In the Catholic Church, retirement doesn’t always signal scandal or retreat; sometimes it marks obedience. Cardinal Timothy Dolan reached the customary retirement age of 75 earlier this year and submitted his resignation as church law requires. Reports indicate that Pope Leo XIV is expected to accept that resignation in the coming days, closing a long chapter of public service that stretched from Milwaukee to New York.
Age, health considerations, and church custom appear to drive the timing, not disgrace or doctrinal failure.
Dolan’s career placed him in some of the most challenging moments the American Catholic Church has faced. He’s led dioceses during years of declining attendance, cultural hostility, and painful reckonings tied to clergy abuse, and Catholic media points toward routine retirement rather than forced removal or hidden wrongdoing. There have been no credible reports that suggested egregious error on his part.
Long before national headlines, Dolan earned a reputation in Wisconsin as a man who showed up and stayed. I saw that firsthand years ago while serving as a Knight of Columbus Fourth Degree honor guard in Neillsville, during the funeral of a parish priest, bringing honor guards from across the state.
In quiet conversation among ourselves, men who had served with Dolan shared the same sentiment. One Milwaukee Fourth Degree summed it up simply: “He’s one of the good ones.”
They spoke about how Dolan refused to slip quietly out of the church doors, stopping to talk with parishioners: He listened, lingered, and one guard laughed as he described how the entire honor guard would wait patiently while Dolan worked his way down the aisle, shaking hands, asking questions, and making people feel seen. Eventually, they learned to gently shepherd him out, not because he wanted to leave but because he cared too much to rush past anyone.
Dolan met that reputation during my own brief encounter. While standing guard near a casket in an informal moment, Archbishop Dolan stopped and spoke with me for several minutes. I can’t recall the exact words he expressed, but I distinctly remember the manner: Calm, direct, and present. He said as though time mattered less than the person in front of him. Leaders reveal character in unscripted moments.
There were two encounters that I hold dear to my heart: Cardinals Timothy Dolan and Raymond Burke (Burke was in the same class as one of my aunts, plus his mother and my grandmother were best friends!)
Those moments have been among the most important moments of my life.
You can learn a great deal about someone by listening to people who orbit close without obligation. The Fourth Degree honor guards from Milwaukee spoke of Archbishop Dolan with admiration, not flattery, respecting his no-nonsense approach and practical faith. They trusted him, which simply doesn’t appear by accident, especially among men who value discipline and service.
Dolan carried that same presence into national life. As Archbishop of New York, he became one of the most recognizable Catholic voices in America. He spoke plainly, defending church teaching without sneer or apology, using humor when others reached for anger. Even his critics often acknowledge his authenticity.
Retirement won’t erase the weight of his years in service; it simply marks a transition. The church moves slowly by design: Bishops and Cardinals come and go, and what lingers are impressions left on ordinary people. In parishes, funeral lines, and quiet conversations, Dolan earned respect the hard way: He listened, showed up, and stayed longer than planned.
If Pope Leo accepts Dolan’s resignation as expected, Cardinal Dolan will leave office with something rarer than applause: affection grounded in memory. For a shepherd, that may be the highest measure of success.
I pray that Cardinal Dolan finds the peace he’s earned.
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