Timothy Cardinal Dolan won New Yorkers’ hearts from the start, with his inaugural Mass as archbishop invoking the heroes of 9/11as he vowed to fight for “the dignity of every human person, the sanctity of human life, from the tiny baby in the womb.”
He kept up that fight all these 16 years, however much nominally Catholic politicians like Govs. Andrew Cuomo and Kathy Hochul disappointed him. (Hochul, most recently, by embracing “voluntary” death-by-doctor — a blatant offense to the sanctity of human life.)
Dolan was a joyous leader of the church, sticking firmly to orthodoxy even as he welcomed gays.
He was also strong on interfaith relations: In 2015, the American Jewish Committee honored him with the Isaiah Award for Exemplary Interreligious Leadership, citing “his steadfast contribution and ongoing commitment to the relationship between our respective faiths.”
Along the way, he charmed the city with his deep humility, genial wit, open-hearted preaching and jovial faith.
In particular, he was a beacon to Gotham’s Catholics amid the pandemic and the lockdowns, when churches were shuttered: His direct and heartfelt homilies buoyed the entire archdiocese amid challenges no American ever imagined the church would face in a free country.
He won over his fellow leaders of the church as well — from winning an unprecedented upset to become president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2011 to playing a key role in the ascension of Pope Leo XIV as the first American-born pontiff just last year.
And the pope seems to have returned the favor by sending in a fellow Chicago boy to take over from Dolan: Illinois Bishop Ronald Hicks plainly hit it off with the cardinal, who of course himself originally hails from the Midwest (and has the penchant for a good brew to show it).
Dolan led the archdiocese through many ordeals, not least in facing the abuse scandals — and in making the sacrifices (including the closure of much-beloved churches and Catholic schools) to settle the endless litigation that resulted.
If we had to guess, we suspect he’s most cheered to see a tide of young people embracing active Catholic faith, a renaissance that began under Pope John Paul II and shows every sign of flowering further under Leo.
We must confess one gripe with the pontiff: By letting Dolan retire, he’s costing us the cardinal’s services as an occasional Post columnist, most recently writing to rally decency and devotion in the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination.
We look forward to seeing how good soon-to-be-Archbishop Hicks is with a pen.
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