N.Y. Archbishop Is Installed Amid Pomp and Call to Action

Preceded by a huge and colorful procession to St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the installation of Edward M. Egan as archbishop of New York was celebrated Monday with prayers, ancient rituals and a call to action.

“May we tolerate discrimination because of race or creed? Will we accept the poverty of others as something unrelated to ourselves?” Egan asked during his homily.

“May we stand idly by while the being within the mother is killed, even though no one has been able to prove that it is other than a human being with an inalienable right to live?”

The archbishop’s remarks brought sustained applause from some in the audience of more than 4,000 invited guests, political dignitaries and church officials.

“To all of these questions,” he continued, “the answer must be a resounding no.”

The 68-year-old Egan, who was bishop of Bridgeport, Conn., for 12 years, was chosen by Pope John Paul II to succeed Cardinal John J. O’Connor as the spiritual leader of 2.4 million Roman Catholics. O’Connor died last month of brain cancer at the age of 80.

Like his predecessor, Egan appears destined to become the pope’s point man in America on issues ranging from poverty to abortion.

Unlike O’Connor, however, Egan is thought to be a tough administrator, and he is expected to consider closing some Catholic schools and consolidating parishes. O’Connor refused to take those steps even though some said the archdiocese was facing financial problems.

During Monday’s Mass--the conclusion of a two-day installation ritual--the new archbishop demonstrated his intent to reach out to New York’s many communities. Prayers were said in nine languages, ranging from Spanish to Creole, symbolizing the scope of the church.

“I thank you most sincerely for receiving me so warmly into this great archdiocese, this wonderful basilica,” Egan told his audience, which included Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia; First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and Rep. Rick Lazio (R-N.Y.), who are vying for a U.S. Senate seat from New York; Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.); and New York Gov. George Pataki and Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani.

Nearly 1,000 priests, dozens of bishops, eight cardinals and other religious officials and church groups who took part in the procession marched one block from Madison Avenue to the cathedral.

Egan was last on the line, and when he entered the church, cheers rang out from people on Fifth Avenue who had waited to catch a glimpse of him.

The new archbishop was escorted to an ornately carved chair in the cathedral’s sanctuary, where he received greetings from clergy, members of the archdiocese and representatives of other churches, as well as Jewish and Muslim officials.

The ceremony was more cerebral in tone than was the installation of O’Connor, who at one point joked with the audience in St. Patrick’s Cathedral at his first Mass: “How am I doing?”

“Everyone thought that was a reference to me,” recalled Edward I. Koch, who was New York’s mayor at the time and who frequently asked people he met on the street that question.

“I am now talking to the mayor of Scranton,” O’Connor deadpanned.

The audience loved it.