A Call to Catholics to Trust What Cannot Be Seen.

With a self-assured voice and commanding presence, Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan effectively took charge as spiritual leader of 2.5 million Roman Catholic New Yorkers as he celebrated Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral on Sunday. His first homily adhered closely to Roman Catholic doctrine -- offering only indirect signs of the activist role he has hinted he will take as an advocate of the church's agenda in the public sphere -- calling on those in his flock to build their faith on ''trust in what cannot be seen,'' and not only ''on empirical, scientific evidence.'' [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]