N.Y. Archbishop Timothy Dolan Hopes To Follow In Footsteps of Archbishop Sheen and Cardinal O’Connor

Irondale, AL (EWTN) – In an exclusive interview on “The World Over Live,” New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan told EWTN Host Raymond Arroyo that he hopes to communicate with New Yorkers and the world much like his predecessors, Archbishop Fulton Sheen and Cardinal John O’Connor.

Arroyo noted that Cardinal O’Connor treated every homily at St. Patrick’s Cathedral as a state of the national address, commenting on the practical things with which people are wrestling. Archbishop Dolan acknowledged that fact as well the decision of his immediate predecessor, Cardinal Edward Egan, to concentrate his “indefatigable” energies on the parishes.

While Archbishop Dolan will visit the parishes in his archdiocese on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, he will celebrate the 10:15 a.m. Mass on Sundays at St. Patrick’s Cathedral as well as daily Mass at 7:30 a.m., which will be carried on radio and television.

“I have chosen to go back to the Cardinal O’Connor way,” Archbishop Dolan said. “I’m not doing that to make this a bully pulpit or to attract attention…but I do think it’s probably a valued part of being the Archbishop of New York – that you would recognize, realistically, that you do have a good pulpit and people are going to listen to what you say. We’re not ashamed of the Gospel, we’re never ashamed of the teachings of the Church, and any way you can get that out, bring it on!”

Archbishop Dolan, who was born in 1950, said he had the opportunity to meet Archbishop Sheen several times, but he really became interested in him while doing graduate work on the history of the Church in the U.S.

“My professor, John Tracy Ellis, used to say: ‘There’s never been anybody who’s been able to communicate the timeless truths of the Catholic religion to a very timely culture, namely the United States, like Fulton Sheen – without diluting any of the essentials of our Catholic Faith. He was able to present it in an eminently attractive way and that has always inspired me.

“I would never pretend to be like him. …I would never pretend to have his culture and bearing, but I would have to say that he’s an inspiration to me… to bring the immutable truths of the Catholic Faith to a very changing culture and society.”

To view the entire interview, please go to http://www.ewtn.com/audiovideo/index.asp and scroll down to “The World Over” under either “Archived Video” or “Archived Audio.”

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