Cardinal John O'Connor Dead at Age 80, Remembered as Man of Faith, Compassion and Strong Convictions
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Cardinal John O'Connor is being remembered today as a man of faith, compassion and strong convictions. The leader of more than two million Catholics in the Archdiocese of New York died last night, he was 80 years old. Our Deborah Feyerick joins us from outside St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City with details. Deborah, Good morning.</s>DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. Well, people are taking a few minutes out of their busy morning rush hour to stop inside the cathedral and pay their final respects. Inside, about 100 people at any given time, they're praying and they're lighting candles. One man we spoke to upon exiting the church said that in his opinion, Cardinal O'Connor was one of the greatest leaders the church has ever had. Now the Cardinal died last night of cardio-pulmonary arrest brought on from the cancer he suffering. At home with him was his younger sister Mary as well as several nieces, and his closest friends, including Cardinal Bath (ph) of the Vatican. All of them witnessed the end of a well lived life.</s>FEYERICK (voice-over): John Cardinal O'Connor was born in Philadelphia on January 15, 1920. At the age of 16, he entered the seminary and was ordained a priest in 1945, the year World War II ended. O'Connor spent nearly three decades as a U.S. Navy and Marine Corp. chaplain, serving American troops during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. He retired from military service as a rear admiral in 1979. He rose quickly through the church hierarchy from bishop of Scranton, Pennsylvania in 1983, to arch-bishop of New York in 1984, then cardinal a year later. A man of strong convictions and deep faith, Cardinal O'Connor held tightly to the teachings of the Catholic Church, marching against abortion and criticizing Catholic politicians like Geraldine Ferraro, who supported it, no matter what office they were running for. Though he drew fire from abortion advocates and others who disagreed with his positions, he defended his convictions in a spirit of peace.</s>CARDINAL JOHN O'CONNOR: We do not pray today in protest, we pray in love and in hope.</s>FEYERICK: He vigorously denounced violence at abortion clinics, even going on-line in 1995 to field questions about clinic bombings.</s>O'CONNOR: If anyone has an urge to kill anybody at an abortion clinic, kill me instead.</s>FEYERICK: Cardinal O'Connor became a bridge builder. When police opened fire on an unarmed West African immigrant this year, the cardinal held an interfaith service to ease race relations. And, in a moving letter during the Jewish holidays, he expressed his abject sorrow for any harm done to Jews by Catholics. When he turned 75, he submitted his resignation, as required by church law. The pope reportedly wrote back: "Keep doing what you're doing, we'll call you." Early this year, O'Connor had a growth surgically removed form his nose. Then in August, suffering from persistent nausea, he was admitted to Memorial Sloan Kettering in Manhattan, where he was diagnosed with brain cancer. Reflecting on his life from his hospital bed, the cardinal wrote: "I find myself in unutterable peace, a peace borne of the grace of God and the goodness of God's people." John Cardinal O'Connor, New Yorker, Catholic leader and teacher, humanitarian.</s>FEYERICK: Cardinal O'Connor will be interred here in the crypt of St. Patrick's Cathedral. The funeral, expected to take place Monday afternoon. Reporting live, Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.