Now Blogging from Gotham

From high in the spires of St Patrick's Cathedral where I can only imagine that Archbishop Tim Dolan has carved a little nook out for his personal reflection time in which he types out his thoughts on, you guessed it, a new blog.

The Archbishop makes a good point today on healthcare.

The Catholic community in the United States hardly needs to be lectured to about just healthcare. We’ve been energetically into it for centuries. And we bishops have been advocating for universal healthcare for a long, long time.

All we ask is that it be just that -- universal -- meaning that it includes the helpless baby in the womb, the immigrant, and grandma in a hospice, and that it protects a healthcare provider’s right to follow his/her own conscience.

This is what the President says he wants; this is what we bishops say we want.

Indeed. Now let's see if we can all get together and make it happen.

A h/t to the good deacon.

Highlights from Archbishop Dolan's Homily

One of the things I loved about Archbishop Dolan's homily was his great sense of NY's history. He mentioned many Catholic New Yorkers and how proud he was of their contributions. Such as:

St. Isaac Joques, Venerable Felix Varela, Issac Hecker (YAY! The Paulist's founder!), Fighting Father Duffy, Fulton J. Sheen, Richard John Neuhaus, Avery Dulles, Elizabeth Ann Seton, Francis Xavier Cabrini, and Michael Judge.

Pierre Toussaint, Dorothy Day, and Governor Al Smith were also mentioned as outstanding lay Catholics.

He even went into the political realm when he mentioned "Mayor Ed Koch’s observation that the Catholic Church is the glue that keeps this city together."

Indeed. Not lost on me was the two bursts of applause--including a standing ovation--when the Archbishop mentioned the protection of the unborn in his homily. He compared the church to a "big momma bear" who will always protect her cubs. A nice image and a true one. The standing ovation that followed was interesting and had to be an uncomfortable moment for the politicians who simply sat on their hands throughout the thunderous ovation--which I thought was bad taste on their part. They could clap for the church's commitment to her principles, something to be respected even by those on the other side of the aisle.

Rocco has all the highlights of the day's events and he has excellent commentary on WNBC 4 TV yesterday along with my main man, Fr Joseph O'Hare, SJ - former President of Fordham.

Installed! Works great so far!

They hooked him up and threw the switch and indeed Archbishop Timothy Dolan does not look like he'll have to go back to the factory for repairs!

It was about as perfect an installation as one can get. Verizon Fios doesn't even do that good a job.

But don't take my word for it. Look for yourself when you have a few hours free to spend and enjoy.

Archbishop Dolan: Knock Three Times on The Cathedral If You Want Us

Archbishop Dolan - Always Leave Them Laughing

I watched the Solemn Vespers service last night, my favorite part being the expression on the new Archbishop's face when he knocked on the door with a hammer. He looked as if to say, "If anyone else did this the cops would have them arrested." He seems to be having fun in these early days.

My friend Dave added this comment on my facebook wall yesterday:

Sadly, sitting in a chair isn't much of a spectator sport, nor is gazing at a papal autograph from 300 feet away... perhaps if they made it more interesting - blindfolded him and turned him around a few times first, with the congregation calling out "hot" or "cold"... or if he had to choose the right chair from among several ones (a la indiana & the grail...).

Hysterical. Even more hysterical was when Archbishop Dolan who is always is self-deprecating about his weight said: "Thanks for opening the doors wide enough for me to get in."

Looking back in history, I remember John Cardinal O'Connor's installation mass well. I was in 8th grade and we got the day off from school. Later in the year I attended his first youth mass (Surprisingly, our teacher asked if anyone wanted to go and only 3 hands went up! Mine being one of them--hey it was an afternoon away from class and we got to go to the Cathedral).

What I remember most about O'C's installation were his words at the end of mass. He simply looked out at the congregation after the final blessing with outstretched arms and said:

"For better or for worse...this is what ya got!"

Perhaps NY's new top prelate will have a new one-liner today?

You can hear all the action on Sirius XM today. Get a temporary account on Sirius.com

Photo Credit: NY Daily News

It's Dolan: We told you so

As previously reported here with many hat tips to Rocco Palmo, there's no time like today to blog as Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of Edward Cardinal Egan of New York and has appointed Archbishop Timothy Dolan the new head of the huge Archdiocese of New York.

Archbishop Dolan is a fine choice to head up Gotham's Chancery. He's by all means a moderate, a voice of reason, a practical and pastoral man who will bring a much-needed public face and good humor back to St Patrick's Cathedral.

Set your calendars for April 15th, as Archbishop Dolan will be installed at St Patrick's Cathedral then. I always find it funny that they say "installed." It's like we just bought a toaster and we're going to plug it in and make sure it works. The only difference is if we don't like this model we can't exchange it for another one!

I've had limited experience with the new Archbishop. Some members of my wife's family live in Milwaukee, so I've had a chance to be there often. During his time in Milwaukee Archbishop Dolan replaced the fairly liberal Archbishop Rembert Weakland . Weakland had been mired by a scandal in which he paid off a man with Archdiocesan funds who alleged that he had an affair with him. So Archbishop Dolan had quite a few fences to mend and he did so fairly quickly and he'd be the first to say, with the help of a great lay staff.

"He appreciates the laity," say sources in Milwaukee. "He knows he needs good lay people with a good sense for business around him so that he can administrate the diocese well."

I would also say that the new Archbishop Dolan will quickly become a media favorite. He's great with a one-liner and friendly and answers questions thoughtfully.

Prayers today for both the new Archbishop Dolan and for Cardinal Egan who will be moving on after cleaning up quite a financial mess in the NY Archdiocese.