Chaplain's Retirement Party

From an attendee:

• The White Eagle Banquet Hall last night was filled to capacity. It was about the best place since it could fit all those people, the free parking, feed them well and keep the price within reach of everyone.
  
  There have been few parties like this and when told of some of them I regret that I missed any of them. The place was so crowded that there were people there you knew were around but were lost in the mass. There was our current Superintendent and two former Superintendents, Cline and Brzeczek there. A lot of current and former exempts and a lot of ordinary police of all ranks were there. There were federal agency chiefs there and I didn't know that Father Nangle was also their Chaplain. Let's see the Sun-Times call that double dipping.
  
  Every one in that room has a Father Nangle story. Maybe a few of them could be posted of the blog. There were the after dinner presentations. Usually at retirement parties the speeches are canned and lame I you heard them all before. But turn the spotlight on Father Brandt, Rabbi Wolf, Neal Sullivan, Mike Shields and you have a very funny evening. Everyone saying that Father Brandt was the perfect replacement to fill Father Nangle's shoes.
  
  Then came Phil Cline, a little thinner, a little less hair but spunky as ever. When the prognosis on Phil's cancer was not good and Father Nangle asked him about going to the party he said, "Do you mind if I hold off buying the tickets."
  
  When Phil took the podium there was rock star applause and then pin-drop silence when he spoke. The praise heaped on Father Nangle by the Former Superintendent was that he was more than just a ceremonial leader. He was the one who came to the crime scenes, the emergency rooms and the roll call. He was the one in who was there in the middle of the night or places where cops were breaking down and he made them pull it together with the grace of God.
  
  Then came Father Nangle himself, and this "sermon" was more of a thank-you to something he loved dearly, the CPD, the ordinary cops and to the heroes. He stated, better behinds never warmed the chairs in this place than they do tonight.
  
  He told the story of a Marine friend of his, Lieutenant Joseph P. Donavan who was there and was a hero for flying wounded our of a raging firefight in Viet Nam. He had the Lieutenant stand for and ovation and OUH-RAHS fromhe fellow Marines in the congregation. Father Tom went on to speak of other heroes he had seen first hand such as the SWAT team at the Joe Airhardt shooting and thought of how these brave men are going in there to kill or be killed for a noble cause. The term "hero" should not be for someone like an NBA star or someone who just does the right thing. A "hero" is someone who takes a risk of his or her life or their future for a noble cause. This room he said was full of them.
  
  The sermon was peppered with jokes and stories about how cops are special and there were the good natured barbs at his fellow Chaplains and at his boss Cardinal George who could trade cancer survivor stories with Phil.
  
  Almost the last topic on the good Father's sermon was the Bill Cozzi tragedy. Father Tom was not judging him but was doing all he could to help Bill and his family keeping in touch with phone calls and emails. Now everyone who attended that dinner received a large heavy challenge coin as a souvenir. On on side is embossed: "FR. THOMAS NANGLE----CHICAGO POLICE CHAPLAIN" with the Arch-Angel Michael slaying the dragon.. On the other side was the image of hands caressing the Chicago Police Star and the words:
  "Officer, remember---who you really work for".
  
  The reminder were to be sold off for cash, and no one would have blinked an eye if the money were for some parting gift for Father Nangle. But Father said, the cash was for Bill when he returns to his family to help rebuild his life. A little while later it was announced that, "Folks, we are $20 short of $X thousand from these Cozzi coins so if any of you want to donate $1 apiece..." There was a stampede to the collection box and the amount got fuzzy again.
  
  Superintendent McCarthy was a guest there. Jody Weis was not and that was a good thing as he would as one person put it, the turd in the punch bowl. Superintendent McCarthy heard what Father Tom said from the heart about Bill Cozzi, and how he felt about what happened to him, McCarthy surely knows that department morale needs some boost of some kind. It would be a small thing but great thing if McCarthy went to the President's former Chief of Staff and got a full pardon for Bill. Not a parole, or an early release, a pardon would remove any bar of associating with his police family.
  
  We should have a good wishes Blog posting for Father Tom. Father Brandt is great a great guy to hand off this gig to but I just hope that Father Tom will make an appearance once in while. Stay Safe, God Bless and God Speed

Happy retirement.