{"id":996,"date":"2009-02-26T11:19:00","date_gmt":"2009-02-26T11:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2009\/02\/a-guys-guy-heads-to-new-york.html"},"modified":"2009-02-26T11:19:00","modified_gmt":"2009-02-26T11:19:00","slug":"a-guys-guy-heads-to-new-york","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/02\/a-guys-guy-heads-to-new-york.html","title":{"rendered":"“A guy’s guy” heads to New York"},"content":{"rendered":"

I missed this when it ran the other day, but this Times piece<\/a> on Archbishop Dolan zeroes in on part of his appeal — and why he just might be very good news for vocations: <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The big recruiters talk about him as if he were future Hall-of-Fame material \u2014 the kind you build organizations around. They talk about his \u201cskill set,\u201d the leadership qualities that make the young ones double their commitments.<\/p>\n

They speak of Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of Milwaukee, the gregarious, football-coach-size prelate whom the Vatican named on Monday to take the helm of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York.<\/p>\n

They hope he helps attract more men to the priesthood.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a professional extrovert, a banterer, a sports fanatic,\u201d said the Rev. Edwin H. Obermiller, director of vocations for the Congregation of Holy Cross at the University of Notre Dame. \u201cHe knows how to talk to young men.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his first foray after being introduced as New York\u2019s next archbishop at St. Patrick\u2019s Cathedral on Monday, Archbishop Dolan visited St. Joseph\u2019s Seminary in Yonkers \u2014 where three diocesan priests are to be ordained in May, compared with the 30 or 40 who graduated each year in the 1960s \u2014 and promised to make recruitment one of his top priorities.<\/p>\n

The depth and difficulty of the struggle to overcome a decades-long and nationwide priest shortage can be measured by how church officials define success.<\/p>\n

Three graduates from St. Joseph\u2019s this year is considered a disappointing number. On Monday, Cardinal Edward M. Egan referred to the lagging ordinations there as one of the chief disappointments of his nine-year tenure as New York archbishop.<\/p>\n

But at St. Francis de Sales Seminary in Milwaukee, where the rector, the Rev. Donald J. Hying, credits Bishop Dolan\u2019s \u201cradiant joy\u201d and \u201ccharismatic nature\u201d with bringing new vigor to recruitment efforts, the graduating class this year will be six.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe haven\u2019t ordained six priests since 1992,\u201d Father Hying said. He said the seminary expected to graduate \u201cfive or six each year for the next few years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recruiting young men to make the commitment to become priests is a complex process that involves guidance by priests as well as the self-explorations of the candidates, said the Rev. Luke M. Sweeney, director of vocations at St. Joseph\u2019s. An important if intangible factor is how a candidate imagines himself in the future, a priest in full \u2014 and his bishop can be an important role model.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhenever he met with them, Cardinal Egan did an excellent job of connecting with our seminarians,\u201d Father Sweeney said. But Archbishop Dolan brings \u201ca different skill set\u201d to that meeting.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach man brings to the job his own abilities, and Bishop Dolan is obviously blessed with a particular ability to reach out and inspire potential recruits,\u201d Father Sweeney said.<\/p>\n

On Monday evening, after a vespers service at St. Joseph\u2019s chapel in which Archbishop Dolan addressed the seminarians as \u201cthe future of the priesthood I love,\u201d many of them stood around gaping with what seemed a mixture of curiosity and awe as he held court in a scrum of television cameras and sound booms, answering questions from reporters.<\/p>\n

The bishop laughed a lot. He spoke glowingly of the Green Bay Packers, the Mets, the Yankees, hot dogs and jelly doughnuts. At one point he shouted over reporters\u2019 heads: \u201cHey, when\u2019s opening day at Yankee Stadium?\u201d<\/p>\n

One seminarian, standing with his chin resting on his closed hand, smiled broadly when asked by a reporter what he thought of the new guy. \u201cThey asked us not to make comments,\u201d he said, turning to walk down a hall to a dinner in honor of Cardinal Egan and his successor.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I like him.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There’s more, of course, at the link<\/a>.<\/p>\n

PHOTO:<\/span><\/b> <\/span>by Michelle V. Agins\/The New York Times<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I missed this when it ran the other day, but this Times piece on Archbishop Dolan zeroes in on part of his appeal — and why he just might be very good news for vocations: The big recruiters talk about him as if he were future Hall-of-Fame material \u2014 the kind you build organizations around.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":365,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,12,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bishops","category-ripped-from-the-headlines","category-vocations"],"yoast_head":"\n"A guy's guy" heads to New York - The Deacon's Bench<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/02\/a-guys-guy-heads-to-new-york.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""A guy's guy" heads to New York - 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