The following is via NBC New York:
The family of Cardinal John O’Connor has recently made a stunning discovery — the New York archbishop’s mother was born Jewish, and her family is buried in a Jewish cemetery in Connecticut.
O’Connor, archbishop of New York from 1984 until he died in 2000, had a brother and two sisters. One of those sisters, Mary O’Connor Ward, recently wrote a column for Catholic New York, explaining the revelation about her family.
“It was a surprise I never expected,” she wrote.
She told The New York Times for a story published Tuesday that, according to Jewish tradition, her mother being Jewish means she and her siblings are too.
“Of that I am very proud,” she said.
O’Connor Ward, who is 87 and lives near Philadelphia, said she stumbled upon the information while researching her ancestry, and found that her grandparents were buried in the Jewish cemetery in Fairfield.
“How could this be?” she wrote. “How did I go through life not knowing this?”
She said she is convinced her brother was not aware of their mother’s heritage.
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6 Responses
I heard from someone attending cardinal o’conners xmas eulogy, that he started out his speech with a interpretation in the name of the heliger magid of mezeritzh. go figure.
What’s the big deal? The guy who started their religion was Jewish too.
This is old news. The story appeared about a month ago in The Jewish Week.
This story came out weeks ago.
I guess he was a tinok shenishba
“What’s the big deal? The guy who started their religion was Jewish too.”
And therefore, what? IT’s ok for a Jewish person to be a christian? YWN should remove your comment. It is sick!