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His Eminence James Aloysius Hickey
Cardinal
Archbishop of Washington
Church Roman Catholic Church
See Archdiocese of Washington
Appointed June 17, 1980
Enthroned August 5, 1980
Reign ended November 21, 2000
Predecessor William Baum
Successor Theodore Edgar McCarrick
Other posts Cardinal Priest of Santa Maria Madre del Redentore a Tor Bella Monaca
Orders
Ordination June 15, 1946
Consecration April 14, 1967
by John Francis Dearden
Created Cardinal June 28, 1988
Rank Cardinal-Priest
Personal details
Born (1920-10-11)October 11, 1920
Midland, Michigan, USA
Died October 24, 2004(2004-10-24) (aged 84)
Washington, D.C., USA
Buried Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle
Previous post
  • Bishop of Cleveland
    (1974–1980)
    Auxiliary Bishop of Saginaw
    (1967–1974)
Motto Veritatem in caritate
(Truth in charity)
Coat of arms {{{coat_of_arms_alt}}}
Styles of
James Hickey
Coat of arms of James Aloysius Hickey.svg
Reference style His Eminence
Spoken style Your Eminence
Informal style Cardinal
See Washington


James Aloysius Hickey (October 11, 1920 – October 24, 2004) was an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Washington from 1980 to 2000, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1988. Hickey previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland in Ohio from 1974 to 1980.

Hickey presided over a significant expansion of social services for the poor and sick in the Washington region by the Archdiocese of Washington. He was also a strong critic of American foreign policy in Nicaragua and El Salvador, and an advocate for nuclear disarmament.

Biography

Early life

James Hickey was born on October 11, 1920, in Midland, Michigan, to James and Agnes (née Ryan) Hickey; he had an older sister, Marie. James Hickey was a dentist who, during the Great Depression, treated patients who could not pay for their dental care. At age 13, James Hickey entered St. Joseph Minor Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He graduated as valedictorian from Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit in 1942. While in the seminary, Hickey helped provide pastoral care to migrant workers. He then attended The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Priesthood

Hickey was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Saginaw by Bishop William Murphy on June 15, 1946. He then served as an associate pastor at St. Joseph's Parish in Saginaw, Michigan until 1947. Hickey went to Rome in 1947 to further his studies. He earned a Doctor of Canon Law degree from the Pontifical Lateran University in 1950, and a Doctor of Theology degree from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in 1951.

After returning to Michigan, he served as secretary to Bishop Stephen Woznicki from 1951 to 1966. He was also the founding rector of St. Paul Seminary. From 1962 to 1965, Hickey attended the Second Vatican Council in Rome as a peritus for Bishop Woznicki. Hickey was raised to the rank of domestic prelate of his holiness on October 31, 1963.

Auxiliary Bishop of Saginaw

On February 18, 1967, Hickey was appointed as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Saginaw and titular bishop of Taraqua by Pope Paul VI. He received his episcopal consecration on April 14 1957, from Archbishop John Dearden, with Bishops Woznicki and Stephen Leven serving as co-consecrators, at the Cathedral of St. Mary. Hickey selected as his episcopal motto: Veritatem In Caritate, meaning, "Truth in Charity" (Ephesians 4:15).

Hickey served as chairman of priestly formation within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) from 1968 to 1969. In March 1969, he became rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome, where he would oversee the formation of American seminarians for the next five years.

Bishop of Cleveland

Hickey was named the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland on May 31, 1974 by Paul VI. Replacing Bishop Clarence Issenmann, he was installed on July 16 1974. During his tenure in Cleveland, Hickey was a advocate of racial unity and became active in justice issues involving El Salvador. In 1980, he traveled to El Salvador to attend the funeral of Archbishop Óscar Romero. Sister Dorothy Kazel and Jean Donovan, two women whom Hickey had commissioned to serve as missionaries in El Salvador, were later murdered there; he kept their photographs on the wall of his private chapel for the rest of his life.

Archbishop of Washington

Pope John Paul II appointed Hickey as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Washington on June 17, 1980. During the 1980's, Hickey lobbied members of the United States Congress to stop sending aid to the Contra insurgents in Nicaragua. He also pushed his fellow American bishops to take strong stands against increased military spending and in favor of nuclear disarmament. .....

During the Salvadoran Civil War, Hickey opposed the Reagan administration's support for the military government of El Salvador. In 1981, Hickey told the US House Subcommittee on Inter-American Affairs: "Our position is to oppose military aid and intervention from all outside powers." He feared a Communist takeover in El Salvador but opposed sending military assistance, believing such weapons would strengthen repressive elements in security forces. In 1983, Hickey was dispatched by John Paul II on an apostolic visitation to investigate liturgical abuses in the Archdiocese of Seattle, then led by Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen. Commenting on the visitation, Hickey said, "It wasn't easy, you know."

Cardinal

John Paul II created Hickey as cardinal priest of Santa Maria Madre del Redentore a Tor Bella Monaca in the consistory of June 28, 1988. At that point, Hickey was one of thirteen Americans in the College of Cardinals. That same year, Hickey was invited to lead a retreat for the pope and his household. Within the USCCB, Hiceky served as chairman of the Committee on Doctrine (1979–81), of the Committee on Human Values (1984–1987), and of the Committee on the Pontifical North American College (1989–1991; 1994–1997).

Hickey's tenure in Washington D.C. oversaw a significant expansion of Catholic Charities, which became the region's largest private social service agency. He also established:

In conjunction with Mother Teresa, Hickey also founded a Washington convent of the Missionaries of Charity for the care of the homeless and terminally ill. Hickey resigned as archbishop on November 21, 2000, after twenty years of service.

Views

In addition to his social activism, Hickey was known for his orthodox views regarding Catholic doctrine.

LBGT ministries

Hickey ordered New Ways Ministry, an unauthorized ministry for LGBT Catholics, to stop any operations on archdiocese property in the early 1980's. He also forced Georgetown University to stop DignityUSA, a national LBGT ministry organization, from celebrating mass on campus in 1987.

Liturgical abuses

Hickey complained about liturgical abuses at Holy Trinity Church in Georgetown, even sending then auxiliary bishop William E. Lori to investigate the Jesuit-run parish.

Dissident clergy

As chancellor of The Catholic University of America, Hickey handled the ouster of theologian Charles Curran from the university's faculty in 1987. .....

Capital punishment

In early 2000, following on the Pope's calls for Catholics to oppose capital punishment, Hickey appealed to Maryland Governor Parris Glendening to commute the death sentence of Eugene Colvin-El.

Labor

While Archbishop of Washington, Hickey ordered all large scale building projects in the archdiocese to be union jobs.

Death

Hickey died at the Jeanne Jugan Home of the Little Sisters of the Poor in Washington, D.C., at age 84. Following a funeral mass at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, he was buried in St. Francis Chapel at St. Matthew's Cathedral. .....

See also

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