ALTER, KARL J.
Karl J. Alter was born in Toledo, Ohio, on August 18,1885. His parents were John and Elizabeth Alter. He was educated at St. John's College in Toledo and St. Mary's Seminary in Cleveland. He was ordained a priest for the Toledo diocese in 1910.
After serving in two parishes, Alter was appointed the first director of Catholic Charities for the Diocese of Toledo in 1914. In 1929, he succeeded Fr. William Kerby as director of the School of Social Service at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
On June 17, 1931, Alter became Bishop of Toledo. He became very active in the social action department of the National Catholic Welfare Conference, the predecessor of today's U.S. Catholic Conference. He was principal author of the 1940 pastoral letter "The Church and Social Order", in which it was suggested that organized labor, management, and government should together regulate industry for mutual benefit. The letter called for a greater portion of profits and a voice in decision-making for labor.
In 1942, Bishop Alter joined the Administrative Board of the NCWC. He was to remain a member of the board until 1966, and served in a variety of offices. He served two terms as vice- chairman (1950-52, 1956-58), two terms as chairman (1952-55, 1958-62), and one term as secretary (1962-66).
On June 21, 1950, Alter became Archbishop of Cincinnati. Under his administration the archdiocese instituted a priests' senate, an archdiocesan school board composed of lay members, and encouraged the formation of parish councils. Also noteworthy is Project Commitment, an adult education program intended to combat racism.
As chairman of the NCWC, Archbishop Alter issued a protest against religious and racial bigotry on June 25, 1960. He also wrote a pastoral for the Cincinnati archdiocese on racial justice in July 1963, a month before the NCWC issued its own statement on the same subject.
Archbishop Alter served on the central preparatory commission for the Second Vatican Council and attended all council sessions. He was a member of the conciliar commission for bishops and the government of dioceses from 1962 to 1965. He retired as Archbishop of Cincinnati on July 23, 1969, and died on August 23, 1977.
Archbishop Alter received honorary degrees from Notre Dame, Miami University (Ohio), Dayton University, and Catholic University. A collection of his writings was published in 1960 under the title "The Mind of an Archbishop".
BRENNAN, FRANK E.
Frank E. Brennan was born in St. Louis, about 1922. He began studies at St. Louis University in 1940 which were interrupted by his service in the Second World War. He completed his liberal arts degree in 1948, and earned a law degree in 1949. He practiced law in Houston and St. Louis briefly, and then served in the Korean War. After his discharge, he joined the New England Life Insurance Company and worked in St. Louis until 1958. He was then transferred to Kansas City, Missouri, as general agent.
In Kansas City, Brennan joined a discussion group that included John Fallon and Michael Greene, the managing editor of the diocesan newspaper "Catholic Reporter". In 1964, Fallon and Greene decided to form a national Catholic newspaper, and Fallon suggested that Brennan handle the initial fundraising. Brennan organized a fundraising dinner that took in over $10,000, and the group secured the support of Bishop Charles Helmsing. The first issue of the new "National Catholic Reporter" was published on October 28, 1964. Brennan served on the paper's Board of Directors from its inception until the mid-1970s. Brennan was elected to the City Council in 1967 and served until 1971.
BYRNE, JOHN E.
John E. Byrne was ordained a priest of the New York archdiocese in 1942. After one year at St. Bernard Church in White Plains, N.Y., he joined the faculty of Cathedral College in New York City as an English instructor. He was a colleague of Fr. (later Monsignor) Thomas Darby and like Darby was an instructor in New York area labor schools during the 1940s and 1950s.
In 1950, Fr. Byrne was transferred to Corpus Christi parish in New York City as assistant pastor. He served there until c. 1969, and then became pastor of St. Athanasius parish. In 1975, he became pastor of Annunciation parish in Crestwood, N.Y. In 1980, he became director of the Pope John Paul II Residence for retired priests in New York City. He died on December 16, 1984.
Fr. Byrne was a native of Salt Lake City, but his family lived in New York, New Jersey, and Illinois at various times in his childhood. He graduated from Iona College circa 1934.
CORT, JOHN C.
Journalist and freelance writer John C. Cort was born in Woodmere, New York, on December 3, 1913, the son of Ambrose and Lydia (Painter) Cort. After completing his secondary education at the Taft School in Connecticut, Cort entered Harvard University in 1930. He majored in history and literature. Raised an Episcopalian, Cort decided to convert to Catholicism while an undergraduate, but put off his formal reception into the Church until after his graduation because of family opposition. Cort graduated cum laude in 1935, and took a job as a reporter with the Brookline "Citizen". He remained in this position for approximately one year. He left Brookline to join Dorothy Day's Catholic Worker movement, having been profoundly influenced by a public lecture given by Day.
After a brief stay at a farm commune, Cort moved to New York City and worked on the "Catholic Worker" newspaper. He also taught at Catholic Worker labor schools, and helped to found the New York chapter of the Association of Catholic Trade Unionists. In 1937, Cort contracted tuberculosis and was forced to sharply curtail his activities. For the next twelve years, the disease would periodically disable him, although he managed to write occasionally for "Commonweal" and also worked as associate editor for the "Labor Leader" newspaper. In August 1946, Cort married Helen Haye of Baldwinsville, New York.
In 1950, Cort moved to Boston and became executive secretary of the Boston Newspaper Guild. He stayed in this job until 1962, when he joined the Peace Corps. After his 2 1/2 year stint in the Peace Corps, he worked in various social service jobs in the state of Massachusetts for approximately the next decade. In 1988, Cort published a book entitled "Christian Socialism", in which he expounds upon a doctrine of socialism based on religious rather than Marxist principles.
CRONIN, JOHN F.
John F. Cronin was born on October 8, 1908, in Glen Falls, New York. His parents were Bernard and Nora Cronin. He was educated at St. Mary's Academy, Holy Cross College, and the Catholic University of America. He earned several degrees at Catholic University: a B.A. in 1927, an M.A. in 1928, an S.T.B. in 1932, and a Ph.D. in 1935. He was ordained a priest of the Sulpician order on May 21, 1932.
Fr. Cronin taught economics at St. Mary's Seminary and University in Baltimore from 1933 to 1946. Economics had recently been added to the seminary's curriculum for candidates for the priesthood. He was also active in labor organization in Baltimore, particularly in the steel and shipbuilding industries. In 1941, he began to teach summer courses at Catholic University and directed its Institute of Catholic Social Studies.
In 1946, Fr. Cronin joined the Social Action Department of the National Catholic Welfare Conference as assistant director. With the NCWC, Cronin worked closely with the labor movement. Now concerned with alleged Communist infiltration of labor unions, Cronin cooperated with the FBI, passing to the FBI what information he collected from his labor union contacts. In return, Cronin obtained access to FBI files and so gained information regarding the perceived Communist threat for use of the NCWC. In 1947, Fr. Cronin met Rep. Richard Nixon, a member of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Cronin passed material regarding the Alger Hiss spy case to Nixon, who may very well have launched his national political career by his performance in the committee hearings. This was the beginning of a long association with Nixon.
When Nixon was elected Vice President under Eisenhower, Fr. Cronin became a principal speechwriter for him. This was not an official appointment, rather, Cronin wrote for Nixon on his own time and continued to work for the NCWC. Cronin wrote Nixon's acceptance of the Republican nomination for reelection as Vice President in 1956, and expected to assist with Nixon's 1960 campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. However, the Nixon campaign did not request his services and he did not write for Nixon again. Cronin continued to correspond with Nixon, and was invited to various White House functions during the Nixon presidency (1969-1974).
About 1958, the NCWC began to actively participate in the civil rights movement. Cronin wrote a 1958 race relations statement for the NCWC and testified at congressional hearings regarding the proposed Civil Rights Act along with Protestant and Jewish clergy in July 1963. Cronin and other NCWC leaders actively lobbied government officials such as Attorney General Robert Kennedy. In June 1964. Fr. Cronin addressed a meeting celebrating the passage of the Civil Rights Act.
Fr. Cronin left the NCWC in 1967 and returned to St. Mary's Seminary as professor of Christian ethics. He retired in 1977, and currently resides at St. Charles Villa in Baltimore. He authored several books based mainly on the courses he taught. These are: "Economics and Society" (1939), "Economic Analysis and Problems" (1943), "Catholic Social Action" (1948), "Catholic Social Principles" (1950), "Problems and Opportunities in a Democracy" (1954), "Social Principles and Economic Life" (1964), "The Catholic as Citizen" (1963), "Christianity and Social Progress" (1965), and "Government in Freedom" (1965). He was honored with a papal Benemerenti Medal in 1957. He conducted a special study of Communism for the NCWC in 1945, and published "Communism: Threat to Freedom" in 1962.
DARBY, THOMAS J.
Thomas J. Darby graduated from St. John's College in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1928. He had previously attended Cathedral High School in Manhattan. He was ordained a priest of the New York archdiocese in 1933. After serving as an assistant pastor and religion teacher for two parishes, Darby was appointed to the history department at the archdiocese's Cathedral College beginning with the 1938-39 school year. Cathedral College was a "minor seminary"- a preparatory school for possible candidates for the priesthood.
In 1938, Fr. Joseph Moody decided to found a labor school at the nearby College of New Rochelle, a women's college operated by the Ursuline order of nuns. Moody asked Darby to assist him, and Darby agreed. The New Rochelle Labor School opened in October 1938, with a curriculum designed to train labor union leaders in organizational skills and Catholic social teaching. Fr. Darby taught the "Industrial Ethics" course, based largely on papal encyclicals such as Leo XIII's "Rerum Novarum" and Pius XI's "Quadragesimo Anno". Classes met on Tuesday and Thursday nights on the College of New Rochelle campus, and each term lasted about ten weeks. Classes were free of charge, and the college faculty often doubled as instructors at the labor school. In addition to industrial ethics, courses were offered in public speaking, American labor history, labor law, and parliamentary procedure.
Fr. Darby became a religion instructor for the College of New Rochelle in 1940, while retaining his positions at Cathedral College and at the labor school. Upon American entry into World War II, Fr. Moody was called into service as a naval chaplain and Darby succeeded him as director of the labor school. As director, Fr. Darby was often asked by local unions to help settle strikes or for advice in handling grievances with management. He also assisted "right-wing" unionists to rid their locals of suspected Communist influence. In 1949, the New Rochelle Labor School began its "Management Forum", in which business owners and managers were taught Catholic social doctrine. In 1953, Darby published a history of the labor school entitled "Thirteen Years in a Labor" School". By this time, he had earned a Ph.D. from Fordham University.
Fr. Darby left the labor school about 1957, and did not teach at the College of New Rochelle after 1959. He was transferred from Cathedral College in 1961 and made pastor of St. Gregory Barbarigo parish in Garnerville, New York. In 1964, he received the title of monsignor. He was transferred to Mamaroneck, New York, as pastor of Holy Trinity parish in 1969. Msgr. Darby retired in 1977, and currently resides at the Pope John Paul II Residence in New York City.
EVANS, JOSEPH P.
Joseph P. Evans was born on November 29, 1904, in La Crosse, Wisconsin. His father, Edward Evans, was a physician, as were his uncle and brother. Evans began his college work at Notre Dame in 1921, but transferred to Harvard two years later to finish the B.A. He then attended Harvard Medical School and received his M.D. (cum laude) in 1929. He went on to earn M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from McGill University in 1930 and 1937 respectively. He married Hermene Eisenman on June 24, 1929.
Dr. Evans' medical specialty was neurological surgery. He spent much time during the 1930's in postgraduate study of his specialty at such institutions as Cambridge University and the University of Breslau (Germany). In 1937, Dr. Evans became associate professor of neurological surgery at the University of Cincinnati. In 1947, he served on a two-month medical mission to Austria. In 1954, he left Cincinnati to become professor of neurological surgery at the University of Chicago. He retired from the University in 1970. He was very well respected in his field, having published articles in various medical journals and having been an officer of such associations as the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the American Neurological Association.
In July 1961, Evans cosigned an open letter composed by William J. Nagle and Thomas P. McTighe and circulated in the Catholic press which commented on a speech given by Archbishop Vagnozzi, the apostolic delegate to the U.S. The archbishop indicated that Catholic intellectuals were risking their orthodoxy to gain acceptance in secular intellectual circles. Nagle, McTighe, Evans, and the other signatories disagreed, and their letter triggered a debate not only on the merits of their position, but also on the propriety of public disagreement with a senior member of the church hierarchy.
After his retirement from the University of Chicago, Dr. Evans began international liason work for the American College of Surgeons in South America. The Evanses moved to Medellin, Colombia, in 1971 and resided there until 1977. While in Colombia, Dr. Evans became involved with the U.S.- based charity Futures for Children, and joined its board of directors in 1976.
In 1977, Dr. Evans returned to Chicago. He moved to his current residence in Kensington, Maryland, in October 1978. In recent years, Dr. Evans has been active in the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, and wrote an article on "nuclear winter" for the April 20, 1984, issue of Commonweal.
Over his long career in medicine, Dr. Evans received many honors and awards. Prominent among these are an honorary doctor of science degree from Loyola University of Chicago in 1964, appointment as a Rockefeller Fellow for 1935-36, a fellowship in the Adlai Stevenson Institute of International Affairs in 1968, and a Distinguished Service Award from the American College of Surgeons in 1981.
FALLON, JOHN J.
John J. Fallon was born in New Rochelle, New York, on February 2,1923, the son of Francis and Beatrice Fallon. After service in the U.S. Army during the Second World War for which he was decorated with the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, Fallon graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1948. He received a law degree from Cornell University in 1951, and was admitted to the Missouri bar. He moved to Kansas City with his wife Ethel (nee Schwartz) whom he had married December 27,1948. He was hired by the Kansas City law firm Stinson, Mag, Thomson, Evers, and Fizzell immediately upon completion of his legal studies, and remained with the firm until 1954, specializing in corporate law. From 1958 to 1969, he practiced with the firm Fallon, Guffey, and Jenkins.
In the early 1960's, Fallon joined a discussion group with fellow Kansas City Catholic businessmen that included Michael Greene and Frank Brennan. The discussions often touched upon the feasibility of a national Catholic newspaper. Greene was managing editor of the diocesan newspaper "Catholic Reporter". Fallon drew up a contract between the "Reporter" and its new printer, who used the new and cheaper offset process. Fallon and Greene then decided that a national Catholic newspaper could be financially viable. Fallon recruited Brennan to handle the initial fundraising, and asked Bishop Charles Helmsing of the Kansas City - St. Joseph Diocese for his support. Bishop Helmsing allowed the new paper, the "National Catholic Reporter",to use the personnel and facilities of the existing diocesan newspaper. Fallon drew up the articles of incorporation and bylaws for the nonprofit National Catholic Reporter Publishing Company, and became the first president of its Board of Directors. Michael Greene became the first "NCR" publisher, and the first issue was published on October 28,1964.
As president, Fallon was designated as the official liaison between the paper and the Bishop, who was to offer his advice to the paper from time to time. Fallon was so assigned in order to protect the independence of "NCR" editor Robert Hoyt, who also edited the diocesan newspaper and was a diocesan employee. This position was to prove troublesome for Fallon in the next four years, as Hoyt printed many articles that were not to the Bishop's taste. Among these were dissenting views from official church teaching on issues such as contraception, clerical celibacy, and the virgin birth of Christ. By 1967, Bishop Helmsing had publicly stated his regret of his earlier support of the "NCR", and the paper moved its offices off diocesan property. In October 1968, the Bishop issued an "official condemnation" of the "NCR", calling some articles "blasphemous" and "heretical", and requesting that the word "Catholic" be stricken from the masthead.
In a statement dated October 15,1968, the "National Catholic Reporter"'s Board of Directors responded that it saw religious journalism "...as the format through which probing, experiment, and the expression of unofficial opinions can occur", not as " . . . an extension of the formal teaching office of the Roman Catholic Church." By unanimous consent, the Board rejected the request to alter the paper's name.
While fully supporting the stand of the directors, Fallon decided to resign as president of the publishing company. In the statement announcing his resignation, Fallon indicated that although the paper should be independent of the hierarchy,it was concentrating too much on controversial issues: "Constant emphasis on the issues which divide those of us in the Church only accentuates this division..."
After his departure from the "National Catholic Reporter", Fallon continued to practice law in Kansas City. He was active in the 1972 Nixon campaign in Kansas City, served on the Jackson County Bond Advisory Commission from 1967 to 1972, and was president of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce from 1967 to 1969. As of 1981, he was a partner in the firm Fallon and Jones, of Kansas City.
FARLEY, JAMES A.
James A. Farley was born at Grassy Point in Rockland County, New York, on May 30, 1888. His parents were James and Ellen (Goldrick) Farley. The elder Farley died when James was nine years old, leaving five sons of whom James was the second. James Farley graduated from Stony Point High School in 1905, attended a business school in New York City in 1906, and then briefly worked as a bookkeeper at a paper company. He was then employed as a bookkeeper and salesman for Universal Gypsum Company until 1926. He then founded his own building supply firm, James A. Farley and Company. This business merged with five others to form General Building Supply Corporation in 1929, with Farley the corporate president until 1933.
Farley's political career began with his election as town clerk for Stony Point, New York, in 1912. Rockland County was then a Republican stronghold, but Farley ran as a Democrat and won. He served until 1918, when he was given a one-year appointment as a New York City port warden. He became Rockland County Democratic chairman in 1918 or 1919 and held that office until 1929. Farley then served as a Stony Point town supervisor (1919-21), Rockland County supervisor (1920-23), and State Assemblyman (1922-24). Upon his defeat for re-election to the State Assembly, Governor Alfred E. Smith appointed him to the State Athletic Commission. Farley became chairman of that body in 1925 and served until 1933.
In 1928, Farley became secretary for the New York State Democratic Committee. In this capacity, he helped to organize Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1928 gubernatorial campaign. He was promoted to state chairman in 1930 and held that position until 1944.
Farley managed Roosevelt's 1932 presidential campaign, and was instrumental in persuading John N. Garner's delegates to the Democratic national convention to support Roosevelt. He was very successful as campaign manager, largely due to his highly personal style. He always addressed fellow party leaders by their first names, and signed his letters as "Jim". When Roosevelt became President in March 1933, Farley was appointed Postmaster General. This office was a major source of patronage, and Farley made full use of it. Farley appointed only loyal Democrats to jobs under his supervision. He freely acknowledged this, but insisted that he never appointed anyone who was not capable of fulfilling their duties. He was also appointed national chairman of the party.
Farley managed Roosevelt's first re-election campaign in 1936. However, he did not support Roosevelt's effort for a third term in 1940, and may have considered running for the Democratic presidential nomination himself. Farley resigned as Postmaster General and national party chairman.
Farley then became chairman of the Coca-Cola Export Corporation, a position he held until retiring in 1973. He also remained active in New York politics, serving on the state banking board from 1950 to 1955 and the state harness racing commission from 1959 to 1976. Farley was a chief organizer of Abraham Beame's 1965 campaign for mayor of New York City, and was a delegate at every Democratic national convention from 1932 to 1968.
Farley was married for over 34 years to Elizabeth Finnegan. They were married in April 1920, and Mrs. Farley died in 1955. Mr. Farley died in New York City on June 9, 1976. He was the author of two books: "Behind the Ballots" (1938), and "Jim Farley's Story; The Roosevelt Years" (1948). Farley was the recipient of numerous honorary degrees, and was awarded a Laetare Medal by the University of Notre Dame in 1974.
GREENE, MICHAEL J.
Michael J. Greene was born on April 7, 1928. He graduated from Central Catholic High School in Wheeling, West Virginia, in 1945. He then enrolled at the University of Notre Dame and earned a bachelor of arts degree in English in 1949. From September 1949 until March 1950, he attended graduate school at the University of Pittsburgh. He was inducted into the Army in January 1951 and served as a "Stars and Stripes" reporter with the 7th Division in Korea. He was discharged in October 1952, and ran a small business in Florida for a year. He joined a Catholic newspaper in Kentucky, the "Louisville Record", as assistant editor in October 1953. He stayed with the "Record" until 1958, when he became associate editor of the "Baltimore Catholic Review".
In 1959, Greene moved to Kansas City to accept the position of managing editor with the diocesan newspaper "Catholic Reporter". He worked closely with editor Robert Hoyt and executive editor Fr. Vincent Lovett. The "Reporter" attracted readership from outside the Kansas City-St. Joseph diocese, and the staff considered expansion into a national paper. In 1964, Greene suggested the idea to John Fallon, who recruited Frank Brennan as a fundraiser. Greene, Fallon, and the rest of the group approached Bishop Charles Helmsing, who approved the project and permitted the new paper to share facilities and staff with the diocesan "Catholic Reporter". The first issue of the "National Catholic Reporter" was published on October 28,1964. Greene was publisher of the "NCR" while remaining managing editor of the diocesan "Reporter". For the national paper, his responsibilities included promotion of subscription sales and financial management. He resigned from the "NCR" in September 1965, having a personality conflict with "NCR" editor Hoyt. He was succeeded as "NCR" publisher by Donald J. Thorman. For his work with the diocesan "Catholic Reporter", Greene received a Best News Story award from the Catholic Press Association in 1964.
HAYES, CARLTON J.H.
Columbia University historian and author Carlton J.H. Hayes was born in Afton, New York, on May 16, 1882. He was the son of Dr. Philetus and Permelia (Huntley) Hayes. He enrolled at Columbia University in 1900, where he would spend his entire academic career. Hayes earned his baccalaureate degree in history in 1904, and a master's degree the following year. While working in the doctoral program, Hayes was appointed a lecturer of history. He completed his doctorate in 1909, and was promoted to assistant professor in 1910. Hayes was appointed an associate professor in 1915.
During the United States' participation in the First World War, Hayes served in the Army intelligence branch and attained the rank of captain. In 1919, he returned to Columbia and was promoted to full professor. Hayes married Mary Evelyn Carroll in September 1920. He was received into the Catholic Church in 1924.
Between the world wars, Hayes' "Europe Since 1815" course was reputed to be the most popular undergraduate course at Columbia. Hayes was a prolific writer, and wrote or co- wrote some 27 books between 1910 and 1960. He was named Seth Low Professor of History in 1939.
In May 1942, Hayes was appointed United States Ambassador to Spain. His primary duty in Spain was to avoid Spanish intervention on the side of the Axis in the Second World War. Spanish dictator Francisco Franco decided to keep Spain neutral, and Hayes returned to the United States in January 1945. Hayes soon published a book about his experiences, "Wartime Mission in Spain" (1945).
Hayes again returned to his position at Columbia, and taught until his retirement in 1950. He remained an active researcher and writer, at least until the publication of "Nationalism: A Religion" (1960). He died on his farm near Afton on September 3, 1964.
The Notre Dame Archives' sole holding regarding Dr. Hayes is an interview with the late Notre Dame archivist Thomas T. McAvoy, CSC (d.1969), recorded on audiotape. Fr. McAvoy was a graduate student at Columbia c. 1935-1938, and apparently took some coursework from Hayes. However, the recording is of exceedingly poor quality and most portions of the interview are nearly inaudible.
HEITHAUS, CLAUDE
Claude Heithaus was ordained a Jesuit priest circa 1929. After studies in Europe and assignments in Kansas and Ohio, Heithaus joined the faculty of St. Louis University about 1943 as an assistant professor of classical archeology. In 1945, Heithaus began to campaign for the admission of blacks to the university. This effort was successful, but when Heithaus pointed out that the newly admitted black students continued to suffer social discrimination at the university, his superiors ejected him from his teaching post and assigned him to Ft. Riley, Kansas, as a military chaplain. In 1946, Heithaus was appointed to the faculty of Marquette University, and taught archeology there for the next fourteen years. He was then permitted to return to St. Louis University, as the administration of both the school and the archdiocese were now of a more progressive opinion in race relations. Fr. Heithaus died in St. Louis on May 12, 1976. Archive holdings regarding Fr. Heithaus consist of an audiotaped interview conducted in the early 1970's.
HOYT, ROBERT G.
Robert G. Hoyt was born in Clinton, Iowa, on January 30, 1922. His parents were Guy and Ella Hoyt. Guy Hoyt died when Robert was five years old, and the family moved to Detroit. Robert was educated in Catholic schools until the death of his mother about 1934.
Hoyt attended St. Norbert College and graduated with a B.A. in 1942. In his sophomore year, he joined the Norbertine order as a candidate for the priesthood. After graduation, he studied theology and taught high school in Philadelphia. He left the Norbertines after one year of theology, having taken only simple vows. He then served in the Army Air Forces for 28 months (c. 1943-1946). He was discharged in Denver, Colorado.
After an unsuccessful attempt at freelance writing, Hoyt joined the staff of the Denver "Register", the flagship of a national Catholic newspaper chain. He worked for the "Register" until 1949, and married Bernadette Lyon in 1947.
Hoyt left Denver to set up a daily Catholic newspaper in Chicago, the "Sun Herald". His associates in this effort were Geraldine Carrigan, Norma Krause, and Adolph Schalk. However, Cardinal Stritch refused permission for the proposed newspaper and the group sought out a bishop who would support them elsewhere. Bishop O'Hara of Kansas City was agreeable, and the first issue of the "Sun Herald" was published on October 10, 1950. Hoyt was editor and president of the fledgling paper. The venture was short-lived, and the paper closed in the spring of 1951. Hoyt took a job with the "Daily News" of Independence, Missouri, but left after one year. He taught English and history at Rockhurst High School from 1950 to 1957 in addition to his journalistic activities.
In 1957, Hoyt became editor of the Kansas City-St. Joseph diocesan newspaper, which was part of the "Register" chain. He was assisted by Fr. Vincent Lovett, a diocesan priest. Hoyt and Lovett removed the paper from the "Register" chain in 1959, launching the diocesan "Catholic Reporter". The new diocesan paper was very successful, and began to draw readership outside the diocese. Hoyt, Lovett, and managing editor Michael Greene began to consider expansion into a national paper.
In 1964, a group of Kansas City businessmen including Greene, Frank Brennan,and John Fallon suggested to Bishop Charles Helmsing that a lay-operated Catholic national newspaper could be viable. Bishop Helmsing was supportive, and allowed the new "National Catholic Reporter" to share facilities and staff with the existing diocesan paper. Hoyt became editor of the "NCR" and the diocesan paper, while Greene assumed the additional responsibility of publisher of "NCR". The first issue of the "NCR" was published on October 28, 1964.
The "NCR" board of directors gave Hoyt wide editorial discretion, and he used it to the fullest. Hoyt never feared to print articles dissenting from official teaching on such subjects as clerical celibacy and birth control, much to the dismay of Bishop Helmsing. In 1968, Hoyt published documents obtained from a papal advisory commission on birth control. Some commission members had unsuccessfully urged Pope Paul VI to modify the Church's teaching.
Bishop Helmsing soon regretted his decision to back the "NCR". In 1966, the "NCR" moved off diocesan property and Hoyt left the diocesan newspaper. In October 1968, Bishop Helmsing issued an "official condemnation" of the "NCR" and suggested that the word "Catholic" be removed from the title. The Bishop labeled certain articles as "blasphemous" and "heretical". The "NCR" board of directors replied that the function of an independent Catholic newspaper was to provide a forum for discussion, not to serve as an official teaching arm of the Church, and therefore declined to alter the paper's name.
Hoyt left the "NCR" in 1971. His replacement, Donald Thorman, promised a less controversial but still liberal editorial policy. Hoyt became a freelance writer, and has had articles published in such magazines as "Commonweal" and "America".
KERN, CLEMENT
Clement Kern was born in Adrian, Michigan, on June 12, 1907. He was the son of John and Dora (Neumaier) Kern. John Kern was an active supporter of the labor movement, as was his son during his long career as pastor of an inner-city Detroit parish. After attending seminaries in Detroit and Norwood, Ohio, Clement Kern was ordained a priest of the Detroit archdiocese on June 11, 1933.
After assignments as a curate at St. Leo Parish (1933-39) and St. Edward Parish (1939-43), Fr. Kern was transferred to Most Holy Trinity Parish, where he would spend the next 34 years. In 1945, Fr. Kern was made administrator of the parish. This appointment was intended to be temporary, as Cardinal Edward Mooney did not believe that Kern had the necessary experience to be pastor. However, Fr. Kern was promoted to pastor in 1949.
Fr. Kern was an extremely active priest. He was a major organizer of the Detroit chapter of the Association of Catholic Trade Unionists, and joined union picket lines during strikes. He persuaded the Teamsters Union to rebuild the parish school, and the United Auto Workers raised money for its maintenance. Under his direction, the Mother Cabrini medical clinic was established. He also persuaded leading Detroit lawyers to open a legal services center to serve those who could not otherwise afford legal counsel.
In 1962, Kern was given the title of monsignor. He retired from his parish in 1977 to become "pastor-in-residence" at St. John's Seminary. He died on August 15, 1983, of injuries sustained in an automobile accident three weeks earlier. In its August 19, 1983, issue "Michigan Catholic" printed the following tribute: "For more than 34 years, as pastor of Most Holy Trinity Parish, Msgr. Kern pricked Detroit's social conscience, prodding politicians, lawyers, newspapermen, and labor leaders to become allies in his own war against poverty."
LOVETT, VINCENT J.