Baltimore, USA - The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops elected Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York to be its president Tuesday in a surprise move that reaffirmed the conservative direction of the Roman Catholic Church in America.
The vote cements Dolan's prominence in the church's leadership. It also suggested that the bishops were seeking a powerful and reliably orthodox voice to reassert the church's teaching in the court of public opinion and to disarm critics who insisted that the bishops had lost their moral authority as a result of their role in the sexual abuse scandals
For the first time, the bishops overlooked tradition and passed over a vice president who was running for the presidency, Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson, Ariz. Kicanas represents the more liberal "social justice" tradition of the U.S. church and is known for advocating dialogue between Catholic liberals and traditionalists. Dolan is considered a moderate conservative.
Dolan said in a news conference after the vote that he would carry on the forceful opposition of his predecessor, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, to the health care overhaul because the bishops believed it would permit expanded government financing for abortion.
Dolan also suggested that he would not countenance other Catholic leaders and organizations when they take public positions that contradict the bishops. That is what happened this year when some groups representing Catholic hospitals and nuns came out in support of the health care reform bill, despite the bishops' staunch opposition.
"We're pastors and teachers," Dolan said of the bishops' role, "not just one set of teachers in the Catholic community, but the teachers."
Dolan's election consolidates the gradual shift in leadership and priorities for the bishops' conference, which from the 1970s through the 1990s issued decrees on more traditionally liberal concerns like economic inequality, workers rights, the environment and peace.
The bishops are far more focused on shaping public policy to stop abortion and prevent the legalization of marriage between same-sex couples.