Cardinal Timothy Dolan

Photo: Archdiocese of New York

Archbishop of New York

Dioceses/Religious Orders: Archdiocese of St.Louis, Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Diocese of Green Bay, Archdiocese of New York

As auxiliary bishop of St. Louis, Dolan was assigned in 2002 to investigate priests accused of sexual abuse. He kept at least three priests who had been charged in civil court in ministry. While archbishop of Milwaukee, Dolan failed to report direct admissions by clergy sex offenders concerning prosecutable cases of child rape and left several credibly accused offenders in ministry. In preparation for filing bankruptcy in Milwaukee, Dolan sought permission from the Vatican in a 2007 letter to transfer $57 million in funds to a cemetery trust fund for “improved protection” of church assets against abuse claims. As archbishop of New York, Dolan quietly retired offender priests without notifying parishioners, shared a press release on his blog calling SNAP “liars” and “phony victims,” and lobbied to block the Child Victims Act. 

SNAP filed a complaint against Dolan under the pope’s 2023 decree Vos estis lux mundi on April 15, 2025

Vos estis lux mundi, Pope Francis’ 2023 decree, allows any bishop, cardinal, or religious superior to be reported and investigated for abuse or cover-up. These complaints, submitted to the Vatican, are not verdicts of guilt. They are evidence-based calls for investigation—each meeting the church’s own standard of “serious indications” that a violation occurred. In civil terms, this is equivalent to probable cause or reasonable grounds to investigate.

Every filing draws from a solid foundation of survivor and eyewitness testimony, public records and church statements, independent investigations by media and legal experts, official church documents and canonical proceedings, testimony, depositions, and court-ordered documents from criminal and civil cases.