McShane calls Egan “one of the kindest men I’ve ever known”

Fr. Joseph McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, remembered Cardinal Edward Egan — who passed away Thursday, after serving as archbishop of New York from 2000 to 2009 — as “one of the kindest men I’ve ever known.”

“He will be sorely missed by the Church and the city that he loved, and by all who were fortunate enough to cross his path,” McShane said. “I know the Fordham Family joins me in keeping Cardinal Egan in their thoughts and prayers as we mourn his passing and celebrate his life and works.” [Full statement]

Egan was at Lincoln Center in September to help dedicate Fordham’s Law School, alongside Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

He was at Rose Hill in 2004 to dedicate the University Church after it was renovated. During his homily, Egan urged Fordham to fight secularism — “the national religion,” as he called it.

“It’s not easy for Catholic universities to stand square with the teachings taught to us by Jesus Christ,” Egan said. “There will be ridicule, attempts to marginalize and retaliate, but…if we give in to secularism and skepticism, then we have betrayed our foundation.”

In 2008, Egan publicly criticized Fordham officials for awarding Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer with an ethics award, although Breyer is pro-abortion.