CV NEWS FEED // George Weigel, the acclaimed biographer of Pope John Paul II, recently corrected the National Catholic Reporter’s (NCR) false claims about Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s ministry as a cardinal.
The first myth NCR shared, Weigel stated in an article published March 12 by First Things, was about Cardinal Dolan’s actions at the 2015 Synod.
Cardinal Dolan “joined 12 other cardinals in signing a controversial letter authored by his longtime friend and eventual vociferous papal critic, Australian Cardinal George Pell,” NCR wrote. “The letter, sent to the pope on the synod’s first day, cast suspicion over the entire gathering.”
Weigel was present at the meeting of Synod fathers, which took place on October 3, 2015. He wrote that they met to discuss concerns over procedures for the upcoming Synod, especially the lack of provisions for Synod fathers to vote on propositions. Former synods had traditionally used voting to consider the bishops’ opinions.
They were also concerned about the makeup of the committee responsible for drafting the Synod’s final document.
Weigel himself suggested that the Synod fathers write a letter to Pope Francis expressing their concerns, and he helped draft it. The Synod fathers decided that only Cardinals should sign the letter.
Cardinal Pell did not want to be the lead signatory, joking, “I’m supposed to be the bull who carries his own china shop around with him.”
Cardinal Dolan agreed to be the lead signatory instead.
“The letter was not ‘authored’ by Cardinal Pell,” Weigel wrote, “although he agreed to give it to the pope, personally and privately, on the Synod’s first full working day.”
Weigel added that the Pope granted all of the requests in the letter, and that the letter prevented groups with special interests from manipulating the outcome of the Synod.
He then addressed the second myth from NCR, in which they stated: “Further insult was added when, in 2020, Dolan took the unusual step of sending copies of a book reflecting on the next pope to all of the members of the College of Cardinals — a move viewed as brutta figura [bad form] by many on the receiving end.”
Weigel stated that Cardinal Dolan did not send out any book to the College of Cardinals. Instead, Ignatius Press sent the cardinals Weigel’s The Next Pope: The Office of Peter and a Church in Mission, which described the virtues necessary for a pope.
The book included a brief note from Cardinal Dolan, which stated, “I am grateful to Ignatius Press for making this important reflection on the future of the Church available to the College of Cardinals.”
Ignatius Press sent the book again in 2020 after new cardinals were named. The book included another cover letter from Cardinal Dolan, which included, “I am careful to note that the book is not about candidates and is not a criticism of Pope Francis.”
“The NCR story concluded with a crack about Cardinal Dolan’s influence, or alleged lack thereof, in the immediate future,” Weigel wrote. “Well. Since his translation to New York in 2009, Cardinal Dolan has been the face of the Catholic Church in the United States, a role he has played with a gracefulness and generosity of which his critics seem incapable.”
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