Cardinal Egan Vs. The New York Press Corps

Edward Cardinal Egan needlessly antagonized reporters at a protest over the closing of an East Harlem church, leading to negative stories in the Post and Daily News. We’re expecting to see some more negative coverage of the Cardinal in the future; it certainly seems like he earned the dislike of reporters at those two papers.

Here’s the take from the News:

Edward Cardinal Egan bypassed protesters yesterday and curtly dismissed questions about a shuttered East Harlem church – telling reporters to “grow up.” “You just have to ignore all this and grow up,” Egan said when asked about the Catholics gathered outside in protest of the closure of their beloved church, Our Lady Queen of Angels. When pressed, Egan, who had just finished celebrating Mass at St. John the Baptist on W. 31st St., said, “Oh, for heaven’s sake.” Egan left the church through a back door, avoiding the 30 protesters. Before stepping into a waiting van, Egan again refused to discuss the protest. “Madam, get serious,” he said. “This is important. Go in and look at reality.”

And the Post:

A fed-up Edward Cardinal Egan was not feeling any brotherly love yesterday toward a flock of rebellious parishioners, who have been dogging him over the closing of their Spanish Harlem church. “Why don’t you just ignore them? Grow up. We’ve had enough of this,” Egan said testily to reporters as he refused to comment about the scores of demonstrators who want the Our Lady Queen of Angels church on East 113th Street reopened. “Get real,” he scolded a reporter. “This isn’t important. Go report on reality, and get serious.”

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