Chaplain's Corner
My
dear Fellow Knights,
"With
friends like this, who needs enemies?" could well have been the
motto of the administration of Michael Corrigan as Archbishop of New York.
Corrigan
was born in Newark, New Jersey, when it was part of the New York
Church. By all accounts, he seems to have been a gifted scholar and
an unusually intelligent and fine man. Archbishop Bayley (a nephew of
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, and, like her, a convert to the Church)
described him as having learning enough for five bishops and sanctity
enough for ten. When Newark was made its own diocese, he was made its
Bishop in 1873, nine years after ordination. This made him the
youngest bishop in the country. He organized the diocese along proper
lines, and started the custom of frequent parish visitations, often
hearing Confessions for many hours, a custom he continued in New
York, when he was sent here as Auxiliary Bishop to McCloskey.
As
McCloskey's assistant, Bishop Corrigan played a major role in
setting up the machinery for the Third National Council of Bishops,
held in Baltimore in 1884. As the first diocese established in the
United States, Baltimore holds a special place in the American
Church. As this is written, the bishops are meeting there for their
annual meeting.
At
the 1884 Council, which shaped the future organization of the
growing American Catholic Church in most areas, particularly in
education, four men emerged as the leaders of the Church for the next
generation. Archbishop Corrigan was to become the leader of what was
thought of as the "conservative" group, Archbishop Gibbons
of Baltimore the leader of the "centrist" group, and
Archbishops Ireland (St. Paul, Minn.) and Keane (Dubuque, Iowa) on
the "liberal" side. Ireland and Keane, both Irish born,
were noted for attempts - some wise, some not - to
"Americanize" the Church. Corrigan and Gibbons were
American born, but hewed closer to the "Roman" view. Much
of Archbishop Corrigan's time in New York was overshadowed by
internal conflicts caused by a small group of young priests.
Next
month "Here's today's mail, Bishop! - Don't open it, O.K?"
Fraternally,
Fr.
Keaveney