in just a decade, dolan risen from a local bishop to prince of catholic church, receiving the red hat and ring in rome. >> archbishop of new york, dolan, united states of america. >> returning from rome like a rock star, cardinal dolan is a media magnet. worldwide buzz, his popularity, political prowess and passion for the church raises the question of whether he could be the first american pope. >> the new consensus among vatican insiders would be among that second tier of candidates, if there is a rising star, if there is a new hit single with a bullet on the billboard chart, it is probably cardinal dolan of new york. >> dolan the shepard of new york city's nearly 3 million catholics was coy when a journalist in rome posed the question. >> can you just tell us about the speculation that you could be the pope? >> [ inaudible ]