New York's Next Archbishop

From AP:

Monsignor Timothy Dolan is next NY archbishop

NEW YORK (AP) — Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, a defender of Roman Catholic orthodoxy who led an elite seminary for U.S. priests and became known for his energy, wit and warmth, was named archbishop of New York on Monday.

Dolan was sent to Milwaukee to clean up the mess created by his predecessor, Archibishop Weakland, a post-Vatican II reformer-type (he spent millions vandalizing the venerable Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist), who resigned after confessing to an "inappropriate relationship" with some fella (at least it was a grownup). By most accounts Dolan did a good job and his theology is sound.

I find this encouraging about the new archbishop:

Dolan is an outspoken opponent of abortion, comparing the moral urgency of the issue to ending slavery. The American Life League, an anti-abortion group that has pressured Catholic bishops to speak out more forcefully on the issue, called Dolan "one of our pro-life heroes."

I find this less encouraging:

However, he does not deny Holy Communion to Catholic lawmakers who support abortion rights, nor does he single them out publicly. He thinks each parishioner should decide whether he or she should receive the sacrament. Every other year or so, he has invited Catholic city and state officeholders for a daylong session on church teaching and public life.

I imagine many will find this policy of the archbishop's objectionable but I don't:

In 2004, he joined the minority of U.S. bishops who publicly released the names of local diocesan priests who had been credibly accused of molesting children. The archdiocese posts the names on its Web site and updates the list when needed.

"Anything we can do to keep children safe, we must do," Dolan said when he revealed the names. "Anything we can do to help people who have been victimized come forward, we must do."

Amen. Amen. If there is a cancer in the body, you must cut it out.