Archbishop Dolan takes city by storm on first day

Amid pomp and centuries-old church tradition, Timothy M. Dolan was installed Wednesday as archbishop of New York - and used his first homily to deliver a powerful anti-abortion message that garnered the loudest and longest applause of the day at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Midway into his 20-minute homily, Dolan, 59, who takes over the premiere pulpit in the Roman Catholic Church in the United States, declared that the church "continues to embrace and protect the dignity of every human person, the sanctity of human life, from the tiny baby in the womb . . ."

Before he could finish, the crowd of 3,000 interrupted with a burst of vigorous applause that turned into a standing ovation. After it stopped a few minutes later, he went on to say that while the church "is a loving mother," it can also "become a protective mama bear when the life of her innocent, helpless cubs is threatened."

That provoked more applause among the assembled cardinals, bishops, priests, nuns, seminarians and lay people.

At a news conference earlier, he did not explicitly state his position on same-sex marriage, but indicated he would uphold church teachings opposing it. Gov. David A. Paterson is expected to introduce legislation Thursday that would legalize same-sex unions.

Dolan, the former archbishop of Milwaukee, seemed to take New York by storm on his first official day. Admirers lined the streets around the cathedral to catch a glimpse of the man replacing Cardinal Edward Egan, with many saying they were struck by his energy and friendliness.

"It's historic," said Phil Dinanzio, 62, of Yonkers, as he waited to get into the cathedral. "He'll be good for New York. He can bring people together."

Dolan announced earlier that he will attend opening day at Yankee Stadium Thursday and the Mets game Friday. Before heading to Citi Field in the afternoon, he will visit a food pantry in the Bronx.

At the installation, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Gov. David A. Paterson, and U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand were among dignitaries filling a front-row pew.

From the pulpit, the Vatican's representative to the United States, the Most Rev. Pietro Sambi, read a letter from Pope Benedict XVI officially naming Dolan the 13th bishop (and 10th archbishop) of New York. He follows such giants as Cardinals John O'Connor, Terence James Cooke and Francis Spellman.

Dolan appeared jolly and rosy-cheeked during the lighter parts of the momentous event, which included prayers or petitions in nearly a dozen languages. He earned some laughs, suggesting the crowd was so large because "everybody wants to take sanctuary on income tax day."

Earlier at a news conference, Dolan declared that while the church had made great strides in protecting children after the clergy sex abuse scandal, it still had more to do.

"We can take a deep breath and say thanks be to God," Dolan said. "We have made some very tough decisions. Things are beginning to work."

But, Dolan said, "I, for one, think we have to resist the temptation to say, 'Oh, good. That's behind us now.' It isn't behind us. We've got a lot of credibility to regain.

"We still have a lot of victim survivors and their families out there who are hurting big time."