Egan Takes Charge As NY Archbishop
Hundreds of clergy members are streaming into Saint Patrick's Cathedral Monday afternoon for an elaborate installation ceremony for New York's new Catholic Archbishop.
Clergy in ornate white robes and vestments are honoring sixty-eight-year-old Edward Egan. Hundreds of people are standing on Fifth Avenue outside the Cathedral.
The guests include cardinals and bishops from around the country and representatives of the Pope; first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton; her Republican opponent in the New York Senate race, Rep. Rick Lazio; U.S. Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas; Gov. George Pataki; U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer; and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
Edward Michael Egan was welcomed by thousands of Roman Catholics on Sunday, when he returned to the city where he once served under Cardinal John O'Connor. Egan is succeeding O'Connor as archbishop of the New York Archdiocese -- considered to be the Church's most prominent post in America.
"I am immensely privileged to join you in all of this," Egan said in his first homily as archbishop at St. Patrick's Cathedral Sunday. He is now the spiritual leader of 2.4 million people.
On Sunday, 3,000 worshippers gathered beneath the cathedral's immense stone arches and high stained-glass windows as Egan was serenaded by a choir and surrounded by colorful banners representing the nationalities and counties of his new flock.
It began with a procession of 11 tall banners, one for each of the 10 counties in Egan's new jurisdiction, plus one embroidered with flags representing the native lands of New York's Catholics. Prayers were later said in eight languages, ranging from Korean to Arabic to Ukrainian, and Egan himself gave a brief homily in Spanish.
Gabriel Montalvo, the papal nuncio in the United States, read a letter from Pope John Paul II entrusting the archdiocese to Egan. The letter noted the "sad passing of our venerable brother, John Joseph O'Connor." O'Connor died of cancer May 3, and Egan was appointed May 11.
O'Connor had led the archdiocese for 16 years. Egan, 68, led the diocese of Bridgeport, Conn., for 12 years before replacing O'Connor, but he also served for three years in New York under O'Connor in the 1980s.
Egan is the 12th man to head the New York Archdiocese since its founding in 1808.
Some New Yorkers, however, are concerned about problems Archbishop Egan left behind in Connecticut.
"I read an article in The New York Times last week that made me very upset because it talked about the way he's handled all the allegations of sexual misconduct among the priests in Bridgeport, Connecticut," said Maureen Ryan, who lives in Manhattan.
"The article said Egan basically had not dealt with the matter and used legal intimidation to deal with the victims' accusations," she said. "It was an article from the victim's side saying he's jumped ship in the middle of it.
"This hacaused me to have concerns and questions about his background. And it upsets me because I know many priests who are incredibly dedicated to God's work and I hate to read about these kinds of incidents.
"It's important for the public to hear more about this from both sides," she added.