N.Y. Voice of the Faithful
comments on exchange between
Cardinal Egan & Clergy of Archdiocese

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Francis Piderit

917.916.7575

Statement from Voice of the Faithful New York on the Public Exchange of Charges and Accusations between His Eminence Edward Cardinal Egan, Archbishop of New York , and the Clergy of the Archdiocese of New York

"Voice of the Faith New York deplores the unseemly and unChristian public exchange of charges and counter-charges between Edward Cardinal Egan and the priests of the Archdiocese of New York that has spread through the media over the past two weeks.

A letter circulated anonymously by a committee of priests gave voice to serious concerns about the state of communication between Cardinal Egan and the priests of the archdiocese. These issues are shared by concerned members of the laity, as the membership of Voice of the Faithful New York will attest. It is unfortunate that the concerns expressed in the letter were undercut by the anonymity of the source. Nevertheless, all Catholics of New York, clergy and laity alike, would benefit from more frequent and more open communication with our spiritual shepherd.

After calling a meeting of his Priest's Council to discuss the letter, Cardinal Egan issued a statement affirming his availability to meet with members of the clergy. Sadly, Cardinal Egan then felt impelled to issue another letter, which rapidly and inevitably found its way into the media. In this letter, he charges that the instigators behind the original letter were priests accused of sexual abuse or their supporters, without offering any support whatsoever for this accusation.

Since when does a cardinal archbishop in the Catholic Church defend the reputation and good name of our beloved church by issuing wild, sweeping smears of his clergy? Cardinal Egan holds the most powerful Catholic microphone in the greater metropolitan area, but he has hardly ever bothered to turn it on. Now, after four years of virtually absolute silence from him on the scandal that has afflicted our church since 2002, years in which members of the laity called on him again and again to speak to us about what has been termed the greatest crisis of the Catholic Church in America, we get to read news stories of him slandering his own clergy with unsupported accusations?

He singles out only one priest by name, Msgr. Howard Calkins, a priest of great integrity who spoke to the press in haste about the first, anonymous letter. Many members of the laity and clergy know and respect Msgr. Calkins, and while he may have spoken in haste, he spoke from his heart about the need for greater openness and communication in our community of faith. We respect him for his honesty, and we vow to defend him against attacks.

We call on Cardinal Egan to desist from issuing vague allegations, which can only serve to harm the church he seeks to protect. We encourage him to follow through with his announced plan to meet with members of the clergy at the vicariate level. We ask him to make these meetings open forums and to invite interested members of the laity to attend, so that we all can work together to restore a climate of trust and mutual respect to the Archdiocese of New York."

Issued Wednesday, October 25, 2006