Political Quotes

“I had the privilege of first meeting Cardinal O'Connor in New York in 1996. I was drawn to meet with Cardinal O'Connor because of an outstanding offer that he had made. He had made an offer to the city of New York and to the New York public schools that the Catholic schools of New York would take the 5 percent lowest performing students in all of New York's public schools, and that he would embrace those students and take them into the Catholic school system, and that the Catholic school system and he would take responsibility for educating those children. We had an awesome meeting in 1996, a group of four or five of us meeting with Cardinal O'Connor and sharing his view on education. In 1997, we went back to New York, and Cardinal O'Connor testified in front of our Committee on Education and the Workforce about his view and his vision for educating all of the young people in New York City and all of the young people in America. But perhaps what had the biggest impact on me was actually going to the Catholic schools in New York City.”