Religion and Race in Cincinnati in the Era of Vatican Ii
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REFORM IN THE QUEEN CITY: RELIGION AND RACE IN CINCINNATI IN THE ERA OF VATICAN II A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Notre Dame in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Michael A. Skaggs _________________________________ Kathleen Sprows Cummings, Director Graduate Program in History Notre Dame, Indiana February 2017 © Copyright by MICHAEL A. SKAGGS 2017 All rights reserved REFORM IN THE QUEEN CITY: RELIGION AND RACE IN CINCINNATI, 1954-1971 Abstract by Michael A. Skaggs This dissertation examines how the Roman Catholic community of Cincinnati, Ohio, experienced the reform movement initiated by the Catholic Church’s Second Vatican Council, at which the world’s bishops met in Rome in four sessions between 1962 and 1965. The study focuses on two aspects of conciliar reform as it shaped life in Cincinnati: Jewish-Catholic relations and the Catholic response to racism in church and society. As such it makes two major interventions into the historiography. First, while the Second Vatican Council (“Vatican II”) is often touted as a revolutionary moment given its repudiation of centuries of Catholic anti-Semitism, in Cincinnati such a pronouncement barely rippled among local Catholics and Jews, who had long cooperated, especially on civic projects, with little thought for the theological obstacles that ostensibly divided them. Thus what was revolutionary at the level of the global Church was met with little attention at the local level. Second, Vatican II’s neglect of race as a discrete social concern fueled intra-Catholic conflict over the Church’s Michael A. Skaggs response to discrimination in local communities. With no clear direction on how the Catholic laity were to respond to racism, despite making forceful admonitions that lay men and women should be deeply engaged in their surrounding communities, Vatican II led to bitter disputes over the propriety of lay activism on race or even the acknowledgement of race as a systemic illness of American society. How religious believers were to reform their own communities, then, was conditioned by their experience of reform within their own traditions, with local conditions taking priority over universal pronouncements at the highest levels of theological authority. To paraphrase a well-worn saying: “All religion is local.” In Cincinnati, Catholics determined a formal response to these problems through an archdiocesan synod, which concluded in 1971 and outlined the local Church’s renewal process vis-á-vis Vatican II and contemporary social upheaval. Most importantly for this dissertation, Cincinnati Catholics confirmed their friendship with Cincinnati Jews, acknowledged the need for a coherent racial policy, and formulated a response to the conditions of their community in the post-Vatican II world. For Caroline ii CONTENTS Introduction………………………………………………………………………………..1 Chapter One: ‘We shall have to be aggiornamented’: Vatican II in Cincinnati………………………………………………………………..…38 Chapter Two: ‘A soul spotless in the sight of God’: Vatican II and Race in Cincinnati………………………………………………………107 Chapter Three: ‘Mishigoyem Mushrooms con Vino Blanco’: Catholics and Jews in Cincinnati……………………………………………………….169 Chapter Four: ‘A new Pentecost of understanding and harmony’: The Sixth Synod of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, 1971……………………………...233 Epilogue………………………………………………………………………………...293 Appendix A: The Black Manifesto……………………………………………………..310 Appendix B: Nostra ætate (Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions………………………………………………………………………………..320 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………324 iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Despite most of its labor being solitary, every academic project is the result of numerous contributions. Across both space and time, works such as this dissertation ultimately are collaborative. My debts for this work are nearly countless. My status as a first-generation student has alternately aided or hindered all of my academic progress; it was thus that, when I arrived at the University of Notre Dame in August 2011, newly married and newly a homeowner, I felt truly out of place. However, many faculty eased that transition and have fostered my development as a scholar with patience, kindness, and generosity. I am grateful to James Smyth for not only accepting me as a student but also for conferring his blessing when I abandoned the field of eighteenth-century Britain for the twentieth-century United States. Welcoming me to the fold was Mark Noll, who somehow found time and energy to take yet another student. Mark is the model of Christian scholarship, a gentleman in the purest sense of the word. My intellectual journey was not over when I entered the Noll cadre, however, and soon Kathleen Sprows Cummings agreed to advise me in conjunction with Mark. Over time it became clear that Kathy would be my primary advisor, taking on all of the responsibility of guiding, encouraging, critiquing, and supporting my work – tasks I made easy some days and quite difficult others. Yet throughout my time at Notre Dame she has been an unfailing champion of my intellectual interests, ensuring that I moved toward a iv completed dissertation as quickly as possible without sacrificing rigorous analysis and close attention to sources. More importantly, her patience and genuine empathy of the life of a graduate student – especially one with a young family – has meant that her support has seen me through several extraordinarily difficult periods. Her service has been solace more often than she knows. I have been fortunate to meet and engage some of the brightest minds in their fields. Thomas Tweed and Mike Amezcua generously agreed to serve on this dissertation’s committee. Tom especially provided a great deal of thought-provoking commentary, pushing me to think in ways I had not considered. For those who know his work, his fingerprints are legible in numerous places in the document below. David Endres served as a willing source on Cincinnati Catholic history. More importantly, this dissertation is in one sense the product of his assistance, as he facilitated my access to the Chancery Archive of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. The many hours spent at the Archive’s two locations on Eighth Street were filled with surprise, excitement, consternation, and a revitalized interest in the possibilities of the local scale of history. Other scholars provided much-needed companionship on the journey, accompanying me not so much in the content of my work as the daily work of the historian. Dan Vivian has been both mentor and role model, patiently listening and commiserating while constantly showing me how historians can be deeply engaged in local communities and carry out service to the public. The University of Louisville is fortunate to have Dan’s formidable intellectual and technical knowledge; I am fortunate for his guidance and support. v Of course, historians can accomplish nothing without standing on the shoulders of archivists. Karen Oddi kindly hosted me at the Archive of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis; while that place has faded from this project, it remains on my interminable list of projects to pursue later. Richard Hamilton helped begin my research at the Chancery Archive of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, wisely shepherding his collections and ultimately granting me free reign over the materials. His friendship energized the sometimes-monotonous grind of research. More importantly, over lunches at Sophia’s and long phone conversations, he showed me an openness of spirit and an attitude of self- giving that is hard to fine. As Richard began my work in the Cincinnati archdiocesan archive, Sarah Patterson finished it, taking over at the archive’s beautiful new home next to St. Louis Church. Sarah was a source of countless data on the archdiocese, never failing to track down even the most banal of documentation and sending files my way with alacrity. The history of the archdiocese – indeed, an enormous piece of the history of Cincinnati – is safe in Sarah’s hands. The librarians at the Cincinnati Museum Center swiftly attended to my many requests for materials and were always happy to indulge my need for living conversation after a long day communing with the dead. At the American Jewish Archives, Joe Weber was a cheerful presence and extraordinarily helpful; Dana Hermann welcomed me warmly each time I visited; and Rabbi Dr. Gary Zola always showed a keen interest in the work of each scholar. The support given by many in ways not directly related to the dissertation’s content has been as significant as the intellectual contributions mentioned above. Ben Wetzel is an exemplar of virtue and industriousness. I am grateful that Kathy Cummings welcomed to her cohort Jill Plummer, Andy Mach, and Jim Breen, colleagues to which I vi feel a particular affinity. Another of Kathy’s students, Natalie Sargent, has gone from friendly acquaintance, to trusted colleague, to cherished friend – her generosity has kept the Skaggs household running smoothly and given all of us much-needed space and time to grow and breathe. Our sons always look forward to visits from Nat-uh-lee. Fr. Stephen Koeth likewise has become not only a dear friend but also displayed truly priestly kindness, finding space in his Mass schedule whenever I have needed it. Msgr. Michael Heintz, whose brilliance took him from his St. Matthew’s congregation to training the next generation of priests at Mt. St. Mary’s Emmitsburg, baptized both of our sons during our time in South Bend. Fully aware that sacraments work ex opere operato, we will always be grateful that it was he who brought Henry and George fully into the Church. Fr. Wilson Miscamble has supported our family with his prayer and kindness. Many in the Notre Dame community gave me opportunities to hone my scholarly and pedagogical skills. I am grateful for conversations on Catholic research resources with Pat Lawton and Jean McManus. Greg Doyle and Tom Cummings brought me into the Satellite Theological Education Program, where I learned more about teaching than I had ever expected.