July 14, 2022

Thought for Today

Father John McGowan was sitting there reading the New York Daily News this morning after breakfast. He was reading an article on page 16 and he says to me, "Listen to this story about Tony Sirico - fellow Brooklynite." 

And then he reads to me the closing story from that article. Here's the whole article.

FAREWELL,  'PAULIE'

 Actor Sirico laid to rest in Brooklyn

By Kate Feldman

New York Daily News

Tony Sirico was given a final farewell in the neighborhood he grew up in.

The "Sorpranos" star, who died last week at age 79. was laid to rest Wednesday at the Basilica of Regina Pacis in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.

The solemn affair was overseen by his brother, Father Robert Sirico.

"The most obvious thing about my brother was the crusty, tough exterior that everyone saw and that he made a living off of. I've likened him to a good loaf of Italian bread," Sirico said.  "There were a lot of reasons for that intense bravado that I need not go into now; it's sufficient to say only that it was there for protection."

Tony Siraico, who was arrested 28 times and went to prison twice before finding success as an actor, was best known for his role as New Jersey gangster Paulie Walnuts in "The Sopranos," the hilarious, no-nonsense right-hand man to James Gandolfini's Tony Soprano.

Charges against Sirico mostly involved weapons and small-time crimes and he was only convicted twice, once on a weapons charge and once for armed robbery.

"As many of the professional actors who are here know, people often confusse the actor with the act," Sirico added. "But you look beneath that tough, offensive armor ... you begin to see a softer, gentler interior. My brother had a deep capacity for interior reflection, even if it was coated with that tough protective shell." Sirico's acting roles often stayed in the same vein as his "Sopranos" part, including those in "Goodfellas," "Mob Queen" and "Gotti."

"Given certtain decisions he made   especially early in his life and in the roles he would play in a professional capacity, many will be surprised to hear me say that my brother had a moral compass," Father Sirico said, telling a story about the first Mass he gave at the Basilica of Regina Pacis, during which the actor refused to go to Communion because he had not done his confession yet.

"A few weeks ago, I saw my brother for the last time when I visited him in Florida, where he lived close to his faithful daughter, who tended to his every need in his last days," the actor's brother said. "I sensed that the end was coming, so as we sat in a private location, I pulled out a confesional stole from my pocket and I looked into his eyes and I said, "How about that confession?" My brother agreed and I did one of the most significant things that a priest can ever do for another human being: I absolved him of his sins."

New York Daily News, Thursday, July 14, 2022, page 16