Albany Diocese mourns Cardinal

* Bishop Howard J. Hubbard: "He was a good friend. The Church has lost a great voice of eloquence on behalf of the poor, the vulnerable and the powerless. Cardinal O'Connor was a staunch defender of the unborn and was deeply committed to those suffering from HIV/AIDS. He had a particular concern for the poor and their economic security, and was a champion for the working man and woman. He never forgot his working class background, nor his father's membership in the unions, and he himself on several occasions served as a mediator trying to bring about resolution of labor disputes in the greater New York area.

"He was also a very close confidant of Pope John Paul II and was frequently called upon by the Pope to be his representative at different international events, or as his troubleshooter in different situations throughout the world. He was not only the spiritual leader of Catholics in the Archdiocese, he was a national figure in the United States and an international actor."

Bishop Hubbard attended Cardinal O'Connor's ordination as bishop, and "from that moment on, I had a good relationship with him. Any time there was need for counsel or guidance, he was always there willing to offer his help and support. He was the type of person that was affirming and very supportive."

Of all his achievements, Cardinal O'Connor's efforts in ecumenical and interfaith circles was his greatest accomplishment, in Bishop Hubbard's opinion.

"I think he had a wonderful rapport ecumenically, but in particular interfaith-wise with the Jewish community," he said. "His leadership in that regard, especially addressing the concerns of the Jewish community about anti-Semitism, the Holocaust, the issue of Vatican recognition of the state of Israel, was enormous.

"He paved the way for better relationships between the Roman Catholic community and the Jewish community, and he is certainly a well-regarded figure in the Jewish community because of the pioneering role he played in Catholic-Jewish relationships. While that is not as well-known, the Jewish leadership, especially in New York, holds the Cardinal in high regard."

* Rev. Kenneth Doyle, diocesan chancellor for public information and pastor of St. Catherine's Church in Albany: During the 1980s, Father Doyle worked as director for government relations for the New York State Catholic Conference, of which Cardinal O'Connor was president. He described the Cardinal as someone who was "down-to-earth and tried to put you at ease," and also praised him for helping to write a United States Bishops' pastoral letter in 1983 "that brought about a great change in the attitude of Catholics toward military spending and the arms race.

"He always struck me as a brilliant man with a ton of energy. I remember hearing how he slept only four or five hours a night. The rest of the night he would spend reading and writing. Beyond that, he was a person of great human compassion. I think of him volunteering on the AIDS unit at a hospital in New York, his zeal to protect the unborn, and his advocacy for working men and women. He came from a family of laborers, and he always seemed to maintain that penchant for backing the rights of working people, and he was also strong in his advocacy for raising the minimum wage.

"Most of all, in my mind, I see him at the forefront of the interfaith movement. I think perhaps his greatest legacy is the harmony that he brought between the Christian world and the Jewish world. More than anyone else in the world, I think the Cardinal was responsible for the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Israel."

* John Kerry, executive director of the New York State Catholic Conference (which represents the state's bishops on public policy matters): "As president of the New York State Conference of Bishops, Cardinal O'Connor led the Church's efforts in our state to fashion and promote public policies that respect human lives, meet human needs and serve the common good. He combined this courageous public advocacy with tireless personal ministry to the poor, the sick, the unborn and the elderly.

"Cardinal O'Connor contributed greatly to the Church's efforts to advance interfaith relations, and he was a strong voice in defense of freedom of conscience for people of all faiths. Most importantly, he was a man of great personal faith, whose preaching, prayer life, compassionate ministry and public advocacy bore extraordinary witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and its application to the critical issues of our time.

"Cardinal O'Connor's enduring legacy of prayer, service and advocacy will continue to inspire our work at the New York State Catholic Conference to promote public policies that respect human life and enhance human dignity."

* Kathleen Gallagher, associate director for the Catholic Conference: "Cardinal O'Connor was president of the Conference. He started as archbishop of New York in 1984, the same time I started at the Conference. In the mid-80s, he had formed the Cardinal Cooke Pro-Life Commission, and I was named director. That got me working directly with him.

"There's a great story about the Cardinal I love to share with people: In 1992, I was down in New York, getting an award from the Brooklyn Diocese. I had to sit at a table with Cardinal O'Connor and all these dignitaries, but my mother had to sit way in the back of the room. Right in the middle of dinner, the Cardinal stood up, walked over to her, took her hand -- she stood up and I saw her knees shaking -- and said, `Mrs. McKeever, thank you for sharing your daughter with the Church.'

"It was something no one had asked him to do. He was a very pastoral person. I knew a side of him not many people saw. He will be missed. His legacy will carry on for a long time."

* Rev. Frank Gilchrist, a retired priest in residence at St. Casimir's Church in Albany: "I'd admired him from afar for his book, 'A Chaplain Looks at Vietnam.' I first met him in the military in 1972. Cardinal Cooke formed an advisory council to the military ordinariate, and John and I were on the executive committee. He was from the Navy, and I was from the Air Force; he was chairman, and I was executive secretary.

"My impressions of him are that he was a very kind, generous and humble guy -- and the brightest guy I ever met. He was a wonderful help to me. His compassion for the chaplains and their difficulties was tremendous, and he had this extraordinary ability to reach out to people, which was pretty evident when he became archbishop of New York. He had boundless energy until he was felled by this disease.

"His pro-life stance was one of his most outstanding accomplishments, for me. He was very pro-active in the anti-abortion campaign. He was instrumental in founding the Sisters for Life, a unique community of religious women who are banded together just to do pro-life activities."

Father Gilchrist kept in touch with Cardinal O'Connor by sending him notes around the time of his birthday, right up until his most recent one. "I asked for a picture for a friend of his, so he sent this wonderful picture of himself taken 10 years ago and said, 'Of course, I don't look like this anymore.' He had a wonderful sense of humor, which was very helpful."

* Sister Joseph Mary Stedina, a Bronx native and fourth-grade teacher at St. Helen's School in Niskayuna: "Being from New York, I would often bring Catholic New York [the New York Archdiocese's newspaper] to school because of the things we're studying in class, so the students knew who Cardinal O'Connor was. When he was first sick, one of the kids said, `We should pray for him.' They've been praying for him every day.

"My cousin was the Cardinal's bodyguard and told me that he was hanging on for one more St. Patrick's Day parade. The day of the parade, the Cardinal was so sick he couldn't even watch it on TV. The kids in my class said if he couldn't go to the parade, we should send the parade to him. So they sent him letters and decorated them with St. Patrick's stickers. The class also made him a special rosary that they all worked on. A week later, we received a lovely thank-you note.

"The morning after he died, first thing, the kids came in and said, `Did you know Cardinal O'Connor died?' They were all praying for him. One said `that he rest in peace,' another `that he be happy in heaven.'

"He was a good example of how to die. Even when he got sick, he was right out there. He didn't want people feeling sorry for him. He's done so much for New York and he didn't bend to popular opinions. He stood up to people but was kind to them. We look to our leaders when we have doubts. People could look up to him."

(Contributing to this article were assistant editor Kate Blain, staff writer Paul Quirini, and Maureen McGuinness.)

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