R.I.P. Monsignor James Dorney

Monsignor James Dorney, the co-vicar of Staten Island (whatever that means) has passed away at age 83. We have never been an admirer of his, as a quick search of this blog will demonstrate. But I would like to relate one positive memory I have of the man. I attended Stations of the Cross at St. Peter's on a Friday night in Lent about 8 years ago. Monsignor Dorney was already feeble and bent over with whatever physical ailments were torturing him. Nevertheless, despite the fact that the meager number of people in attendance surely would have granted him any allowance to accommodate his age and weakness, Monsignor Dorney nevertheless exerted all his strength to make a full, and obviously painful, genuflection down to the floor at every station to honor his Savior, and then struggled with everything he had to raise himself again and move on the next one to do it again. That was a beautiful gesture of love and respect for our God, and I will never forget it.