NEW YORK, NY April 06, 2005 —Cardinal Edward Egan is in Rome today. He will be attending the pope's funeral on Friday and then helping choose a successor. WNYC's Fred Mogul has more.

Before leaving, Cardinal Egan said his top priority will be selecting a pontiff who can energize American Catholics to join the priesthood and take other active roles. Egan recalled a Catholic school system that was viable because it was staffed by priests and nuns.

Now, the high cost of non-clergy staff is forcing dioceses around the country to close schools. Egan believes the right pope could inspire more people to take on Catholic vocations.

In the last 40 years, the number of priests in the U.S. has dropped by a 25 percent and nuns by more than 60 percent.