Bishop Ron Hicks: Controversial Succession in New York

A succession that signals: the New York appointment, its leak, and what it tells us

The reported appointment of Bishop Ron Hicks to the Archdiocese of New York has generated controversy not because episcopal succession is unusual, but because this succession departed from custom, leaked prematurely, and aligns conspicuously with a contested moral and pastoral trajectory. Taken together, these elements point less to routine governance and more to deliberate ecclesial signalling.¹

A smiling bishop gestures near a famous cathedral in New York City, with skyscrapers in the background during twilight.

A flagship see and why timing matters
New York is not merely another diocese. It is one of the most visible, media-sensitive, and symbolically weighty sees in the United States. Historically, appointments there have been understood as indicators of Rome’s priorities for the American Church as a whole, comparable only to Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington.² The archbishop of New York has traditionally exercised disproportionate influence in public discourse, Catholic education, and national ecclesial leadership.³

Canon law, resignation at seventy-five, and the weight of custom
Under Canon 401 §1, diocesan bishops are required to submit their resignation at the age of seventy-five.⁴ Cardinal Timothy Dolan has therefore fulfilled a legal obligation by tendering his resignation. What canon law does not require is immediate acceptance. Acceptance is entirely at the discretion of the Roman Pontiff, who may defer it indefinitely.⁵

By long-standing convention—particularly in major or strategically sensitive sees—popes have often retained capable bishops well into their late seventies, frequently approaching eighty, absent serious health concerns or grave pastoral necessity.⁶ This practice is widely attested in canonical commentary and episcopal precedent.⁷ The departure from it in New York is therefore lawful, but unexpected, and that distinction is central to the present unease.⁸

Why this does not read as routine succession
In ordinary circumstances, acceptance of a resignation would be accompanied by a clear explanation—health, incapacity, or pastoral necessity—and an orderly transition.⁹ In this case, three destabilising factors coincided: early acceptance contrary to established expectation; the absence of a public rationale; and the premature leak of the appointment itself.¹⁰

The leak and what it suggests
Episcopal appointments are among the most tightly controlled acts of the Holy See, governed by strict confidentiality norms involving the Apostolic Nuncio, the Dicastery for Bishops, and the Secretariat of State.¹¹ Leaks prior to promulgation are rare and generally indicate internal disagreement, weak communications discipline, or sensitivity surrounding the decision itself.¹² Such leaks have historically accompanied controversial appointments rather than routine successions.¹³

From succession to intervention
When these elements are combined, the narrative shifts. This no longer appears as quiet succession, but as intervention. In ecclesial governance, intervention—especially in a major see—has always functioned as a signal of intent, whether doctrinal, pastoral, or political.¹⁴

Ron Hicks: biographical profile
Ronald A. Hicks was ordained to the priesthood in 1999 for the Archdiocese of Chicago, serving in parish ministry, seminary formation, and archdiocesan administration.¹⁵ He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago in 2018 and later Bishop of Joliet in 2020.¹⁶ His ecclesial formation is therefore closely associated with large urban dioceses shaped by postconciliar pastoral priorities emphasising accompaniment, social engagement, and institutional inclusion.¹⁷

As bishop, Hicks has cultivated a public profile marked by strong rhetorical emphasis on welcome and belonging, particularly toward LGBT-identified Catholics. Diocesan initiatives, pastoral letters, and public messaging under his leadership consistently employ inclusive and therapeutic language while generally avoiding explicit articulation of traditional Catholic moral anthropology concerning sexuality.¹⁸

Hicks’ pastoral alignment on sexuality
Supporters describe this posture as merciful and relational. Critics argue that it reflects the broader post-conciliar shift from moral theology to pastoral psychology, in which sin and conversion are displaced by affirmation and identity.¹⁹ Hicks’ approach aligns closely with the interpretive ethos surrounding Fiducia supplicans, wherein ambiguity is defended as pastoral sensitivity and symbolic gestures substitute for doctrinal clarity.²⁰

In this context, his appointment to New York is widely read as reinforcing—not merely tolerating—a particular pastoral paradigm in the Church’s most visible American see.²¹

Why New York magnifies this choice
New York functions as a national amplifier for Catholic life in the United States. Its archbishop shapes public perception on Catholic education, clergy discipline, moral teaching, and engagement with cultural institutions.²² Appointments there have historically influenced episcopal culture far beyond diocesan boundaries.²³

Replacing a still-active cardinal associated with robust public Catholic witness with a bishop identified with softened moral language inevitably reads as directional rather than accidental.²⁴

An appreciation of Cardinal Dolan’s tenure
Any honest assessment must acknowledge Cardinal Dolan’s substantial contribution to the Archdiocese of New York. His tenure has been marked by energetic public engagement, institutional stability, defence of religious liberty, and a willingness to articulate Catholic teaching clearly in an increasingly hostile cultural environment.²⁵

Dolan’s leadership style—visible, confident, and unapologetically Catholic—placed him among the most recognisable bishops in the English-speaking world.²⁶ For many faithful Catholics, his continued presence symbolised continuity and resistance to further doctrinal dilution.²⁷ The perception that he has been eased aside rather than honoured through customary forbearance therefore intensifies the sense of rupture surrounding this transition.²⁸

The deeper ecclesiological concern
At root, the controversy is not personal. It concerns the redefinition of episcopal leadership itself: whether bishops are primarily guardians of doctrine and discipline, or managers of cultural perception tasked with minimising friction between the Church and contemporary moral consensus.²⁹

This tension has been widely analysed in post-conciliar ecclesiology, particularly in critiques of “pastoralism” detached from dogmatic clarity.³⁰ The fear expressed by critics is that moral theology is being displaced by therapeutic language, and that the Church’s capacity to speak credibly about repentance, ordered desire, and holiness is being steadily eroded—especially in the very sees that most shape public Catholic witness.³¹

Why the controversy will persist
Because New York is unforgiving, Hicks’ tenure will be read symbolically from its first gestures. Decisions involving Catholic schools, clergy discipline, public events touching sexuality, or responses to future scandals will be interpreted as confirmation or refutation of what this appointment is widely taken to signify.³²

Conclusion
Canon law permits what has occurred. Custom made it unexpected. The leak made it unsettling. The pastoral profile of the appointee makes it unmistakably directional.

This appointment is therefore not merely about succession. It is about signal—and about whether Rome is deliberately entrenching a particular pastoral and moral trajectory in the most visible American see, even at the cost of customary restraint and episcopal continuity.³³

Cf. Yves Congar, True and False Reform in the Church (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2011), 247–251.
John J. O’Connor, His Eminence and Hizzoner (New York: HarperCollins, 1989), 3–6.
Richard Gaillardetz, By What Authority? (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2003), 89–92.
Code of Canon Law, Canon 401 §1.
Code of Canon Law, Canon 401 §2; cf. Coriden, An Introduction to Canon Law, 204.
James A. Coriden, An Introduction to Canon Law (New York: Paulist, 2004), 204–205.
Ladislas Örsy, The Church: Learning and Teaching (Wilmington: Glazier, 1987), 112–114.
Cf. John P. Beal et al., New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law (New York: Paulist, 2000), 535–536.
Beal, New Commentary, 536.
Sandro Magister, “How Bishops Are Chosen,” L’Espresso (archival analysis).
Congregation for Bishops, Apostolorum Successores (2004), §§24–28.
Magister, “How Bishops Are Chosen.”
Austen Ivereigh, The Great Reformer (New York: Henry Holt, 2014), 181–183.
Joseph Ratzinger, Called to Communion (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1996), 127–131.
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Episcopal Biographies Archive.
Ibid.
Gaillardetz, By What Authority?, 102–105.
Diocese of Joliet, official diocesan communications, 2020–2024.
Servais Pinckaers, The Sources of Christian Ethics (Washington, DC: CUA Press, 1995), 254–260.
Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Fiducia supplicans (2023).
Ralph Martin, Will Many Be Saved? (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2012), 15–18.
O’Connor, His Eminence and Hizzoner, 7–10.
George Weigel, Evangelical Catholicism (New York: Basic Books, 2013), 145–148.
Weigel, Evangelical Catholicism, 149.
Timothy M. Dolan, True Freedom (New York: Image, 2015).
George Weigel, “Cardinal Dolan and the Public Square,” First Things (2012).
Ibid.
Cf. Gaillardetz, An Unfinished Council (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2015), 164–166.
Ratzinger, Called to Communion, 131–134.
Congar, True and False Reform, 263–270.
Pinckaers, Sources of Christian Ethics, 260–263.
Weigel, Evangelical Catholicism, 151.
Congar, True and False Reform, 271.

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