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NEW YORK (Press Release) — The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) mourns the passing of retired Cardinal Edward M. Egan, a friend to the Jewish community and a significant figure in the realm of interfaith affairs.
Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement:
We note with sorrow the passing of Cardinal Edward Egan who will be remembered for his dedicated service to the Church and steadfast interfaith efforts.
Shortly after the declaration of Nostra Aetate, the Cardinal organized the archdiocese new office for ecumenical and interreligious engagement, and during his tenure as archbishop of New York, he demonstrated a continued commitment to interfaith relations. When the Cardinal was named head of the New York Archdiocese, we expressed hope that he would foster harmony among the diverse religious groups of New York — he did just that.
Cardinal Egan was a loyal friend of the Jewish community and his presence will surely be missed.
The American Jewish Committee issued this statement:
AJC mourns the passing of His Eminence Cardinal Edward Egan and offers comfort and consolation to the leadership and constituents of the Archdiocese of New York, where he served as Archbishop from 2000-2009. He was elevated to Cardinal by His Holiness Pope John Paul II in 2001.
Cardinal Egan was a friend of the Jewish people and served in New York and Chicago, home to two of the largest Jewish communities outside of Israel. Active with the rabbinic community and interfaith endeavors in Chicago, he spoke out in New York toward advancement of the gains of the Church’s Nostra Aetate document, which totally transformed Catholic-Jewish relations. This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of Nostra Aetate’s promulgation.
“The Archbishop of New York plays a critical role in advancing Catholic-Jewish relations and Cardinal Egan is remembered as a friend who humbly built upon his Jewish relationships and lived out with the Jewish people the Nostra Aetate ideal of the oneness of ‘the community of all peoples,’” said Rabbi Noam Marans, AJC Director of Interreligious and Intergroup Relations.
Preceding culled from news releases