Congratulations to Archbishop Dolan

Archbishop Timothy Dolan is being moved from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee to the Archdiocese of New York. This marks the 1st time that a new Bishop takes over without his predecessor dying in office.

When Archbishop Dolan came to Millwaukee, he stepped in to clean up the mess left by his predecessor, Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland OSB. Originally from St. Louis, he was made Auxiliary Bishop of St. Louis in 2001. In 2002 he was sent to Milwaukee after Weakland was forced to resign.

He has strong Pro-Life credentials. Last year he didn't waste time to call both Pelosi & Biden to rask when they spoke out to misrepresent Catholic teaching on abortion.

He said: "Church tradition is equally clear that bishops are the authentic teachers of the faith. So, when prominent Catholics publicly misrepresent timeless Church doctrine - as Biden and Pelosi regrettably did (to say nothing of erring in biology!) - a bishop has the duty to clarify. We cannot be mute on this premier civil rights issue of our day."

He went on to add: "Does the baby alive in the womb (a biological, not a doctrinal, fact) deserve the full protection of the law or not? Does one have the right to terminate the life of another at will? Can we consider one form of life - that of the innocent, fragile baby in the womb - inferior and expendable?"

His willingness to speak out goes back to his days in St. Louis. Speaking about the clergy scandal, he made it clear where a huge part of the problem lay. "It also shows again how far off the mark we've gotten when it comes to the Church's whole teaching on chastity, how far we have strayed from the Church's beautiful teaching on sexual love. What's a painful paradox is that many of the people who find this [scandal] most horrible don't make the connection that so are other sexual aberrations."

He has been willing to call to task his fellow Bishops for their failure to provide the needed leadership on the Pro-Life Issues. In a 2004 Milwaukee Journal interview he said: "You know, we American bishops - again (speaking as) the church historian - I look back to our stance on slavery, and it wasn't a good one. And we look back and say, 'Darn it. We missed an opportunity to be prophetic.' And I guess that's something we bishops have to ask ourselves now. Are we missing an opportunity to be prophetic?"

American Life League has said that Archbishop Dolan is "one of our pro-life heroes."

Bill Donohue, President of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights: "What a perfect fit: Archbishop Dolan has the erudition, tenacity, affability and orthodoxy necessary for a leadership role in New York. My dealings with him have been extraordinarily positive.
In other words, Archbishop Dolan did not hesitate to step up to the plate. He showed leadership from top to bottom. Which is why a man of his character is a perfect fit for New York's rough and tumble milieu. We look forward to working with him."

Given that New York is the abortion capitol of America, he will have his work cut out for him. He will need all the prayer he can get to support him in this difficult task.

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As an aside, it will be interesting to see when he is made a Cardinal. As I noted above, this is the 1st time a new Archbishop has taken over without his predecessor having died in the office. Since Archbishop Wuerl took over in DC, he hasn't been made a Cardinal as Cardinal McCarrick is still alive. Like McCarrick, Egan is retiring, not moving. So he probably won't be named a Cardnial in the near future either.

Sources: Archbishop Timothy Dolan Appointed to Highly Influential Archdiocese of New York

STRONGLY PRO-LIFE BISHOP TIMOTHY DOLAN PICKED TO LEAD NEW YORK CATHOLICS

Pope Names Archbishop Timothy Dolan as Archbishop of New York

Monsignor Timothy Dolan is next NY archbishop