6-months in the making, on March 28th AOH Suffolk County President, Bill Gorham; Past AOH New
York State President, Vic Vogel and AOH Suffolk County, Director or Public Relations, Jim
Killen journeyed into Manhattan to meet with His Eminence, Timothy Cardinal Dolan.
In the September 15, 2022 Catholic Faith Network newsletter, Cardinal Dolan wrote about his
more than 2-dozen pilgrimages to Mass Rocks in Ireland. Coincidently, 3-days later on
Sunday, September 18, 2022, with AOH Suffolk County Chaplain Fr. Henry Reid and
committee members Gorham, Vogel, Killen, Patrick Spero and Joe Kelly, AOH Suffolk County
dedicated, blessed and held Mass at their own new Mass Rock on the Thomas & Kathleen
Clarke homesite in Manorville, Long Island, NY.
PR Director, Jim Killen crafted a letter with photos to share with Cardinal Dolan, mentioning
the coincidence of his recent Mass Rock article. Less than 2-weeks later, a letter of
congratulations was received from Cardinal Dolan along with an invitation to be interviewed
on his SiriusXM and Catholic Faith Network shows. After months of contact with Cardinal
Dolan’s team and producers at SiriusXM and CFN, the interview featuring Bill Gorham and Vic Vogel was executed.
President Gorham and Past NYS President Vogel had the opportunity on a national radio and
television platform, to share with Cardinal Dolan and the audience about the AOH and the
great charitable works they do nationwide, how to become a member and in-depth
background on AOH Suffolk County’s Mass Rock, and the commitment to Irish culture,
heritage and faith. Cardinal Dolan stated he was “fascinated and startled” by receiving the
letter, as one of his passions are Mass Rocks (in Ireland), and here is one now in “County
Suffolk”.
Catholic Faith Network aired the segment on the CFN program named “Conversation with
Cardinal Dolan” on Wednesday, March 29th at 8PM. It was a wonderful way to end Irish
American Heritage Month.
