Marquette University e-Publications@Marquette Dissertations (2009 -) Dissertations, Theses, and Professional Projects Urban Rifts and Religious Reciprocity: Chicago and the Catholic Church, 1965-1996 Dominic E. Faraone Marquette University Recommended Citation Faraone, Dominic E., "Urban Rifts nda Religious Reciprocity: Chicago and the Catholic Church, 1965-1996" (2013). Dissertations (2009 -). Paper 254. http://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations_mu/254 URBAN RIFTS AND RELIGIOUS RECIPROCITY: CHICAGO AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, 1965-1996 by Dominic E. Faraone A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School, Marquette University, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Milwaukee, Wisconsin May 2013 ABSTRACT URBAN RIFTS AND RELIGIOUS RECIPROCITY: CHICAGO AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, 1965-1996 Dominic E. Faraone Marquette University, 2013 From the late 1960s onward, a sequence of unusually transformative, combustible, and sometimes alarming urban phenomena beset the city of Chicago and bred considerable turmoil and uncertainty: post-industrial transition; street gang activity and unprecedented levels of interpersonal violence; the political ascendancy in 1983 of African American reform candidate Harold Washington to the mayor’s seat; gay liberation; and AIDS. Each accentuated a host of social and/or spatial rifts—between the deteriorating city and comparatively thriving suburbs; the economically impoverished, culturally alienated, and frequently isolated inner city and the rest of Chicago; machine and reform politicians; Black lawmakers and White “ethnics”; sexual majorities and minorities; and the physically sick and the healthy. These developments also challenged the historic liberalism, confidence, and institutional breadth of Chicago Catholicism during the tenures of Cardinal Archbishops John Cody (1965-1982) and Joseph Bernardin (1982-1996). Fueled by diverse material and theological interests—such as the Church’s immense human and financial investments in neighborhoods, the Second Vatican Council’s teachings to engage the secular world and root out poverty and injustice, religious order charisms, and a strong heritage of social activism—the archdiocese and religiously-motivated Catholics marshaled a distinctive brand of religious reciprocity, which encouraged Chicagoans to recognize that they were interdependent and embedded within an urban and metropolitan community. Reciprocity also signified that it was the responsibility of the Church to recognize Chicagoans’ common grievances, bring them to the fore, initiate dialogue among people, and encourage the mutual exchange of talents and treasure. Although sometimes stifled or camouflaged by Cardinal Cody’s desire to centralize control of the archdiocese in his own hands, this impulse to foster discourse, collaboration, and interdependency was pivotal to a city wracked by social polarization and spatial segregation. Finally, reciprocity encouraged Catholics to be receptive to secular enrichment. A notable segment of the faithful reasoned that the daily experiences of city residents should inform Catholic pastoral practices, while others touted that urban trauma was not uniformly negative; spiritual renewal could blossom from witnessing or participating in human suffering. i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Dominic E. Faraone This dissertation was several years in gestation and realization; considerable help and cooperation from Marquette University instructors and staff, colleagues, and family members made its completion possible. The Rev. Steven M. Avella wisely recommended the interaction between the city of Chicago and the Catholic Church between 1965 and 1996 as a suitable dissertation topic. As my director, he skillfully and patiently read many drafts, and offered expert suggestions to strengthen and polish the completed project. The many personal acts of kindness that he showed me will not soon be forgotten. Drs. Thomas J. Jablonsky and Alison Efford generously agreed to serve on my dissertation committee. Their insights and suggestions enhanced my understanding of urban residents and systems. I also thank other Marquette University History Department faculty members who shared their time and knowledge. Drs. Kristen Foster, Phillip C. Naylor, James Marten, and Irene Guenther, now professor of History at the University of Houston, were particularly crucial to my professional development. Amiable and ambitious young scholars at Marquette enriched my graduate school experience. In particular, I thank Peter Cajka, now a Ph.D. candidate in History at Boston College, and Dr. Charissa Keup for their companionship and encouragement. Dr. Jason Hostutler’s kind tutelage during my initial graduate school years is greatly appreciated. ii Many diligent librarians and archivists facilitated this dissertation project. I especially thank the staff at Marquette University’s Raynor Memorial Library; Julie Satzik, Assistant Research Archivist at the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Archives and Records Center; Wm. Kevin Cawley, Archivist, Curator of Manuscripts, and Sharon Sumpter, Assistant Archivist, at the University of Notre Dame Archives; Elizabeth A. Myers, Director of the Women and Leadership Archives at Loyola University Chicago; Donna Carl Dahl, Director of Archives at the Alexian Brothers Immaculate Conception Province Archives; Teresa G. Yoder, Archival Specialist in the Special Collections at the Harold Washington Library Center; Valerie Harris, Assistant Special Collections Librarian at the University of Illinois at Chicago; and the staffs of the Chicago History Museum’s Research Center, and the United Library of the Garrett-Evangelical and Seabury-Western Theological Seminaries at Northwestern University. I benefited from lengthy conversations with Ellen Skerrett and Dr. Malachy R. McCarthy, Province Archivist of the Claretian Missionary Archives, who shared their expertise of Chicago Catholic history and helped to foster my appreciation for the complexity of Church-city interplay. A fellowship from the Arthur J. Schmitt Foundation for the 2011-2012 academic year expedited the completion of this dissertation. I also owe an immense debt of gratitude to my colleagues at Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Evansville, Indiana, and in particular to Dr. Sharon Burns, who strongly supported my efforts to complete this dissertation in a timely fashion. iii I have been blessed with a very warm extended family. The unflinching love, compassion, assistance, and encouragement of my parents, Bernard and Laurette, and siblings Katie, Ben, Tessa, and Juliette directly led to the completion of this project. They have never ceased sharing with me their joy, imagination, wonder, and song, as well as their irreplaceable gifts of perspective. Additionally, I am indebted to Stuart A. Green for his friendship, constancy, and wit. Finally, my language is incapable of describing the love and gratitude that I hold for my wife, Justine, and my children Gabriel and Elena. The lives of my Beloved are reaffirmations that God was never unaware of the silent longings of my heart; each of them has given clarity to the purpose of my earthly existence. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS…………………………………………………………………i ARCHIVES/ABBREVIATIONS…………………………………………………...…….v COMMONLY USED NEWSPAPERS/ABBREVIATIONS…………………………….vi INTRODUCTION………………...…………………………………………...………….1 CHAPTER 1, THE CODY AND BERNARDIN YEARS: AN OVERVIEW…….….....77 CHAPTER 2, POST-INDUSTRIAL TRANSITION………………………………..…108 CHAPTER 3, INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE AND STREET GANGS…………….149 CHAPTER 4, THE 1983 MAYORAL ELECTION……………………………………191 CHAPTER 5, GAY LIBERATION…………………………………………………….240 CHAPTER 6, AIDS…………………………………………………………………….301 CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………………350 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………………357 v ARCHIVES/ABBREVIATIONS ABPA Alexian Brothers Provincial Archives AAC Archives of the Archdiocese of Chicago ALUC Archives of Loyola University Chicago AULNU Archives of the United Library of the Garret-Evangelical and Seabury- Western Theological Seminaries, Northwestern University AUIC Archives of the University of Illinois at Chicago AUND Archives of the University of Notre Dame CHM Chicago History Museum, Research Center CPLHW Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Archives and Collections CMA Claretian Missionary Archives WLALUC Women and Leadership Archives of Loyola University Chicago vi COMMONLY USED NEWSPAPERS/ABBREVIATIONS CC Chicago Catholic CDN Chicago Daily News CD Chicago Defender CNW Chicago New World CR Chicago Reporter CST Chicago Sun Times CT Chicago Tribune NCR National Catholic Reporter NYT New York Times WSJ Wall Street Journal 1 Introduction Religion and American Life Religion has significantly influenced the physical and human development of urban areas in the United States. American cities have not exclusively been products of economic and demographic forces. Nor have historical actors made decisions based solely or even primarily on “secular” race, class, or gender considerations. As this dissertation argues, religious bodies and institutions have helped to determine how cities are built and maintained; theological traditions have informed the worldviews and motivated the every-day behavior of many individuals—“ordinary” city-dwellers as well as wielders of economic and political power. An honest appraisal of urban history, therefore, demands that religion be taken seriously as a category of analysis. In a brief essay published in 1996, urban historian