New York hierarchy hails Dana

The presidential candidate Dana, Rosemary Scallon, was a guest of honour yesterday at an official Catholic Church luncheon in New York's Waldorf-Astoria hotel.

Introduced by the chairman, Mr John Dearie, as "the international singing star and, we would be remiss if we did not mention, a candidate for the Presidency of Ireland", Dana took her place at the top table at the $70-a-head function in the hotel's Grand Ballroom.

On the platform with her were the Archbishop of New York, Cardinal John O'Connor, Archbishops Patrick Sheridan and Edwin O'Brien, and Bishops Robert Brucatto, Thomas Daily and Patrick Ahern.

Also with her were the Mother General of the Dominican Sisters, Mother Marie Edward Deutsch; the Mother General of the Carmelite Sisters, Mother Mary Suzanne; the Lieutenant of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, Mr Martin J. Moran; and prominent members of the New York Catholic clergy. Two retired bishops and dozens of priests and nuns were also among the 650 people at the event.

Dana attended the luncheon as part of a visit to New York, one of the main purposes of which is, according to her schedule, to "attend some meetings regarding fund-raising".

She sat with Mr John T. Sharkey, vice-president of MCI, a large telecommunicatons corporation. Also at the top table was the wealthy Irish-American businessman, Mr Bill Flynn, who has been a member of US delegations to Northern Ireland and is president of the Catholic organisation, the Knights of Malta.

The luncheon was organised by the Friends of the Cardinal Cooke Guild, a New York diocesan association dedicated to securing the cardinal's canonisation. Its purpose was the presentation by Cardinal O'Connor of the guild's Right to Life award to the Knights of Columbus, a conservative and patriotic lay Catholic organisation, similar to the Knights of Columbanus in Ireland.

In his speech, Cardinal O'Connor praised the Knights of Columbus for raising "enormous amounts of money" for church causes. They were "totally, unconditionally devoted to the church and our Holy Father" and dedicated "to the unborn, to the aborted, to the innocent".

Accepting the award, the order's deputy Supreme Knight, Mr Robert Wade, also stressed "the crucial issue of the day - the right to life of the unborn child". He referred to the need for new Catholic initiatives to ensure "the protection of the pre-born against the holocaust of abortion".

Dana was not asked to speak but her prominent presence suggested strong approval for her candidacy. Entertainer Mr Gabriel Donoghue played the anthem of nationalist Derry, The Town I Love So Well, during the lunch, along with The Lovely Isle of Inishfree.

There was strong praise from the top table for an anti-abortion politician who was present, Assemblyman Joe Crowley, whom Mr Dearie referred to as a man who "stood and voted for a right-to-life position".

There was, too, an overt expression of willingness to use the political and financial muscle of the church. In the final speech of the afternoon, Father Benedict J. Groeschel, the diocesan postulator for the cause of Cardinal Cooke's canonisation, told the diners that Nothing Sacred, a comedy series on the American network ABC (which he said stood for Always Bashing Catholics) was one in which "the priesthood is under terrible attack".

He offered each of the diners a list of the sponsors of the programme and told them "not to buy their products until they lay off the Catholic Church". They should, he said, call the relevant companies and "inform them that you are going to boycott their products until they apologise to the Catholic clergy".

Father Groeschel told The Irish Times that his particular objection to the programme was that its protagonist, a young priest, was not anti-abortion. Dana strongly applauded his speech, before mixing with the diners, some of whom had their photographs taken with her.

She is scheduled to remain in New York today.