Early tomorrow morning Archbishop Timothy Dolan will be officially elevated to the Sacred College of Cardinals by his Holiness Pope Benedict. All Catholic New Yorkers should not only be proud of this recognition, but take comfort and joy that this man will continue to be a good shepherd of his faithful.

I have had the pleasure to meet Timothy Cardinal Dolan on numerous occasions in his capacity as archbishop of New York.

He is a very personable and approachable man who will guide the faithful in their respective faith journeys with compassion, understanding and good humor. The cardinal is also going to be the person to lead the fight against the suppression of religious liberty which we have recently seen in the health care debate.

He is up to this challenge and will be successful in defending religious liberty, regardless of the religion targeted for suppression. He will build the needed consensus among all religious groups to protect religious fundamentals, allow the free practice of religious beliefs and in so doing, will foster understanding and respect of our society's diverse religious framework. This good shepard will face challenges ahead, but he is certainly the right man for the job.

Our diverse society will be all the stronger from the work of this fine man and those who will join him to fight the good fight. Godspeed, Cardinal Dolan.