New York Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan was elected president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops this morning, over the expected front-runner, a bishop considered more liberal. Dolan, an ardent anti-gay conservative, was appointed to head the New York Archdiocese just last year. The day before he began his new post last April, Dolan came out swinging, ready to fight against marriage equality, saying, “You can bet I will be active and present and, I hope, articulate in this position.†Dolan has referred to gay marriage as a “detriment to civilization.†He has also said he will challenge any suggestion that Catholics are unenlightened because they oppose gay marriage.
Calling it “surprising,” the New York Times reports, “The bishops also signaled that their conference will move in a decidedly conservative direction in their choice of a vice president. They elected Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, who is chairman of the bishops committee on marriage and an outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage. The runner-up for vice president was Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver, also a strong theological and political conservative.
“The Rev. Thomas J. Reese, a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Seminary at Georgetown University and a liberal Catholic commentator, said, “The two vice presidential finalists were the two most conservative on the ballot. That says something about where this conference is going.â€