John Joseph Krol | |
|---|---|
| Cardinal,Archbishop emeritus of Philadelphia | |
 Ronald Reagan (left) hosted the Cardinal in theOval Office in 1981 | |
| See | Philadelphia |
| Appointed | February 11, 1961 |
| Installed | March 22, 1961 |
| Term ended | February 11, 1988 |
| Predecessor | John Francis O'Hara |
| Successor | Anthony Bevilacqua |
| Other post | Cardinal Priest of Santa Maria della Mercede e Sant'Adriano a Villa Albani |
| Previous post |
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| Orders | |
| Ordination | February 20, 1937 by Joseph Schrembs |
| Consecration | July 11, 1953 by Amleto Giovanni Cicognani |
| Created cardinal | June 26, 1967 byPaul VI |
| Rank | Cardinal-Priest |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1910-10-26)October 26, 1910 |
| Died | March 3, 1996(1996-03-03) (aged 85) Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Motto | Deus rex meus (God is my king) |
| Coat of arms |  |
| Styles of John Krol | |
|---|---|
| |
| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Religious style | Cardinal |
| Posthumous style | none |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
| See | Philadelphia |
Ordination history of John Krol | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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John Joseph Krol (October 26, 1910 – March 3, 1996) was anAmericanprelate of theCatholic Church. He wasArchbishop of Philadelphia from 1961 to 1988, having previously served as anauxiliary bishop of theDiocese of Cleveland (1953–1961), and was elevated to thecardinalate in 1967 byPope Paul VI.
Krol was born inCleveland,Ohio, the fourth of eight children of John (Jan) and Anna (née Pietruszka) Król.[1] His parents werePolish immigrants who were originally from theTatra Mountains.[2] Krol's father held various occupations, working as a machinist, barber, carpenter, plumber and electrician; his mother worked as a maid at a hotel in Cleveland.[3] At age 2, he and his family returned to Poland, but returned to Cleveland within a year.[4] Krol received his early education at theparochial school ofSt. Hyacinth Church.[5] At age 9, he went to work part-time as a butcher's helper.[3] He later worked as a maker of wooden boxes.[3]
Krol attendedCathedral Latin High School, graduating at age 16 in 1927.[3] He then took a job as a butcher at aKroger grocery store in Cleveland, where he became manager of the meat department at age 18.[1] Religious questions from aLutheran co-worker prompted Krol to more deeply studyCatholic theology and eventually decide to enter thepriesthood.[4] He began his studies atSt. Mary's College inOrchard Lake,Michigan.[6] He later enrolled atSt. Mary's Seminary in his native Cleveland.[5] At St. Mary's, he also operated a smalltobacco business, receiving shipments of defectivecigars and then selling them to his fellow seminarians.[4]
On February 20, 1937, Krol wasordained a priest by BishopJoseph Schrembs at theCathedral of St. John the Evangelist.[7] His first assignment was as acurate atImmaculate Heart of Mary Church in Cleveland, where he remained for one year.[5] In 1938, he was sent to continue his studies at thePontifical Gregorian University inRome, where he earned aLicentiate of Canon Law in 1940.[5] He received aDoctor of Canon Law degree from theCatholic University of AmericaSchool of Canon Law inWashington, D.C., in 1942.[5]
Following his return to Cleveland, Krol served as professor ofcanon law at St. Mary's Seminary from 1942 to 1943.[8] He served as vice-chancellor (1943–51) and chancellor (1951–54) of theDiocese of Cleveland.[8] He was named apapal chamberlain in 1945, and was raised to the rank ofdomestic prelate in 1951.[5] In 1950, he became president of theCanon Law Society of America.[5]
On July 11, 1953, Krol was appointedauxiliary bishop of Cleveland andtitular bishop ofCardi byPope Pius XII.[7] He received hisepiscopalconsecration on the following September 2 from ArchbishopAmleto Giovanni Cicognani, with ArchbishopEdward Francis Hoban and BishopFloyd Lawrence Begin serving asco-consecrators, at theCathedral of St. John the Evangelist.[7] In addition to his episcopal duties, he was namedvicar general of the Diocese of Cleveland in 1954.[8]
Following the death of CardinalJohn Francis O'Hara, Krol was appointed the sixthArchbishop of Philadelphia byPope John XXIII on February 11, 1961.[7] His installation took place at theCathedral of SS. Peter and Paul on March 22 of that year.[9] He was the firstPolish American to become anarchbishop, and, at age 50, was the youngest Catholic archbishop in the country at the time.[3] In his first sermon as archbishop, Krol spoke of the need for civic dedication and virtue, saying, "I am conscious, too, of our beloved country, the bold idealism that inspired it, the courage that gave it birth. May God grant that our prayers, the moral integrity of our lives, the clarity of our teaching, and the sincerity of our patriotism help increase the spiritual resources without which no nation can survive."[9]
Krol attended all four sessions of theSecond Vatican Council between 1962 and 1965.[8] During the council, he served as one of six permanent undersecretaries, with responsibility for keeping a record of votes and distributing, collecting and tabulating ballots.[1] He also served as a member of the central coordinating committee.[1] LikePope Paul VI, he was moreliberal insocial principles but sternlyconservative in those ofdoctrine andchurch government. He condemnedarms races andabortion, but supportedclerical celibacy anddisarmament.[10]
He was createdCardinal-Priest ofS. Maria della Mercede e Sant'Adriano a Villa Albani by Paul VI on June 26, 1967, during the sameconsistory that elevatedArchbishop Karol Wojtyła ofKraków, Poland. Both were cardinal electors in theconclaves ofAugust andOctober 1978. Wojtyła became Pope John Paul II in the latter conclave, and Krol served as one of his closest advisors.
After the first meeting between Church and Freemasonry which had been held on 11 April 1969 at the convent of the Divine Master inAriccia, he was the protagonist of a series of public handshakes between high prelates of the Roman Catholic Church and the heads ofFreemasonry.[11]
During the 1960s and 1970s, Krol governed theArchdiocese of Philadelphia through an era where the population shifted to thesuburbs. Krol campaigned for thecanonization ofKatharine Drexel, and was present at the canonization of his Czech-born predecessor in Philadelphia, BishopJohn Neumann. He made a celebratedpilgrimage to Poland in 1972,[12] and served as President of theUnited States Conference of Catholic Bishops from 1971 to 1974. On April 5, 1970, he led prayer services at theWhite House for PresidentRichard Nixon and theJohnson andBush families; in addition to Nixon the former PresidentLyndon B. Johnson and the future PresidentsGeorge H. W. Bush andGeorge W. Bush were in attendance.[13] In 1985, Krol baptizedPolish United Workers' Party defectorRomuald Spasowski.
Krol washospitalized in 1987 for treatment ofdiverticulosis.[14] Due to his ill health, he resigned as Archbishop of Philadelphia on February 11, 1988, exactly 27 years after he was appointed to the post. He was succeeded byAnthony Bevilacqua.
Krol died at age 85 inPhiladelphia, where he is buried in the crypt beneath theCathedral-Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul.
Cardinal Krol was criticized for his role in thearchidocese's sex abuse scandal some 10 years after his death. The Grand Jury stated that Krol knew that some priests under his command were molesting and raping young boys and girls but did nothing to prevent future crimes. A 2005 grand jury report cited evidence that both Cardinal Krol (Archbishop of Philadelphia 1961–1988) and his successor CardinalAnthony Bevilacqua (Archbishop of Philadelphia 1988–2003) had allowed dozens of sexually abusive priests to stay in holy orders by transferring them from parish to parish to avoid a scandal.[15]
E. Michael Jones published a biography of Krol in 1995 titledJohn Cardinal Krol and the Cultural Revolution. The book covers Krol's early life and his time as President of theU.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops during the turbulent times of the 1970s. In order to give Jones sources for the book, Krol allowed Jones access to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia archives.[16]
Krol was widely considered to be a staunchconservative, even a "traditionalist".[17][18] As described byThe New York Times, he was "an outspoken defender of traditional theology, hierarchical authority and strict church discipline."[1]The Philadelphia Inquirer recalled how Krol was "[ha]iled by conservatives as a defender of the church's heritage and criticized by liberals as an opponent of change."[3] However, despite his conservative views on doctrine and church government, he was moreliberal on social principles, such asnuclear disarmament and humanitarian programs.[19][20]
In 1973, he called the Supreme Court's decisions overturning state laws banning abortion "an unspeakable tragedy for this nation" that "sets in motion developments which are terrifying to contemplate." In 1974, Krol testified before theSenate Judiciary Committee regarding theHuman Life Amendment proposed by New York SenatorJames L. Buckley. While mostly in favor, Krol argued that the amendment should drop the exception for when the mother's life was in danger, so that should abortion be banned under all circumstances.[21][22] Krol in his statement said ofRoe v. Wade:
Every week, since the Supreme Court's decisions of January 22, 1973, there have been as many deaths from abortion as there were deaths atNagasaki as a result of the atomic bomb. Every nine days there are as many deaths from abortion as there were American deaths in the 10 years of theVietnam war."[23]
He opposed looser regulations governing marriages between Catholics and non-Catholics.
He referred to theCatholic Church's condemnation of contraception, reaffirmed by Pope Paul VI in 1968, as "divine law."
In 1979, his Congressional testimony backing talks on limiting strategic arms foreshadowed an appeal in a pastoral letter by American bishops fornuclear disarmament in 1983. At the high tide of thenuclear freeze movement in 1982, Cardinal Krol told 15,000 demonstrators at a Philadelphia rally that it was time for governments "to dismantle existingnuclear weapons." He later acknowledged that his belief in gradual and reciprocal disarmament, with strong safeguards against cheating, was probably not shared by all the demonstrators.
After the close of theSecond Vatican Council in 1965, he soon joined those alarmed by the pressures for change that the Council produced. He opposed many of the small accommodations or options in church discipline that gained favor after Vatican II, including looser regulations governing marriages between Catholics and non-Catholics, the reception ofCommunion in the hand, and attending Mass on Saturday evening instead of Sunday.
In 1984, Cardinal Krol appeared with PresidentRonald Reagan at a campaign rally at theNational Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa shrine inDoylestown, Pennsylvania, praising Reagan for trying to win tax credits for parents of children in religious schools. In the same year, the Cardinal delivered an invocation at the1984 Republican National Convention inDallas.
"Archdiocese leaders have endangered and harmed children in parishes and schools by keeping known abusers in ministry and transferring discovered abusers to assignments where parents and potential victims are unaware of the priests' sexual" behavior, the report said.
| Catholic Church titles | ||
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| Preceded by | Archbishop of Philadelphia 1961–1988 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of the United States Catholic Conference and National Conference of Catholic Bishops 1971–1974 | Succeeded by |
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