John Cardinal O'Connor and the Culture of Life

John Cardinal O'Connor, Archbishop of New York from 1984 to 2000, took very seriously the alarming and all-encompassing culture of death that was taking hold in the United States during his tenure. As Archbishop of "the capitol of the world," he felt obliged to confront this situation head on. Through his sermons, addresses, encounters with the secular media and those in political life he took every possible opportunity to foster in the States a culture of life. He was a forceful opponent of euthanasia, abortion, human cloning, capital punishment, human trafficking, and unjust war. Deeply troubled by the scourge of legalized abortion, he was inspired to found a religious order that would serve the unborn and dying and be dedicated to the sanctity of all human life. In 1991 his dream was realized in the Sisters of Life. He believed that, if it were of the Holy Spirit, the fruits would be enormous. This religious foundation would become the very heart of the Cardinal's contribution to the Culture of Life. Fr. Connor's latest book, which draws on the Archives of the Sisters of Life and includes an Appendix on Cardinal O'Connor's spirituality by Mother Agnes Mary Donovan, S.V., Superior General of the Sisters of Life, offers an unprecedented look at how his dream became reality.