November 11, 1996
by MICHAEL O. ALLEN and LAWRENCE GOODMAN, Daily News Staff Writers
Mayor Giuliani said yesterday he would like Cardinal O’Connor to stick around awhile longer — and refused to place bets on who would be the next to lead the Archdiocese of New York.
“I better not start rating the possible successor to Cardinal O’Connor,” Giuliani said. “Cardinal O’Connor, hopefully, will continue to be with us for a long time. Maybe there’ll be an extension again of his term.”
O’Connor, 77, handed in his retirement papers to Pope John Paul almost two years ago but was told to stay put.
Yesterday’s Daily News reported that O’Connor (left) will probably stay on the job until Easter, and four possible successors are being considered: Bishop Henry Mansell of Buffalo, Bishop Edwin O’Brien of St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, Archbishop Theodore McCarrick of Newark and Bishop James McHugh of Camden, N.J.
The faithful at Sunday Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral had mixed reactions to O’Connor’s leaving.
Some demanded the Vatican find a successor quickly, and many said they were looking for someone with more liberal positions than O’Connor has.
“It’s time to change,” said Dorothy Chiozzi, 72, who frequently comes in from Medford, Mass., to attend services at the cathedral. “Women should be allowed to be priests. We need someone who is a little more liberal.”
O’Connor was in Rome yesterday attending celebrations of the Pope’s 50th anniversary as a priest and was unavailable for comment.
The archdiocese’s spokesman, Joseph Zwilling, said any discussion of a successor is premature.
“Cardinal O’Connor is the archbishop of New York,” Zwilling said. “He will remain the archbishop until he dies or the Pope tells him otherwise. It’s a waste of time for all this attention to be paid to something that might not happen for several more years.”
Henry Kielkucki, president of the teachers union at the archdiocese’s schools, said O’Connor has failed to connect with Catholic youth.
“O’Connor is far too conservative,” Kielkucki said. “The Church has to appeal more to young people. The kids, especially girls, are not really in tune to religion. The Church has turned its back on women.”
But Lisa Marrero, 29, a doctor from Manhattan, said she’ll be sorry to see O’Connor leave.
“He’s never afraid to defend Catholic teaching and he’s never afraid to apologize,” she said. “Nobody will ever replace him in my heart. I’ve grown up with him.”
Original Story Date: 11/11/96
