The Vatican has named Milwaukee Archbishop Tim Dolan the new archbishop of New York on Monday. Chairman of Marquette University's Journalism Department Willam Thorne describes Dolan as a scholar who can relate to common folk whether it be through a Friday fish fry or otherwise.
"But behind those cheerful, merry Irish eyes is a very sophisticated intellect," says Thorne.
Dolan is Roman-trained and speaks three languages, along with reading three more.
The 59-year-old church leader will be heading up the debt ridden archdiocese, a situation similar to his task in Milwaukee. After taking over the financially burdened southeast Wisconsin post in 2002, he closed more than 20 parishes and about eight schools in order to balance the books.
Thorne, who sits on the Pontifical Council on Social Communications, believes the Vatican chose Dolan in part because of his media savvy. Thorne believes the New York Archdiocese is the most high profile U.S. post and among the top four most important in the Western World.