Archbishop Timothy Dolan.. On a Roll!

Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, mentioned just yesterday as one of those chosen to go to Ireland as for the apostolic visitation, has been elected as President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He won with 54% (128 votes) of the vote in the third round of voting, as opposed to Bishop Gerald Kicanas- vice president of the USCCB from 2007-2010- who got 46% of the votes (111 votes). Many people were surprised by the fact that Archbishop Dolan's name was missing from the list of newly elevated cardinals named by Pope Benedict XVI. I was not (there is already one cardinal for the Archdiocese of New York- pure math says that it wasn't likely), but I would be surprised if Archbishop Dolan isn't named as a cardinal within the next 3-5 years (by that time, Archbishop emeritus Edward Cardinal Egan- located in New York- will be over the voting age of 80).



But that's not the only news that affects the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Yesterday, Pope Benedict XVI gave a speech to visiting bishops from Brazil- and he turned it into a lesson (here is a news article on the subject). A bishops conference is set up in order to "share the fatigue of their labors", but it does not replace the role of the bishop within his diocese. "The counselors and structures of the episcopal conference exist to serve the bishops, not to replace them," stated Pope Benedict. Many have criticized the bishops conferences around the world of exerting too much influence over bishops, and thereby limiting the bishop's authority and role. It will be interesting to see if Archbishop Dolan takes Pope Benedict XVI's message to heart, and where this conservative, strong, and Christ-loving bishop will lead the USCCB.