Today, Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI announced the appointment of Bishop Dennis Sullivan to the Diocese of Camden.  Bishop Sullivan has served the Archdiocese of New York superbly as parochial vicar, pastor, and auxiliary bishop/vicar general. I am delighted by the Holy Father’s confidence in him in choosing to have him shepherd the Diocese of Camden.

Here is the statement that I released to the press today:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 8, 2013

Our Holy Father has chosen one of the finest bishops I know to be the new Bishop of Camden.

Since my arrival in New York nearly four years ago, Bishop Dennis J. Sullivan has been an invaluable help to me, as my predecessor, Cardinal Edward Egan, predicted he would.  As Vicar General, he has been my right hand, and I came to rely on his vast and intimate knowledge of the parishes, priests, religious and people of the Archdiocese of New York.  While happily living together at the Cardinal’s residence, and working together at the Cardinal Cooke Catholic Center, Bishop Sullivan always generously shared with me his wise counsel and insights, based on his more than 40 years of priesthood in this archdiocese he proudly calls home.

One thing I came to expect above all else from Bishop Sullivan was that he would approach every situation with the heart and mind of a pastor, always asking how we can do more for the people, and reminding us that the Church is not the chancery or a building, but the people of God. His many years of service on the Lower East Side of Manhattan have given him a special closeness and dedication to the immigrant community, particularly the Latino and Asian population, who continue to be a vital and vibrant part of the Church in New York.

While I know that Bishop Sullivan will be missed in this archdiocese that he has superbly served, the people of Camden will quickly come to know and love their new bishop, as he comes to know and love them in return.

 

Here is the statement that Edward Cardinal Egan released:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 8, 2013

The appointment of His Excellency, the Most Reverend Dennis J. Sullivan as Bishop of the Diocese of Camden is a singular blessing for the people of God of that splendid community of faith.  It is also a loss for the Archdiocese of New York, which Bishop Sullivan has served with extraordinary distinction as Pastor, Auxiliary Bishop, and Vicar General.  The Bishop and I worked together at the Catholic Center and lived together at the Cardinal’s residence for many very happy years.  For me his total commitment to the clergy, religious, and faithful of the Archdiocese, especially those of Latin American and Asian heritage and those most in need, was always a source of genuine inspiration and admiration as well.  Having had the honor of consecrating him a Bishop and naming him Vicar General, I look forward to assisting Bishop Sullivan in any way I can over the years that lie ahead, particularly through my prayers for him and the people he will be shepherding.

To Bishop Sullivan I express my heartfelt thanks and congratulations as he accepts a new responsibility of service from our beloved Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI.

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This weekend, I came across this insightful piece in the New York Post written by Maggie Gallagher.  She writes about today’s generation reshaping society. I would like to share it with you.

Here is an excerpt:

My hope rests on this: The truths to which I’ve dedicated my life, both professionally and personally, are too important to ignore, too foundational to be abandoned, too much a part of reality to be lost forever.

Do not abandon politics. It is one important means to create culture — to name our shared reality.

But we need, as well, a next generation of culture creators, of storytellers, with the credentials to name reality: empirical social scientists, novelists, poets, preachers and filmmakers.

We need donors to invest in building the networks and communities through which such voices are born, flourish and give meaning to the lives of millions.

The future belongs to those of us with enough hope to rebuild on the ashes of optimism, a new American civilization — uniting sex, love, babies, mothers and fathers in this thing called marriage.

Click here to read the whole op-ed.

I’d like to share this beautiful piece from the New York Times with you. Thank you, Ann Hood, for your moving words.

The next day, I was in New York City. The weather had turned as warm as spring, and after a lunch in Midtown I decided to take a walk. The mild temperature made me forget that it was Christmastime, and I was surprised to see a line of people in front of Saks Fifth Avenue waiting to see its window displays. I joined them. Then I crossed the street to stare up at the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center and smile at the white angels blowing their trumpets in front of it.

As I turned to walk to the subway, a sign caught my eye: ST. PATRICK’S IS OPEN. I read it again. ST. PATRICK’S IS OPEN. Although I quickly realized the sign was there because of all the scaffolding around the church, I still couldn’t help but feel that it was also there just for me.

A church that was open! I crossed the street and went inside.

Read the rest here.

It was my honor to say the funeral mass for Anne Marie McGowan Murphy this morning at St. Mary of the Assumption in Katonah, I’d like to share my homily with you.

Homily

 

Michael, Kelly Anne, Colleen, Thomas, and Paige;

Hugh and Alice;

Hugh and Valerie;

Mary Pat and Jim;

Tom and Clare;

Peter and Toni;

Alice and Eddie;

Catherine and Thom;

dear family and close friends of Annie:

we love you very much!

With you we cry, and do not really know what to say . . .

With you, and for you, we pray hard:

thanking God for Annie’s life;

asking His mercy in bringing her to her true and eternal home of heaven, as Jesus just promised us in the gospel;

and seeking God’s strength for you, the strength mentioned by St. Paul this morning, as you continue to persevere through this tragic loss.

These sentiments of love, prayer, sympathy, and solidarity, come from all of us – - Father Connors, Father Paul, Father Dominic and the parishioners of St. Mary’s Parish, Annie’s spiritual home; from my brother priests; from so many friends and neighbors, indeed, from all over our country and our world – -  as we come to Annie’s funeral.

In the wisdom of Holy Mother Church, a funeral Mass is not so much about the life and death of the person we come to bury, but primarily about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus . . .

Jesus, the divine Teacher, the greatest teacher ever;

Jesus, our divine friend, who had a favored place in His Sacred Heart for children and for people with special needs;

Jesus, who told us that, “Greater love than this no one has, than to lay down his life for his friends;”

Jesus, who brought all creation together by His own death on the cross, as He died so we could live forever;

Jesus, who, by rising from the dead, dramatically showed us that the violence, darkness, evil, and death of that Friday does not have the last word, because, when God His Father gives life, that life is forever, and cannot be destroyed.

Annie would indeed want us to make all of this about Jesus, because she was a woman of faith.

I never had the honor of meeting Annie, so I’m at a disadvantage.

Then, again, I never had the honor of physically meeting Jesus, yet my union with Him is the most important thing in my life.

And, because I know Jesus, I feel as if I know Ann Marie McGowan Murphy quite well!

Like Jesus, Annie was an excellent teacher;

Like Him, she had a favored place in her big, tender heart for children, especially those with struggles;

Like Jesus, Annie laid down her life for her friends;

Like Him, she has brought together a community, a nation, a world, now awed by her own life and death;

Like Jesus, Annie’s life and death brings light, truth, goodness, and love, to a world often shrouded in darkness, evil, selfishness, and death.

So, while this is first about Jesus, it’s also about Annie, because, simply put, she lived and died in, with, and through Him. She reminds us of Jesus.

You realize tomorrow, December 21, is the darkest day of the year, with the sun – - S – U – N  – - at its lowest point;

You realize, too, that the following day the sun – - S – U – N – - begins its ascent again, as the days gradually get brighter;

You realize that we will soon celebrate the birth of the son – - S – O – N – - who came long ago at Bethlehem with the Christmas gift of eternal life for those who believe.

You realize that, as we trust in God’s mercy, Annie now has opened this supreme Christmas present.

A big thank you to Assemblyman Karim Camara for his excellent op-ed in last week’s New York Post article about school closings. Here is an excerpt:

Last week’s announcement by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York that it may close another 27 schools should serve as a wake-up call for all who care about urban education across New York state. This is not just a “Catholic” issue.

Representing a state Assembly district in Brooklyn and serving as a Protestant minister, I know first-hand the value of Catholic schools in educating the poorest among us, without regard to religion. In the Archdiocese’s schools in New York City, 93 percent of students are nonwhite and 70 percent are from households below the federal poverty line. More than a third of students aren’t even Catholic.

For many families, neighborhood Catholic schools provide a safe haven, a nurturing academic environment and the surest path to college for their children.

To read the whole op-ed, click here.

This week, I wrote about advent in my Catholic New York column. Let me share it with you. Here is an excerpt:

One of the highlights of our bishops’ meetings comes at our morning of recollection.

It’s rather simple, but we, your bishops, observe that is probably the most effective part of our sessions.

We gather before the Most Blessed Sacrament, in adoration before the Holy Eucharist, exposed in the monstrance. There we pray together morning prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours, listen to a reflection on God’s Holy Word by one of our brother bishops, and then sit or kneel for most of an hour in silent prayer until the time concludes with Benediction. (During the entire time, 10 or 12 priests are available for the Sacrament of Penance.)

You can read my whole column here.

Last Wednesday, S.E. Cupp wrote a great story in the New York Daily News about abortion. I would like to share it with you.

Here is an excerpt:

This past weekend, I was down in Washington and had a chance to talk to some Republican lawmakers and strategists on Capitol Hill about the trouncing we took in the presidential election.

Over and over again, the fear that the conservative pro-life position may have contributed to our loss came up. Their solution? We have to stop talking about it.

But this cannot be an option. The respect for life is a moral imperative that defines conservatism as much as fiscal responsibility. Conservatism cannot abandon it and remain uncompromised.

Over time, liberalism has normalized abortion, first insisting it should be “safe, legal and rare,” then painting pro-life advocates as fanatics who should be ostracized for foisting their puritanism on the public.

Conservatives need to reclaim the conversation — which they can’t do without talking about it.

You can read the whole op-ed here.