Summit at the Sem

As of press, the presbyteral council of New York will meet with Cardinal Edward Egan at 1.30 tomorrow at St Joseph's Seminary.

Some still have their doubts that the long-scheduled sit-down will actually take place -- the stories of members getting word of a meeting's cancellation via cellphone while en route to Dunwoodie are "not apocryphal" -- but it's looking like this one is, indeed, on: Monday's letter from the archdiocese's priest personnel board seeking a meeting with the cardinal over Transfergate was a last-minute addition to the agenda.

On a related note, the six-member board likewise gathers at the seminary each Thursday...

...and, as for the rest, we'll see what happens.

Stay tuned.

SVILUPPO: The archdiocese's official response -- issued in the name of Communications Director Joseph Zwilling -- reads as follows:

This month Cardinal Egan has approved the assignments of 40 Archdiocesan priests to parishes and institutions of the Archdiocese. According to Father Thomas Devery, Director of Priest Personnel, 75% of those appointments were based on the recommendations of the Priest Personnel Board, and the other 25% were made directly by the Cardinal in response to particular pastoral needs. It has always been the prerogative of the Archbishops of New York to make priestly assignments apart from the personnel board. This policy was recognized and affirmed in the 2006 guidelines for the Priest Personnel Board, approved by the Archdiocesan priest council.

In the coming weeks, the personnel board will be making recommendations to the Cardinal about six pastors; and, as usual, their recommendations will be carefully considered.

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