New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan called upon his brother bishops to champion the cause of people around the world being persecuted because of their faith.

In his final address as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Nov. 11 in Baltimore, Dolan called actions to protect religious freedom “a central social and political concern of our time.”

Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., was elected as the new USCCB president.