James Aloysius Hickey | |
|---|---|
| Cardinal Archbishop of Washington | |
 | |
| Church | Roman Catholic Church |
| See | Archdiocese of Washington |
| Appointed | June 17, 1980 |
| Installed | August 5, 1980 |
| Term ended | November 21, 2000 |
| Predecessor | William Baum |
| Successor | Theodore Edgar McCarrick |
| Other post | Cardinal Priest ofSanta Maria Madre del Redentore a Tor Bella Monaca |
| Previous post |
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| Orders | |
| Ordination | June 15, 1946 by William Murphy |
| Consecration | April 14, 1967 by John Francis Dearden |
| Created cardinal | June 28, 1988 byJohn Paul II |
| Rank | Cardinal-Priest |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1920-10-11)October 11, 1920 Midland, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | October 24, 2004(2004-10-24) (aged 84) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Buried | Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle |
| Motto | Veritatem in caritate (Teach the truth in charity) |
| Styles of James Hickey | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
| See | Washington |
Ordination history of James Aloysius Hickey | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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James Aloysius Hickey (October 11, 1920 – October 24, 2004) was anAmerican Catholic prelate who served asArchbishop of Washington from 1980 to 2000, and was elevated to thecardinalate in 1988. Hickey previously served asBishop of Cleveland from 1974 to 1980.
Hickey presided over a significant expansion of social services for the poor and sick in the Washington region by the Archdiocese of Washington. He was also a strong critic ofAmerican foreign policy in Nicaragua andEl Salvador, and an advocate for nuclear disarmament.
James Hickey was born on October 11, 1920, inMidland,Michigan, to James and Agnes (née Ryan) Hickey; he had an older sister, Marie.[1] James Hickey was a dentist who, during theGreat Depression, treated patients who could not pay for theirdental care.[2] At age 13, James Hickey entered St. Joseph Minor Seminary inGrand Rapids, Michigan.[1] He graduated as valedictorian fromSacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit in 1942.[1] While in the seminary, Hickey helped provide pastoral care tomigrant workers.[3] He then attendedThe Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
Hickey wasordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Saginaw by BishopWilliam Murphy on June 15, 1946.[2] He then served as anassociate pastor at St. Joseph's Parish inSaginaw, Michigan until 1947.[3] Hickey went to Rome in 1947 to further his studies. He earned aDoctor of Canon Law degree from thePontifical Lateran University in 1950, and aDoctor of Theology degree from thePontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in 1951.[3]
After returning to Michigan, he served as secretary to BishopStephen Woznicki from 1951 to 1966.[2] He was also the foundingrector of St. Paul Seminary. From 1962 to 1965, Hickey attended theSecond Vatican Council in Rome as aperitus for Bishop Woznicki.[2] The Vatican raised Hickey to the rank ofdomestic prelate on October 31, 1963.[2]
On February 18, 1967, Hickey was appointed asauxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Saginaw andtitular bishop ofTaraqua byPope Paul VI.[4] He received hisepiscopal consecration on April 14, 1957, from ArchbishopJohn Dearden, with Bishops Woznicki andStephen Leven serving asco-consecrators, at theCathedral of St. Mary.[4] Hickey selected as his episcopalmotto:Veritatem In Caritate, meaning, "Truth in Charity" (Ephesians 4:15).[5]
Hickey served as chair of priestly formation within theUnited States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) from 1968 to 1969.[3] In March 1969, he becamerector of thePontifical North American College in Rome, where he would oversee the formation of Americanseminarians for the next five years.[2]
Hickey was named the eighth bishop of Cleveland on May 31, 1974, by Paul VI.[2] Replacing BishopClarence Issenmann, he wasinstalled on July 16, 1974.[4] During his tenure in Cleveland, Hickey was an advocate of racial unity and became active in justice issues involvingEl Salvador.[3] In 1980, he traveled to El Salvador to attend the funeral of ArchbishopÓscar Romero, who had been murdered by right-wing assassins.[3] SisterDorothy Kazel andJean Donovan, two women whom Hickey had commissioned to serve asmissionaries in El Salvador, were latermurdered there; he kept their photographs on the wall of his privatechapel for the rest of his life.[3]
Pope John Paul II appointed Hickey as archbishop of Washington on June 17, 1980. Hickey was one of the first American bishops to address the issue ofsexual abuse by clergy, which would become a nationwide scandal in 2002.[1]
In 1983, Hickey was dispatched by John Paul II on anapostolic visitation to investigateliturgical abuses in theArchdiocese of Seattle, then led by ArchbishopRaymond Hunthausen.[6] Commenting on the visitation, Hickey said, "It wasn't easy, you know."[6]
In August 1986, CardinalJoseph Ratzinger, the prefect of theSacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in Rome, sent a letter to ReverendCharles Curran, a theologian at Catholic University. The letter revoked his authorization to teach theology at Catholic University or any other such institution. Curran had challenged Catholic policies ondivorce, birth control, homosexual acts and abortion. Aschancellor of Catholic University, Hickey supported Ratzinger's action.[7][8]
He was Grand Prior of the Middle Atlantic USA Lieutenancy of theOrder of the Holy Sepulchre from 1993 to 2005.[9]
John Paul II created Hickey ascardinal priest of theChurch of Santa Maria Madre del Redentore a Tor Bella Monaca in Rome during theconsistory of June 28, 1988. At that point, Hickey was one of thirteen Americans in theCollege of Cardinals. That same year, Hickey was invited to lead aretreat for the pope andhis household.[1]
In 1989, Hickeyexcommunicated the African-American priestGeorge Stallings, a one-time protégé, after Stallings formed the unauthorizedImani Temple African-American Catholic Congregation in Washington.[10]
Within the USCCB, Hickey served as chairman of the Committee on Doctrine (1979 to 1981), of the Committee on Human Values (1984 to 1987), and of the Committee on the Pontifical North American College (1989 to 1991 and 1994 to 1997).[3]
Hickey's tenure in Washington D.C. oversaw a significant expansion ofCatholic Charities, which became the region's largest privatesocial service agency. He also established:
In conjunction withMother Teresa, Hickey also founded a Washington convent of theMissionaries of Charity for the care of the homeless and terminally ill.[3] He once declared,
"We serve the homeless not because they are Catholic, but because we are Catholic. If we don't care for the sick, educate the young, care for the homeless, then we cannot call ourselves the church of Jesus Christ."[1]
Hickey resigned as archbishop of Washington on November 21, 2000, after twenty years of service.[4]
In addition to hissocial activism, Hickey was known for his orthodox views regarding Catholic doctrine.
In early 2000, Hickey appealed to Maryland GovernorParris Glendening to commute the death sentence of Eugene Colvin-El.[1] Colvin-El had been convicted in 1980 of murdering 80-year-old Lena Sunshine Buchman inPikesville, Maryland, in a trial that raised concerns among legal observers.[12] His sentence was commuted by Glendening tolife imprisonment in June 2000.[13]
Hickey halted archdiocesan funding for a crisis pregnancy center inCollege Park, Maryland, after it declined to stop dispensingcontraceptives.[1]
During the 1980s, Hickey lobbied members of theUnited States Congress to stop sending aid to theContra insurgents in Nicaragua. He also pushed his fellow American bishops to take strong stands against increasedmilitary spending and in favor ofnuclear disarmament.
During theSalvadoran Civil War, Hickey opposed theReagan administration's support for themilitary government of El Salvador.[14] In 1981, Hickey told the US House Subcommittee on Inter-American Affairs: "Our position is to oppose military aid and intervention from all outside powers."[14] He feared aCommunist takeover in El Salvador but opposed sending military assistance, believing such weapons would strengthen repressive elements in security forces.[14]
In February 1987, Hickey visited Reverend Michael Peterson, apsychiatrist in the archdiocese, in the hospital. During their meeting, Peterson revealed to Hickey that he was dying ofHIV/AIDS, which at that time had no treatments. The two clerics decided to send letters to all the bishops in the United States, asking them to extend mercy to HIV/AIDS patients.[15] Hickey wrote:
"Father Peterson's illness reminds us in a personal way of the terrible human tragedy of AIDS in our midst. His suffering challenges us to reach out with renewed conviction and compassion to those with AIDS and their families and friends."
Peterson died in April 1987.[16]
While Archbishop of Washington, Hickey ordered all large scale building projects in the archdiocese to be union jobs.[17]
Hickey orderedNew Ways Ministry, an unauthorized ministry forLGBTQ Catholics, to stop any operations on archdiocesan property in the early 1980s. He also forcedGeorgetown University to stopDignityUSA, a national LGBTQ ministry organization, from celebrating mass on campus in 1987.[1]
Hickey complained about liturgical abuses atHoly Trinity Church inGeorgetown, even sending then auxiliary bishopWilliam E. Lori to investigate the Jesuit-runparish.[18]
Hickey died at theJeanne Jugan Home of theLittle Sisters of the Poor in Washington, D.C., at age 84.[2] Following a funeral Mass at theNational Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, he was buried in St. Francis Chapel atSt. Matthew's Cathedral.[2] When asked byThe Washington Post in 1989 what he would like people to say about him after his death, Hickey replied,
"First, I'd like them to say that he was always loyal to his Church. Second, that he was a friend to Catholic education. And third, if they don't want to say the first two, at least I hope they would chisel on the stone, 'He served the poor.'"[1]
According to a 2020 Vatican report, Hickey failed to act on credible accusations of sexual abuse against then-CardinalTheodore McCarrick and continued to offer his support and endorsement to McCarrick. :
"He (McCarrick) welcomed prominent prelates to the new Diocese, including Archbishop Laghi,124 Archbishop James A. Hickey,125 Sebastiano Cardinal Baggio,126 and Joseph Cardinal Bernardin ...While the Nunciature has been aware of these accusations, the Nuncio has affirmed that they have been investigated and not substantiated, and is basically convinced that they are not really credible. Nevertheless, this Dicastery would note that, in his letter of April 4, 1994, while Cardinal James Hickey mentions that [McCarrick] should be presumed innocent, he wrote: “All this does not completely eliminate the possibility of some wrongdoing; my counsel is to proceed very slowly and cautiously”[19]
| Catholic Church titles | ||
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| Preceded by | Bishop of Cleveland 1974–1980 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Archbishop of Washington 1980–2000 | Succeeded by |
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