Archbishop Dolan Appointed
June 30, 2002

Timothy Michael Dolan, Archbishop of Milwaukee. Someone called me with the news early Tuesday morning. I had heard his name mentioned by a friend of mine who works for his neighboring diocese of Belle-ville, which is across the Mississippi from St. Louis. Sister told me that she thought he was the man for Milwaukee. And so he is. I have already read the opinions of persons on all sides of the spectrum of thought in the Church. Much of what I have read is to be expected, depending on where the writer is coming from.

But, how can we best prepare to welcome our new Archbishop? What can each one of us do? I offer three answers.

Whenever someone new comes on the scene, whenever there is change in leadership, anxiety is present. It is like my feelings the other day as I was taking the practical test for an instrument rating as a pilot. I was nervous about how I would do. It got so bad that my mouth seemed filled with cotton as I spoke on the radio with the tower. It all went fine and I have the new rating. I had prepared but that did not take away the anxiety. The same is true when there is a change of leadership. Anxiety is normal. I am sure that parishioners felt the same about the change from Father Hornacek to me seven years ago.

It is important to realize that there is anxiety on both sides involved! Imagine how Archbishop-elect Dolan feels about coming here! I’ll bet that he has a few butterflies whirling around in his stomach. The only way to deal with the anxiety is to face the reality of whatever is happening and move forward. This is my first reflection in answer to my questions above. Give the new Archbishop time to know us and us to know him. And don’t be swayed by the pundits in the media. The talking heads have proven themselves so inaccurate in the past (see last week’s bulletin) that I wouldn’t trust too much of what I would read about the Archbishop. Be not anxious, the Lord is in charge!

The second answer has to do with obedience. This might be more apropos to me as a priest since I promised obedience to Archbishop Cousins, who ordained me, and to his successors. I worked hard under both Archbishop Cousins and Archbishop Weakland. Both were fine leaders, each with specific gifts for the time during which they led the Church in Milwaukee. I did not always agree with the decisions they made, but I was obedient in carrying out their decisions. A few years ago, some Americans made a point to Pope John Paul II that he was the “Vicar of Christ on earth.” He pointed out to them that he was not the only Vicar of Christ on earth; the other was the bishop of their local communities. Obedience to the legitimate directions of the new Archbishop is the second way to welcome our new Archbishop.

The third answer to my questions above is the one that I think is the most important. Prayer for the Archbishop is what he needs most now. I suspect person after person will strive to gain his ear and tell him how the Archdiocese ought to be run. We all have ideas about how things could be done differently. Based on our experiences, we all have agendas. I remember speaking with someone a while back who went on and on about the “terrible nuns” and the pastor who embarrassed her in front of others. She wanted to change all kinds of things. I told her that in my experience I never encountered a sister who hurt me or a pastor who embarrassed me. Our experiences shaped us differently. Prayer for our new archbishop will be very important so that he can find his way through all that will be presented to him, especially by those who disagreed with the former Archbishop.

Here is some biographical information about Archbishop Dolan in the event you have not seen it elsewhere. It appeared on our archdiocesan web site.

Born February 6, 1950, Bishop Dolan is the first child of Shirley Radcliffe Dolan and the late Robert Dolan. Bishop Dolan has two sisters and two brothers. One of his brothers is Milwaukee morning radio talk-show host Bob Dolan.

Ordained on June 19, 1976, Bishop Dolan served as associate pastor at Immaculata parish in Richmond Heights, Mo., until 1979 when he began studies for a doctorate in American Church History at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. After completing his studies Bishop Dolan returned to St. Louis and served as associate pastor at two other parishes, while also working as a liaison for the late Archbishop John L. May in the restructuring of the college and theology programs of the St. Louis archdiocesan seminary system.
In 1987, Bishop Dolan began a five-year term of service as Secretary to the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington, D.C. In 1994, Bishop Dolan was appointed Rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome, where he served until June 2001.

On June 19, 2001, the 25th anniversary of his ordination, Pope John Paul named him Auxiliary Bishop of St. Louis.

Bishop Dolan’s Episcopal motto is the profession of faith of St. Peter: Ad Quem Ibimus — Lord, to whom shall we go? (John 6:68)

My first reaction to hearing about the new archbishop was relief that we have a new archbishop. I had heard stories about sees being vacant for 18 months. No local official leadership is bad for a Church. Now we have an Archbishop. May his time among us be long and fruitful, lived in the power of the Holy Spirit and in union with the Church throughout the world.

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