Free Republic

‘It is high time to stop pretending that we do not know what this nation of ours is allowing-- and approving-- with the killing each year of more than 1,600,000 innocent human beings within their mothers,’ Cardinal Edward Egan of New York wrote in an Oct. 23 archdiocesan newspaper column defending the humanity of the unborn child. ‘One day, please God, when the stranglehold on public opinion in the United States has been released by the extremists for whom abortion is the center of their political and moral life, our nation will, in my judgment, look back on what we...

This year's Al Smith Dinner — the annual gala that raises funds for the Archdiocese of New York and has become an essential social ticket for the city's political and media class — will be remembered as a rare cease-fire moment in the heated 2008 presidential campaign. Exchanging rolled-up shirt sleeves for white ties, John McCain and Barack Obama cracked each other up on topics that usually result in outraged press statements when raised on the campaign trail. "I got my name, Barack, from my father," deadpanned Obama, "and I got my middle name from somebody who obviously didn't think...

What Are We Doing? by Deal W. Hudson 10/17/08 Last night, the Archdiocese of New York held its famous Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, with both Senators John McCain and Barack Obama as guests. I watched the coverage today -- the story is all over the news, along with images of Obama and Edward Cardinal Egan sharing a laugh. Something about that bothered me. No, it's not what you think. I'm not upset that a Democrat and the cardinal were enjoying a conversation. This is not a partisan issue, and I would have had the same negative reaction if...

Partial birth abortion is a grisly and revolting procedure. An unborn baby is brought halfway out of the birth canal, then has scissors rammed into its skull and its brains sucked out for easier passage. Sen. Pat Moynihan called it "infanticide." Seventeen Senate Democrats defied the feminist fanatics to vote to outlaw it. Now the Supreme Court, five to four, agrees that outlawing this barbaric method of aborting an unborn child does not interfere with what has been for 34 years a woman's constitutional right to rid herself of an unwanted child. This is being hailed as a victory for...

February 27, 2007 -- Edward Cardinal Egan pulled a fast one on a lower Manhattan parish pastor yesterday, summoning the priest to meet with him - then dispatching security guards to permanently lock the cleric's church doors. The priest returned to Our Lady of Vilnius to find himself locked out - a brusque Egan move that left parishioners stunned and saddened. The cardinal's move also occurred right before a scheduled meeting with Lithuania's consul general, who was set to make a plea to save the church, parishioners and the Archdiocese of New York said. "Cardinal Egan again shows his true...

Edward Cardinal Egan and Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio yesterday declared a holy war against the city's distribution of 26 million free, subway-themed condoms, calling it an immoral "anything goes" policy that degrades society. In a rare joint statement attacking Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration, the Catholic leaders said they were particularly disturbed that the "NYC" branded condoms were handed out by city workers to young teens on the streets Wednesday. "The decision of the City of New York to distribute [26] million free condoms to the public — and minors as well, according to news reports — is tragic and misguided,"...

Who knows whether Cardinal Edward Egan is sleeping soundly these days. But as head of the New York archdiocese—as the top Roman Catholic prelate in the state—he'd have every reason to be restless after the recent advent of a little-noticed lawsuit. The suit, now pending in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, was filed on December 13 by Bob Hoatson—a 53-year-old New Jersey priest considered a stalwart ally among survivors of sexual abuse by clergy. Hoatson, the now-suspended chaplain for Catholic Charities in Newark, is suing Egan and nine other Catholic officials and institutions, claiming a pattern of "retaliation and harassment"...

New York Cardinal Edward Egan is not a very popular man. He inherited sexual-abuse fiascos in both Bridgeport and New York, and, being from New England, was incorrectly associated with Cardinal Law. He was sent to Bridgeport (in the metropolitan of Hartford) shortly after being ordained an auxiliary bishop of New York. There Bishop, Walter William Curtis had shuffled accused priests around the diocese, resulting in the diocese facing tens of millions of dollars of lawsuits. The lawsuits continued throughout Egan's term. When Egan was appointed to head the archdiocese of New York, with these cases still unsettled, many New...

Father Pavone Asked to Leave Priests for Life New York -- Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life for the past eight years, has been asked by Cardinal Edward Egan to resume full-time work within the Archdiocese of New York and leave his present position with Priests for Life. The reason for the decision is the need for parish priests in New York, and is consistent with similar decisions of the Cardinal to call back many other New York priests who are on special assignment. Anthony DeStefano, Executive Director of Priests for Life, made the following statement: "We ...

Sen. Hillary Clinton to Give Commencement Address at Catholic College defying Cardinal Egan  MANASSAS, VA (April 14, 2005) – Marymount Manhattan College has invited pro-abortion Sen. Hillary Clinton to deliver its commencement address and receive an honorary doctoral degree on May 20, publicly defying New York’s Cardinal Edward Egan and the U.S. bishops who forbade such honors in a statement last June.            Sen. Clinton has consistently supported legalized abortion, speaking at gatherings of abortion-rights advocates and voting against a ban on partial-birth abortion.  She also has advocated expanding embryonic stem cell research and has declared contraception “basic health care for...

Challenging “Challenges” Exposing Carpetbagger Egan on the Lie of “Realignment” Your Eminence: One could drive a Popemobile through the holes in your shopworn rationale for “realignment.” We exposed them a year ago in a letter to Catholic New York [CNY], still neither published nor answered. In “Challenges,” your November 2004 editorial for CNY, you didn’t even try to cover them. As far as you’re concerned, they simply don’t exist.

A MESSAGE TO CARDINAL EGAN AND HIS LACKEYS ON THE OCCASION OF THE LAST NOVUS ORDO MASS AT THE NATIONAL SHRINE OF SAINT ANN’S You, Sir, may be finished with this church. But we are not finished with you. You may think you have won, but we will not rest until your name is blackened in the annals of the Church and the mere mention of “Egan” nauseates the faithful as does “Esau” and “Judas.” When you enter a room, be it the Waldorf Astoria’s Grand Ballroom, the Metropolitan Opera’s Belmont Room, or any of the other humble venues you...

I refuse to address anyone who comes into New York to destroy churches as “Cardinal” or “Your Eminence.” I grew up in Saint Thomas the Apostle Parish. There I went to grammar school, received my sacraments, arranged my mother’s funeral, and for nine years worked as secretary in the parish office, where I also suffered a serious injury. Your lies and those of your PR man Joe Zwilling are all over the place, and I’m fed up with them.

The Church of Saint Thomas the Apostle: From Sanctuary to Abortuary Egan's relentless pursuit of "realignment" is untutored by any notion of churches as tools of Catholic evangelization. Does he believe Catholic churches only serve the people who are already Catholic? (I had thought, as William Temple famously wrote, that the Church is "the only society on earth that exists for the benefit of non-members.") If Egan gets his way, many more scenes of heartless, and needless, destruction such as those above will be visited upon New York City. Click on the link above for more evidence of his legally...

Will Edward Cardinal Egan try to block Sen. John Kerry from the 59th Alfred E. Smith Dinner? The annual gathering, sponsored by the Archdiocese of New York, isn't until October, but organizers are already said to be worrying about whether Egan may take a hard-line against the Democratic candidate because he supports abortion rights. Friday, the Vatican's Francis Cardinal Arinze said a Catholic politician who supports abortion rights "is not fit" to receive Holy Communion. Bishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis, for one, has said he would refuse Kerry Communion. Last week, we hear, members of the Al Smith Foundation...

Cardinal Edward Egan has never been shy about expressing his views on gay marriage, abortion or welfare reform. Now, the outspoken archbishop of the Diocese of New York is using the power of his pulpit to support hundreds of workers who are protesting their employer's decision to stay open on Easter Sunday. Egan has written a letter to the management of Woodbury Common Premium Outlets' asking that it be sensitive to the religious beliefs of its employees. Roughly 400 of the shopping center's 2,000 workers signed a petition denouncing the outlet center's decision, which was disclosed in a circular distributed...

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) _ Cardinal Edward Egan and the state's Roman Catholic bishops told lawmakers Tuesday that marriage must remain a bond between a man and a woman for the good of society. ``Marriage is not just a government issue,'' said Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, a lead spokesman in Tuesday's annual lobbying day at the Capitol by the Catholic Conference of New York. DiMarzio said allowing gay marriage could lead _ if taken to the absurd _ to marriage between pets and three or more people. ``It could be anything once you say marriage is something other than what it...

For those unfortunates who still haven't seen Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," Cardinal Edward Egan of New York recommends you head to your nearest theater. "It's good that we see that movie because that movie tells us about the greatest prayer, the greatest sacrifice that was ever made," he told the congregation Sunday at St. Patrick's Cathedral. "The victim was Jesus Christ. The priest was Jesus Christ. He offered himself. "The film represented the sacrifice of Christ. It is here today in this beloved cathedral, the reality of this sacrifice." The New York Post reported today, "Egan said...

<p>March 1, 2004 -- Edward Cardinal Egan gave "The Passion of the Christ" a thumbs-up from the pulpit yesterday, urging parishioners to see Mel Gibson's controversial movie. "It's good that we see that movie because that movie tells us about the greatest prayer, the greatest sacrifice that was ever made," said Egan. "The victim was Jesus Christ, the priest was Jesus Christ, he offered himself."</p>

Edward Cardinal Egan spoke up for the Jews as Mel Gibson's controversial "The Passion of the Christ" was expected to play to packed houses when it opens today. Worried that Gibson's blood-drenched depiction of Christ's Crucifixion could spark a backlash, Egan reminded his flock that anti-Semitism is "morally reprehensible and totally rejected" by Catholic doctrine. "One can safely conclude that what will appear on our movie screens will entail a good deal of extreme human suffering," Egan wrote in a letter to be read at Sunday Mass in March. He stressed that Jews should not be blamed for the death...