I was speaking with a friend from New York this evening, and he related a funny story relating to the new Roman Catholic Archbishop of New York (Archbishop Dolan of Milwaukee), who will be enthroned next month after a 9-year run by Cardinal Edward Egan. It is an open secret that Cardinal Egan isn’t the flavour of the month among the priests of the Archdiocese, who have protested in various ways against some of the things the Cardinal has said and done. This is background.
There was a meeting last week of the committee putting together the enthronement ceremony, and both Cardinal Egan and Archbishop Dolan were there. The music director of St. Patrick’s Cathedral was present, and when the topic of discussion turned to the music for the ceremony, she piped up, “Well, since it will be Eastertide, it would be great to have some stirring Easter music as a recessional hymn. How about ‘The Strife is Over, the Battle Done!’?”
Dolan chuckled. Egan looked as though he wanted to fire her, but of course couldn’t do that now.
Later, when told of the subtext under all this, she was horrified! Apparently she is very much out of archdiocesan politics and was totally unaware of the import of what she said—which just makes it all the funnier.
Aren’t music directors supposed to be in the loop when it comes to church politics? Or is it a case of “Don’t shoot me! I’m just the organist.”
God has a sense of humour 🙂
I gather she is quite guileless, which is an out-of-the-ordinary trait in the Church but one much to be prized.