FDR, the Vatican, and the Roman Catholic Church in America, 1933-1945

314 Pages·2003·1.64 MB·English

by  David B. Woolner

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FDR, the Vatican, and
the Roman Catholic Church
in America, 1933–1945
The World of the Roosevelts
General Editors: Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., William vanden Heuvel, and Douglas Brinkley
FDR AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES THE UNITED STATES AND
FOREIGNPERCEPTIONSOF THE INTEGRATION OF EUROPE
ANAMERICANPRESIDENT LEGACIESOFTHEPOSTWARERA
Edited by Cornelis A. van Minnen and Edited by Francis H. Heller and
John F. Sears John R. Gillingham
NATO: THE FOUNDING OF ADENAUER AND KENNEDY
THE ATLANTIC ALLIANCE A STUDYINGERMAN-AMERICANRELATIONS
AND THE INTEGRATION Frank A. Mayer
OF EUROPE
Edited by Francis H. Heller and THEODORE ROOSEVELT AND
John R. Gillingham THE BRITISH EMPIRE
A STUDYINPRESIDENTIALSTATECRAFT
AMERICA UNBOUND William N. Tilchin
WORLDWARII ANDTHEMAKING
OFASUPERPOWER TARIFFS, TRADE AND EUROPEAN
Edited by Warren F. Kimball INTEGRATION, 1947–1957
FROMSTUDYGROUPTOCOMMONMARKET
THE ORIGINS OF U.S. NUCLEAR Wendy Asbeek Brusse
STRATEGY, 1945–1953
SUMNER WELLES
Samuel R. Williamson, Jr. and
Steven L. Rearden FDR’SGLOBALSTRATEGIST
A Biography by Benjamin Welles
AMERICAN DIPLOMATS IN
THE NEW DEAL AND PUBLIC POLICY
THE NETHERLANDS, 1815–50
Edited by Byron W. Daynes, William D.
Cornelis A. van Minnen
Pederson, and Michael P. Riccards
EISENHOWER, KENNEDY,
WORLD WAR II IN EUROPE
AND THE UNITED STATES
Edited by Charles F. Brower
OF EUROPE
Pascaline Winand FDR AND THE U.S. NAVY
Edward J. Marolda
ALLIES AT WAR
THESOVIET, AMERICAN, THE SECOND QUEBEC
ANDBRITISHEXPERIENCE, 1939–1945 CONFERENCE REVISITED
Edited by David Reynolds, Edited by David B. Woolner
Warren F. Kimball, and A. O. Chubarian
THEODORE ROOSEVELT,
THE ATLANTIC CHARTER THE U.S. NAVY, AND
Edited by Douglas Brinkley and THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR
David R. Facey-Crowther Edited by Edward J. Marolda
PEARL HARBOR REVISITED FDR, THE VATICAN, AND THE
Edited by Robert W. Love, Jr. ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN
AMERICA, 1933–1945
FDR AND THE HOLOCAUST Edited by David B. Woolner and
Edited by Verne W. Newton Richard G. Kurial
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FDR, V ,
THE ATICAN AND
R C
THE OMAN ATHOLIC
C A ,
HURCH IN MERICA
1933–1945
E
DITED BY
D B. W
AVID OOLNER AND
R G. K
ICHARD URIAL
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FDR,THEVATICAN,ANDTHEROMANCATHOLIC
CHURCHINAMERICA,1933–1945
© David B.Woolner and Richard G.Kurial,2003
All rights reserved.No part of this book may be used or
reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission
except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical
articles or reviews.
First published 2003 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN™
175 Fifth Avenue,New York,N.Y.10010 and
Houndmills,Basingstoke,Hampshire,England RG21 6XS
Companies and representatives throughout the world
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave
Macmillan division of St.Martin’s Press,LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd.
Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States,
United Kingdom and other countries.Palgrave is a registered trademark in
the European Union and the other countries.
ISBN 1–4039–6168–9 hardback
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
FDR,the Vatican,and the Roman Catholic Church in America,
1933–1945/edited by David B.Woolner and Richard G.Kurial.
p.cm.
Proceedings of a conference held in Oct.1998 in Hyde Park,N.Y.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1–4039–6168–9
1.Roosevelt,Franklin D.(Franklin Delano),1882–1945—Relations with
Catholics—Congresses.2.Catholic Church—United States—History—
20th century—Congresses.3.Catholic Church—Foreign relations—
United States—Congresses.4.United States—Foreign relations—Catholic
Church—Congresses.5.United States—Foreign relations—1933–1945—
Congresses.6.World War,1939–1945—Diplomatic history—Congresses.
7.United States—Politics and government—1933–1945—Congresses.
I.Woolner,David B.,1955– II.Kurial,Richard G.
E807.F345 2003
282(cid:1).73(cid:1)090430—dc21 2003040568
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd.,Chennai,India.
First edition:September,2003
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America.
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In memoriam
Thomas Casey
Friend, Mentor, Teacher
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FDR attends Notre Dame Convocation and receives honorary LLD Degree
from Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana, December 9, 1935. Left to right: George Cardinal
Mundelein, FDR, and Col. Edwin Watson, Military Aid. Courtesy of Franklin D. Roosevelt
Presidential Library.
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Foreword xi
Part 1 Franklin D. Roosevelt and American Catholics 1
1. Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Protestant Patrician in a
Catholic Party 3
Michael Barone
2. Roosevelt and the American Catholic Hierarchy 11
Gerald P. Fogarty, S.J.
Part 2 Catholic Friends/Catholic Foes: The New Deal and
American Catholicism 45
3. John A. Ryan, the New Deal, and Catholic
Understandings of a Culture of Abundance 47
Anthony Burke Smith
4. Al and Frank: The Great Smith–Roosevelt Feud 55
Robert A. Slayton
5. California Catholics and the Gubernatorial Election of 1934 67
Steven M. Avella
6. The Practical Personalism of the Catholic Worker and the
Pragmatic Policies of the New Deal 93
Francis Sicius
7. Father Francis E. Lucey and President Franklin D.
Roosevelt: A Neo-Scholastic Legal Scholar’s
Ambivalent Reaction to the New Deal 105
Ajay K. Mehrotra
8. Religious Liberty in American Foreign Policy,
1933–41: Aspects of Public Argument Between
FDR and American Roman Catholics 121
Philip Chen
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viii Contents
Part 3 Searching for a New World Order: FDR, the Vatican,
and World War II 141
9. Pope Pius XII and the Myron Taylor Mission: The Vatican
and American Wartime Diplomacy 143
John S. Conway
10. Catholics, Jews, and the Bombardment of Rome:
The Priorities of Pius XII During World War II 153
Michael Phayer
11. Toward the Reconstitution of Christian Europe:
The War Aims of the Papacy, 1938–45 163
Peter C. Kent
12. Diplomacy’s Detractors: American Protestant Reaction to
FDR’s “Personal Representative” at the Vatican 179
Michael H. Carter
13. The Department of State and the Apostolic
Delegation in Washington during World War II 209
Robert Trisco
14. A Few Bits of Information: American Intelligence
and the Vatican, 1939–45 253
David Alvarez
15. A Peculiar Brand of Patriotism: The Holy See, FDR,
and the Case of Reverend Charles E. Coughlin 269
Charles R. Gallagher
Part 4 Reflections on the Shoah 279
16. The Purpose of the Document, We Remember:
A Reflection on the Shoah 281
Remi Hoeckman, O.P.
List of Contributors 287
Index 289
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Acknowledgments
A CONFERENCEONTHESCALEOFFDR, the Vatican, and the Roman Catholic
Church in America, 1933–1945, could not have happened without the assis-
tance of many individuals and the support of a number of key institutions.
The inspiration for the conference came from William J. vanden Heuvel,
cochair of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute (FERI), whose vision
and dedication to the legacy of Franklin D. Roosevelt helped make this event
possible. The president of Marist College, Dr. Dennis Murray, also deserves
special recognition for embracing the conference idea and becoming the
driving force behind it. We are also grateful to Verne Newton, the former
director of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library, and to John F.
Sears, the former executive director of FERI, for their help, as well as to Lynn
Basanese, Elaine Murphy, and the staffs of the FDRL and FERI for their
cheerful and unceasing assistance. Special thanks must also go to Marist’s
Director of College Relations, Tim Massie, and to Marist’s Director Special
Events, Valerie Hall, for their strong support. We are also grateful to
Lawrence Fuchs of Brandeis University and David O’Brien of the College of
the Holy Cross for their wise counsel.
Our appreciation also goes out to our friends and colleagues at the
Department of History at the University of Prince Edward Island, including
a special thank you to Anna Fisher for logistical support; as well as to our
friends and colleagues at Marist College in the History, Political Science, and
Religious Studies Departments. Here we wish to express special thanks to the
former dean, Reginetta Haboucha, as well as to the current dean, Thomas
Wermuth; and also to Professors Mar Peter-Raoul, Robyn Rosen, Louis
Zuccarello, and the late Thomas Casey, to whom this book is dedicated.
For providing us with a contemporary perspective on the issues raised by
the conference we wish to acknowledge with our thanks the participation of
Corrine C. Boggs, American ambassador to the Holy See; former ambassadors
to the Holy See, Ray Flynn and Thomas Melady; Rev. Dr. Remi Hoeckman,
O.P., secretary to the Holy See’s Commission for Religious Relations with the
Jews and Professor at the Department of Ecumenical Studies, Pontifical
University of St. Thomas, Rome; Rabbi Joseph Ehrekranz, Sacred Heart