* WARNING: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, INTRODUCTORY COPY OF THE BILL.
THE OFFICIAL COPY CONSIDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE FIRST READER COPY.
INTRODUCTORY*
CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL
Introduced by: Councilmembers Curran, Welch, D'Adamo, Clarke, Kraft
A RESOLUTION ENTITLED
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL concerning
Title
Baltimore City Welcomes Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien
FOR the purpose of welcoming Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien to our City, expressing appreciation for his brave ministering to U.S. troops on the battlefield, recognizing his many years of dedicated service to the Archdiocese of New York and the North American College in Rome, and celebrating his installation as the 15th Bishop of this Premier See on October 1, 2007; and providing for a special effective date.
Body
Recitals
The Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA resume of Archbishop O'Brien states that dining with devoted 17-year-old sailors on the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt somewhere in the Gulf and waking up to the footsteps of young soldiers resolutely going about their duty in the dark, outside a tent in Kosovo, are the experiences that inspired the Archbishop in his ministry as shepherd to the U.S. servicemen and women, their families, and their chaplains.
Calling his ministry the greatest job in the world, the Archbishop, who has said: "Our men and women in uniform have already sacrificed so much, they shouldn't have to sacrifice their faith", began his service to the military in 1965, with his 1st assignment to West Point as a parish priest and civilian chaplain. Seeing that he was blessing new cadets in May and burying them in December, then Fr. O'Brien became a military chaplain.
The Archbishop served a "hands-on" tour of duty in Vietnam where he lived out of helicopters, trying to bring healing to troops tired of the fighting, demoralized by war protests at home, and tempted by easily available drugs. He left the military chaplaincy in 1973, for doctoral studies in Rome, but in the following 20 years of his service to the Archdiocese of New York and the North American College in Rome, he never forgot his experience as a military chaplain, nor the men and women who were willing to sacrifice their lives for freedom and for their country.
In 1997, Edwin O'Brien was named Archbishop for Military Services and returned to the service of the brave men, women, and families of the military. In 2007, we are proud to welcome this brave and dedicated man to our lovely City, the birthplace of American Catholicism, where he will take over an archdiocese of 500,000 Catholics and 151 parishes and become part of a huge faith community that attends to the spiritual needs of people from many faiths, ethnicities, and countries of origin.
SECTION 1. BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE, That this Body and the citizens of Baltimore welcome Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien to our City, express appreciation for his brave ministering to U.S. troops on the battlefield, recognize his many years of dedicated service to the Archdiocese of New York and the North American College in Rome, and celebrate his installation as the 15th Bishop of this Premier See on October 1, 2007.
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be presented to Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien.
SECTION 3. AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this Resolution takes effect on the date it is enacted.
DRAFT 13JUL07 DRAFT 05OCT06
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DRAFT 13JUL07 DRAFT 05OCT06
dlr07-1437~intro/13Jul07
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