US: The priests' council of the Catholic archdiocese of New York has reiterated its support for its archbishop, Cardinal Edward Egan, following the circulation there last week by other priests of an anonymous letter calling for his removal.
The council was summoned by the cardinal to meet him on Monday, after he became aware of the letter.
The priests condemned it as "a grave disservice to the entire Church" and said they were "upset and dismayed that our archbishop has been personally vilified in this manner".
Approximately half of such a priests' council is nominated by the local bishop or archbishop.
In their letter to colleagues a committee of dissident priests said they had met to discuss the "critical condition of the Archdiocese of New York" and were calling for a "no confidence" vote in the cardinal so the Vatican would accept his resignation when he reached 75 next April. As a cardinal he could be allowed serve until 80.
They said that since Cardinal Egan became Archbishop of New York six years ago his relationship with his priests had been "defined by dishonesty, deception, disinterest and disregard".
Describing themselves as "a Committee of Concerned Clergy for the Archdiocese of New York", they explained that "as you would understand, because of the severely vindictive nature of Cardinal Egan, this committee must remain anonymous".
A native of Illinois, Cardinal Egan, who had been an auxiliary bishop in New York from 1985, was appointed Bishop of Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1988.
On May 11th, 2000 he was appointed Archbishop of New York and elevated to the college of cardinals on February 21st, 2001, the same day as Cardinal Desmond Connell.
In June 2003 he was criticised for not disclosing the names of priests accused of child sex abuse but who were cleared following Church investigations. A spokesman argued that the innocent must be protected.
In their letter, the Committee of Concerned Clergy suggested that at each vicariate meeting of priests a secret "no confidence" ballot on the cardinal as archbishop be held, and said it would be incumbent on vicars general to report the vote to the papal nuncio.
"The collective memory of the presbyterate cannot recall a time in recent history when the morale of priests has been so broken and low," they said.
They pointed to the recent fifth anniversary commemorations of September 11th as "a sad reminder of the Cardinal's decision to leave New York only two days after the attack, during a time when the city desperately needed a spiritual leader.
"How sad, painful and disappointing it was to hear the tabloids referring to the then mayor Giuliani as the 'Shepherd of the City'. Since that time, the cardinal has continued to fail in his role as shepherd."
The cardinal, the statement also alleged, also demonstrated "an unnatural fear of the media and he forfeits the great opportunity to employ the media as a means of addressing the many contemporary questions of faith and morals".
