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Contents
Headline Hopscotch ..
. . . . 2
News
. . . . 3
Commentary
...4-5
Catholic Schools ....
... 6—7
Faith Alive!
. . . 8-9
Notices
.. 10-11
Last But Not Least ....
... 12
Vol. 80, No. 19 $.50 PER ISSUE
Thursday, May 11, 2000
Funeral at Saint Patrick’s honors
‘unambiguously pro-life” cardinal
By Tracy Early
New York (CNS)
T he pro-life witness of Cardinal John J.
O’Connor of New York continued to resound at
his funeral, celebrated at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral
May 8 by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican secre
tary of state and personal representative of Pope
John Paul II.
A dramatic demonstration arose spontaneously
when the homilist, Cardinal Bernard F. Law of
Boston, said Cardinal O’Connor’s “great legacy”
was “his constant reminder that the church must
always be unambiguously pro-life.”
Some in the cathedral began applauding, others
joined them and, as the applause went on and on,
growing in Volume, it seemed evident much of the
congregation wanted to send a message to public
officials and candidates for office in the front pews.
They included President Clinton and his wife,
Hillary, as well as the two main candidates for the
presidency, Vice President A1 Gore and Texas Gov.
George W. Bush.
Also attending were former President Bush, who
sat in a pew with Cardinal O’Connor’s family, New
York Gov. George E. Pataki, New York City Mayor
Rudolph W. Giuliani, and the state’s two U.S. sena
tors, Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Charles E.
Schumer.
Giuliani has been planning to run against Mrs.
Clinton to succeed Moynihan, but the funeral of
Cardinal O’Connor, who died of cancer May 3,
may have brought more personal reflections for the
mayor, whose father died of prostate cancer and
who recently announced that he has it, too.
As the two-minute ovation continued, people
began standing in a wave that began at the back and
quickly filled the entire church, including the hun
dreds of priests in the congregation and the dozens
of cardinals, archbishops and bishops around the
altar.
Eventually the Clintons and Gores also rose to
their feet, although they did not applaud.
Statement of Bishop
John Cardinal O’Connor
1920-2000
Cardinal Law took the standing ovation as a sign
of Cardinal O’Connor’s continuing impact in the
cathedral from which he became a national and
international voice. As the applause finally died
down he remarked: “I see he hasn’t left the pulpit.”
The message reached far beyond those in the
cathedral, to crowds outside listening to loudspeak
ers and to far larger numbers across the city and
nation who followed the two-hour service live on
CNN or other broadcast media.
In the prepared text, Cardinal Law observed that
Cardinal O’Connor “did not shy away from the task
of preaching.”
“He made this pulpit unique in the history of the
Catholic Church in the United States,” he said.
In a personal vein, Cardinal Law, one of Cardinal
O’Connor’s closest friends, told about joining fami
ly members and others in saying the prayers for the
dying shortly before the cardinal’s death.
“In the midst of those prayers, there was a mo
ment of profound grief as each of us realized with a
sudden clarity what was happening,” he said. “Just
as suddenly, we realized our tears were not for him,
but for ourselves.”
Cardinal Law said the Eucharist was “the source
and summit” of Cardinal O’Connor’s life, and told
of concelebrating Mass with him in his private
chapel “just a few weeks ago.”
“It was clearly for him the highlight of that day,
and for me it will remain a most precious memory,”
Cardinal Law said.
He said Cardinal O’Connor’s illness had made it
impossible for him to read by that point, but he
recited the eucharistic prayer from memory. “So
much was the Mass a part of his life that when
some things began to fade, the Eucharist did not,”
he said.
If attendance at the Mass by a president and for
mer president, neither Catholic, testified to the
extraordinary place Cardinal O’Connor had gained
in American life, his standing in Rome was con
firmed by the decision of the pope to send the
Vatican secretary of state to preside and serve as
principal celebrant.
After a welcome from Auxiliary Bishop Robert
A. Brucato, interim administrator of the archdio
cese, Cardinal Sodano made introductory remarks
expressing gratitude for “this great churchman who
has done so much both for the Catholic community
and for so many men and women of good will.”
“His name will be forever etched on the annals of
the history of the church,” the secretary of state
said.
Pope John Paul and Cardinal O’Connor were
both bom in 1920, the cardinal January 15 and the
pope May 18, and Pope John Paul ordained Father
(Continued on page 1 1)
J. Kevin Boland on the death of Cardinal O’Connor
I t is with sadness that we learned of
the death of John Cardinal
O’Connor, the Archbishop of New
York. Many were aware of his serious
illness over the past few months as his
condition gradually deteriorated fol
lowing surgery for a brain tumor last
year.
Cardinal O’Connor was not only a
distinguished churchman, but also a
very powerful community leader. He
was unflinching in his support of the
Church’s teaching and was especially
vocal about the right to life for the
unborn child. His concept of support
for life at all stages of development
was also borne out in his valiant
efforts to be supportive of—and to
show empathy for—those who con
tracted AIDS. Through his leadership,
significant resources with regard to
medical care were literally at the dis
posal of thousands of people suffer
ing from this dreaded disease.
In many ways, Cardinal O’Connor
represented that type of leader who
spoke directly to the point. He was a
great teacher regarding many aspects
of the Church’s social teaching. He
not only served his Church, but he
also served the nation as Chaplain in
the military services for many
decades before he became the
Cardinal Archbishop of New York.
His forceful and strong voice will be
missed. We will recall his sense of
humor and his great advocacy for
many causes in support of the
Church’s mission, together with his
confrontation of issues that, in his
estimation, were not beneficial to the
common good.
+ 1 L— UCA
Bisnpp of Savannah