Parade marshal snubbed by cardinal in New York

Terence Cardinal Cooke snubbed the pro-Irish Republican Army grand marshal of the St. Patrick's Day parade by leaving the steps of his cathedral bare as the parade passed by.

But Michael Flannery doffed his top hat, anyway, as a mark of respect to the church. Thousands of ordinary people lining the route up Fifth Avenue gave Mr. Flannery an almost euphoric reception. He had a 15-minute meeting with the cardinal before mass began, but neither church nor parade officials would comment on the conversation.