THE CATHOLIC CHURCH VS. TIMES SQUARE.
Three priests of Holy Cross Church witnessed the rise and fall of Times Square. Father Robert Rappleyea, pastor during the era of porn, saw the human condition reach bottom. He put up a bold front.
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Holy Cross Church, 329 W. 42nd Street
(photo by Jeff Goodman for Tales of Times Square)
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A young Father Robert Rappleyea, pastor of Holy Cross in the 1970s and ‘80s
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Father McCaffrey. Darning his socks in the bar with the pimps and the whores. Everyone snores
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Father Francis Duffy, hero chaplain of the Fighting 69th in WWI