Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York praises Judge Amy Coney Barrett

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York is calling President Trump nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett "the best candidate around" to be the next Supreme Court justice.  

Dolan gave his support to Barrett during his radio show this week.

“She takes her Catholic faith seriously, but that is not why she was nominated as a Justice to the Supreme Court is it?” Dolan said on his SiriusXM show “Conversation with Cardinal Dolan.” “I think she is nominated because she is the best candidate around. I hope so. And from what I hear she is. So, let’s hope for the best."

The cardinal said that he has not met Barrett in person but that he has spoken to those who know her, and what he keeps hearing from them is that the judge is a person of character and faith. 

Trump nominated Barrett, who serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on Sept. 18.

Barrett has come under fire for her faith, but Cardinal Dolan recalled this was not the first time. He referred to it as "tawdry and nastiness."  

When President Trump nominated Barrett in 2017, Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., said of Barrett's faith, "The dogma lives loudly in you" during Barrett's Senate confirmation hearing. 

Dolan recalled how the press said Ginsburg always faced three biases: A woman, a mother, and a Jew.

"Well is seems like Judge Barrett is facing: Woman, mother and Catholic," Dolan said. 

The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to hold hearings on Barrett's nomination on Oct. 12.