Before a service at St. Patrick's Cathedral yesterday, Edward Cardinal Egan told reporters, "I'm feeling pretty good but not as good as I should be. To miss Holy Thursday and Good Friday would be a heavy cross to bear. I decided not to bear that one if I didn't have to." The 77-year-old head of the NY Archdiocese had been hospitalized for a few days starting last Saturday for stomach pains (which the NY Times says was a "gastrointestinal virus") and will need surgery to have a pacemaker implanted. But Egan was upbeat and said he would lead services today, tomorrow and Easter Sunday, which will then lead into next week when his successor, Archbishop Timothy Dolan, will be installed. One NJ woman who attended the service told the Times, "It’s kind of incredible he was able to make it. I have a lot of respect for his determination." more ›

Yesterday was Cardinal Egan's final "Conversation with the Cardinal on Sirius Radio's Catholic Channel. The NY Times reports that he tried to set the record straight: "In jocular, yet pointed remarks, he said that he would not, in fact, retire to a penthouse apartment in Paris; that he did not play Mozart sonatas for friends on the baby grand at his residence behind St. Patrick’s Cathedral; that he does not dine frequently at 'Upper East Side gourmet eateries'; and that he was not against continuing the rule of celibacy for priests." Egan, who also turned 77 yesterday, explained why he went on satellite radio, "I live in a town where the media are not friendly. They feel that they are going to be important only to the extent that they pull down not only ourselves, but any other institution that seems to have some standing. So I think it’s important to talk over the media." The new Cardinal, Timothy Dolan, will be installed on April 15, 2009. more ›