Edward Aloysius Mooney

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Template:Short description Template:Infobox Christian leader Template:Infobox cardinal styles Template:Ordination Edward Aloysius Mooney (May 9, 1882 – October 25, 1958) was an American Catholic prelate who served as archbishop of Detroit in Michigan from 1937 until his death in 1958. The Vatican made him a cardinal in 1946.

Mooney previously served as an apostolic delegate to British India and later Japan. He served as bishop of Rochester in New York State from 1933 to 1937.

Early life

Edward Mooney was born on May 9, 1882, in Mount Savage, Maryland, the seventh child of Thomas and Sarah (née Heneghan) Mooney. When he was five years old, the family moved to Youngstown, Ohio, where Thomas Mooney worked at a tube mill.<ref name=princes>Template:Cite news</ref> Following his father's death in the 1890s, Sarah Mooney opened a small bakery to support the family, with Edward Mooney and his siblings delivering the baked goods to her customers.<ref name=princes/>

Having decided to become a priest, Mooney first attended St. Charles College, a minor seminary in Ellicott City, Maryland. He then entered St. Mary's Seminary, the major seminary in Baltimore. Mooney was sent to Rome in 1905 to study, residing at the Pontifical North American College.<ref name="Detroit's Archbishop">Template:Cite web</ref>

Priesthood

Mooney was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Cleveland by Cardinal Pietro Respighi in Rome on April 10, 1909.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>

After Mooney returned to the United States, the diocese assigned him to teach dogmatic theology at St. Mary's Seminary, the minor seminary in Wickliffe, Ohio. In 1916, he was named as the founding principal of the Cathedral Latin School in Cleveland. Mooney left Cathedral in 1922 to serve as pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Youngstown, Ohio.

Mooney went back to Rome in 1923 to serve as spiritual director of the North American College. Cardinal Albert Meyer, an alumnus of the college, once remarked,

"[Mooney] was revered and greatly beloved ... he left an indelible mark on all the students, inspiring them with his great learning and his solid spiritual guidance."<ref name="princes" />

The Vatican raised Mooney to the rank of chaplain of his holiness in 1925.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Episcopal career

Apostolic delegate

East Indies

On January 21, 1926, after having made a favorable impression on Cardinal Gasparri,<ref name="Time1">Template:Cite web</ref> Mooney was appointed apostolic delegate to the East Indies and titular archbishop of Irenopolis in Isauria by Pope Pius XI. He received his episcopal consecration at the chapel of the North American College on January 31, 1926. Cardinal Willem van Rossum was the principal consecrator, with Archbishop Francesco Marchetti Selvaggiani and Bishop Giulio Serafini serving as co-consecrators.<ref name=":0" />

As apostolic delegate, Mooney was headquartered in Bangalore, then part of the princely state of Mysore. He founded 15 missions and three dioceses in British India and negotiated a reconciliation between the Vatican and the Syro-Malankara Church there.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Japan

Mooney was named apostolic delegate to Japan by Pius XI on March 30, 1931.<ref name=":0" /> During this period, the Japanese Government forced all of its citizens to pay homage at Shinto shrines. However, Catholics objected to being forced to participate in Shinto religious ceremonies. To resolve this conflict Mooney lobbied the Japanese Government to declare that shrine visits were of a non-religious patriotic nature. He later presided over a plenary council of Korean bishops.<ref name="princes" />

Bishop of Rochester

On August 28, 1933, Pius XI appointed Mooney as bishop of Rochester, with the personal title of "archbishop".<ref name=":0" /> During his tenure in Rochester, he promoted Catholic Action and the Knights of Peter Claver as a means of outreach to the African American community, and took deep interest in Catholic social teaching and labor relations.<ref>Diocese of Rochester. Diocesan History Template:Webarchive</ref>

Mooney was elected chair in 1935 of the National Catholic Welfare Conference, maintaining that post until 1945.

Archbishop of Detroit

Mooney was named the first archbishop of Detroit on May 31, 1937. Arriving by train in Detroit on August 2nd, he was greeted by Michigan Governor Frank Murphy and a representative of Detroit Mayor Frank Couzens, along with a large crowd.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Mooney soon became engaged in a contentious relationship with Reverend Charles Coughlin, a priest in the archdiocese. A popular radio broadcaster who reached millions of listeners across the country, Coughlin's antisemitic tirades and fierce attacks against US President Franklin Roosevelt angered many in the Catholic hierarchy and American public. In October 1937, Mooney publicly rebuked Coughlin for calling Roosevelt stupid over his nomination of Senator Hugo Black to the US Supreme Court. This reprimand from Mooney led Coughlin to cancel his contract for 26 radio broadcasts.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In a January 1939 meeting of all the archdiocesan priests, Mooney proposed the establishment of labor schools in the parishes to help "Christian workers to train themselves in principle and technique to assume the leadership in the unions which their numbers justify".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

An avid golfer, Mooney once remarked to his priests "If your score is over 100, you are neglecting your golf—if it falls below 90, you're neglecting your parish". Every year, he would take a group of altar boys to the opening game of the baseball season.<ref name="Time1" />

During World War II, Mooney staunchly opposed Nazi Germany and its fascist allies. In an August 1942 meeting in Washington D.C. of North and South American prelates, he warned, "A victory in this war for the forces of Nazi-inspired aggression would drive Christians underground for generations in the conquered countries."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In October 1942, the US Department of Justice was planning to indict Coughlin on charges of sedition. As part of a deal to avoid Coughlin's prosecution, Mooney ordered him to end his political activities and work solely as a parish priest. Commenting on his order, Mooney stated, "My understanding with him is sufficiently broad and firm to exclude effectively the recurrence of any such unpleasant situation."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Pope Pius XII created Mooney as cardinal priest of the Church of Santa Susanna in Rome during the consistory of February 18, 1946.<ref name=":0" />

As the northern suburbs of Detroit grew after the end of World War II in 1945, Mooney added churches in the remote areas of Oakland County. In 1948, he appointed Reverend Frederick Delaney to begin opening additional parishes in the rural areas of the county.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1957, Mooney delivered the benediction in Washington at the second term inauguration ceremony of US President Dwight D. Eisenhower.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Death and legacy

Mooney died in Rome on October 25, 1958, at age 76, after suffering from a heart attack and collapsing less than three hours before the beginning of the 1958 papal conclave. Cardinals Francis Spellman and James McIntyre rushed to his deathbed to grant him absolution.<ref name="Detroit's Archbishop" />

Mooney was initially buried in the crypt of St. John's Provincial Seminary in Plymouth, Michigan. However, his remains were transferred in 1988 to Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield, Michigan.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Several schools have been named after Mooney:

References

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