’s going to bring a lot of enthusiasm to the church." Another told the Daily News, "I'm very much taken in by how warm he is - he has an energy about him." Dolan was also not above joking about the Yankees' 22-4 loss to the Indians on Saturday or thanking the crowd, "I'm still your baby archbishop and my heart is so very, very grateful."