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® i^Oll Diocese of Savannah hern (Cross 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