James Francis Stafford | |
|---|---|
| Major Penitentiary Emeritus of the Apostolic Penitentiary Archbishop Emeritus of Denver | |
 | |
| Archdiocese | Denver |
| Installed | October 4, 2003 |
| Retired | June 2, 2009 |
| Predecessor | Luigi De Magistris (Major Penitentiary) andJames Vincent Casey (Denver) |
| Successor | Fortunato Baldelli (Major Penitentiary) andCharles J. Chaput (Denver) |
| Other post(s) | Cardinal Priest ofSan Pietro in Montorio |
| Previous post(s) |
|
| Orders | |
| Ordination | December 15, 1957 by Martin John O'Connor |
| Consecration | February 29, 1976 by William Donald Borders,Lawrence Shehan, andThomas Austin Murphy |
| Created cardinal | February 21, 1998 byPope John Paul II |
| Rank | Cardinal-Priest |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1932-07-26)July 26, 1932 (age 92) |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Motto | In principium erat verbum In the beginning was the word |
| Styles of James Francis Stafford | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
| See | Denver (Emeritus) |
James Francis Stafford (born July 26, 1932) is an Americancardinal of theRoman Catholic Church. He served as major penitentiary of theApostolic Penitentiary from 2003 to 2009.[1]
Stafford previously served as president of thePontifical Council for the Laity (1996–2003), archbishop of theArchdiocese of Denver (1986–1996), bishop of theDiocese of Memphis (1982–1986), and as an auxiliary bishop of theArchdiocese of Baltimore (1976–1982).[2] Stafford was made a cardinal byPope John Paul II in 1998.[3]
James Stafford was born on July 26, 1932, inBaltimore,Maryland, the only child of Francis Emmett and Mary Dorothy (née Stanton) Stafford.[4] Francis Stafford was the owner of a furniture store, opened by his grandfather in 1902.[5] James Stafford was raised in Irvington, a Baltimore neighborhood, and graduated fromLoyola High School in Towson, Maryland, in 1950.[5]
Stafford then enteredLoyola College Maryland in Baltimore, planning a career in medicine.[6] However, in 1952, the death of a close friend in a car crash caused Stafford to rethink his future and to enterSt. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore. Stafford attended St. Mary's Seminary for two years.[6] ArchbishopFrancis Keough then sent him to Rome to thePontifical North American College, where he attended thePontifical Gregorian University.[3]
While in Rome, Stafford wasordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Baltimore by BishopMartin O'Connor on December 15, 1957.[2] He earned aLicentiate of Sacred Theology from the Gregorian University in 1958.
After his return to Baltimore, Stafford was assigned as an assistantpastor at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, remaining there until 1962.[1] He then entered theCatholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he earned aMaster of Social Work degree in 1964 with a thesis on thefoster care of children.[3]
From 1964 to 1966, Stafford served as assistant director of the archdiocesanCatholic Charities and assistant pastor of St. Ann Parish in Baltimore.[1] He was named in 1966 as director of the archdiocesan branch ofCatholic Charities by CardinalLawrence Shehan, serving in that position for ten years.[5]
In 1970,Pope Paul VI named Stafford as achaplain of his holiness.[3] He was elected president of the presbyteral senate for the archdiocese the following year.[1] Stafford also helped reorganize the central services of the archdiocese and create its collegial structures.[6]
On January 11, 1976, Paul VI appointed Stafford as anauxiliary bishop of Baltimore andtitular bishop of Respecta.[2] He was consecrated on February 29, 1976, by ArchbishopWilliam Borders, with Shehan and BishopThomas Murphy serving asco-consecrators, at theCathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore.[2] Stafford selected as his episcopalmotto:In principium erat Verbum, which isLatin for: "In the beginning was the Word" (John 1:15).[3]
As an auxiliary bishop, Stafford served asvicar general of the archdiocese from 1976 to 1981.[1] From 1978 to 1984, he led theU.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Commission on Marriage and Family Life.[6] He also served as administrator of Sts. Philip and James Parish in Baltimore (1980–1981).[1] Stafford attended the Fifth Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops inVatican City from September to October 1980.[3]
On November 17, 1981,Pope John Paul II appointed Stafford as the second bishop of theDiocese of Memphis.[2] He was installed on January 17, 1982.[5] During his tenure, Stafford revised the structure of the pastoral office, improved the fiscal conditions of the diocese, and concentrated on theevangelization ofAfrican Americans.[7]
In addition to his duties in Memphis, Stafford was chairman of the USCCB Commission for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs (1984–1991) and co-president of theDialogue between Roman Catholics and Lutherans (1984–1997).[1]
Following the death of ArchbishopJames Casey, John Paul II appointed Stafford as the third archbishop of the Archdiocese of Denver on June 3, 1986.[2] He was installed at theCathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Denver, Colorado, on July 30, 1986.[5]
In 1990, theVincentian Fathers announced the closing in 1994 of St. Thomas Seminary in Denver due to falling enrollment. Stafford decided to buy the seminary property and plan a brand new institution,St. John Vianney Theological Seminary. The new facility opened in 1999 under Stafford's replacement, ArchbishopCharles Chaput.[8]
In a July 28, 2005 article in theDenver Post. five men described being fondled as boys during the 1960s by Reverend Harold Robert White. In August 1983, one of the men wrote to Stafford complaining about White. A response letter from the archdiocese said that White was to "...receive an evaluation from competent personnel to determine whether there are any recurring difficulties.” White continued to work in parish ministry until 1993; he waslaicized in 2004.[9]
During his tenure in Denver, Stafford hosted the 1993World Youth Day, the first such event in the United States. In his last year as archbishop, he launched the first capital campaign in forty years and a "Strategic Plan" for Catholic schools.[6]
Stafford was appointed by John Paul II as president of thePontifical Council for the Laity on August 20, 1996. Stafford was createdcardinal-deacon ofGesù Buon Pastore alla Montagnola Parish in Rome in theconsistory of 1998.
In 2003, Stafford was appointedmajor penitentiary, overseeing matters pertaining toindulgences and theinternal forum of the Catholic Church. He was one the highest ranking American members of theRoman Curia and the second one in that role. Stafford participated in the2005 papal conclave that selectedPope Benedict XVI.
Stafford submitted his letter of resignation to Benedict XVI on his 75th birthday in 2007. On June 2, 2009, Benedict XVI appointed as his successor ArchbishopFortunato Baldelli, thenapostolic nuncio to France.[10]
On March 1, 2008, Stafford took the option, after ten years as a cardinal deacon, for promotion to the rank of cardinal-priest, and was assigned the titular church ofSan Pietro in Montorio.[11] In 2009, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by theDominican School of Philosophy and Theology and inducted into their College of Fellows.
TheNational Catholic Reporter reported on November 19, 2008, that Stafford had criticized President-electBarack Obama, saying he has "an agenda and vision that are aggressive, disruptive and apocalyptic".[12] The story was first reported byThe Tower, the student newspaper of theCatholic University of America, where Stafford made those remarks.
Saying that the United States experienced a "cultural earthquake" when Obama was elected president, Stafford said the president-elect "appears to be a relaxed, smiling man" with rhetorical skills that are "very highly developed". "But under all that grace and charm, there is a tautness of will, a state of constant alertness, to attack and resist any external influence that might affect his will", he added. Stafford then predicted that the Obama administration would compare to "Jesus' agony in theGarden of Gethsemane".[13]
TheCatholic News Agency revealed more details about Stafford's remarks that same week: "If 1968 was the year of America's 'suicide attempt,' 2008 is the year of America's exhaustion," he said, contrasting the year of publication ofHumanae vitae with this election year. "For the next few years, Gethsemane will not be marginal. We will know that garden," Stafford told his audience.[14] Catholics who weep the "hot, angry tears of betrayal" should try to identify with Jesus, who during his agony in the garden was "sick because of love".[14]
Stafford also attributed America's so-called decline toUS Supreme Court decisions such as the 1973 ruling inRoe v. Wade, which Stafford claims imposed "permissive abortion laws nationwide".[14]
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | — TITULAR — Titular Bishop of Respecta 19 January 1976 – 17 November 1982 | Succeeded by Cornelius de Wit |
| Preceded by | Bishop of Memphis 17 November 1982 – 30 May 1986 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Archbishop of Denver 30 May 1986 – 20 August 1996 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity 20 August 1996 – 4 October 2003 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Cardinal Deacon ofGesù Buon Pastore alla Montagnola 21 February 1998 – 1 March 2008 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary 4 October 2003 – 2 June 2009 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Cardinal Priest of San Pietro in Montorio 1 March 2008 – | Incumbent |
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