James Cardinal Hickey

James Aloysius Hickey (October 11, 1920 – October 24, 2004) was a Cardinal for sixteen years and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Washington for twenty years.

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October 11 - 1920 - October 24 - 2004 - Cardinal - Roman Catholic - Archbishop - Archdiocese of Washington

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Born in Midland, Michigan, Hickey became archbishop of Washington in 1980 after serving as Bishop of Cleveland. That same year, he attended the funeral of slain archbishop Oscar Romero in El Salvador. During the decade, he lobbied members of U.S. Congress to stop sending aid to the Contras in Nicaragua and pushed his fellow bishops to take strong stands against increased military spending and in favor of nuclear disarmament.

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Midland, Michigan - Washington - 1980 - Bishop of Cleveland - Oscar Romero - El Salvador - U.S. Congress - Contra - Nicaragua - Military spending - Nuclear disarmament

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In 1988, Hickey was elevated to Cardinal Priest. Hickey was, at that point, one of thirteen Americans in the College of Cardinals.

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1988 - Cardinal Priest - American - College of Cardinals

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While known for his social activism outside the Catholic Church, Hickey was considered a conservative in issues affecting the Church — for example, he ordered New Ways Ministry, a ministry for gays and lesbians, to cease operations in his archdiocese in the early 1980s. Yet he and Rev. Michael Peterson, a gay psychiatrist on whom Hickey had relied for advice in treating pedophile priests, and who was dying from AIDS, wrote a joint letter in 1987 to all American Catholic bishops acknowledging Peterson's diagnosis; Hickey wrote "Father Peterson's illness reminds us in a personal way of the terrible human tragedy of AIDS in our midst. His suffering challenges us to reach out with renewed conviction and compassion to those with AIDS and their families and friends."

Related Topics:
Social activism - Catholic Church - Conservative - New Ways Ministry - Gays and lesbians - Michael Peterson - Psychiatrist - Pedophile - AIDS

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