"Only One Class of People to Draw Upon for Support": Irish-Americans and the Archdiocese of New York
The Irish and Irish-Americans have played a dominant role in the Catholic community in New York City ever since they were instrumental in organizing the first parish in 1785. Even today, although they now constitute a small minority of the total Catholic population, the Irish continue to exercise a...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
American Catholic Historical Society
2001
|
| In: |
American catholic studies
Year: 2001, Volume: 112, Issue: 1/4, Pages: 1-21 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The Irish and Irish-Americans have played a dominant role in the Catholic community in New York City ever since they were instrumental in organizing the first parish in 1785. Even today, although they now constitute a small minority of the total Catholic population, the Irish continue to exercise a predominant influence in the Archdiocese of New York. It is significant that the last non-Irish prelate to head the diocese died in 1842. This article explores and assesses the quality of the leadership that the Irish have provided to the archdiocese over the past two centuries, most notably through its bishops and archbishops. The article confirms the well-known tenacity of the Irish in monopolizing positions of authority in the archdiocese and the unfortunate tendency of some of them to identify "New York Catholic" with "New York Irish." However, the article also documents a relatively neglected aspect of the role of the Irish in New York, namely, the indispensable assistance that the rank-and-file Irish laity and clergy gave to the many other Catholic ethnic groups who settled in the archdiocese in the course of the last two hundred years. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2161-8534 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: American catholic studies
|