Roundup: Archbishop Dolan reflects on Milwaukee tenure; paper praises Dolan, Cardinal Egan

February 25, 2009

In two strongly positive editorials, the New York Daily News-- the nation’s fifth most popular newspaper-- praised New York Cardinal Egan for putting the Archdiocese of New York on a firm financial footing and welcomed Archbishop Timothy Dolan as his successor. Reflecting upon his tenure as Archbishop of Milwaukee, Archbishop Dolan emphasized the importance of honesty and simply being with people. “They don't say we remember this homily. They say, ‘Remember when we sat together at a fish fry? Or when you came to grandma's wake? Or visited my kid at children's hospital? … You can never go wrong being honest with people -- even when it's bad news. As you know, we've had more than our share of bad news financially, sex abuse stuff. And the people say it hurts us when we hear it, but we sure prefer to hear it from you.” Archbishop Dolan added that he did not seek the position. “I didn't ask for it. By the way, I don't think I’m the best candidate. I hope you know all my flaws … So I’ll go and I find that very freeing or liberating. And that'll be liberating the rest of my life because when I make tons of mistakes, as I’m sure I will, I’m going to say, ‘I didn't ask for this,’" he said. Al Szews, a retired Marquette professor and president of the Milwaukee chapter of Catholics United for the Faith, told the Lower Hudson Valley Journal News, "New York's gain is our loss. He will not only be your bishop, he'll be your priest. He inherited a bad situation here, but he is a holy priest, down to earth … He is realistic, but Reagan-like as far as being upbeat. He truly believes that Jesus Christ is in charge and he is merely an instrument.”

 

---

For all current news, visit our News home page.

---

 
Further information:

• Editorial: A warm welcome: Archbishop Timothy Dolan makes a winning debut as the new shepherd of NY's Catholics (New York Daily News)
• Editorial: Fond farewell: Edward Cardinal Egan leaves the Archdiocese of New York in much-improved condition (New York Daily News)
• Archbishop Dolan Reminisces Over Time In Milwaukee (WISN-TV)
• Editorial: Listen to the faithful (El Diario)
• Dolan's Brother: New Role in NYC " Momentous" (MSNBC)
• A Guy’s Guy: Dolan’s Personality May Help Archdiocese Recruit More Priests (New York Times)
• Dolan has always had embracing persona (The Journal News)