September 2012
My affection and appreciation for our jubilarian goes farther back than his appointment as Bishop of Rochester.
He was my spiritual director in Rome while I was a seminarian at the North American College. There and then I came to admire his wisdom and sincerity. I even witnessed his perseverance as he quit smoking!
When I was nominated Archbishop of New York a little over three years ago, one of the features of my new mandate I very much looked forward to was working closely with my old – – excuse me, my “former” – – spiritual director in the Province of New York.
And now I heartily join all of you in praising Jesus for his half-century of faithful priesthood, and over three decades as a bishop. As Jesus reminded us, “A student never outranks his teacher,” so I bow in gratitude to this man we’ve all come to love.
Faithfully in Christ,
Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan
Archbishop of New York
Tags: Bishop Matthew H. Clark, NY Catholics
