Archbishop Timothy Dolan was in a heavenly mood today after learning that Pope Benedict named him one of the Vatican's newest cardinals. In a statement, he said, "I am honored, humbled and grateful ... but, let's be frank. This is not about Timothy Dolan. This is an honor from the Holy Father to the Archdiocese of New York and to all our cherished friends and neighbors who call this great community home. It's as if Pope Benedict is putting the red hat on top of the Empire State Building, or the Statue of Liberty, or on home plate at Yankee Stadium, or on the spires of St. Patrick's Cathedral." more ›

Right now, there's the funeral procession for Poughkeepsie police officer John Falcone is heading to Brooklyn, where he will be buried at the Cemetery of the Holy Cross. Falcone was killed in the line of duty last Friday, when he was shot by a man in a parking lot near the Poughkeepsie Metro-North station. Earlier today, thousands of mourners gathered inside and outside the Putnam County church where the funeral was held. more ›

Archbishop Timothy Dolan addressed claims that his former archdiocese in Milwaukee moved $130 million from its books so it wouldn't have to pay victims of church sex abuse. A lawyer representing the victims wants to question Dolan about the allegedly missing money, but Dolan was furious about the insinuations and told the Daily News, "To think ... like Dolan's got some off-shore account in the Cayman Islands or something, this is just ludicrous. Darn it, I think the archdiocese has done a good job. And Lord knows, I worked my hardest." more ›

A Milwaukee lawyer says he will depose NY Archbishop Timothy Dolan over allegedly missing funds. According to the Journal Sentinel, attorney Jeffrey Anderson says the "Archdiocese of Milwaukee moved as much as $75 million off its books over the last six years in an effort to shield it from sex abuse settlements." The archdiocese, which was once headed by Dolan, has denied the accusations. more ›

At midnight, Archbishop Timothy Dolan held Midnight Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral, drawing an audience of hundreds, including Mayor Bloomberg, Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo and Police Commission Ray Kelly. Archbishop Dolan said, “A blessed Christmas to everyone. We are all home for Christmas here at St. Patrick’s cathedral. This holds true for silent night," and "We desperately try to fill up what's missing, while the root of every anguish is that we ignore the only one who can really fill that void: God." more ›

At churches around the world, the beautiful tradition of midnight mass on Christmas Eve is being watered down by wusses who get too sleepy waiting up to 12 a.m. to celebrate their savior's birthday. Even in the Vatican, they're clocking in early with a 10 p.m. mass, just so Catholics can go beddy-bye after phoning in a quick Feliz Navidad to the Messiah they believe died for their sins. But not in New York City, baby! At St. Patrick's Cathedral, ballin' Archbishop Timothy Dolan still gets down with God after midnight. more ›

As if the debate over whether a mosque and community center should be built two blocks from the World Trade Center site needed another player: Archbishop Timothy Dolan has offered to mediate a discussion between the government and the Park 51 developers on a potential new location. He said, "Those who wonder about the wisdom of the situation of the mosque, near such a wounded site, ask what I think are some legitimate questions that I think deserve attention." more ›

After discussing the intense scrutiny the Pope and Catholic Church has faced during his Palm Sunday homily, New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan continued to hammer home his talking points as he headed into the Easter Weekend. During an appearance on Good Day, NY yesterday, Dolan said that while he welcomed the reporting of abusive priests and hangs his head in shame about it, he said terrible abuse occurs in "every religion, every culture, every family, every family... it's a cultural, societal problem." more ›

As the Vatican weathered another week of criticism of its handling of abusive priests, Pope Benedict said in his Palm Sunday address today, "From God comes the courage not to be intimidated by petty gossip." The UK's Telegraph reports, "Although he did not directly mention the crisis that has seen claims of abuse from Ireland, Germany, Austria, Holland and Brazil the 82 year old Pontiff's message was evidently clear"—previously, the Vatican has accused the media of trying to smear the Pontiff. more ›

While traveling to Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral this morning, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly tended to a woman who suffered a fractured skull after being run down by a cyclist. In his second well-publicized rescue this month, the potential 2013 Mayoral candidate hopped out of his unmarked police SUV at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 84th Street and helped 55-year-old Kinuko Hoffman, who was bleeding from the head after being struck by a deliveryman. more ›

“Good man!” and “We love you, Governor Paterson!” cried supporters at a Brooklyn town hall meeting on Monday. According to the Times, the disgraced governor, who’s being called the least popular in the city’s history, found praise there when he’s failed to find it nearly anywhere else. Many attendees, themselves black, said they valued having an African American man in Albany. “There’s a sense of ownership, a real sense of ownership,” said Assemblyman Keith L. T. Wright, chairman of the Manhattan Democratic Party. They also praised him for his “brutal honesty” concerning the state’s financial troubles and commended him for “keeping it real.” Still, the Post’s Fred Dicker dismissed the appearance as “a political stunt.” more ›

While President Obama drew a lot of flak from the Catholics angry about him giving the commencement speech at Notre Dame yesterday, pro-choicer Mayor Bloomberg seemed to fly under the church's radar for being honored (and giving "humorous" remarks) at local Catholic university Fordham on Saturday. A spokesman for Archbishop Dolan said that he was "unaware that the mayor was at Fordham," but stopped short of offering any take on the school's choice. Dolan has been very open about his objections to Obama speaking at Notre Dame, saying this weekend it could be seen as an endorsement of the president's pro-choice stance. Good thing he cleared that up since there's been so much speculation on just where the Catholic Church stands on the issue. The Post talked to one New Yorker who sat out her Notre Dame graduation yesterday (opting to spend the time praying instead). She told the paper, "I wouldn't be able to approve them handing him a degree. Your commencement speaker is supposed to be someone you emulate, and they're supposed to be sending you off into the world." more ›

Newly-installed Archbishop Timothy Dolan is continuing to make his presence felt in the media, keeping open discussions about hot button issues such as gay marriage and the possibility of marriage within the priesthood. Dolan seems to be making a concentrated effort to put a positive spin on the church's stance on topics that he knows might not sit well in a town as socially liberal as New York. more ›

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." more ›

Governor Paterson held a press conference today introducing legislation to legalize gay marriage in New York. The governor was not the least bit tepid in his strong support of the issue, saying he has been on record as an advocate for same-sex marriage since 1994. The state's first black governor drew a strong connection between the fight for marital rights and the abolition movement, citing the names of Harriet Beecher Stowe and Frederick Douglass. Paterson said: more ›