Posted on 08/29/2002 6:04:13 AM PDT by NYer
In a homily that ranged from proclaiming the Gospel to poking fun at the Milwaukee Brewers, Dolan repeatedly urged the more than 900 faithful in the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist to "Be not afraid."
The elaborate installation rituals were the centerpiece of a two-day celebration in which Dolan formally took charge of the 10-county archdiocese. Dolan, 52, succeeds former Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland as leader of the area's nearly 700,000 Catholics.
The moment of succession occurred as Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, the papal nuncio, or pope's delegate to the United States, had a panel of nine priests read the pope's letter appointing Dolan as the 10th archbishop of Milwaukee.
Montalvo first read the Latin proclamation aloud in English, and the crowd later erupted in applause as Dolan was led to the cathedra, the marble bishop's chair, and received his crosier, or bishop's staff.
Among those present were Weakland, Auxiliary Bishop Richard J. Sklba, and about 350 priests, 70 bishops and eight cardinals. The large number of prelates has been attributed partly to the fact that Dolan has had frequent contact with bishops in the United States while serving in Rome as rector of the Pontifical North American College, an elite seminary for men handpicked by their bishops.
Asked after the Mass whether the larger church was trying to send some message by having a large turnout of prelates, Dolan replied, "I just attribute it as a great tribute to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. I took it as a sign of their personal support and encouragement for me.
"And I think you might be on to something. I think everybody these days is looking for an occasion of renewal and recommitment, sort of a chance for the Catholic church to get together and celebrate and look to the future, and maybe that's why so many just wanted to come and be in prayer at this time of renewal and thanksgiving."
Chicago's Cardinal Francis George, in an interview afterward, said it was common for the hierarchy to turn out for the installment of archbishops in important archdioceses such as Milwaukee.
"Also, Archbishop Dolan has served the bishops very, very well," George said. "The archbishops are very grateful to him for his good work as rector of the North American College, and he has become friends with many of them."
Although the ancient rituals at Wednesday's liturgy were important, the blend of casual humor and rock-solid conviction in Dolan's homily cemented him firmly in his new seat.
He worked his humor into the homily like flour in bread dough:
The adventure in fidelity offers two towering challenges, he told the crowd of laypeople and church leaders.
The first is to not be afraid, a message that God repeatedly gave to reassure Abraham, Moses, Jeremiah, the Virgin Mary, St. Peter and the Apostles when God called them to do great things.
Recalling his trepidation at taking over as archbishop, the Missouri native said he thought, "Oh Lord, not me. I don't know how to drive in the snow. I'm a Rams fan. I prefer Bud to Miller."
"And you," Dolan said pointedly to the laughing crowd. "You're not off the hook, either. For the Lord says to you, 'My people of my church in southeastern Wisconsin, unite in hope with your new shepherd and embark on an adventure in fidelity.'
" 'Oh no, Lord, not us,' " Dolan said, giving the people's response. " 'Haven't you heard. Haven't you watched the news and read the papers. We're in crisis. We've lost trust. We're demoralized, we're scandalized, we're cowering under the bed.' "
Dolan's version of God's response: "Be not afraid, people of God of the archdiocese of Milwaukee. I am with you always."
The second challenge, Dolan said, is to live in profound unity with Jesus by reaching out to the needy and living in holiness.
"We've heard so much in recent months about the Catholic church in crisis," Dolan said. The antidote to this crisis, as to all the others in our long history, is fidelity, a fidelity which gives rise to holiness."
Dolan, the oldest of five children, grew up in the St. Louis suburb of Ballwin, Mo. He has maintained strong ties with his mother and siblings, all but one of whom still live in the St. Louis area.
That was clear on Wednesday when he gave 10 of his nieces a highly visible role in the liturgy. Nine of them carried the bread and wine to the altar. And during his homily, he showed off another one, 3-month-old Grace Kelly Dolan, whom he had baptized in St. Louis earlier this month.
The group of gift-bearers at Wednesday's installation liturgy included Erin Dolan, 16, and her sister, Caitlin, 14, of Brookfield. Students at Catholic Memorial High School in Waukesha, they are the daughters of the archbishop's brother, Bob Dolan, co-host of the morning radio show on WISN-AM (1130), and his wife, Beth.
The new archbishop's mother, Shirley Dolan, 73, was beaming at a Tuesday night prayer vigil in the cathedral and at Wednesday's installation service. She lives in Washington, Mo. Her husband, Bob, lived long enough to see their son ordained in 1976, but died less than a year later.
"I'm numb, I think, but yet I'm just so elated," she said. "I'm just so comfortable."
Her son's greatest attributes?
"His ability to deal with people and how he cares for them, and that comes over," she said. "He is so gracious and so friendly, and he never has had an enemy, and he never will."
Dolan has moved quickly through the ranks: parish priest; assistant to Vatican ambassadors in Washington, D.C.; vice rector of a seminary; rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome; auxiliary bishop of St. Louis.
In Milwaukee, Dolan will have to re-examine the issue of clergy abuse, a subject with which the archdiocese continues to grapple. Weakland, who was archbishop in Milwaukee for 25 years, retired in May amid revelations that the archdiocese paid $450,000 in 1998 to a man who had claimed that Weakland sexually assaulted him during an adult relationship more than 20 years ago.
Some of the faithful and clergy are anxious about Dolan's more traditionalist outlook. Weakland was widely regarded as one of the most liberal U.S. bishops.
About 50 people, several with placards or banners, gathered across the street from the cathedral before the service to welcome Dolan. The group included several people who had opposed the renovation of the cathedral and the closings of parishes that took place under Weakland.
"Today is a result of all of our prayers, efforts and sacrifices over the past 15 months," said Mary Belardi of Mequon, a Catholics United for the Faith member who had served as a liaison with the canon lawyer in Rome whom opponents hired to press their cases with the Vatican. "He (Dolan) is a breath of fresh air."
God willing, this Archbishop Dolan will be the first of many to replace those "shepherds" who have led their flocks astray.
Prayers do get answered!
The egomaniacal heretic plays the role of the proverbial t*** in the punchbowl.
I'm still searching but, in the meantime, I found his
We thank You for Your constant gift of a fresh start and new beginning!
We extol You, Lord, for the vitality of the Church here, for its fidelity to Your Son’s mandate to teach, serve, and sanctify.
We seek Your grace upon the vast array of people, projects, and programs that teach Your people, serve Your people, and sanctify Your people.
We can do no better than uniting with our archdiocesan patron, St. John, in placing our heads on the shoulder of Jesus Your Son, as St. John did at that first Eucharist, and in taking Your Mother into our homes, as St. John did after Your Son entrusted her to him before He died.
Without You, Lord, we can do nothing, but with You, all things are possible.
We believe You never call us to a task without giving us sufficient grace.
Give it now, Lord, through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Excellent observation and excellent news. Anyone the media hates must be a guy we can like
Now, when is he going to renovate the cathedral back to it's former glory?
God Save America (Please)
"Also, Archbishop Dolan has served the bishops very, very well," George said. "The archbishops are very grateful to him for his good work as rector of the North American College, and he has become friends with many of them."
Great endorsement by Cardinal Francis George (formerly Archbishop of Portland, OR)!
A good time to repeat Sock's excellent post the other day. I know it's still working on me.
The primary point in my post was to turn our focus from the scandals to ourselves. To turn the desire to change Cardinal “Whoever” to the desire to change and to bring ourselves closer to Christ.Of course, we all experience the normal human emotions of outrage for the perpetrators of these crimes against children, but I don’t believe that to daily feed this rage serves any useful purpose. Certainly we, as faithful and informed Catholics, ought to be leaders in our small faith communities. We ought to inspire (and be inspired by) other faithful Catholics in areas in which we can make a difference.
Without saying too much, my personal interest is in pro life work. I am not a marcher nor do I confront women at the abortion mills. God has brought me to a different way and we actually counsel abortion-minded women in crisis pregnancy centers. My fellow volunteers are all Catholic and well informed. We don’t dwell on these abominations within the Church; we pray for the Church in our Chapel (btw: 24 hour Eucharistic adoration)
Look, I’m not trying to debate any of this. Yes we ought to stay informed, but I would just like to keep the focus on ourselves and what we can do as individuals for the Body of Christ. Our success depends not on our rhetoric, or our rage, or our daily debates. Our success depends on our interior life and personal love of God. Once we forget the real meaning of “Catholic", which in essence is the result of union with Christ, then our failure to affect any worthwhile change has begun.
If we as Catholics have not had the influence on society that our numbers should have produced, the reason is to be found in our individual lack of the interior life. Any change whether it be individual, social, or secular, within or without the Church, must begin and end in interior union with Christ.
Peace
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