American prelate of the Catholic Church (b. 1950)
Timothy Michael Dolan (born February 6, 1950) is an American cardinal of the Catholic Church. He is the tenth and current archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York in the United States, having been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009.
Dolan served as the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) from 2010 to 2013 and was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 2012.
The "National Catholic Reporter" says that Dolan represents conservative values and has a charismatic media personality. He previously served as rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome from 1994 to 2001, as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Louis in Missouri from 2001 to 2002, and as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in Wisconsin from 2002 to 2009.
Biography.
Early life.
The eldest of five children, Timothy Dolan was born on February 6, 1950, in St. Louis, Missouri, to Robert (1925–1977) and Shirley (née Radcliffe) Dolan (1928–2022) . His father was an aircraft engineer, working as a floor supervisor at McDonnell Douglas. Timothy Dolan has two brothers, one of whom, Bob Dolan, is a former radio talk-show host, and two sisters. The family later moved to Ballwin, Missouri, where they attended Holy Infant Parish.
Dolan exhibited a strong interest in the priesthood from an early age, once saying, "I can never remember a time I didn't want to be a priest." He would also pretend to celebrate mass as a child.
Dolan entered Saint Louis Preparatory Seminary in Shrewsbury, Missouri, in 1964. He later obtained a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy degree from Cardinal Glennon College in Shrewsbury. Cardinal John Carberry then sent Dolan to reside at the Pontifical North American College in Rome while studying there. Dolan earned a Licentiate of Sacred Theology in 1976 from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.
Priesthood.
Dolan was ordained a priest at Holy Infant Church on June 19, 1976, for the Archdiocese of St. Louis by Auxiliary Bishop Edward O'Meara. After his 1976 ordination, the archdiocese assigned Dolan as an associate pastor at Curé of Ars Parish in Shrewsbury and Immacolata Parish in Richmond Heights.
In 1979, the archdiocese sent Dolan to Washington D.C. to begin his doctoral studies at the Catholic University of America under Reverend John Ellis, concentrating on the Catholic history of the United States. Dolan's doctoral thesis centered on Bishop Edwin O'Hara of Kansas City; it was eventually published as a book. Upon Dolan's return to Missouri in 1983, the archdiocese assigned him to pastoral work in parishes for the next four years. During this time, he collaborated with Archbishop John L. May in reforming the archdiocesan seminary.
In 1987, the Vatican appointed Dolan as secretary of the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington, serving as a liaison with the American dioceses. Dolan left Washington in 1992 after Archbishop John May named him as vice-rector of Kenrick-Glennon Seminary. He also served as spiritual director at the seminary and taught Catholic history. Dolan was also posted as an adjunct professor of theology at St. Louis University in St. Louis.
Rector of Pontifical North American College.
Dolan returned to Rome in 1994 after the USCCB appointed him as rector of the Pontifical North American College . During his tenure in Rome, he published "Priests for the Third Millennium", and taught at the Pontifical Gregorian University and St. Thomas Aquinas. He was granted the title of monsignor by Pope John Paul II in 1994.
Auxiliary Bishop of St. Louis.
On June 19, 2001, John Paul II appointed Dolan as an auxiliary bishop of St. Louis and titular bishop of Natchesium. He received his episcopal consecration on August 15, 2001, from Archbishop Justin Rigali, with Bishops Joseph Naumann and Michael Sheridan serving as co-consecrators. Dolan chose as his episcopal motto: "Ad quem ibimus", meaning, "Lord, to whom shall we go?" ().
Archbishop of Milwaukee.
On June 25, 2002, John Paul II appointed Dolan as the tenth archbishop of Milwaukee. He was installed at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Milwaukee on August 28, 2002. Dolan said he was challenged and haunted by the sexual abuse scandal in Milwaukee, which broke during his tenure. According to radio station WTAQ news, "An attorney says at least 8,000 kids were sexually abused by over 100 priests and other offenders in the Milwaukee Catholic Diocese."
Dolan took a special interest in priests and vocations, and the number of seminary enrollments rose during his tenure as archbishop. In an outdoor mass in September 2002, Dolan briefly wore a "cheesehead" hat during his homily in tribute to the Green Bay Packers football team. While in Milwaukee, he wrote "Called to Be Holy" (2005) and "To Whom Shall We Go? Lessons from the Apostle Peter" (2008), and co-hosted a television program with his brother called "Living Our Faith".
Apostolic Administrator of Green Bay.
On September 28, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI named Dolan as the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Green Bay. Continuing to serve as archbishop in Milwaukee, Dolan's term as administrator ended on July 9, 2008, when Benedict XVI appointed Bishop David L. Ricken as the next bishop of Green Bay.
Archbishop of New York.
Appointment as archbishop and installation.
On February 23, 2009, Dolan was appointed the tenth archbishop of New York by Benedict XVI. Dolan succeeded Cardinal Edward Egan, who had reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 for prelates in 2007.
According to Dolan, Apostolic Nuncio Pietro Sambi notified him by phone of his appointment in New York "nine, ten days" prior to the official announcement. Dolan said that when he was appointed auxiliary bishop of St. Louis and archbishop of Milwaukee, he was told on the phone that the pope (John Paul II) "would like [him] to" take the posts. In contrast, Sambi told Dolan that "the Pope (Benedict XVI) had appointed [him]" to New York, giving Dolan little choice other than to accept it.
Before Dolan's appointment as archbishop of New York, observers had repeatedly mentioned him as a possible successor to Egan. However, Dolan downplayed such speculation, saying, "Anytime there's kind of a major see that opens, what have we seen with Washington, Baltimore, Detroit, now New York, my name for some reason comes up. I'm flattered." John L. Allen Jr., Vatican correspondent for the "National Catholic Reporter", noted that Benedict XVI's appointment of Dolan followed his pattern of choosing prelates "who are basically conservative in both their politics and their theology, but also upbeat, pastoral figures given to dialogue."
In an interview with the "Associate Press" before his installation, Dolan pledged to challenge claims that the Catholic Church was unenlightened due to its opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion. Dolan said that he hoped to rebuild confidence among Catholics who were disenchanted with the church after the sexual abuse scandals; he described these scandals as "a continuing source of shame".
Dolan was installed as archbishop of New York at St. Patrick's Cathedral on April 15, 2009. He wore the pectoral cross used by his 19th-century predecessor, Archbishop John Hughes. Eleven cardinals and several New York elected officials attended the ceremony. Dolan received the pallium, a vestment worn by metropolitan bishops, from Benedict XVI on June 29, 2009, in a ceremony at St. Peter's Basilica.
Closing of schools and parishes.
Soon after his arrival in New York, Dolan oversaw two "strategic planning" processes on the utilization of archdiocesan schools and parishes. Pathways to Excellence", held between 2009 and 2013, examined the elementary schools. "Making All Things New", between 2010 and 2015, examined the parishes. Like in many other American dioceses, Dolan closed dozens of underutilized schools and parishes would close or merge with others in their neighborhoods, due to decades-long trends of shifting populations, increasing expenses, declining attendance, and decreasing clergy.
Dolan served as chair of the board of directors of Catholic Relief Services, in which capacity he visited Ethiopia and India, until his election as USCCB president. He remains a member of the Board of Trustees of The Catholic University of America.
Apostolic visitations.
Dolan was the apostolic visitor to Irish seminaries as part of the Apostolic visitation to Ireland following the 2009 publication of the Ryan and Murphy Reports on sexual abuse. Dolan was part of a team that included Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, archbishop emeritus of Westminster; Cardinal Seán Patrick O'Malley of Boston; Toronto's Archbishop Thomas Christopher Collins; and Ottawa's Archbishop Terrence Prendergast. They reported their findings to Pope Benedict XVI in 2012.
On January 5, 2011, Dolan was appointed to the newly created Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization.
In 2011, at the Vatican's request, Dolan led a visitation (investigation) of the Pontifical Irish College, the seminary for Irish seminarians and priests studying in Rome. His 2012 report was highly critical of the college. It said that "a disturbingly significant number of seminarians gave a negative assessment of the atmosphere of the house". The report said that the staff were "critical about any emphasis on Rome, tradition, the magisterium, piety or assertive orthodoxy, while the students are enthusiastic about these features". It also said: "The apostolic visitor noted, and heard from students, an 'anti-ecclesial bias' in theological formation.
Dolan's report recommended that the college make staff changes. As a result, the college reassigned three staff members back to Ireland and a fourth one resigned" The four Irish archbishops (Cardinal Seán Brady, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin; Archbishop Michael Neary; and Archbishop Dermot Clifford) responded to the report, saying that "a deep prejudice appears to have coloured the visitation and from the outset it led to the hostile tone and content of the report".
Current actions.
On December 29, 2011, Dolan was appointed a member of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications for a five-year renewable term. On April 21, 2011, he was appointed a member of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.
On January 24, 2012, Dolan went on a religious pilgrimage to Israel and the West Bank, where he met the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Fouad Twal. On November 30, 2013, Pope Francis named Dolan a member of the Congregation for Catholic Education.
On September 3, 2014, Dolan denied requests by the Diocese of Peoria to receive the remains of Archbishop Fulton Sheen, who had been entombed in St. Patrick's Cathedral since his death in 1979. The diocese sued the archdiocese, claiming that it owned the rights to remains. On November 17, 2016, Judge Arlene Bluth of the New York State Supreme Court ordered the archdiocese to transfer the remains to Peoria.
On September 13, 2014, Dolan was appointed a member of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
Dolan completed a pilgrimage to the Knock Shrine in Knock Ireland, in 2015. On May 13, 2017, he celebrated a requiem mass when John Curry, the youngest witness to the Knock apparition, was re-interred in St. Patrick's Old Cathedral cemetery in Lower Manhattan after being disinterred from an unmarked grave on Long Island. At the inauguration of US President Donald Trump on January 20, 2017, Dolan delivered the first benediction. His invocation included a recitation of King Solomon's prayer from the Book of Wisdom.
Dolan in August 2020 offered the opening prayer for the 2020 Republican National Convention. In February 2023, Dolan announced that the archdiocese was closing 12 schools that had not recovered financially from the COVID-19 pandemic.
On April 13, 2024, during a visit to Jerusalem, Dolan and his entourage were forced to take cover due to an Iranian missile attack on the city. The attack was a response to an April 1. Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria. No one in Dolan's group was injured. Dolan on October 1, 2024, announced that the archdiocese was suing its insurers, Chubb Group, for its alleged failure to pay insurance claims related to the sexual abuse scandal.
USCCB.
Within the USCCB, Dolan chairs the Priestly Life and Ministry Committee and sits on the Subcommittee on the Church in Africa. In November 2007, he lost the election for USCCB vice president, being defeated by Bishop Gerald Kicanas by a margin of 22 votes.
Dolan was elected on November 16, 2010, to the USCCB presidency, becoming the first New York prelate to hold this post. Dolan replaced Cardinal Francis George, who did not run for re-election. In a vote of 128 to 111, Dolan defeated Kicanas and eight other candidates to win the three-year term. Dolan took office two days later and served as president until November 12, 2013.
Cardinal.
Dolan was elevated to the rank of cardinal by Benedict