Pope Francis on Friday named San Diego Auxiliary Bishop John Dolan to lead the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix, Arizona.
Bishop Dolan, 60, succeeds Bishop Thomas Olmsted, whose resignation was accepted on June 10, after turning 75, the usual age of retirement for bishops.
Phoenix is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. and the diocese serves 1.2 million Catholics.
Bishop Dolan, a strong Spanish-speaker, has been an auxiliary bishop in San Diego, a diocese of almost 1.4 million Catholics, since 2017, serving under Cardinal-designate Robert McElroy.
Bishop Dolan grew up in the Clairemont neighborhood of San Diego as one of nine children. He was ordained a priest of the diocese in 1989. He was a parish priest for 27 years before he was appointed as auxiliary bishop.
He has served as vicar general and moderator of the curia. As vicar for clergy, he also assisted Bishop McElroy in the assignment of priests in San Diego’s 98 parishes.
After his appointment as an auxiliary bishop in 2017, Bishop Dolan was hailed as an “LGBT-positive priest” by New Ways Ministry, a Catholic LGBT outreach group without approval or recognition from the Catholic Church.
Bishop Dolan was the pastor of St. John the Evangelist parish in the Hillcrest neighborhood, which, according to New Ways Ministry, is “where many of San Diego’s LGBT residents live.”
Bishop Dolan described his time at the parish as “an eye-opening experience, but also a joyful experience.”
Bishop Dolan is a very nice person and a solid priest. He has suffered because of the ravages of suicide within his family and has been an outspoken advocate for mental health. I now find myself bewildered by his slide into the libertine ideology of his fellow bishop, McElroy. I think the latter has had an enormous influence on Dolan’s psyche. Here’s hoping his assignment to Phoenix will help distance him from those negative influences.
Gay friendly? Go away. You don’t belong in the Church. Especially not if you’re a bishop.
Silent Observer,
Could it be that Bishop Dolan was a solid priest who decided to “play the game” because this was necessary to survive under McElroy or to advance his own career. If either of these is true, there’s a possibility that he may revert once he’s out on his own, especially if the political winds change.
Very much so. I hope he can break loose the fetters of his “mentor” in San Diego. I also hope that this San Diego bishop gets the transfer he desires so that the rest of the priests of the Diocese can breathe their sighs of relief.
Just like Saint Thomas Becket. Sure.
Bishop Dolan is well-known as an LGBT supporter. By contrast, retiring Phoenix Bishop Olmsted is not, he is very dedicated to Catholic teaching. Bishop Dolan says he likes to “dialog”‘with people, not “draw a line in the sand.”
Hopefully he will exhibit “Souter Syndrome” but in the opposite direction…..
Several years back I sent an invitation to all of the priests in the diocese of San Diego to host a visitation of the Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima. I received no more than five responses. At the time, Bishop Dolan was the pastor of St. Rose of Lima, and he was one of the first priests to respond to my letter. That gesture spoke volumes to me. During the time in which he served at St. Rose of Lima where I attended Mass frequently, I never got the impression that he was any thing other than a faithful priest. Please, let us observe carefully and give him the benefit of the doubt that he will remain a faithful shepherd. Above anything else, let us pray for our priests and bishops that they might strictly adhere to the teachings of the Church and strictly and courageously enforce and defend those teachings.
What will he do to TLMs in Phoenix?
Hopefully he will be faithful to the Roman Pontiff
I feel for those in the Diocese of Phoenix. Bishop Olmsted was/is an excellent Bishop and to replace him with Bishop Dolan will be a catastrophe for the laity; especially if they are orthodox Catholics.
Have you given any sons to the priesthood?
“Have you given any sons to the priesthood?” Oh please, what a silly non-sequitur. Are you sure she is married? And even if Denise is married, does she have sons? And even if she did, are they of seminary age? And even if they are, is a vocation to the priesthood a sign of Catholic orthodoxy?
So what is an orthodox Catholic? Who is qualified to make that call?
I assume you mean those that attend mass on a regular basis ( the new version of course), live good lives, etc.
Or, do you have a different set of criteria?
Denise, I sympathize. For many long years, Bishop Olmsted worked so hard, to build a Diocese of orthodox, faithful Catholics, with good priests and good churches, as well as many good Catholic programs. Hopefully, this will all continue.
It’s like this: conservative bishops wait years before doing anything if anything. Liberal bishops make changes right away. That’s why liberals always win.
Seems to me the pessimism that lurks in these comments is not of God. It belies a lack of faith.
Your Fellow Catholic,
Do you still condone homosexuality?
Gay sex isn’t of God.
“Seems to me the pessimism that lurks in these comments is not of God. It belies a lack of faith.” YFC, I know nothing of Bishop Dolan but others here seem to know, among other things, that he is well-known as an LGBT supporter, which of course is most pleasing to you. But what pleases you may not please those who think differently from you on homosexuality. Besides misusing the word “belies,” you are confusing faith with simple observation. If Bishop Dolan has an observable track record on LGBT issues, it is no lack of faith to point this out. And it is not wrong to compare Bishop Dolan on this issue with Bishop Olmsted. However, it is always right to pray for the new Ordinary of Phoenix.
Denise, I sympathize. For many long years, Bishop Olmsted worked so hard, to build a Diocese of orthodox, faithful Catholics, with good priests and good churches, as well as many good Catholic programs. Hopefully, this will all continue.