Cardinal Dolan, Becket honoree, is ‘intensely devoted’ to protection of religious freedom

NEW YORK (OSV News) — Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York has been awarded Becket’s 2025 Canterbury Medal for his lifelong commitment to the cause of religious liberty.

The Canterbury Medal, religious liberty’s highest honor, recognizes people who have “demonstrated courage and commitment” in defending religious freedom in the United States and around the world.

Becket, also known as the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, is a nonprofit public interest law firm based in Washington with a mission to “protect the free expression of all faiths.” The firm has been highly successful in the judicial system, winning several high-profile cases, and is active in media and education.

“I hardly deserve this high award. Yet, I readily admit that you are absolutely on spot to claim I am intensely devoted to the protection of our first and most cherished liberty — religious freedom,” Cardinal Dolan said in accepting the medal during Becket’s annual gala the evening of May 22 at The Plaza in Midtown Manhattan. He cited the commitment of the nation’s founders to protecting religious freedoms.

“Every noble cause in our American pedigree was inspired by faith — from independence itself to the fight against slavery, to the rights of workers, to an end to racial bigotry, to the cause of peace, to the amelioration of poverty, to the defense of the innocent baby in the womb — and grandma in hospice. … I take religious liberty so seriously because I take religion so seriously.”

The cardinal added that “religion is not only a good, but its freedom is a given — a given, not by any government or charter, but a given inherent in the dignity of the human person, a given by God.”

And, in alluding to his recent participation in the conclave in Rome to elect the late Pope Francis’ successor, he said there were fellow cardinals who told him: “We live in countries where paranoid bullies despise any allegiance other than to them; please keep showing us this is not the right way.” This was met with loud applause.

“I choose to be called grateful for this Canterbury Medal and to all of you for bestowing it. Thank you,” Cardinal Dolan said.

The evening included a video presentation on Becket’s mission and accomplishments, and later a video on the cardinal’s related works and dedication. More than 500 people attended.

Cardinal Dolan is a former president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (2010-2013), and he is a past chairman of the USCCB’s Committee for Religious Liberty. He continues to serve the committee as a consultant.

Cardinal Dolan’s career “has been marked by an unwavering defense of religious liberty for all,” organizers said in a statement released ahead of the award gala. The event’s coordinators also noted Cardinal Dolan was recently chosen by President Donald Trump to serve on his newly launched Religious Liberty Commission.

The commission is tasked with producing a comprehensive report on religious freedom, focusing on pluralism, conscience protections and school choice.

Other Catholic bishops Trump appointed to serve on it include Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minn.; Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco; Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of Springfield, Ill.; and Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Ind., current chair of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Religious Liberty. Father Thomas Ferguson of Alexandria, Va., also was named to the commission by Trump.

“Cardinal Dolan has given a lifetime of service to the church, to the sheep of the flocks he’s served, to the people of all faiths of the cities in which he has served, to our nation, and to the world,” professor Robert P. George of Princeton University told the gala audience before presenting Cardinal Dolan with the Canterbury Medal.

“He has by precept and by example helped the meaning of the Gospel and promoted its principles and values; central among those principles and values are religious freedom and the rights of conscience,” added George, who is McCormick professor of jurisprudence and director of Princeton’s James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions.

Words of gratitude for the cardinal’s dedication also came from other speakers, including Mark Rienzi, president and CEO of Becket. Event organizers noted that the Canterbury Medal draws its name from one of history’s most dramatic religious liberty stand-offs, between the Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas à Becket, the law firm’s namesake, and King Henry II of England. The archbishop was murdered by followers of the king in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170.

At every Canterbury Medal Gala, Becket also bestows an individual or group with the Legal Service Award, thanking them for their efforts to advance the cause of religious liberty for all.

This year’s award was given to Davis Polk & Wardwell for its pro bono work with Becket and Clement Murphy to combat antisemitism on college campuses in Frankel v. Regents of the University of California. Davis Polk & Wardwell is a multinational law firm headquartered in Manhattan.

This story was originally published by The Good Newsroom, the online news outlet of the Archdiocese of New York, and distributed through a partnership with OSV News. Armando Machado writes for The Good Newsroom.

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