Cardinal Timothy Dolan 'tried to bring all the races together'

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who was replaced Thursday as head of New York's archdiocese, one of the most consequential appointments in the Roman Catholic Church nationwide, was celebrated Wednesday for his oratory skills and ability to unite the city through protests, pandemics and political unrest.

Pope Leo XIV has chosen Bishop Ronald Hicks, 58, of the Diocese of Joliet, Illinois — near the pontiff's hometown on the south side of Chicago — to be the next archbishop of New York.

Dolan, who has led the second-largest U.S. archdiocese by population — with 2.5 million Catholics — since 2009, submitted his resignation in February after hitting the church's mandatory retirement age of 75.

'He did the right thing'

Manny Agostini, of Howard Beach, Queens, said Dolan has been a unifier in a diverse city.

"He tried to bring all the races together," Agostini said outside St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan on Wednesday. "It's a tough job, because you can't make everybody happy."

Michael Campbell, of Marine Park, Brooklyn, stopped by the cathedral to say a prayer after receiving treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

"I think he did the right thing," Campbell said of Dolan. "He had a lot of ups and downs, but he held his ground, and through all the politics and the [protests] and the pandemic, he stood strong in his beliefs, and he really did well."

Messages left with the New York archdiocese, the Diocese of Joliet and the Vatican were not returned.

Former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, who co-hosted a radio program with the cardinal, posted on X about the expected move earlier this week.

Dolan, who was elevated from archbishop to cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012, came to New York from Milwaukee, where he earned a reputation as a skilled and charismatic orator.

During his time in New York, Dolan become a frequent presence in media, including by hosting a talk show on SiriusXM's Catholic Channel; standing alongside political leaders of all stripes; and communicating directly with New Yorkers on the streets of the Big Apple.

Sheila Maguire, of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, said Dolan's ability to communicate was one of his core strengths.

"He's very well liked," Maguire said. "Good personality. Very warm. He had a really good relationship with the media. ... I think he was very approachable."

Potential shift of direction

Experts said the selection of Hicks for one of the most critical archdiocese posts in the country could provide insight into the direction Leo will take the church in the United States.

Richard Koubek, who was a public policy administrator for Catholic Charities of Long Island, said Hicks is a protégé of Cardinal Blase Cupich, an outspoken progressive who was close to Pope Francis and who has served as Archbishop of Chicago since 2014.

"That might be Leo shifting the direction of the New York archdiocese while sending a signal to the more conservative American bishops," said Koubek, who now coordinates faith-based justice advocacy for Long Island Jobs with Justice. 

The Joliet diocese serves around 520,000 Catholics in 117 parishes. 

Koubek described Dolan as difficult to categorize — an outspoken defender of immigrants but seemingly close to President Donald Trump, most recently giving the invocation at his January inauguration and serving on his religious advisory board.

"Is this Pope Leo also sending a signal to the Trump administration, many of whose policies he openly disagrees with?" Koubek asked.

The Rev. Frank Pizzarelli, founder of Hope House Ministries in Port Jefferson, said the selection of Hicks would be an "extraordinary choice" by Leo.

"He's committed to the marginal, the vulnerable, committed to social justice," Pizzarelli said.

The changing of the guard would come as New York's archdiocese seeks to raise $300 million to settle more than 1,300 clergy sexual abuse claims, in part by selling real estate assets, cutting its operating budget and enacting layoffs.

Jason Amala, a partner at PCVA, a law firm representing more than 75 survivors with sexual abuse claims against the New York archdiocese, said Dolan's exit would "not stop our pursuit of answers and requests to depose him, nor will we allow a game of diocesan musical chairs to stand in the way of justice for survivors. True accountability requires disclosure, cooperation and justice, not a quiet exit and attempts to pass the buck to the next cardinal."

Thomas and Nancy Figel, Catholics visiting the city from Evanston, Illinois, said Dolan seemed to relish in the ceremony and social cachet that comes with being the cardinal of a major American city.

Nancy Figel added that she thought Dolan's politics aligned too closely with Trump.

"To me, [Dolan] reminds me of a 1940s singer, like Frank Sinatra, with his big mic and 'look at me.' He's a showman," she said. "And to me, that's too much."

In May, Leo, born Robert Prevost, a graduate of Villanova University, became the first American pontiff in the church’s 2,000-year history, following the death of Pope Francis. 

Newsday's Bart Jones contributed to this report.