Results tagged “timothydolan”

Archbishop Timothy Dolan marked his beginning as the new leader of the New York Archdiocese—and about 2.5 million Roman Catholics in the area—with the ritual of knocking on the doors of St. Patrick's Cathedral. The Post described the scene, "Using a blue hammer, Dolan pounded on the bronze doors six times, asking to be accepted as New York's new archbishop. Then he paused and knocked another three times just to be sure he was heard. A roar of laughter erupted in the church. The doors swung open and the 59-year-old Dolan walked in to an explosion of applause."

Standing on the steps in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral with a Bible in his hand, incoming Archbishop Timothy Dolan spoke to reporters for the first time since arriving into town. Dolan did not waste any time addressing hot button topics for the church, such as the possibility of New York legalizing gay marriage. He said, "If we let that definition of marriage go and begin to include other relationships, it will be to a detriment to the civilization." But Dolan tried to stay positive saying that "we support them...(and) will defend their rights." He also plans to fight the popular notion that the church is unenlightened saying, "I think we Catholics just need to stand up and say, 'we're above the times, we're timeless in our beliefs in our values and in our ethics and in our morality, and we don't take our cue from the winds and the trends of the day." Dolan will be installed as archbishop Wednesday afternoon at St. Patrick's. When asked about the responsibility of leading 2.5 million Catholics, he said, "I hope at my core, I hear Jesus say, 'Timothy be not afraid.'"

As he prepares to retire in just a few weeks as archbishop of New York, Cardinal Egan has made some open-ended remarks about the possibility of marriage in the priesthood. In a radio interview with Fred Dicker, Egan said, “I think that it’s going to be discussed; it’s a perfectly legitimate discussion...I think it has to be looked at. And I am not so sure it wouldn’t be a good idea to decide on the basis of geography and culture not to make an across-the-board determination.” Naturally with such a hot button issue that is rarely addressed by as major of a church figure as Egan (and the conservative cardinal in particular), figures from both sides of the issue are downplaying/lauding it accordingly. Neither spokespeople for Egan nor incoming Archbishop Dolan would comment—Dolan notably squashed the issue when his priests in Milwaukee attempted to bring it to the table. One priest told the Times that no matter how people read Egan's remarks, "It was kind of brave for him to say what everybody’s been thinking."

The local media continues its coverage of incoming Archbishop Timothy Dolan. The NY Post gave him some Big Apple-themed gifts, including "a Yankees cap and mug, an FDNY T-shirt and a subway map," which Dolan appreciated, noting, "I'm going to be a tourist for one year."

Last night, word leaked from the Vatican that Pope Benedict XVI would appoint Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, of Milwaukee, to lead the Archdiocese of New York. The Archdiocese's current head, Cardinal Edward Egan, handed in his resignation letter in 2007 when he turned 75, in keeping with Vatican Law.