Sorry but I have to correct you. Egan was Cardional Cody's right hand man in Chicago. That is damning enough by itself. But he was also very close to Bernadin.
Over some 40 years - in Chicago, Bridgeport CT, and in NYC - Egan has made a career of hiding, shuffling around, and defending in the most cognizant and conniving manner the priests guilty of sex crimes. What he has done was done on purpose, knowingly, conspiratorially. Jail is too good for him.
Regarding the financial mess in the Archdiocese of New York, let me fill in the blanks for you. I will not identify the sources for this, so don't ask.
Under O'Connor, Egan was an Auxiliary bishop, and also was the Secretary for Education. Egan, in collusion with Msgr. (later also Auxiliary bishop of Ny, as well as Chancellor and Vicar General) Henry Mansell - now AB of Hartford CT - devised a plan, which they sold to O'Connor which nearly bankrupted the Archdiocese of New York.
Playing up to O'Connor's deep need to be loved and to be perceived as a hero to the poor, their plan was to raise capital funds to endow the support of the inner city schools of the diocese, and to establish a foundation for getting public and private grants/gifts to throw money into what is literally a "black hole".
Please bear in mind that these "Catholic" schools are Catholic in name only, as they serve a mostly non-Catholic student body, in most cases. Also, those of us who are in a position to know such things, know all too well that much embezzling is done in and through the schools finances by apostate priests. I know of one priest who was taking $50,000 per year from the school. He did not get caught - neither do 90% of them, though the Chancery knows of these things.
Back to the Egan/Mansell plot. They did in fact establish the "Inner City Scholarship Fund". However, the attempt to establish the $10 million endowment fund failed. So, they persuaded Cardinal O'Connor to spend vast sums of money - pumping it into the parish schools.........right into the grubby little palms of the embezzling clerics.
For over 14 years, Cardinal O'Connor spent down the PRINCIPAL of the Archdiocesan Endowments funds. I want you to re-read that and let it sink in. He was talked into this, and out of his misplaced desire to be loved by the poor (whom he foolishly thought would actually be helped by this) he did this of his own free will......for over 14 years.
This is plainly financial suicide. At the same time, o'Connor was encouraged by Mansell, Egan, and other like minded syncophants to enlarge the Chancery beaurocracy to unbelievable levels.
To make a joke, descriptive of the situation - there might as well have been a Hispanic Affairs Office, the Hispanic Apostolate, Ministry of Hispanic Affairs, and the Spanish-Speaking Apostolate.........all with their own paid staff, offices, and budget, paid for by this rapidly dwindling Endowment Fund. Of course the parishes were also heavily "taxed" on a monthly basis to pay for this, and there was a huge revamping of the Annual Cardinal's Appeal, reaping very large returns.......none of which were saved or invested!
You must also realize that Egan and Mansell were the architects of the "Realingment Plan" which was to close over half of the churches in Manhattan, and sell the extremely valuable real estate. Cardinal O'Connor wisely balked at this plan, as he did not want to cause such widespread, and irrevokable destruction, which would have deeply offended the people of the Archdiocese who did indeed love him greatly. Thank God for that!
Rising from his deathbed, a few months before he ultimately died from brain cancer, Cardinal O'Connor flew to Rome to beg and plead with the Pope personally, and with the Congregation for Bishops that they NOT appoint Egan as his sucessor. What did O'Connor know of and fear in Egan....whom he personally consecrated as his Auxiliary Bishop in 1983?
Several things. One of them was that "realingment plan" to close many, many churches. Egan was a prime contender for the See of NY, and bragged openly that if he went there that he would be going in to close down churches. Another thing is that he is vehemently opposed to the Pro-life movement. And there are other things.
The first thing which Egan did in his first business day at 1011 First Avenue (Chancery Office of NY) was to order the acquisition of 30 building demolition permnits from the NYC Buildings Department. This was a "done deal". A nearly 20 year old "done deal". And another factor is that he was warmly received by the mostly dissident/apostate priests here......who had been literally salivating for the church closing plan to go into effect. This was a long standing plot, just waiting for the right Bishop to effect it.
Any priest or bishop who salivates for the mass closings of churches serves the Devil. Literally. They know not Christ. I will stand on that statement.
"impugn Egan"????? There is not enough bandwidth here to do the job properly.
Please do,if I am in error,but at this point you have not shown how or where. My point of contention with you is that you continue to allege that Bernardin and Egan wreaked havoc on Chicago. Egan left Cardinal Cody in Chicago in 1972 and worked in Rome for 12 or 13 years,he came back to the states and was made an auxiliary bishop in New York. (Cody evidently worked without his right hand for ten years,from 1972 to 1982.)
Bernardin was archbishop of Cincinatti during most of that time. Cody died in 1982 and Bernardin succeeded him in Chicago,Egan never worked with Bernardin,they were not even in the same country. If you have any information that puts Bernardin and Egan in the same diocese,country,organization,anything show me.
Monsignor Egan of Chicago fame is not the Cardinal. He was a Saul Alinsky compadre. I think I first read about him in a little book about the Campaign for Human Development,that may be where you picked up what I believe is misinformation.
As I have stated before Egan probably can he impugned on his own record,to link him to Bernardin without the facts calls all other information into question.