Dolan: Elevation unites all New Yorkers

Cardinal Timothy Dolan reached out to all New Yorkers during a celebration Saturday that followed his elevation last week to the College of Cardinals.

"This hat's for you," Dolan told a packed St. Patrick's Cathedral in midtown Manhattan, referring to the red cardinal's hat he has worn since being elevated in the Vatican by Pope Benedict XVI.

Dolan welcomed leaders from other faiths -- including those from mosques and Greek and Russian Orthodox churches -- at a prayer service marked with humor and humility.

"This elevation was not so much for one Timothy Dolan, it's for the entire Archdiocese of New York and the entire New York community," Dolan said. (The cardinal later said he planned a special meeting Monday with Jewish religious colleagues, many of whom marked the Sabbath on Saturday.)

"This is an honor for all New York; and that's why I refused to wear those red socks," Dolan said, jabbing at Boston's baseball team.

After the roughly 30-minute service, the doors of the church opened, and Dolan walked down the center aisle, stopping to shake hands with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, all in the front row.

After the service, Dolan told reporters he would continue to challenge the federal mandate for insurers to provide birth control for people employed by faith organizations. "We won't give up on that," he said. "We still worry philosophically that nothing's been done to temper what seems to us . . . an unwarranted intrusion into the integrity of the Church."

Police blocked off streets around the cathedral, restricting access to those with tickets to the morning service.

Sister Patricia Anastasio, 62, of upstate New Windsor, said Dolan was "inspiring and uplifting," adding, "We were just so pleased at the kind words that Cardinal Dolan had for the City of New York. He's very much loved by the Catholic community and the city at large."

After the service, about two thousand people filled a ballroom at the Sheraton Hotel for an invitation-only reception where Dolan was mobbed by well-wishers snapping photos.

There, New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said Dolan "really is a man of the people, and that comes across in public meetings and in private as well."

Mike Lahey, a 32-year-old missionary living in Yonkers, was thrilled with the day's events. "For those of us who weren't able to make it to Rome, this was the next best thing," Lahey said.

An afternoon Mass took a different tone. Dolan entered after a procession of bishops passed in front of the Fifth Avenue cathedral, past crowds across the street who sang, played guitars and beat on drums.

During his homily, he spoke of the temptations of pride, power, prestige and pomp brought by his new role. He said his faith helped him fight those temptations. "It's all about God, it's not about me," Dolan said. "To him and him alone goes the honor and the glory."