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Knock, Knock <i>Who's There?</i> Archbishop Dolan
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 15, 2009
Modified Apr 15, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 15, 2009
Modified Apr 15, 2009
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Archbishop Timothy Dolan marked his beginning as the new leader of the New York Archdiocese—and about 2.5 million Roman Catholics in the area—with the ritual of knocking on the doors of St. Patrick's Cathedral. The Post described the scene, "Using a blue hammer, Dolan pounded on the bronze doors six times, asking to be accepted as New York's new archbishop. Then he paused and knocked another three times just to be sure he was heard. A roar of laughter erupted in the church. The doors swung open and the 59-year-old Dolan walked in to an explosion of applause."
The Post explains that Dolan was actually supposed to give three sets of three knocks (the Holy Trinity tripled!), which makes sense in what the NY Times called "ceremonies marked by solemn Christian ritual and the stagecraft of the grand entrance." Dolan told those gathered about his inner thoughts when he was asked to lead New York's Catholic community, "Go away, Lord! I’m not your man. My Spanish is lousy and my English not much better. I’m still angry at New York for taking Favre and Sabathia from us in Wisconsin. The Yankees and Mets over the Cardinals and Brewers? Forget it!" The Times adds that Dolan "passingly" referred to the Catholic church's sex abuse scandal among the problems facing the church (other problems include "threats to marriage and family, to the unborn baby and fragile human life at all stages," and few priests).
Dolan will be formally installed today in a service starting at 1:30 p.m. It will be carried on the local news stations as well as their websites (WCBS 2, WABC 7, WNBC 4, MYFoxNY 5) as well as the Archdiocese's website. Dolan also has a column in today's Daily News, essentially introducing himself to the city, "I aim to be a happy bishop, sharing joys and laughs with you. So you will see me at the St. Patrick's parade, and at the new Yankee Stadium, and at processions and feast days and barbecues across our almost 400 parishes...I fully intend to love being archbishop of New York while loving all of you in the Church in New York."
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archbishop dolan
Catholic Church
New York Archdiocese
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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