By Jessica Easthope
For years Cardinal Timothy Dolan offered counsel, comfort and compassion to police officers in an unofficial capacity and now he can call himself co-chief chaplain of the New York City Police Department.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan was welcomed with a standing ovation from members of the NYPD on March 4 as he and Rev. A.R. Bernard, a Pentecostal pastor and founder of the Christian Cultural Center, were sworn in as co-chief chaplains of the New York City Police Department.
“I’ve had the honor of being with you at funerals of those fallen, honors bestowed, retirements reached,” Cardinal Dolan said. “I’ve seen your eyes damp while you would line in the hospital corridor as I went to visit officers wounded. I’ve hugged and lost a lot of handkerchiefs to grieving spouses and hurting families. And now, now I get to do it a bit more often, in a more formal and official way.”
Cardinal Dolan’s installation comes one month after his successor’s, Archbishop Ronald Hicks now shepherds the Archdiocese of New York’s nearly 3 million Catholics. Officials said Dolan’s service has always extended far beyond the pulpit.
“Cardinal Dolan has stood as a spiritual beacon for almost 3 million Catholic New Yorkers, leveraging the power of the church to support all those in need, including migrants, refugees, at-risk youth and our city’s hungry and homeless,” said Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
While the official religious demographics of the NYPD are not public, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said both new chief chaplains are well equipped to serve members of all faiths.
“In a department made up of many faiths, that kind of service is something that we all understand,” Tisch said. “Today, Cardinal Dolan and Reverend Bernard step into that responsibility. They are being brought forward not only because of the titles they hold, but because of the lives that they have lived and the people that they have led for decades. They have shaped the moral and religious landscape of this city.”
NYPD Chaplain and retired Diocese of Brooklyn priest Monsignor David Cassato said the addition and leadership is a blessing.
“He has a tremendous personality. He’s a very gifted,” Monsignor Cassato said. “And it seems like Reverend Bernard has got the same kind of gift. The ability to speak, the ability to communicate, and the ability to go out and reach the NYPD. They need so much. And today, we’re blessed.”