Early life Alfred Hughes was born on December 2, 1932, in
West Roxbury,
Massachusetts, as the third of the four children of Alfred and Ellen (née Hennessey) Hughes; he has two older sisters, Dorothy Callahan and Marie Morgan, and a younger brother, a
Jesuit priest named Kenneth. Deciding to become a priest, Alfred Hughes entered
St. John's Seminary College in Boston, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in
philosophy in 1954. He then furthered his studies in
Rome at the
Pontifical Gregorian University.
Priesthood Hughes was
ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop
Martin John O’Connor for the Archdiocese of Boston in Rome on December 15, 1957. After his ordination, the archdiocese assigned Hughes to
pastoral work in parishes before sending him back to the Gregorian in 1959. He obtained a obtain a
doctorate in spiritual
theology in 1961. Upon his return to the United States, he became a professor, as well as
spiritual director and
lecturer, at St. John's Seminary in 1962.Hughes implemented a controversial post-Katrina church consolidation program that reduced the number of parishes in the archdiocese from 142 to 108. The hurricane drove away nearly a quarter of its former membership and left it with nearly $300 million in physical damage. Questions were raised concerning Hughes's handling of child sexual abuse cases by the clergy, in both
Boston and New Orleans, and he was widely criticized for attempting to cover up such abuse, including trying to “perpetuate a practice of utmost secrecy and confidentiality with respect to the problem”. For this, he apologized and said, “Our action or inaction failed to protect the innocents among us, the children. I ask for forgiveness." Hughes placed an emphasis on
evangelization as a major theme of his tenure. He also sat on several committees of the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, including one overseeing the use of the
Catechism. In April 2009, Hughes was among a group of American bishops who criticized the
University of Notre Dame's decision to award US President
Barack Obama an honorary doctorate at graduation exercises that Spring. The reasons Include Obama's support for
abortion rights for women and other issues viewed as incompatible with Catholic teachings. That same month, Hughes refused to attend commencement exercises at
Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans because Xavier was awarding an honorary degree to author
Donna Brazile, a supporter of abortion rights.
Resignation and Legacy On June 12, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI accepted Hughes' resignation as archbishop of New Orleans. He was succeeded by
Gregory Aymond. Hughes continued to serve as
apostolic administrator until August 20, 2009. In his retirement, Hughes has remained active as a professor and spiritual director at
Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, and through ministry at Project Lazarus, a ministry to those with AIDS. ==See also==