TOP 100 CATHOLICS OF THE CENTURY
Oct 24, 2004
From the Daily Catholic August 27-29, 1999
75. Cardinal James Hickey
The voters chose as the 75th selection Cardinal James A. Hickey, the Archbishop of our nation's capitol who has been Washington D.C.'s guiding shepherd since 1980. Over the last decade he has had his hands full trying to imbue morals and values not only on his flock, but on our nation's leaders who congregate out of the hub of American politics - the Senate, House and White House. Needless to say satan has had a field day in the cardinal's back yard but, as a strong advocate of pro-life and human rights, Cardinal Hickey has made the evil one's task that much harder through his example and leadership.
He was born on October 11, 1920 in Midland, Michigan making him just five months younger than the Holy Father who was born May 18 of the same year in Wadowicz, Poland. The cardinal writes in Inside the Vatican, "My vocation to the priesthood came in a very simple and natural way: I was born into a profoundly Catholic family. My parents thought highly of the Church; my mother attended daily Mass. In addition, I had the good fortune to meet a wonderful nun who, though she never pushed me to become a priest, made me think about it. My parish priest also helped me to discover my vocation." Like many of his time, these were chiefly the causes for many vocations: solid Catholic roots and evangelizing the faith through example and word. After minor seminary and novitiate, Cardinal Hickey attended Catholic University in Washington, D.C. before being ordained on June 15, 1946 in the Saginaw Diocese. He was sent by his diocese to Rome where he achieved two Doctorates - one in Canon Law from the Lateran University and the other in Theology from the Angelicum.
Equipped with these impressive sheepskins and a better understanding of how the Holy See worked administratively, he returned home where he was appointed Secretary to the Bishop of Saginaw in 1957. Because of his expertise in teaching and formation, he founded and presided over the St. Paul Seminary and was chosen one of the experts or Periti at Vatican II. Following this Ecumenical Council Pope Paul VI recognized his potential and named him titular bishop of Taraqua on February 18, 1967 and Auxiliary Bishop of Saginaw two months later on April 17.
A year and a half later he was elected President of the US Bishops' Conference Committee on the Priesthood on October 31, 1968. Less than six months later he was on his way to Rome again to assume his new position as President of the North American Pontifical College there. He remained in this post until May 31, 1974 when he was transfered from his Saginaw Diocese to the Cleveland Diocese becoming Bishop of Cleveland. Though he fully expected to finish his episcopate in Cleveland, after six years in the city on Lake Erie, Pope John Paul II tabbed him to become Archbishop of Washington D.C. on June 17, 1980. He was installed at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on August 5, 1980.
In his fourth Consistory, John Paul II named Archbishop Hickey to receive the cardinalate on June 28, 1988. He was bestowed the titular church of St. Mary Mother of the Redeemer. Since then he has been active in various curia offices including the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, the Congregation for Catholic Education and the Congregation for the Clergy as well as the Pontifical Council for the Family.
Cardinal Hickey, along with his peers Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua and Cardinal John O'Connor are facing the mandatory retirement age and thus the Church is going to lose three very active, loyal Princes of the Church; Cardinal Bevilacqua for his eleven years as lead shepherd of the Philadelphia Archdiocese, Cardinal O'Connor for his fifteen plus years as Archbishop of New York and Cardinal Hickey for his nearly twenty years as head of the very difficult political diocese of Washington, D.C. His motto is Veritatem in caritate meaning "truth in love" for he strongly believes the Magisterium of the Church does not exist solely to preach theological theories but to transmit the truth with love and a caring heart.
Regarding the political hotbed he finds himself in daily and the liberal politicians promoting the culture of death he says, "Often, out of a sort of cultural imperialism, they want to impose their pro-abortion and contraceptive mentality (with particular emphasis on sterilization and euthanasia) on other countries where there still exists a profound respect for life and for the family." He has worked diligently on ecumenism but toes the line when it comes to compromise for Christ's True Church cannot compromise His teachings. He stands solidly behind the philosophy "Ubi Petrus, ibi Ecclesia" - "Where there is Peter (the Pope), there is the Church!"
TOP 100 CATHOLICS OF THE CENTURY