Archbishop Edward Egan celebrated his first public weekly Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral yesterday and pledged his unequivocal support for New York’s labor unions.
Union leaders had been concerned about the archbishop’s position. They had a long-standing commitment from his predecessor – the late John Cardinal O’Connor – but Egan had never taken a public stand before.
“The message is already quite clear,” Egan said. “It is part and parcel of the Catholic Church teaching that … every human being has a right to proper remuneration of his or her work … and to organize and seek justice and fairness in his or her life.”
The archbishop, who has been busy meeting almost daily with archdiocesan leaders since being installed in June, will be more in the public eye this season, associates said. Last week, he presided at the swearing-in ceremony of Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik at City Hall.
Egan will frequently switch between saying public Mass at the cathedral and going parish-to-parish, according to archdiocesan spokesman Joseph Zwilling.
“He’s making an effort to be out in the parishes as much as possible on Sundays and whenever an opportunity arises,” Zwilling said. “He wants to meet the people and let them get to know their archbishop.”
Yesterday at the cathedral, Egan, whose first paying job was as a letter carrier in the summer of 1948, spoke before city and state labor leaders, as well as Costa Rican President Miguel Rodriguez, at the Labor Day Mass to “celebrate the dignity of work.”
“We come … to celebrate the working men and women of our nation, to tell them of our respect and our support, and to assure them we are with them in seeking the rights and protecting the interests and the dignity of all labor men and women,” he said.
Brian McLaughlin, president of the Central Labor Council, said the 400 city unions and 1.5 million workers he represents are “fortified” by Egan’s message.
“He spoke from the heart for organized workers,” McLaughlin said. “He made it clear that the teachings of the church speak clearly for the rights of workers to organize. When you compare our mission and Archbishop Egan’s … they point us in the same direction as far as service to the unorganized, the poor and the disenfranchised.”
On Sept. 26, Egan will have a private meeting with McLaughlin and other union reps. McLaughlin said he’ll ask Egan to continue a Commission on the Dignity of Immigrants that O’Connor and he initiated on Labor Day last year.