The Director and His Eminence: The Working Relationship and Questions of Church and State as Reflected in Cardinal Cushing's FBI Files
The public and personal relationship of Richard James Cardinal Cushing, Archbishop of Boston (1944-1970), and J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI's long-time director, as seen through the pages of the FBI file on the cardinal, gives ample witness to the unique form of "Americanism" common to the...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
American Catholic Historical Society
2003
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| In: |
American catholic studies
Year: 2003, Volume: 114, Issue: 2, Pages: 37-53 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The public and personal relationship of Richard James Cardinal Cushing, Archbishop of Boston (1944-1970), and J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI's long-time director, as seen through the pages of the FBI file on the cardinal, gives ample witness to the unique form of "Americanism" common to the post-World War II era in America. It was characterized by a deep commitment to American democratic ideals, a vociferous anticommunism, and a broadly understood "practical ecumenism." The documents in this file also point to the warm, mutual, personal, and political support that existed between these two nationally known figures. The level of cooperation, though not surprising in light of their anticommunism and shared vision of America, does evidence a significant, and for many, perhaps, surprising history of cooperation between these governmental and church leaders. There is clear evidence of the influence of Cushing and other members of the U.S. Catholic hierarchy within sectors of the government during this period and of the support of certain governmental officials and agencies for selected projects of the Church and her leaders. All of this suggests that Paul Blanshard, Harold Fey, Joseph Dawson, and others, and groups such as Protestants and Other Americans United for Separation of Church and State (POAU), who criticized and denounced such influence and the perceived menace of Catholic power, may have been more correct in their assessment of the situation than either Cushing or Hoover were willing to admit at the time. |
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| ISSN: | 2161-8534 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: American catholic studies
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