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Although he is adamant there is no “Bishop of the United States of America,” Cardinal Dolan, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has achieved high honor, admiration and renowned respect among his bishop confreres across the country.
“In many ways, he is the ideal person to speak on behalf of the Church in the United States,” said Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., the USCCB vice president.
From combating assaults on religious liberty in the United States to the continual addressing of the clerical abuse scandal, promoting the New Evangelization and buoying the faithful by challenging them to practice the faith and to live out their baptismal call, the Church has had much to communicate just this past year.
Fifteen months ago, Cardinal Dolan broke precedent when he was elected president of the bishops’ conference. The 128-111 third-ballot vote cast by his brother bishops on Nov. 16, 2010, was the first time since the bishops’ conference was reorganized in 1966 after the Second Vatican Council that a vice president who sought the presidency did not win the election.
Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago, Cardinal Dolan’s predecessor as president, presided at the election and announced the result. Cardinal George believes his successor won the election “because the bishops judged him to be the best man for the job at this time.” Cardinal George said Cardinal Dolan is doing a fine job as president. “He has the bishops’ trust and support.”
Archbishop Kurtz, who was elected vice president of the USCCB on the same date, told CNY that he has “great admiration” for Cardinal Dolan.
Speaking of the USCCB president’s elevation to the College of Cardinals, he said,
“I’m just thrilled.”
Although Archbishop Kurtz acknowledged anticipating that the Archbishop of New York would become a cardinal, given New York’s central role “in the life of the Church both in the United States and, really, the world,” he surmised it was Cardinal Dolan’s “personal charisma and public presence” that helped to seal the deal.
Archbishop Kurtz rhetorically asked, “How could the Holy Father resist?” naming Archbishop Dolan a cardinal.
“He just represents things so well in courageously speaking the truth, in doing so in a joyful way, and in doing so in a way that’s compelling, that invites others to follow,” Archbishop Kurtz explained.
That, Archbishop Kurtz is convinced, is what “really won the day with our bishops.” The president himself seemed elated but definitely surprised by his election. And, with his signature candor, he humbly downplayed the win. “There were 10 candidates,” Cardinal Dolan said at the time. “The posture of the bishops, of course, is you don't really run for office, you run from it,” he added with a laugh.
“Our major focus, our major drive, is our dioceses,” he continued. “We love the conference. We respect and appreciate it. We are so immersed in our dioceses, most of us say we have our hands full at home” yet still offer to do something to help the conference when needed. “This is what service to the Church is all about.... You make yourself available.”
The vice president said Cardinal Dolan is particularly adept at cutting to the chase, albeit in a charitable, constructive way. In meetings with his brother bishops, the president has “an uncanny ability to be able to identify priorities, to summarize conversations and discussions and move things to a conclusion and a next step.”
And he is careful in recalling, and culling, the most relevant remarks and reflections voiced by the bishops. “Did I capture it, brother bishops?” Cardinal Dolan will ask within the dialogue of a meeting.
An approach that is both Christ-centered and people-centered is another asset of Cardinal Dolan’s presidency, Archbishop Kurtz said. “He desires to help people be successful. Not everybody has that instinct. I’ve seen him as always wanting the person in front of him to be successful. That has been consistent.”
In a recent interview with CNY, Cardinal Dolan was quick to credit his “proactive, phenomenal” staff of the USCCB whom, he claims, “does most of the day-in, day-out work.”
“They’ve really shown themselves, proven their mettle in the recent somber crisis with the HHS,” he said in reference to the conference’s outcry to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ contraceptive mandate and to President Barack Obama’s subsequent proposed revision to the health reform law.
On behalf of the bishops, Cardinal Dolan boldly objected to the mandate, which the USCCB regards as an unconstitutional infringement on religious liberty.
Cardinal George considers a highlight of Cardinal Dolan’s presidency his “continuing and strengthening the conference’s efforts to combat the loss of religious liberty in the United States.”
He described Cardinal Dolan’s approach to the presidency as thoughtful and energetic and cited the Cardinal’s intelligence and enthusiasm among his key leadership qualities.
“It’s a great joy to welcome Archbishop Dolan to the College of Cardinals,” Cardinal George said.
As president, Cardinal Dolan participates in a daily conference call with the conference leadership in Washington, D.C., the headquarters of the USCCB. There is also an abundance of correspondence to review each day.
Cardinal Dolan’s admiration for the USCCB team is mutual. “On behalf of all the staff of the conference, we take great pride and joy in the president being made a cardinal,” said Msgr. Ronny E. Jenkins, the USCCB’s general secretary. “It’s a special moment for all of us who admire Cardinal Dolan.”
Back to the fact that there is no “Bishop of the United States of America”: “Catholic policy is that a bishop is independent in his own diocese, subject only to the Bishop of Rome,” Cardinal Dolan told CNY before departing to the Vatican to receive his red zucchetto at the consistory.
“There is a lot of fraternal accountability, there is a lot of collaboration,” he added.
“I am very moved and inspired about how my brother bishops would often want to keep in touch with me about matters…
“Bishops naturally would call the president of the conference just to keep me apprised of the things going on his diocese, good and bad, to seek counsel or to suggest things. And you want to be available to your brother bishops.”
