New York City’s police department will receive spiritual leadership from two religious leaders, Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Reverend A.R. Bernard, who have been appointed co-chaplains of the New York Police Department (NYPD) Chaplains Unit. According to The Good Newsroom, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch is expected to announce the appointments during her “State of the NYPD” address. The selections continue a longstanding practice in which the Chaplains Unit provides support to officers addressing the emotional and ethical aspects of their work.
Ahead of the formal announcement, Tisch told PIX11 that the Chaplains Unit has, for more than a century, provided support to officers facing the demands of their work. She also referenced the term “Tzadik,” a Hebrew word meaning a righteous person, as a descriptor she applied to both Dolan and Bernard in the context of the chaplaincy role.
The appointments include Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who recently concluded more than 16 years as Archbishop of New York, and Reverend A.R. Bernard, pastor of the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn. The selections align with the department’s focus on providing moral and spiritual support to officers. In the announcement, Tisch described Dolan and Bernard as individuals whose faith and leadership she said reflect qualities that support officers during challenging aspects of their work.
Cardinal Dolan, a senior figure within the U.S. Catholic Church, submitted his required resignation upon turning 75 and was succeeded by Archbishop Ronald Hicks, as announced by Pope Leo XIV last December. Reverend Bernard continues his work as a leader within the Black Church and as pastor of a growing congregation in Brooklyn. His ministry emphasizes practical and culturally informed approaches to Christian teaching.
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