(CNN) — Pope Leo has appointed a new archbishop of New York who has first-hand experience of countries from where millions have emigrated to the United States, signaling the potential for a more outspoken approach from bishops on immigration.
The pope has chosen 58-year-old Bishop Ronald Hicks of the Diocese of Joliet in Illinois to lead the church in New York, an appointment that comes at a time when the Trump administration has been ramping up its anti-immigration policies to which the Catholic Church in the US has responded with more vocal criticism.
“I have been deeply blessed to serve the people of the Diocese of Joliet,” Bishop Hicks said. “I will carry the faith, generosity, and the spirit of this diocese with me as I begin this new chapter of ministry.”
Leo’s nomination of Hicks is his most significant appointment to the church in the United States since his election, with the archbishop of New York holding an important position on the national stage both in the church and across the US. Archbishops of New York are normally made cardinals, and Hicks can expect even greater scrutiny at a time when the Catholic Church is led by its first American pope.
Last month, Hicks made a statement on immigration, “expressing our solidarity with all our brothers and sisters.” He was responding to a rare intervention from the US bishops criticizing the White House’s immigration policies, saying that their message underlines their “concerns, opposition, and hopes with clarity and conviction.”
Bishop Hicks is, like the pope, a fellow Chicagoan who has spent time in Latin America. Hicks, until now the Bishop of Joliet, Illinois, had a five-year stint in El Salvador where he worked to help orphaned and abandoned children. He also did similar work in Mexico prior to that. His background reflects the growing influence of the Hispanic Catholic community in the US and resembles a similar background to that of Leo who spent many years as a missionary and bishop in Peru.
Hicks had breakfast with Cardinal Dolan on Dec. 18 in New York City and then held a news conference with him. The two were scheduled to have lunch with invited guests and then participate in a service at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
Hicks will succeed Cardinal Timothy Dolan who turned 75 earlier this year, the age when bishops are required to offer their resignation to the pope. Leo has now accepted the cardinal’s resignation, which brings to a close a tenure marked by Dolan’s prominence as one of the most recognizable Catholic leaders in the US.
Warmer relationship with Trump
Dolan has long been known as a skilled communicator, pastor, and church historian, with a profile that extended beyond his archdiocese. During the Francis pontificate, however, Dolan was sometimes perceived at odds with the late pope’s priorities, though he consistently expressed respect for Francis.
Cardinal Dolan, while maintaining relationships across the political spectrum, also had a warmer relationship with President Donald Trump than Pope Francis did: he said the president “takes his Christian faith seriously” while leading the invocation prayer at Trump’s 2025 inauguration and praying at the same 2017 event.
Earlier this year, the cardinal drew criticism when he likened the late Charlie Kirk, the conservative political activist who was assassinated in September, to Saint Paul the apostle, a key figure in early Christianity. It was a comparison that sought to highlight Kirk’s evangelizing zeal, but some felt it excessive.
Since his election in May, Leo has shown he wants to follow in the same vein as his predecessor, albeit with a more low-key style.
The first US-born pontiff has raised concerns about the Trump administration’s “inhuman” treatment of immigrants and other aspects of the president’s foreign policy, but his papacy has been marked by an aversion of falling into political polarization.
The new archbishop of New York says he relates personally to Pope Leo: Hicks was born in Harvey, Illinois, south of Chicago, near to where Leo grew up in Dolton.
“I recognize a lot of similarities between him and me. So we grew up literally in the same radius, in the same neighborhood together,” Hicks told Chicago tv station WG9 earlier this year. “We played in the same parks, went swimming in the same pools, liked the same pizza places to go to. I mean, it’s that real.”
Michael Sean Winters, a Catholic commentator, told CNN that Hicks is a “good listener and bridge builder who will follow Leo’s lead,” adding that the new archbishop had “no culture war temperament.”
Hicks is a pastoral moderate who opposed moves by some US bishops to bar former President Joe Biden from communion for his support for legal abortion. Sean Winters pointed out that Hicks has worked with bishops with different theological positions in the church and is seen as someone who can bridge ideological divides.
Hicks, he added, is committed to the social teachings of the church – including concern for the marginalized, support for unions and tackling economic injustices – a feature of Catholicism in Chicago which has a long history of Catholic social action.
Elise Allen, who has written a biography of Leo and interviewed the pope earlier this year, said Hicks is “a step to the left of Cardinal Timothy Dolan, but he’s by no means a hardline progressive.” She explained that the pope “is not looking for conservatives or progressives when it comes to episcopal appointments…He wants guys who will share his priorities but who fundamentally bring a stance of balance.”
The appointment of Hicks is also likely to have been supported by Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago, who is close to Leo, has a role at the Vatican office which oversees bishop appointments and has worked closely with Hicks. The cardinal has been a strong advocate for migrants and supported the reforms of Pope Francis, although the late pontiff experienced significant opposition from some in the US hierarchy.
Hicks’ appointment comes just weeks after US bishops issued a rare statement lamenting the Trump administration’s treatment of immigrants, condemning the “indiscriminate mass deportation of people.”
In his new role, the archbishop-designate must also face the fallout of the clerical sexual abuse scandal, with the archdiocese recently announcing the creation of a $300 million fund to settle with around 1,300 survivors who have sued the church. The archdiocese is planning significant property sales to fund the settlements.
“We need to address whatever wrongs and/or issues that exist and not be afraid to confront them,” Hicks has said in the past on abuse.
Hicks’ new role throws him into the heart of a turbulent political situation, but Sean Winters said that Hicks was up to the task. He said the new archbishop is “charismatic” and that “if you grew up in the southside of Chicago, as Bishop Hicks did, you know how to take a punch and get back up.”
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