James Stafford
James Francis Stafford (born July 26, 1932) is an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as major penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary from 2003 to 2009. He previously served as president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity (1996–2003), archbishop of the Archdiocese of Denver (1986–1996), bishop of the Diocese of Memphis (1982–1986), and as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore (1976–1982). Stafford was made a cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 1998.
Contents
- 1 Biography
- 1.1 Early life
- 1.2 Priesthood
- 1.3 Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore
- 1.4 Bishop of Memphis
- 1.5 Archbishop of Denver
- 1.6 St. John Vianney Theological Seminary
- 2 Career in the Roman Curia
- 3 Criticism of Barack Obama
- 4 See also
- 5 References
- 6 External links
Biography
Early life
James Stafford was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the only child of Francis Emmett and Mary Dorothy (née Stanton) Stafford. His father was the owner of a furniture store, which had been opened by his grandfather (an Irish immigrant) in 1902. James Stafford was raised in Irvington, a Baltimore neighborhood, and graduated from Loyola High School in Towson, Maryland, in 1950.
Stafford then entered Loyola College Maryland in Baltimore, planning a career in medicine. However, in 1952, the death of a close friend in a car crash caused Stafford to rethink his future and to enter St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore. Stafford attended St. Mary's Seminary for two years. Archbishop Francis Keough then sent him to the Pontifical North American College and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
Priesthood
While in Rome, Stafford was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Baltimore by Bishop Martin O'Connor on December 15, 1957. He earned a Licentiate of Sacred Theology from the Gregorian University in 1958.
After his return to Baltimore, Stafford was *igned a *istant pastor at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parishin Baltimore, remaining there until 1962. He then entered the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he earned a Master of Social Work degree in 1964 with a thesis on the foster care of children.
From 1964 to 1966, Stafford served as *istant director of the archdiocesan Catholic Charities and *istant pastor of St. Ann Parish in Baltimore. He was named in 1966 as director of the Archdiocesan Catholic Charities by Cardinal Lawrence Shehan, serving in that position for ten years.
In 1970, Pope Paul VI named Stafford as a chaplain of his holiness. He was elected president of the Presbyteral Senate for the archdiocese the following year. Stafford also helped reorganize the central services of the archdiocese and create its collegial structures.
Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore
On January 11, 1976, Paul VI appointed Stafford as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore and *ular bishop of Respecta He was consecrated on February 29, 1976 by Archbishop William Borders, with Cardinal Shehan and Bishop Thomas Murphy serving as co-consecrators, at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore. Stafford selected as his episcopal motto: In principium erat Verbum, which is Latin for: "In the beginning was the Word" (John 1:15).
As an auxiliary bishop, Stafford served as vicar general of the archdiocese from 1976 to 1981. From 1978 to 1984, he led the U.S. Catholic Conference Commission on Marriage and Family Life. He also served as administrator of Sts. Philip and James Parish in Baltimore (1980–1981). Stafford attended the Fifth Ordinary *embly of the Synod of Bishops in Vatican City from September to October 1980.
Bishop of Memphis
On November 17, 1981, Pope John Paul II appointed Stafford as the second bishop of the Diocese of Memphis. He was installed on January 17, 1982. During his tenure, Stafford revised the structure of the Pastoral Office, improved the fiscal conditions of the diocese, and concentrated on the evangelization of African Americans.
In addition to his duties in Memphis, Stafford was chairman of the USCCB Commission for E*enical and Interreligious Affairs (1984–1991) and co-president of the Dialogue between Roman Catholics and Lutherans (1984–1997).
Archbishop of Denver
Following the death of Archbishop James Casey, John Paul II appointed Stafford as the third archbishop of the Archdiocese of Denver on June 3, 1986. He was installed at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on July 30, 1986.
In a July 28, 2005 article in the Denver Post. five men described being fondled as boys during the 1960's by Harold Robert White, a priest in the archdiocese. In August 1983, one of the men wrote to Stafford complaining about White. A response letter from the Archdiocese said that White was to "...receive an evaluation from competent personnel to determine whether there are any recurring difficulties.” White continued to work in parish ministry until 1993 and was laicized in 2004.
During his tenure in Denver, Stafford hosted the 1993 World Youth Day, which was the first such event in North America. In his last year as archbishop, he launched the first capital campaign in forty years and a "Strategic Plan" for Catholic schools.
St. John Vianney Theological Seminary
In 1990 the Vincentian Fathers announced the closing in 1994 of St. Thomas Seminary in Denver due to falling enrollment. Stafford decided to buy the seminary property and plan a brand new ins*ution, St. John Vianney Theological Seminary. The new facility opened in 1999 under the guidance of Archbishop Charles Chaput.
Career in the Roman Curia
Stafford was appointed president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity on August 20, 1996, he became cardinal-deacon of Gesù Buon Pastore alla Montagnola Parish in Rome in the consistory of 1998.
In 2003, Stafford was appointed major penitentiary, overseeing matters pertaining to indulgences and the internal forum of the Church. He was thus one of the highest ranking American members of the Roman Curia and the second one in that role. Stafford participated in the 2005 papal conclave that selected Pope Benedict XVI.
Stafford submitted his letter of resignation to Benedict XVI on his 75th birthday in 2007. On June 2, 2009, Benedict XVI appointed as his successor Archbishop Fortunato Baldelli, then apostolic nuncio to France.
On March 1, 2008, Stafford took the option, after ten years as a cardinal deacon, for promotion to the rank of cardinal-priest, and was *igned the *ular church of San Pietro in Montorio. In 2009, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology and inducted into their College of Fellows.
Criticism of Barack Obama
The online version of the National Catholic Reporter reported on November 19, 2008, that Stafford had criticized President-elect Barack Obama, saying he has "an agenda and vision that are aggressive, disruptive and apocalyptic". The story was first reported by The Tower, the student newspaper of the Catholic University of America, where Stafford made those remarks.
Saying that the United States experienced a "cultural earthquake" when Obama was elected president, Stafford said the president-elect "appears to be a relaxed, smiling man" with rhetorical skills that are "very highly developed". "But under all that grace and charm, there is a tautness of will, a state of constant alertness, to attack and resist any external influence that might affect his will", he added. Stafford then predicted that the Obama administration would compare to "Jesus' agony in the Garden of Gethsemane".
The Catholic News Agency revealed more details about Stafford's remarks on November 17, 2008: "If 1968 was the year of America's 'suicide attempt,' 2008 is the year of America's exhaustion," he said, contrasting the year of publication of Humanae vitae with this election year. "For the next few years, Gethsemane will not be marginal. We will know that garden," Stafford told his audience. Catholics who weep the "hot, angry tears of betrayal" should try to identify with Jesus, who during his agony in the garden was "sick because of love". Stafford also attributed America's so-called decline to US Supreme Court decisions such as the 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade, which Staffford claims imposed "permissive abortion laws nationwide".
See also
Portals:BiographyCatholicismColorado- American bishops serving outside the United States
- Catholic Church hierarchy
- Catholic Church in the United States
- Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States
- List of Catholic bishops of the United States
- Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops
References
External links
- "Stafford Card. James Francis". Holy See Press Office. Archived from the original on September 4, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
- Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Denver Official Site