Christopher Shays: “This resolution has a special meaning to me, as the archdiocese of New York is currently under the spiritual guidance of…”

“This resolution has a special meaning to me, as the archdiocese of New York is currently under the spiritual guidance of His Eminence Edward M. Cardinal Egan, who was elevated to cardinal on February 21, 2001. In 1988, Cardinal Egan was appointed bishop of Bridgeport by Pope John Paul II. During his tenure in Bridgeport, I had the pleasure of working with him on a variety of issues, including developing housing for senior citizens. Cardinal Egan guided the diocese of Bridgeport and earned a reputation of demonstrated leadership and success in meeting both the physical and spiritual needs of the church's parishioners, and I want to say that he reached out to so many people, Catholic and non-Catholics alike, when there were specific needs that they had. He is such a respected individual in the district I represent, and we were so proud of his elevation to cardinal in New York and believe that he is doing a tremendous job. I will conclude by saying I was in his office after his appointment but he had not yet become a cardinal. He just kind of shook his head and said, I wish I was 10 years younger. So many demands are made on a leader like Bishop Egan, and he gives every day of his life to this service. So when I vote for this resolution I'm going to be voting for the 200-year anniversary of the diocese and for a really remarkable leader that they have in Bishop Egan.”