5/12/00 9:50 a.m.
New York's New Archbishop
A strong, orthodox leader.

By Raymond Arroyo, News Director, EWTN, the world's largest religious network

hough his appointment has only been announced today, some liberals in the Catholic Church are already making their opinions known on the new Archbishop of New York, Edward Egan. "Bishop Egan ...is very conservative and takes a very legalistic approach," Linda Pieczynski of the dissenting Catholic group Call to Action said today. "He is very personable, but also very rigid in his approach to issues."

Aside from the abundant use of "very" as a descriptor, such comments are high praise indeed. Translated, it means Bishop Egan is a faithful bishop who adheres to Church teaching, and follows the Pope. (One must bear in mind that any bishop who does not allow blueberry muffins as a licit altar bread is instantly derided as "rigid" by the Call to Action folks.)

The Pope officially appointed Bishop Egan to the New York Archdiocese today, but the decision has been known for weeks. According to a Vatican source, Bishop Egan was not Cardinal O'Connor's choice for the job. The short list presented to the Pope by the Cardinal included Archbishop Edmund O'Brian of the Archdiocese for Military Services, Bishop Henry Mansell of Buffalo, and Archbishop Justin Rigali of St. Louis.

During his final meeting with the Pope in February, Cardinal O' Connor urged the Pontiff to choose Mansell for the job. Apparently the Pope had other plans.

According to sources in Rome, Bishop Egan was chosen primarily for his skills as an administrator. During his tenure in Bridgeport, he reorganized the Catholic school system — instituting a cost-sharing program in which the entire diocese rather than the local parish bears the cost of each parochial school. Egan has also been unafraid to close schools and parishes with dwindling attendance.

With nearly 300 Catholic schools and 413 parishes in the New York Archdiocese, the Bishop will have his work cut out for him. A prominent New York priest who asked not to be identified believes the new Bishop will close "many parishes that the Cardinal was unwilling to close — and perhaps save a few." The priest also says Bishop Egan is regarded as a good fundraiser at a time when the Archdiocese is in "serious financial straits."

Eagan is no stranger to New York. He was an auxiliary bishop in the diocese starting in 1985, and would serve as Vicar of Education under Cardinal O'Connor until 1988, when the Pope sent him to Bridgeport.

The question is, how did the Pope come to know Egan? For 22 years, then Father Egan was a professor of Canon Law at the Gregorian University in Rome. He later served as a judge at the Roman Rota, sort of the Supreme Court of the Vatican, where he ruled on everything from annulments to excommunications; this may be the papal connection. Later Egan would become secretary to John Cardinal Cody of Chicago.

Today, at his first press conference, the 68-year-old bishop cut an impressive figure. Egan answered questions in fluent Italian, easily broke into Spanish, and generally handled the press in much the same manner as his predecessor. Before leaving, he told the press, "I have come here for the greater glory and honor of God, and to save souls." Considering he is now Archbishop of New York, the last part may be the most tricky.