Big mess in the Archdiocese of NY- a letter of dissatisfaction circulating among priests, calling for a vote of no confidence in Cardinal Egan, with now a meeting for Monday called by him. – Rocco’s been covering it, and the story’s made the papers – I imagine we’ll see more over the weekend. Daily News here. Others linked at Whispers. Catholic World News notes the events.
From Saturday:
Yesterday, both a senior New York priest and a leading observer of the Catholic hierarchy agreed that the letter may not have the effects that its author or authors intended.
"There are serious problems with the cardinal’s administrative style, but this letter is not the way to go about it," said Monsignor Harry Byrne, a retired New York priest who formerly served on Egan’s Priests’ Council and is known for speaking his mind. "I think this letter does more damage to the reform we seek, rather than advancing it."
Byrne said he was put off by the anger in the letter – but said it came from the frustration of priests who felt they had little input during Egan’s tenure. For example, he said, during his three-year term on the Priests’ Council, which ended in 2004, priests were rarely able to get an issue on Egan’s agenda.
When Egan held a meeting with some 500 priests during the sex-abuse scandal of 2002, Byrne said, only the cardinal was permitted to speak.
snip
But the Rev. Thomas Reese, who has written books on the inner workings of the Vatican and the U.S. bishops conference, agreed with Byrne that the letter may have the opposite effect.
"The Vatican is usually reluctant to pull somebody out when they are under fire," he said.
Reese said the Vatican would probably have removed the late Cardinal John Cody of Chicago, a controversial figure on many counts, if not for the strenuous protests against him by priests and others.
"There were points when they were ready to make a change, but there would be another blow-up and the Vatican would leave him in," he said.
Pope John Paul II would often leave it up to bishops whether they wanted to stay on past 75, Reese said. It’s too soon to draw conclusions about Pope Benedict XVI, he said.
"My impression is that Egan always wanted to go back to Rome," Reese said. "But maybe not."
Parishioners interviewed yesterday said they had no interest in priestly politics, but some expressed a fondness for Egan. "I’m impressed with how he’s been holding the diocese together financially. He’d make a great CEO," said Liam Cusack, 44, of Manhattan.
Egan is credited with improving the diocese financially in his six years at the helm, but the authors of the letter list that among his flaws: "The Cardinal has given his time, attention and interest to matters financial while paying little or no attention to the spiritual needs and concerns of the priests and faithful of the Archdiocese."
Cardinal Egan is 74, and papal law requires bishops to submit an offer of resignation at age 75, when the pope can accept or reject the proposition.
If Benedict XVI were to review Cardinal Egan’s record now, he’d find that the cardinal has erased the archdiocese of New York’s $20 million annual operating deficit, in part by making tough decisions such as closing 16 diocese schools. He’d also find that Cardinal Egan, the former bishop of Bridgeport, Conn., keeps a more modest public profile than did O’Connor, who led the Archdiocese of New York for 16 years until his death in 2000.
The sprawling archdiocese is home to about 2.5 million Catholics, and comprises Manhattan, Staten Island, and the Bronx, in addition to Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester counties.
The editor in chief of a New York-based religion journal, First Things, Father Richard John Neuhaus, said the cardinal’s priority seems to be reconciling church finances. He praised the cardinal for facilitating a smooth church realignment, including school closings, which has been "relatively peaceful" when compared to diocese shake-ups in cities like Boston, Detroit, and Cleveland.
Father Neuhaus, speaking by phone from Krakow, Poland, where he teaches during the summer, said he knows of few people who have cultivated an intimate personal relationship with Cardinal Egan. "He seems to have great confidence in his own judgment," he said. "New York is the capital of the world, and it’s certainly the communications capital of the world. It strikes many people as strange that the institutional leadership personified in the archbishop of New York is largely absent from public life. I, too, think that is missed."
Read Previous Post
