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FOIA Number: 2006-0458-F
FOIA
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the William J. Clinton
Presidential Library Staff.
Collection/Record Group:
Clinton Presidential Records
Subgroup/Office of Origin:
Communications
Series/Staff Member:
Don Baer
Subseries:
OA/10 Number:
10138
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Folder Title:
An American Covenant I Pres. Breakfast Mtg. Notes 8/9/94
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THE TRIN.ITY.FORUM
VIA FAX: 202-456-5709
September 13, 1994
Mr. DonBaer
Old Executive Office Building
Washington, OC 20501
Dear Don,
It was a great pleasure to meet you at the discussion following the
Presidential breakfast with religious and academic leaders on August 9. You are
obviously guanlian of a critical and inspiring part of.the White House.
Attached is a copy of my suggestions sent to the President following the
breakfast. If it were taken further, you would ~ a key to the success of the idea.
With wannest regards,
Sincerely,
Dr. Os Guinness
Executive Director
5210 L YNGATB COURT, SUITB B
BUR:U, VIRGINIA 22015-1631
703-764-1070
FAX 703-764-0993
.September 1994
I .
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"AN AMERICAN COVENANT"
A Proposal for
a Presidential Initiative
Iri Reaffinning
America's First Principles
.I.
Proposal Summary
. At a· time of crisis and uncertainty in both domestic and international affairs, the
President-acting in his unique office as the President of all Americanr-will make a series of
major addresses and lead a public signing of an American Covenant on living with our deepest
differences in public life, in order to give a bold reaffirmation of the founding principles of the
American experiment and the meaning of being American in our time ..
IL Background
The United States has been descri~ as the world's "first new nation,'" a nation built by
intention and built largely on beliefs and ideas rather than bloodlines. Never have the
fundamental principles of the American experiment been more relevant than in the post-Cold
War era. Yet much uncertainty surrounds the so ..called "New World Order'' and America's role
. ln it. And closer. to home such developments as tribalism, extreme multiculturalism, and the
culture wars have openly called into question many aspects of the American way of lifeincluding such theme& as what it means to be American and the binding ties that make diversity
a source. of strength and richness rather than division.
At this time of crisis and uncenainty, a bold.new symbolic yet practical affirmation of
the first principles of the American experiment ls needed-on the order of President Lincoln's
national reflections during the Civil War or the strategic world vision of the "wise men"
following World War II. No other person or office can exercise such national leadership as the
President of all Americans.
The objective of the Presidential initiative is six..fold:
.
.
1. To mount a series of publlc events, both symbolic. and practical, that provide a
platfon:n for a Presidentialreaffirmation of American first principles.
2. To demonstrate the abiding relevance of the American experiment to an
international audience in light of the challenges ofthe post-Soviet era.
3. To challenge Americans to take stock of the American experiment on the eve of the
year 2000, especially at points of crisis and controversy.
4. To articulat~ a vision of the common good that protects true diversity, encourages
full democratic panicipation in public life, and allaws Americans to deal civilly with
their deepest differences.
�5. To provide an opportunity for the President to aniculate his own guiding philosophy
and vision for the nation.
6. To allow the President· to be seen and heard in a national nonpards~n role as
· President of all Americans, especially in areas currently pc)liticized by fruitless
culture-warring.
·
IV. Plan
The Presidential Initiative will be built around the following components:
1. A series of major speeches
•
Over the course of the next eighteen months a series of major spe~ches will address
defining features of the American first principles that need reaffirming in our time.
.
I
•
The series would have two audiences,. domestic and intemational. and two stated
· purposes. On
one hand,, each speech should set out one of America's first things
u one of the ordering principles of the American vision of the New World Order.
On the other hand, each speech would also challenge Americans to a rededication.to
the outworking of their first principles in light of cu:nent difficulties and challenges.
•
Either the President could deliver all the speeches or, in the interests of a bipartisan,
national vision, the President c.Ould give the first and last and invite select American
leaders--the wise men and ,women of our time-to address t.opics appropriate to their
gifts and experience (for example, Michael Novak--<iemocratic capitalism; William
Bennett ·or Barbara Jordan--character; Elie Wiesel or Sheldon Hackney-living with
our deepest differences).
•
Each speech should have an occasion and venue appropriate to its theme and
intendec:l audience.
•
The following are· among possible topics that might be considered for the series: ·
the
a
E pluribus unum-Building a dvil society and living with our deepest differences
in the face of such modem dangers as tribalism, extreme multiculturalism, and
the recutting controversies over religion and public life.
.
b. "Li~rty and the pursuit of happiness"-the challenges of modem freedom and
sustaining a free society in a day of entitlement, litigiOusness, and group
sensitivities.
c. The public im.po~nce of character, vinue, ·~abits of the heart"-and modem
controversies in public education and political.life, including the need to
strengthen character-forming institutions outside the sphere of the federal
government.
d. Separation of powers-and the modem danger of "gridlock" unless a sense of the
common vision for the common gOOd is strong and operative.
~·
Federalism-and modem tensions between the federal government and the
states, reflected worldwide in the frictions be~~en centralizing and
decentralizing forces, sueh as in the European Community or the Commonwealth
of lndependent·States.
z
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ll,.olll,ll,.olll•l
The importance of representative democracy-and the challenges in modem
trends toward plebiscitary politics because of the predominance of the media,
polling, and special interest group&.
g. Democratic capitalism-the triumph over centralized economics, hut the dangers
of "market totalitarianism.,
h. "Entangling alliances"-and new vision of U.S. engagement in international
affairs in the post...Soviet era.
i.
"This too shall pass. away"-the necessity of realism, the possibility of decline,
and the.importance of limits and renewal in the unfmished ''American
experiment''-and the danger of a utopian belief in endless growth and
unchallenged predominance.
2. Book
•
Once delivered and· edited, the speeches would be published .as a hook articulating
. the President's guiding philosophy and vision for Ame:tica'---On the order of John F.
Kennedy's Profiles in COKrcrge.
3. Signing of an American Covenant on liberty, diversity, and. pu&lic life
•
As a symbolic act of Presidential leader&hip in reaffirming American ideals while
addressing contemporary problems, the President will lead a public signing of a
specially drafted American Covenant-modeled on the precedent and principles of
the Williamsburg Charter, .a 1988 bicentennial celebration of the First Amendment
(copy sent separately).
•
The Williamsb~rg Charter was a celebration of the American protection of religious.
liberty and the genius of the vision of a "civil public square" open to Americans of all
faiths and none. It went beyond analysis and criticism to put forward a constructive
solution for negotiating deep differences in public life.
•
The signing of this American Covenant will include representatives of other leading
. players in cun:ent disputes-for example, politicians, ed~cators, media, and activists.
•
If the right leaders were involved and the proper drafting and preparation done,· this '
public signing could accompliSh the domestic equivalent of the Rabin . .Arafat signing
or the Begin..Sadat accord. Led by a Democratic Administration that prizes the
proper place of diversity, it could have the surprise and effectiveness of President
·
Nixon's opening relations with China.
4. Educational initiative in public education
•
,Along with Secretary Riley (and groups such as the Freedom Forum's First
Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University), the President will launch a national
initiative in public education to coordinate consauctive teaching on such themes as
character, democratic principles, religious liberty, and civility.
•
This educational initiative could be built on excellent existing programs and
materials such as Pin4ing Common Ground (a framework and guide on diversity and
public education), Uuing with Ollf Deepest Differences (a ·fifth.. , eighth·, and eleventh·
.3
�grade curriculum on diversity and public education), and First Uberty (a documen~
taty. video on diversity and public education). With Presidential support, these
constructive matedals could .be built into nationwide programs that could begin to
rum the tlde in the key world of education.
·
V. A Moment Not to be Missed
To be successful, this Presid~ntial initiative would have to avoid the opposite dangers of ·
hollow ceremonialism and partisan politicization.
First, although there ate obvious political considerations involved, the success of the
. initiative depends on its rising above the partisan and the narrowly political to address the
nation's needs. Second, although not as urgent as the average shott~terin Washington issue du
jour, this reaffirmation could be far more significant fn the long term-on the one hand,
allowing the President to articulate his vision for national life; on the other hand, giving the
President the opportunity to address grave national issues at a momentous. national hour.
The decision to launch such an initiative that is national rather than partisan and
term rather than short .. term would have to rest with the President alone.
long~
·Yet the issues at stake today, whether abroad in Bosnia and Rwanda or at home in
. controversies in politics, education, and the media, make. this· a moment not to be missed-time
for an urgent, practical, and timely realfmnation of American first principles.
4
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THE
PRESIOE~f~AS SEEN
l.? \ s . c.:, \.,(
LE:VEL 1 - J 01'' 3 STORIES
PACE
copyright 1994 The New York Times company
The New York Tlmes
May
29, 1994 1 sunaay,
La~e
Edition - Final
SECTION: section 1; Page 1; Column J; National oesk
LENGTH: 3948 words
HEADLINE: Ancient RocK in crosscurrents of Today
SERIES: Searching Its Soul:
articles.
BYLINE:
OATELIN~:
The American catholic Church -- First or rour
By PETER STEINFELS, special to The New York Times
LOS ANGELES
BODY:
On Sundays at st. Thomas the Apostle Church, in a gang-ridden area near
downtown, the pews fill up for the Spanish-English Mass at 10:45. Then at the
noon Mass, the one that features a mariachi band in gray costumes with gold
buttons down the legs, the aisles are jammed and the congregation spills out tt
front and side doors onto the sidewalk.
"Between s,ooo and 6,000 come each Sunday -- 10,000 on the big feast days, ..
said the Rev. Dennis O'Neil, st. Thomas's 54-year-old pastor. The worshlper~ a1
largely Salvadorans, Hondurans, Guatemalans and Mexicans, including lots of
young couples with babies in their arms and toddlers in tow.
Twenty miles and several socioeconomic levels away, in the affluent seaside
municipality of Santa Monica, another Roman catholic church stands locked,
barricaded behind scaffoldinq because of severe structural damaqe in the Jan. 1
earthquake. That does not discourage the thousand or so st. Monica worshipers,
mostly young adults between 18 and 35 years old, who stream in and out of the
parish high school 9Y1nnasium for an evening Mass that resounds with sacred musi
recast in the rhythms of rock, jazz and country-and-Western.
st. Thomas the Apostle and St. Monica's are two of the most vibrant races of
the Roman Catholic Church in the united States, a church that embraces one of
every four Americans and that remains a major moral and even political force in
American life. Beyond its direct influence on the schooling and inner lives of
millions of practicing catholics, the church is one of the country's largest
prov.iders. of social se~ic.es, from_. soup _kitqhens to .i.nn.er-:-city. l:J.Qspitai;s~ .and i
has bee.n a ··powerfuL rall,yin.g point _·i..n·· the· politics of abortion and· sexual ~·
·morality. ·
Yet around the country there are other, far less vibrant faces of American
Catholicism, and signs of problems that run much deeper than the ~ell-known
internecine disagreements over contraception or even the scandals in which
priests have molested children.
Over the last three decades, one of every three catholic schools closed, eve
as the catholic population grew. Already, more than JOO parishes are led by
sisters or lay people because of the emerging shortage of priests.
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Most important, the churcn is s~ruggl1ng against a cooling ot devotion among
many members. A parish not far from st. Monica's, in the artluent neighborhood
of Pacific Palisades, has experienced a kina ot malaise seen in many other
churches around the country as attendance and enthusiasm have dwindled. In the
1960's, corpus Christi Church in Pacific Palisades was often tilled to its
capacity ot 1,000 tor the main sunday Mass; today that many may show up only at
Christmas or Easter, and attendance at tneweekend services ranges trom 100 to
300.
Msqr. John A. Mihan described tne corpus Christi Church as "aormant" when he
took over five years aqo. "Over a long time, we had lost many people who were
confused or disillusioned with the church for some reason," he said. The church
has embarked on a membership drive, includinq sucn measures as special Masses
for young families.
Nationwide, sunaay Mass attendance, generally considered the most reliable
measure or catholic commitment, has fallen. In surveys in the 1960's, more than
two-thirds of people who call themse~ves catholics said they attended weekly
Mass. Today, 37 percent say they do, accordinq to a New York ~imes/CBS News pol
in April. Church authorities in large cities report still lower figures. Bernar
Cardinal Law of Boston recently said Mass attendance there was only 25 percent
to JO percent.
In the early 1960's, both catholics and Protestants qave 2.2 percent ot thei
income to their churches. By the mid-1980's, Protestants were still qivinq the
same share while catholics were qivinq only half as much, according to data
compiled by the Rev. Andrew M. Greeley, the sociologist and author.
"If giving as a percent of income is a valid measure of commitment to the
church, we are in trouble.•• said R. Scott Appleby, director of the Cushwa Cente
for the Study of American catholicism at the university of Notre Dame.
Although many individual catholic institutions liXe st. Thomas and st. Monic<
continue to radiate vitality, the church as a whole is suffering an ominous
erosion of its essential infrastructure -- in the catholic schools that have yet
to be replaced as a means of inculcating catholic values in future successive
generations; in the ranks of priests and sisters who have lonq been the
mainstays of church leadership, and in the religious knowledge and the moral an<
financial support or the catholic laity.
Demosraphic shifts are adding to the strain, with trad1~1onal urcan catholic
populations dispersing to suburbs, leaving behind costly church buildings with
too few worshipers. In the last five years, the archdioceses of Detroit,
cleveland, Phila9elphia, Pittsburgh,. Ch_;i.cago and san Fra~cisc;o })ave h.a,d to . clo.sE
.··. ·mariy older· parf~hes,·. o;ten ·stirri~~ ·angry· pro_tes~s-. · · · · ·. ~ . ·· · · · ·. · · · • ·• · · ·
Strengthened by· new streams ot catholic 1mm1qrants rrom Latin American and
Asia,· membership in the Catholic chur·ch grew by l.5 miliion over the last two
years, to about 60 million. But the qrowth has been slowed by dropouts and
~onversions to other faiths.
Twenty years ago, 90 percent of Hispanic American~
identified themselves as Catholic; now, two-thirds to three-quarters do. Many
have joined evangelical and pentecostal churches.
Indeed, once catholics reach their adult years, studies show, they are more
likely than other Americans to abandon the church of their upbringing, some
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through intermarriage but many with recriminations that the church is either tc
conservative or too liberal for their tastes.
'l'he increasinq reports of cases in which priests have molested cnildren, ana
what many perceive as the church's initial efforts to conceal the problem, has
definitely hurt the church's image and has left some dioceses !acing potentiall
devastatinq lawsuits. ln the New ~ork Times/CBS News Poll in April, 52 percent
or Catholics said they believed that the cnurch had done a poor job of handling
such charges. But only one-third of catholics said their overall opinion of the
church had become more neqative. The nationwide telephone poll of 44& catholic
adults has a marqin of sampling error of five percentage points.
Addinq to the difficulty of addressinq tne church's lonq-range problems is
the new, and often extreme, polarization amonq many catholics. American
Catholicism is rent by doctrinal disputes that now stretch from sexual morality
to the definition of Catholicism itself. Priests, theoloqians and lay leaders
eye one another witn suspicion, and distrust has reached into the ranks ot the
bishops.
Liberals accuse conservatives Of trying to undo the retorms instituted by tn
Second Vatican council in the early 1960's, which gave ordinary believers a
greater role in church affairs and made the church more receptive to modern
ideas like religious liberty. Conservatives accuse liberals ot twistinq the
reforms to justify an anythin9-goes attitude toward church teachin9s.
The new catechism or tne catnolie church was approved by Pope John Paul II 1
to give catholics around the world a single, comprehensive statement of
church teaching. But the English translation from the oriqinal French was
delayed until Friday because the Vatican and American traditionalists believed
that efforts to avoid references to humankind as "man" or "men" were distorting
doctrine to appease !eminists.
1992
"I have seen visceral hatred among conservative catholics tor what they see
as perversions of vatican II by the ,more or less mainstream lert," Michael
Novak, a neoconservative catholic author, said in a speech last year. He added
that he had also seen ••at least an equally visceral hatred" from the left for
Pope John Paul I I and others viewea as instruments ot a vatican retreat to tne
past.
Deep Roots
Hope and Help For the Multitudes
Despite its troubles, the Catholic cnurch remains deeply rooted in many
communities across the country, with its network of 20,009 parishes, nearl¥
. 9 ,,000 ·el·ementary and··hiqh SChOOl-S,.. :mbre tha~ 2<10 ·colleqes and ·uniVE\rS:ities:,. Il'I(..>::·E
· than 5s.o· nospitals and a. socia)_·-ser.vice ·system-.Eiecond.. only t_g the ·government's.
It also remains.one of.the few institutions linkinq the rich and poor, the
powerful and the powerless, the establis-hed and the newcomers ot society.
Hospices for the dyin9, spiritual counseling centers tor executives,
treatment programs tor druq addicts, legal aid for refugees,
~arriage-preparation courses ana marriaqe-renewal weexends -- the church's
pastoral and social work goes on in thousands of quietly thriving efforts that
~scape the attention 9iven to papal rebukes or theological questioninq.
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PG.I)8
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29 1 1994
By noontime on a Sunday in Lent, a hundred adults at st. Thomas the Aposc!e
met to prepare for baptism at Easter; the parish also baptizes 100 infants ever
month. In the garage at the rear of the parking lot, Juan Flores mannea the
parish food bank as he has for nine years, this time accompanied by his a-year
olcl grandson.
Father O'Neil had opened the parish school buildinq so that Indian
parishioners, immigrants from the oaxaca region of Mexico, could attend a
meeting about the uprising in the neighboring state of cniapas. He sat down in
tent erected in the parking lot by a parish group selling Central American
snacks to raise money for a festival. "When I came, this place was locked up
tight as a drum at 5 P.M.," Father O'Neil said. "Now it's open until 11."
In an area rife with drugs and qanqs, where two or three families typically
share an apartment or sometimes live in unheated qaraqes, st. Thomas is "a kine
of zone of non-violence," he said. In nine years, he said, there have been no
graffiti on the church, and gangs do not bother people obviously going to and
from there.
Father O'Neil started
national group mount its
people, was designated a
united States D~partment
a soccer league for children. The parish helpea each
own religious festivals. The parish school, run by lay
"National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence" Dy the
of Education.
Father O'Neil described church efforts to brinq Hispanic~Americans and
Korean-Americans together after the 1992 rioting. (St. Thomas was one or the
churches where people brought back merchandise they had stolen.) He described
negotiations with the police to find a place where single mothers could set up
as tamale vendors.
'
Then the priest excused himself to talk quietly with a man whose wife and
children had been severely burned in a neighborhood fire.
st. Thomas the Apostle represents a new, energetic wave of an old phenomenon
immigrant catholicism. Fifteen years ago, not a single Mass at st. Thomas was l.
Spanish, and Los Anqeles had not yet passed Chicago and New York to become the
nation's largest archdiocese.
Father O'Neil's Central American parishioners, like the xrish and Italians
and Poles before them, co~e from cultures where the central place of reliqio1~
and the church is taken for granted. Yet many actually become more involved in
church life here than in their homelands.
:
The church assists the~ in the diff~c~lt passage .f.rom. o.ne .cu.1tur,a ~o anoth,~r
offe·ring ·. c;i· .mix-..of: material· aid;·· ·cuitura"i .idE!n"ti-t}t,: moral gui<tanc~· anc;i Sp~ri.tual·
solac·e. In the Los Ancjeles archdiocese ·now, ·Mass is ·said in 46 lan9ua9es.
Deep Cllanges
A Blend of Piety And Personality
In much the way that st. Thomas's responds to the social and economic needs
its Central Alnerican immigrants, St. ·Monica's addresses the emotional needs
~f its well-educated, professional parishioners, two-career couples and retired
:olks as well as sinqles pursuing their vocations in Southern california's
medical complexes, film studios and engineering firms.
~f
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Known ror lively worship and priests who are both open-minded ana airect
about their personal faith, the parish draws people from all over the city to
its array of activities. Jan Scruton, who recently switched to St. Monica's
after 30 years o! attendance at the now-languishing church in Pacific Palisades
said she had come because the priests were friendlier and more engaging.
"That human element maKes such a big difference," Ms. Scruton said. "Nobody
wants to go to church and hear a droning lecture every day or be chastised
continuously for your sins. Really, life's too short."
There are Bible groups and bereavement groups and bowling groups, a
social-justice 9roup and a gay and lesbian outreach ministry. Before the 6:30
Mass every morning, a handtul of parishioners assemble, as in monasteries, to
say mornins pr~yer~.
At a dinner for parish staff and volunteers, young people hoot and pump thei:
arms. The mood swings between ribbing of the priests and tearful testimonials
about the "home" or "ramily" that st. Monica's has 9iven them.
"The one thing about st. Monica's is that the door is always open," said
Peter Bohanex, a 26-year-old building manager Who was baptized as an infant but
reared with virtually no religious training after his parents divorced.
"My previous impression was that the catholic cnurch was very riqid, althougt
didn't really know ir that was true," Mr. Bohanek said, but at St. Monica's
"~he ~o~tom line is that people with so many aifferent experiences and outlooks
can be honest with each other a.bout their problems and their faith. 11
L
Msgr. Lloyd Torgerson, who heads the parish, stresses flexibility.
Homosexuality, for instance, is "a very difficult issue for our church," he
said. st. Monica's will not bless qay or lesbian marriages or contradict the
church's teachings, but "ir we want gays and lesbians to grow in the Gospel,
can't ask them to leave."
~e
This may be a far cry from what older catholics sometimes bemoan, the lost
solidarity of an immigrant faith in which priests, nuns, parents and
schoolchildren all knew their places and their catechism -- a church preserved
in the amber of Hollywood sentimentality in the 1944 Oscar-winning film, 11 Going
My way. ••
curiously enough, it was at St. Monica's that the film's
screenwriter-producer-director, Leo McCarey, observed the relationship between a
younger priest and an older one that he transformed into roles played by Bing
Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald. Fifty years later, Mr. Mccarey.would find a parish
_bus-tl !ng w1th ~n energy -and_ enterp:r_ise· that; said Ys idr6 .~. Reyes, ·an ·_· · .·_·. ·
'31-•year.:..old ·lifetime:member ot' the parish, it :did_ not· have· in. the _1940's. ''There
'..;ere jus~ sunday Masses and a tew taf.tles and things," Mr. Reyes said.
Wide Embrace
A Spiritual ~ridge with Many Lanes
Few other American institutions stretch so errec~1ve1y across lines of
race, education and economic class as the Catholic Church. However
the church linxs outsiders like St. Thomas's new immigrants with the
college-educated grandchildren of lrish, Italian and Slavic illlllligrants, now
e~nnicity,
~enuously,
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the insiders occupying city halls and downtown executive suites.
Not far trom ~t. 'l'homas the Apostle's par ish school is the manicured,
high-fenced campus of Loyola High School, a college-preparatory school in the
neigborhooa since 1917.
Although a quarter ot Loyola's male students are on scholarship and about
hal! are Hispanic, Asian or black, "many or the kids come in their mothers'
Mercedeses," Fatner O'Neil said. Many, he added, also tutor the children at st
Thomas.
And at st. Monica's, even while the church faced huge expenses to repair
earthquake damage, Monsignor Torgerson went before the congregation to make th·
annual appeal for money the archdiocese uses to sUbsidize poorer parishes liKe
st. Thomas. That sunday, parishioners pledged $9o,ooo.
one frequent worshiper at·St. Monica who represents the bridging function o
Catholicism is Richard J. Riordan, a rormer nusinessman and now Mayor of Los
Angeles, who has helped the archdiocese raise money for social programs and ma
large personal donations to the church.
The Mayor is a close friend ot Roger cardinal Mahony, the energetic
Archbishop o! Los Angeles and another bridging figure. A conservative in moral
and matters of church authority, cardinal Mahony earned his reputation as a
church leader in Fresno and stocxton, calif., by backinq hard-pressed farm
workers.
Visibly identified with his archdiocese's Hispanic population and the
immi9rants from the Philippines ana Southeast Asia, the cardinal is equally at
home with tne city's power structure, meeting regularly with newspaper
publishers and movie executives as well as the area's political leaders.
The catholic Church also stands astride some ot tne nation's deepest
political ri!ts. Church otticia~s' opposition to abortion is well known; thei:
defense of traditional sexual morality has put them on the conservative side o:
the nation's cultural battles. In Washington and calirornia, the church playect
major role in defeating proposals to legalize euthanasia or physician-assisted
suicide.
At the same time, the Catholic bishops' criticism of nuclear arms and their
advocacy of welfare measures for the poor became rallying points for critics o:
the Reagan Republicanism. They bo~stered opposition to the Reaqan
Administration's emphasis on military measures in Central America. More
recently, they pressed anti-abortion Republicans to back passaqe of
mate.rna 1 ~leave· .leqislati~n.
. .·
Turning Point
Early 60's saw A second Genesis
Neither the brignt spots nor the dark shadows in American Catholicism,
neither its bursts of creativity nor its bitter controversies, can be understoc
apart from the second vatican council, the landmark event in 20th-century
Catholicism when the world's bishops gathered in tour sessions !rom 1962 to
1965.
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From the l6th through the 19th century, catholicism haa increasingly aetine
itself as hierarchical, other-worldly and anti-modern. In a trend that
culminated in the declaration of papal infallibility by the First vatican
council in 1870, church governance emphasized ~he Pope at the pinnacle of a
sharply defined hierarchy. Spirituality emphasized the individual soul's pursu
of salvation in an afterlife. Politically and intellectually, Catholicism
inveighed against modern cul~ure as reflected in forces as diverse as
Protestantism, capitalism, socialism, na~ural science and psychotherapy.
The second Vatican Council marked a new direction. lt attirmed the active
participation of the laity in worship and the responsibilities ot bishops alo;:
with the Pope for church 9overnance. It avoided condemnations, took a
sympathetic stance toward the modern world, endorsed treedom of religion and
conscience and emphasized that holiness was found in marriage, everyday work 2
the ~truggle for justice as well as in prayer and priestly life.
The revised liturgy expressed tne new egalitarianism ana communal
participation. The church authorized celebration of the Mass in local languag
rather than in Latin. The priest now faced the worshipers across the altar
rather than standing at their head with his back to the congregation.
Most importantly the new liturqy, along with the other, less visible change
shattered many catholics' assumption that their church's rules and practices
were immutable and beyond discussion.
The council would inevitably have disrupted church lite, but its impact was
magnified by other events in the 1960's. American catholics were rapidly
shedding the traces of their immigrant subcultures tor the American mainstream
A mood of rebellion against traditional standards, authorities and institution
of all kinds was sweeping the west and the United states in particular.
Where catholic theology, religious education and worship had previously bee:
marked by strict uniformity, now the pendulum swung to unprecedented
experimentation. Papal efforts to reassert teachings like the prohibition of
contraception only seemed to undermine church authority in other moral matters
especially in regard to sexuality, where the church continued to forbid sex
outside of marria9e and homosexual sex.
The post-conciliar turmoil spurred an exodus or men from the priesthood and
women from convents -- and a dramatic decline in recruits. The reality of fewe:
and older priests has often been noted. Even more dramatic has been the
declining number of sisters, to 94,000 last year trom 181,000 in 1965.
The effect has rippled through catholic institutions, especially the school
-. -. sys.tem .. De~p,ite· _s~).aries n:nJet\ lo.w.er ·than. for. public schoo-l teachers,- the
· replac~ment of· s.isters 'tJy lay_t~ach~~s i~creased_ costs. Higher costs_ and .
population shifts resulted in the-closing of more than 4,ooo ot. the 13,000
catholic schools tnat operated in 1965.
In 1965 half the Catholic school-age population attended Catholic schools.
Today less than a quarter does -- and there is virtual unanimity that sunday
school or after-school classes have not taken up the slack in inculcating the
faith.
1
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PAGE
Nor has the tull impact ot what may be the total aisappearance ot many
women's religious orders yet been telt. Halt the remaining sisters are now ove.
65, but more than 40 percent of those between 70 and ao are still working, and
so are more than 10 percent ot those over 80.
Figures like those contribute to the belief that the next decade will be
crucial tor American catholicism. Much of its leadership, in schools and
hospitals and even within parishes, will pass to laity from priests and sist1r
Equally important, leadership will pass from those raised in the strictures ot
the pre-conciliar church to a generation formed in the fluid, conflict-ridden
years after Vatican II.
The vatican's strategy for this period of transition is to foster what its
proponents call a "counter-cultural" church -- one that stands firm against
pleas to reconsider its teachings on questions like contraception, homosexuali·
and abortion or its restriction of the priesthood to male celibates.
In ~ne 15 years since nis elec~ion, Pope Jonn Paul II nas appointed 185 or
the 283 currently active American bishops, most of them conservatives,
especially for the larger dioceses. The Vatican has urged a return to more
traditional patterns of seminary education and priestly life, maintaining
clear-cut lines between the clergy and laity.
At the national level, church initiatives have been increasinqly stymied by
disagreements. In November 1992, after nine years' work, for example, the
bishops failed to agree enough to pass a pastoral letter on the concerns ot
women, a project that had been tollowed intensely by many catholic women's
groups.
sut the impact of these hiqh-level struqqles on the qrass-roots life of the
church is not easily measured.
Delis Alej and.ro, a laywoman who works t·ull time at st. Monica's directing tl'!
Young Adult Ministry and numerous other programs, said that church statements
and actions coming from the Pope or bishops affected her work "all the time. ••
Even young women deeply involved in the church have questions about its
attitud.e toward their sex, for example. "As a woman you often feel slighted anc
ignored in reading church documents," Ms. Alejandro said.
"It does affect you; it atrects the way people talK to you," she said. one
way or the other, "if you're a person of prayer, you just have to trust that th
Lord will lead you."
.......·.·
..
'•
T.ODA'l' ~..;.
The vi.tality _ot!. _some _par.ishes
nationwide.
TOMORROW
a~id al)_ Plliino~_s
d.eci.ine in devotion
How an emerqinq shortaqe ot priests is profoundly alterinq catholic
lite.
TUESDAY -- The changing power or
~ne
cnurcn in New Yorx
C1~y.
WEDNESDAY -- The rancorous debate over the t!uture of American Catholicism.
�THU
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29 1 1994
GRAFHlC: ~hotos: Members ot st. Thomas the Apostle catholic Church in Los
Angeles joining hands during the Mass. (pg. l); Baptisms were held at Easter i
a tent at st. Monica's because the church in Santa Monica, Calit., was heavily
damaged in the recent earthquake. A woman knelt before Msgr. Lloyd Torgerson a
he poured water from the baptismal pool over her race; 'l'he .Kev. !Sill Easterlin·
amid his parishioners while celebrating the Mass in spanish at st. Thomas the
Apostle Church in Los Angeles. Father Easterling's down-from-the-altar style i.
a reflection of the changing face Of American catholicism. (Photograpns ny JIM
WILSON/The New ~ork Times) (pg. 2U)
Grapn: "Catno!ics in America: A cnurcn in Transition" snows tne demographics o:
religious beliefs of Americans, from a 1990 survey and a racial and ethnical
breakdown of American catholics. Also shown are percentages of catholics,
according to age group, who say they attend church every week; the number of
priests and nuns, tracked since 1960; the percentage of eacn state's populatio:
that is Catholic, according to 1990 figures; and the percentage of the
population o~ ~ive u.s. cities or metropolitan areas that is Catholic, again,
according to 1990 tigures. (Sources: A 1990 survey of llJ,OOO adults nationwid1
published in "One Nation Under GOd.," Harmony BooKs, 1993; Mass attendance rro:rn
New Yorx Times{CBS News poll ot 446 Catholic adults conducted April 21-23;
Priests and nuns fiqures from The Official Catholic Directory) (pq. 21)
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
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LEVEL 1 - 2 OF 3 STORIES
copyright 1994 The New York Times Company
The New York Times
May
Jo, 1994,
Monday, Late Edition - Final
sECTION: section 1; Paqe 1; Column 4; National Desk
LENGTH; 2167 woras
HEADLINE: searcninq Its Soul: The u.s. Catholic Church -- second of four
articles.;
Wellspring of Priests Dries Up, Chanqing Much of Parish Life
BY~INE:
By ERIK ECKHOLM,
Special to The New York Times
DATELINE: 'l'OLEDO, Ohio
BODY:
To a ~raditiona~ Roman catholic, Sunday at St. Mary of the Assumption parish
would come as a shock.
The morning services are mostly run by Sister Virqinia Welsh, who qreets the
worshipers, directs the choir and offers "reflections" in lieu of the sermon
that under Vatican rules she is not allowed to preach. On hand to say the Mass
itself is an elderly priest who divides his time between this parish and
another.
Later, as Sister Welsh chats with the conqreqation, hatches plans for the
parish school and presents prospective church members at a reqional ceremony,
she leaves no doubt that she is the parish leader, and a popular one.
Yet this is no reneqade qroup: Sister Welsh, 45, was appointed to leadership
of this strugglinq inner-city parish by the Toledo bishop. Today, even as
theorists debate the future of the Roman catholic Church, a deepeninq shortage
of priests is already forcinq a transformation of Catholic life in the United
States, amonq other things handinq vast new responsibilities to women.
The scarcity of priests, who for centuries have been the personification of
Catholicism, is also confrontinq church leaders with a serious dilemma. Either
the church must relax the centuries-old rules that limit priesthood to celibata .
men -- which the Vatican shows no siqn of doing -- or it must accept a decline
in regular access to the sacred rites that are the soul of the catholic faith,
but can be carried out only by the ordained.
· ..· ..."The· .ca-tholic. Churqh dann9t repi:'oc;iuce: ·a .cel'ibat~ ·m~£e :clerqy ,.ie ~aid ·.Ric~ard
.A~ Scho~n:Oerr,, a socioloqist and former priest at the University ·of Wisconsin
who has documented the emerqing shortage. "This is a major event in its history,
with far-reaching consequences."
Between resiqnations of unhappy priests and a drastic
the priesthood is aging and shrinking. over the 30 years
number of priests in relation to Catholics in the United
fall by half, to one priest for every 2,200, leaving far
their time-honored functions.
drop in new recruits,
from 1975 to 2005, the
States is expected to
too few to perform all
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The New York Times, May JO, 1994
Already, more than 10 percent of the 2o,ooo parishes in the United states,
mainly in rural and inner-city areas, do not have a resident pastor, instead
sharing increasingly weary priests ~ith other congregations. Many large parish
that once had several priests who not only said Mass but also ran the schools,
visited the sick and worked with youth may now have just one or two asing
priests, their customary duties increasingly riiled by lay people it at all.
More than 300 parishes arounQ the country, including st. Mary's in ~aledo,
are led by "pastoral administrators," most of them sisters, some of ehem marri
women or married men who increasingly are studying to become permanent deacons
These parish leaders pertorm nearly all the tasks once done by priests except
for the rites that are the spiritual backbone of catholicism, like absolving
sin, anointing the sick and dying and especially celebrating the eucharist, th·
memorial o~ the Last supper that according to church teaching makes Jesus trul:
present in the bread and wine at Mass.
In such parishes, the sacraments are usually performed by part-time or
"circuit-rider" priests who lac~ the intimate ties to the community once so
characteristic of parish life. Alternately, lay leaders lead communion service:
distributing bread already consecrated by a priest, a truncated ritual that
lacks the spiritual meaninq of a full Mass.
Many catholics see the infusion of lay people into administrative and
pastoral functions as invigorating. But the chanqes are altering the texture o;
catholic life and raising new questions about the future of the church.
"It creates a strain," said the Rev. Philip J. Murnion, director of the
National Pastora! Li!e Center in New Yorx. "It's the catholic style tor there
be a connection between leading a parish in its general worx and leading a
parish in its worship."
1
A global pnenomenon, the deepening scarcity ot priests is also causing more
catholics to question the ruies, set by the vatican, that restrict ordination t
celibate men. A majority of American priests and church members oppose the ban
on marriage, surveys show, and even some bishops have publicly questioned the
ban, which scnolars argue is rooted more in tradition than reliqious doctrir.a.
The priest shortage is also adding fuel to calls for ordainins women, a change
also supported by a majority of catholics.
But the Vatican has held fast, callinq tor prayer and stronger etforts to
recruit celibate priests. And so the American church is improvising,
experimenting with new roles for lay people and the more thinly spread priests
alike, cautiously watching as parish life changes.
The
·The
Decline··
workers'aecome.
·· ... ·
~ew
The dwindling supply ot priests reflects deep changes both inside and
outside the church. The Second vatican council that ended in l96~, which
affirmed that married people as well as the celibate couid attain holiness, led
to an unanticipated exodus of younger priests. Resignations, especially over th
issue of celibacy, continue to plague the church.
More si9niticantly, the supply of new recruits has drastically shrunk. ~ong
gone are the days when good catholic families expected to give a son to the
...._____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
~
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PG.16
PAGE
priesthood: !rom 1966 to l99J tne number of students in seminaries, high schoo~
through graduate level, tell by 85 percent, to 6,244 from 42,767, according to
data collected by Georgetown University. Graduate theology students, in the
final stages of preparation for ordainment, fell to 3,416 from 8 1 325, and thei1
average age ro~e as a higher propor~ion of men who had finished college and evE
worked in secular jobs decided to take vows.
The Rev. William Kubacki of the Toledo diocese, whose job is to find and
nurture recruits, has worked strenuously to find just two or three candidates ~
year. The No. 1 constraint, he said, is the difficulty many men have today witr
the notion of such a permanent, total commitment; concern about celibacy is
close behind. In addition, he said, far fewer parents than in the past active11
encourage their sons to enter religious life. "To me it's a whole sense of
values," he said.
Others say the lurid sex-abuse scandals of recent years must also be taking
toll. 11 People aren't going to encourage young men to become priests when it's
got such a taint," or. Schoenherr said.
church leaders are concerned about the quality as well as the quantity of trnext generation of priests, who will face more daunting tasks than ever. Dean
Hoge, a professor of sociology at Catholic university, said seminaries were
being forced to relax their admissions standards. He said he sensed a growing
restlessness with the quality of leadership among younqer priests, who are
increasingly required to preside over large parishes and lay staffs.
"The job is tougher than it used to be and the expectations are higher than
ever, •• he said. "The laity are educate~ people now, and they want inspiring,
capable leadership."
The Changes
Women in Charge, up to a Point
The new tace ot catholicism is visible in northern Ohio, in the traditional
catholic heartland. The diocese or Toledo includes 163 parishes, many of them i:
small towns and rural areas, serving 325,000 catholics. Two hundred priests are
active today, not enough to meet the needs, and the diocese already knows there
will be 50 fewer in just six years.
Bishop James R. Hottman says he is determined to keep parishes going wheneve~
feasible, but doing so has required some creativity. Already, more than 30
parishes in the diocese are served by visiting priests. Another six, including
s~. Mary of the Assumption in Toledo, have full-time nonordained leaders like
. .sis.ter Wel!?h. _In. the coming .year,. ~.s 10·· t~ _1.2 :Par·i~hes-lo$-9 pr·iests ·to · · · ·.
. ·. 1;'etireritent", ·tneae·. new moc:iels w'~l~ .sp~~ad. .
..
..
.
.
st. Mary's was once the thriving h~ ot a German community, with 800 people
attending sunday Mass. 'l'h.at population has largely moved to the suburbs, and the
church now serves an ethnically mixed membership or about 600, with perhaps 220
attending each sunday. For sacramental purposes, this and a nearby church, also
run by a sister, share the Rev. James O'Reilly, a 67-year-old Jesuit who had
previously worked in education and as a missionary.
"You see a crumbling of the structures we once had because of the shortage of
priests," said Father O'Reilly, who praised Sister Welsh for her energetic
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The New YorK Times, May JO,
PG.17
1~34
leadership. "It's change or die."
Parish members say that while a few people were disturbed when sister welsh
took over four years ago, most have been pleased. "I think we were ready for a
change," said Ellen McComis, whose family has attended st. Mary's for five
generations. Arthur and Ellen Jones, parishioners for 20 years who moved acros~
town but still drive back to St. Mary's, were effusive in their praise. "She
does a fine nomily," Mr. Jones said.
Sister Welsh, who calls herself middle of the road on church traditions, :k.ra
early on that she wanted a religious life, attending a convent high school
before joining the Franciscan order in Tiffin, Ohio. "I never dreamed I'd be
leading a parish," she said; she had expected to end up teaching school. But ae
opportunities opened, she began doinq pastoral work, obtained a master's degreE
in pastoral ministry from Loyola University in Chicago and, she believes, fou~1c
her true callinq.
"At this point we're able to meet the needs of the people pretty well, ••
said of st. Mary's unusual structure. Still, she can hardly conceal the
frustrations caused by theological boundaries.
she
"The person leading the parish in every other way should preside at the gre(
prayer on Sunday," she said. "But I can't."
She nurtures potential new members of the church, but she cannot preside ov~
their baptism. She counsels members on their personal problems, but cannot
absolve them in confession. When a member dies she counsels the family and may
lead a funeral prayer, but she cannot perform full rites.
"We pastor the people, but the hiqh point, the privileged poine, is tc l:le
able to call the presence of Jesus amonq us throuqh the eucharist," Sister Wel:
said. "It's at that point that we have to step aside for someone else.
"The person who knows the community .best is not t:ne person lead.lnq the
prayer."
The Th.reat
When Practical Dilutes Mystical
Some Catholics welcome the emerqinq arranqements, arquinq that they elicit
more active and democratic participation in the church by its members. Ruth
Wallace, a professor of sociology at Georgetown university who has studied
parishes around the country run by women, said, "I came away thinking that I w::
lookinq .at. the
catholic
of
future,
and I was inspired
by it."
. .·. .
·.
. . . . .Church
.
. . the
:·
.
..
.~
'
.
'
theolo~ians. ~o~ry_ ~bcj~t· .a ·dimi~i~~~nt_..Qf -·Cal:~olicis~ as. ~rie~t~· b~~o~e
less available, and as a gap opens between management of parish life and sacre(
functions. communion services usinq previously consecrated bread, for example.
while officially approved as a stopgap, lack the resonance of a full Mass
because nonpriests cannot ceremonially recite the words of Christ as he broke
bread and drank wine at the Last Supper ("This is my body • . . • This is my
But
.blood.
•
•
• ") •
"You miss the sense of participation across time with the action or Christ
the Last Supper," Father Murnion said. ''You miss the transformation of the
~
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PAGE
l
elements into the presence or Christ among us."
ca~nol1c1sm is noe juse aboue words and prayer, ne noeed,
mystical physical bond With Christ. "The bread and wine, the
oil we anoint people with -- these are the physical reality,
through people," he said. "It's a complicated symbolic ehinq
not rational."
but also about a
water we pour, t:he
now Christ works
that's lost. l t ' s
To many catholics, ehe threae to essential rites has become a powertul
argument for allowing married men and women into the priesthood. I~ the church
maintains current restrictions, said or. Schoenherr, who lett the priesthood
himself because of the marriaqe ban, a sacred experience "that is uniquely
caeno.lic wi.l.l be gradually leached out of the system." He predicts that over th
cominq decade or two the building tensions, theoloqical and economic, will fore
the vatican to relax the rules.
Others are .less sure o~ thae. conservatives maintain that ordaining married
men would be too drastic a departure from the tradition or the Roman church. Ar.
they argue that by tradieion and also by scripture, women cannot take on the
priest's role as representative of Jesus at Mass.
But all aqree that the decline in ene priesthood is raisinq fundamental
questions that must be confronted. "What is at sta~e is not juse whether we'll
have more priests, or women and married priests, but what is the mission for th
priesthood," Father Murnion said. "I think we're struqqlinq with what's the
mission of the church at the end o~ the 20th century, and what is the priest's
role in that."
GRAPHIC: Photos: Amid a decline in the number or priests, cnurcn 1eacers liKe
Sister Virginia Welsh handle many responsibilities in their parishes. (pq. 1);
sister Virqinia Welsh, left, who loeads st. Mary of the Assumption parish in
Toledo, Ohio, but is proscriDed from performinq sacraments central to the Roman
Catholic Church, watches as Deacon Roldolfo Lira baptizes his qrandaughter Eric
Lira. (pq. 7) (Photographs by Anqel l''ranco/'1'he Mew ~ork Times)
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
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Copyright 1994 The New York Times
Th~ New York Times
May
PG. 1'~
·---·
Co~pany
31, 1994, Tuesday, Late Edition - Final
SECTION: Section A; Paqe 1; Column 3; Metropolitan Desk
LENGTH: 246l
HEADLINE:
word~
Searching Its Soul:
The American Catholic Church -- Third ot tour
~rticles.;
Cardinal Leads by Doctrine, and Example
BYLIN~:
~y
DAVID GONZALSZ
BODY:
Draped in his red robes, waving ana shaKinq hands with diqni~aries, the Rome
Catholic Archbishop of New York appears many times each year on the steps of st
Patrick's Cathedral reviewinq the marching bands, the ethnic dancers, the unit;
of police officers, firefighters, veterans ana trade unionists that come
parading up Fifth Avenue.
It is a classic New York image, a colorful mixture ot religion, ethn1city,
politics and civic pride that symbolizes the traditional power of the church
here and in other cities of the East and Midwest that were heavily populated
with Catholic immigrants.
Since John cardinal O'Connor became Archbishop a aecade ago, tha~ image ha~
also taken on a sharper, often more partisan edge. The cardinal's public
assertion of church teaching on issues like abortion and homosexuality has made
him and his cathedral a maqnet !or protest. He has tangled publicly with
politicians, Catholic and non-catholic alike, while working to settle labor
disputes, calm neighborhood violence and sway school board decisions.
The cardinal directly runs the New York Archdiocese, which includes 2.3
million catholics in Manhattan, the Bronx, staten Island ana seven upstate
counties, and formally presides over all the state's seven other bishops. But a
majority of the Catholics in New York city itself, 1.6 million of them, live in
the adjoining Brooklyn Diocese, which includes Brooklyn and Queens, and is
headed by Bishop Thomas v. Daily.
cardinal O'Connor's high profile at times seems reminiscent of tne church of
40 years aqo when Francis Cardinal Spellman, as the leader of millions of votin
..
catholics, was believed to possess such influence over civic affairs that his
ice .was known .a·s . "·the .. powerhouse. "· . .
. .· . . . . . .
.
cha~cary 0~ f
But· cardinal ~'C.onnor ha~ ~eithe~· man'aged: t6 ·ra.;,.cr~at~ that· era nor,· tie.
insists, tried to d.o so. "My job is not to acquire or wield political power," h
said in an interview in the quiet or his Madison Avenue residence.
He may not have much choice in the matter. Although 43 percent of New Yorker
say they are Catholic -- as do the Mayor, the Governor and both both of the
state's United States senators -- cardinal O'Connor and Bishop Daily preside
over a changed church in a more fragmented city.
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PG .2(1
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PAGE
The Catholic Church remains one of the ci~y's largest ana most significant
institutions, a badly needed source of social glue. But this is a time when no
institution carries the power it once did and the church's members are far more
diverse and opinionated than in decades past.
As a political force today, the Catholic Church cannot be written off, as
evidenced by its successful campaign to chanqe public school policies on condo~
distribution and its powerful support for those who kept qay and lesbian Irish
groups out of the St. Patrick's Day Parade.
And it may play a qreater role than ever as provider of services to the
homeless, the sick and the poor. The New York Archdiocese, runs 129 varied
social agencies, the Brooklyn Diocese another 100, and both have worked hard tc
keep catholic schools open in impoverished areas ot the city.
"One of the reasons the city remains viable was tha~ the church, the Roman
Catholic Church in particular; remained instead of picking itself up and moving
to the suburbs," said former Mayor Edward I. Koch in a recent interview.
Indeed, representatives of church-run agencies said they were now lobbying t
soften the cuts proposed in the city's social service budget. worried about the
impact on their hospitals and other health services, Catholic leaders are also
urging the administration of Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani to go slowly in the
efrort to privatize city hospitals.
But the notion of the church's quietly controlling city policy, 1f not
politicians themselves -- perhaps always exagqerated -- is less true than ever.
In New York, as in many other cities, part ot the church's diminished power
reflects demographic changes. Once a solid religious constituency, many of tha
Irish have left the city, replaced by Hispanic and other immigrants who do not
relate as easily to a church hierarchy that remains mostly Irish. At the same
time, lay people seekinq a greater role in the church do not always obey
unquestioningly.
A Dynamic Leader
Cardinal Addresses Issues With Gusto
What Cardinal O'Connor has wielded since taking orrice a aecade ago is abov
all the power of public exhortation, taking to the pulpit with greater
frequency, force and gusto than his immediate predecessors. Arrivin9 in the
election year of 1984 he quickly projected an image as a political church
leader, questioning politicians' beliefs on abortion and commenting on topics a
diverse as Satanism in rock music and Donald Trump's marital problems •
. . i
The.· Ca:rd..ina.l· and: Bi~hop. Daiil',. ~ho . exerc·lses . iarg:e.ly ...11ldep~nde~e "ieadersiiip'
are both con·servatives irtten.sely loyal to the Vatican· and ·staunchly opposed to
abort.ion.
. .
Cardinal O'Connor maintains a hectic schedule: rising early each day for
prayer and Mass at st. Patrick's, followed by breakfast meetings with guests
officials, attending to archdiocesan business with various committees about
administration of social service, educational or pastoral affairs, evening
fund-raising events or vicariate visits and retiring late at night for a few
hours sleep. Wednesday is "priest day, 11 when any of the archdiocese's 944
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THU 81 JUN 91 20:89
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The New York Times, May 31, 1994
PAGE
Politicians, he said, approached the church noe -only eo tap into it for
directly political purposes, as when dis~rict leaders would work the crow~s
attar Sunday Mass, but a.lso to show their allegiance to church teachings. '!'hat
loyalty played into church influence at a time when being a working class
catholic was synonymous with being a oemocrae.
''There was a fear ot' being regarded as a fallen-away catholic," Mr. O'Dwyer
said.
While the Irisn continued tneir exodus rrom tne city, they were replaced by
others for whom religion and politics did not hold the same linkage. In some
cases, such as the Hispanic people who now account tor some 40 percent of the
city's Catholics, the constituency was little reflected in the church's
hierarchy. For many more catholics in recent times, views on moral issues like
abortion have come to be seen as matters of personal conscience. Politicians
like Gov. Mario M. Cuomo have dealt with the issue by saying that while they ar
personally opposed to abortion they could not restrict the rights of others whc
disagreed.
"The Catho.lic community is so ctivided on so many issues, I'm not sure anybod
could deliver the Catholic vote," said the Rev. Joseph O'Hare, the president ot
Fordham University and the chairman ot the city's campaign Finance Board.
Power in the city has also become more diffused, allowinq citizens to
inf.luence policies ehrouqh local organizations and advocacy groups rather than
political club bosses.
'You no lonqer have the organizational structure you had," said Paul Crotty,
the city's corporation counsel. "Now you can access politics in so many
different ways."
1
A WeD ot Help
Church's Services Bring Involvement
The caraina.l's pun11c pronouncemenes have also drawn criticisms from
non-catholics that he was meddlinq in political issues and imposing his moral
views, an accusation that his supporters find unfair if not betraying an
anti-Catholic bias. Some black churches, they noted, ac~ively campaigned for
Mayor David N. Dinkins and supported him in ways the catholic Church never
equaled.
Mr. Koch, who differed with the Cardinal on some city policies, tterended the
church's right to take a stand on public issues that impinge on moral beliets.
"On matters ot' morality they have a duty and obligation to speak out and
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Alitid. those disputes over morality; o.tten ovf!r.looked
is what
in many ways is
meetinq point
agencies and
nospitals run by the church. These include child care programs financed almost
exclusively through government contracts to hospitals that receive large amoun~s
from_private insurers as well as public sources.
~he church's greatest presence in New Yor~, as we11 as a rrequent
~~i th ci -cy government -- the network of hundreds ot social service
Bishop Henry Mansell, the vicar for administration in the New York
archdiocese, considers the delivery of such services to be a central part or
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31, 1994
its mission as a "mediating agency" between the state and. the citizen.
He added that other services not financed publicly, like the catholic school:
that remain in inner-city areas educatin9 large numbers of non-catholics, are
also improving the quality of life and helping ease the burdens on public
schools. He estimated that the the city would have to pay $1.2 billion more eac:
year if it had to educate the students enrolled in the city's catholic schools.
Mr. Koch, who as Mayot developed a close friendship with cardinal O'Connor,
credited the church for those contributions. "They provided the :best social
services that were available, •• he said.
The Cardinal characterized as "ideal" the relat:ionship between the church an
city government during the Koch years.
"If there was a significant impediment or complication, either I would. call
Mayor Koch, or he would call me," the Cardinal said. "Little things remain
little if you have cooperative people on both sides ot the fence."
aut the church felt it was shut out to some extent during the administration
of Mayor Dinkins, who did not see Catholics as part of the coalition that
elected him.
While Archdiocesan officials said it was still early in their relationship
with the Giuliani administration, they said that their initial impression was
favorable. "It's a relationship of pre-established understanding," the Cardinal
said.
He also characterized as "extraordinary" Mr. Giuliani's recent speech on how
he reconciled his Catholic faith with the demands of governing a diverse city.
His speech, in which he underscored the importance of his faith on a personal
level, stressed the need for tolerance.
On a more practical level, though, Archidiocese officials are worried about
possible budget cuts and the privatization of public services like hospitals,
and they have urged city officials to go slowly.
"We feel it may have been a little overly sanguine about the role o~
for-profits in some of these areas,•• said the Rev. Kevin sullivan, director
'the archdiocese office ot social development.
or
He said that church officials' discussions with the city had helped to
restore $52 million to provide loans for the building of single room occupancy
hotels, for which drastic reductions had been planned •
think. the~e: is. an cipe~riess. t~··:cUsc\lss. artd· t~ ~ork· ~ut ~ol~tions;'1 Fa~er
sullivan·said. In fact,· he safd,the church could be ·in· a pasition·to help the
administration overcome some ot its negative images in poor and minority
communities.
. ·.;I
"There is no mistaking the fact there is a strong perception out there that
this administration will not be helpful to poor people," he said •. "I think we
need to help this administration prove this perception wrong."
�PG.24
THU 0 1 JUN 9-t 20 : 10
1-IHll t. HUU::il:::. (.;UI"II"IC 11:: UF:C-112
The New York Times, May Jl,
1~~4
PAGE
The cardinal, insisting on a distinction between moral and political power,
would like to set tne record strai9ht about his own ambitions.
"It there is a aiminu'tion or moral and spiritual influence, then I would tee
that I have tailed the people of New YorK," b.e said. "If 'there is no political
influence, then 'tha't's really none of my business, and it's not why I'm here."
He said 'tha't although the city's demographics have changed aramatica!!y, the
new immigrants need much 'the same in terms of jobs, education and housing as
past generations from Ireland or other areas.
"We had to change a lot of things ana learn a lot of new lanqua9es and
customs," he said. "It's a great time to be archbishop of New York for that
reason."
GRAPHIC: Photos: John caraina1 O'Connor spending a moment on a cellular phone a
he viewed a parade in mid-May. {Edward Keatinq/The New York Times) (pq. Al);
Francis Cardinal Spellman with Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller of New York and
senator John ¥. Kennedy of Massachusetts when i't seemea possib!e that the two
could ~e opponents in the l960 Presidential election. (Associated Press, 1959)
(pg. B5)
Map/Dlagram: '"WHERE THEY ARE: ca'tholic Institutions In New xork city"
The Roman catholic church is an integral part of life in New York. The map
shows the thousand-plus institu'tions that are run or partially financed bythe
city's two dioceses. (Sources: Archdiocese of New York; Diocese of
Brooklyn-Queens) (P9· »')
LANGUAGE; ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE-MDC: May 31 1 1994
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Don Baer
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An American Covenant/Pres. Breakfast Mtg. Notes 8/9/94
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<a href="http://www.clintonlibrary.gov/assets/Documents/Finding-Aids/2006/2006-0458-F.pdf" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7431981" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
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7431981