A one-on-one with Cardinal Egan
Dec 22, 2006
New York's highest ranking Catholic leader is blasting the news media for covering dissension within the local church -- dissension that Cardinal Edward Egan insists doesn't exist.
(New York - WABC, December 20, 2006) - He spoke exclusively with Eyewitness News anchor Diana Williams.
Cardinal Egan rarely grants interviews, but the head of New York City's archdiocese visited our studios on Wednesday to deliver a Christmas message and to set the record straight about an anonymous letter posted on a blog that criticized both his leadership and his management style.
Cardinal Egan had a spring in his step today despite full knee replacement surgery almost four months ago and reports this fall of dissension in the ranks among priests in his archdiocese. That dissension surfaced in a letter posted anonymously on an Internet Web site describing the cardinal as disinterested and dishonest towards his priests.
It led to an emergency meeting of the 40 member priests council and a statement supporting Cardinal Egan. Today for the first time the cardinal talked about the scathing letter -- a letter he doesn't believe was written by a priest.
"My own guess is this was written by a layman. I know no priest who are involved with this and language is such that it doesn't sound like it came from a priest," he said.
But there are some in the archdiocese who have questioned the cardinal's leadership. Unlike his predecessors, he rarely speaks to the media. Some say he's been all but invisible during his six years leading New York's Catholic Church. The cardinal today defended his low profile.
"I have been vocal where I should be in the parishes, in schools, in charities," he said.
And he differs with those who question his relationship with the archdioceses more than 600 priests despite reports of low morale.
Diana Williams: "Is it your sense that priests are satisfied with your leadership right now? ... Is there a message you would like to pass on to all the priests?
Cardinal Egan: "I would say to priests that they can just look at this 6 and a half years and see I'm 100 percent one of them."
The cardinal was quite candid with us on a number of other issues.
Cardinal Egan has been New York's archbishop for the past six years. But this April, the cardinal turns 75 and is required to submit his resignation to the pope. It is at the pope's discretion whether to accept that resignation -- and it comes at a time when the cardinal is fending off reports of dissension among priests in his archdiocese.
The cardinal doesn't look or act his 74 years after knee replacement surgery he says his health is better than ever. The financial health of the archdiocese of New York is good too, despite the painful process of closing up to 31 parishes and 14 schools.
But internally, the cardinal is battling criticism about his leadership style -- a style very different from his predecessors.
A one-on-one with Cardinal Egan