Timothy M. Dolan

Timothy Michael Dolan (born February 6, 1950) is an American cardinal of the Catholic Church.

The eldest of five children, Timothy Dolan was born on February 6, 1950, in St. Louis, Missouri, to Robert (1925–1977) and Shirley (née Radcliffe) Dolan (1928–2022).

His father was an aircraft engineer, working as a floor supervisor at McDonnell Douglas.

He has two brothers, one of whom, Bob, is a former radio talk-show host, and two sisters.

The family later moved to Ballwin, Missouri, where they attended Holy Infant Roman Catholic Parish.

Dolan exhibited a strong interest in the Roman Catholic priesthood from an early age, once saying, "I can never remember a time I didn't want to be a priest."

He would also pretend to celebrate mass as a child.

Dolan entered Saint Louis Preparatory Seminary in Shrewsbury, Missouri, in 1964.

He later obtained a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Cardinal Glennon College in Shrewsbury, Missouri.

He was sent by Cardinal John Carberry to attend the Pontifical North American College in Rome.

Dolan earned the degree of Licentiate of Sacred Theology in 1976 from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas.

Dolan was ordained a priest on June 19, 1976, for the Archdiocese of St. Louis by Auxiliary Bishop Edward O'Meara.

Dolan then served as an associate pastor at Curé of Ars in Shrewsbury and Immacolata Roman Catholic Parish in Richmond Heights until 1979.

From there he began his doctoral studies at The Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. under Reverend John Ellis, with a concentration on the history of the church in America.

Dolan's thesis centered on Bishop Edwin O'Hara of Kansas City, and was eventually published in book form.

Upon Dolan's return to Missouri, he performed pastoral work from 1983 to 1987.

During this time he collaborated with Archbishop John L. May in reforming the archdiocesan seminary.

Dolan was then named secretary of the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington, D.C., serving as a liaison between American dioceses and the nunciature.

In 1992, he was appointed vice-rector of Kenrick-Glennon Seminary, where he also served as spiritual director and taught Church history.

He was also an adjunct professor of theology at St. Louis University in St. Louis.

He previously served as rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome from 1994 to 2001, an auxiliary bishop of St. Louis from 2001 to 2002, and archbishop of Milwaukee from 2002 to 2009.

From 1994 until June 2001, Dolan held the office of rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome.

During his tenure he published Priests for the Third Millennium, and taught at the Pontifical Gregorian University and the Angelicum.

He also was granted the title of Monsignor by Pope John Paul II in 1994.

On June 19, 2001, Dolan was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Louis and Titular Bishop of Natchesium by Pope John Paul II.

He received his episcopal consecration on August 15, 2001, from Archbishop Justin Rigali, with Bishop Joseph Naumann and Michael Sheridan serving as co-consecrators.

Dolan chose as his episcopal motto: Ad Quem Ibimus, meaning, "Lord, To Whom Shall We Go?"

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On June 25, 2002, Dolan was named the tenth Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.

He was installed at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Milwaukee on August 28, 2002.

Dolan said he was challenged and haunted by the sexual abuse scandal in that diocese, which broke during his tenure.

According to WTAQ news, "An attorney says at least 8,000 kids were sexually abused by over 100 priests and other offenders in the Milwaukee Catholic Diocese."

Dolan took a special interest in priests and vocations, and the number of seminary enrollments rose during his tenure.

In an outdoor mass in September 2002, Dolan briefly wore a "cheesehead" hat in tribute to the Green Bay Packers during his homily.

He also wrote Called to Be Holy (2005) and ''To Whom Shall We Go?

Lessons from the Apostle Peter (2008), and co-hosted a television program with his brother called Living Our Faith''.

He is the tenth and current archbishop of New York, having been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009.

Dolan served as the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops from 2010 to 2013 and was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 2012.

The National Catholic Reporter says that Dolan represents conservative values and has a charismatic media personality.

In June 2012 it was revealed that Dolan "authorized payments of as much as $20,000 to sexually abusive priests as an incentive for them to agree to dismissal from the priesthood when he was the archbishop of Milwaukee" and that "the archdiocese did make such payments..., thereby allowing the church to remove them from the payroll."