John Dearden

John Dearden was born on October 15, 1907, in Valley Falls, Rhode Island, the eldest of five children of John Sidney and Agnes (née Gregory) Dearden. He received his early education at the parochial school of Holy Trinity Parish in Central Falls. At age 11, Dearden and his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio. He continued his education at St. Philomena School in East Cleveland, Ohio, and then attended Cathedral Latin High School in Chardon, Ohio, from 1921 to 1925. In 1925, Dearden began his studies for the priesthood at St. Mary's Seminary in Cleveland. He graduated from St. Mary's in 1929, and was then sent to Rome to reside at the Pontifical North American College while studying at the Pontifical Gregorian University. ==Priesthood==

On December 8, 1932, Dearden was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Cleveland by Cardinal Francesco Marchetti Selvaggiani in Rome. He earned a doctorate in theology from the Gregorian in 1934. Following his return to Ohio, he was assigned as a curate at St. Mary's Parish in Painesville, where he remained for three years. He then served as professor of philosophy (1937–1948) and rector (1944–1948) at St. Mary's Seminary. The Vatican raised Dearden to the rank of papal chamberlain on July 19, 1945. ==Episcopate==

Bishop of Pittsburgh On March 13, 1948, Dearden was appointed coadjutor bishop of Pittsburgh in and titular bishop of Sarepta by Pope Pius XII. In 1952, he issued new regulations on interfaith marriages. He allowed priests to officiate marriages between Catholics and non-Catholics in Catholic churches. However, he insisted that his actions, "...must not be understood as mitigating in any degree the general rule of the church that is opposed in principle to such unions." The Vatican named Dearden as an assistant at the pontifical throne in 1957. In 1965, Dearden partnered with Cardinal Joseph Ritter to inaugurate Project Equality. This was an interfaith program asking businesses to pledge to a policy of non-discrimination in hiring and discharging employees. As a member of the National Catholic Welfare Council, Dearden served as its treasurer, a member of its administrative board, and chair of its Committee on the Liturgical Apostolate. Dearden's commitment to racial justice frequently put him at odds with some priests and lay Catholics at the parish level who organized to fight neighborhood racial integration. Dearden in 1967 concluded that "the Negro-white confrontation in American cities is in great part a Negro-Catholic confrontation." Cardinal Pope Paul VI created Dearden as cardinal priest of the Church of San Pio X alla Balduina in Rome in the consistory of April 28, 1969. Following the outbreak of the Watergate scandal in Washington, D.C. in 1973, Dearden issued a pastoral letter that stated, "These are difficult days for the country we love." He asked Catholics to observe the first three Fridays in November as days of prayer, penance and fasting in light of the nation's political turmoil. Dearden suffered a serious heart attack in April 1977. Dearden served as a cardinal elector in the August 1978 papal conclave in Rome that elected Pope John Paul I. After John Paul died suddenly in September 1978, Dearden returned to Rome for the October 1978 conclave that selected Pope John Paul II. Resignation and legacy Three years after suffering a heart attack, Dearden resigned as Detroit's archbishop on July 15, 1980, after twenty-one years of service. On August 1, 1988, Dearden died from pancreatic cancer in Southfield, Michigan, at age 80. He was still a member of the Roman Curia's Congregation for the Sacraments at the time. He is buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield. == Initiatives ==

Second Vatican Council During the Second Vatican Council, Dearden helped develop the Lumen gentium, released in 1964, and Gaudium et spes, released in 1965. During the council, he became more progressive in his views, becoming known as a "favorite of the liberals in the church." From 1966 to 1971, Dearden served as the first NCCB president. As president, Dearden was known as "the unobtrusive liberal" for his emphasis on governing through consensus. Call to Action After the Second Vatican Council, Dearden worked to establish a national pastoral council. Its purpose was to bring bishops, priests, religious, and lay people together to examine their "shared responsibility" on civic issues in the life of the Catholic Church. A few years before the American Bicentennial in 1976, the NCCB named Dearden to head a committee that would formulate a Catholic contribution to this event. Its response was the Liberty and Justice for All Project, a vehicle for discussing peace and social justice issues. To gain input from the laity, the NCCB held hearings around the United States designated as "Calls to Action". Dearden stated this was to find out "how the American Catholic community can contribute to the quest of all people for liberty and justice." They took place in Atlanta, Minneapolis, Newark, Sacramento, San Antonio, and Washington, D.C. In these hearings, select group of 500 attendees were allowed to address panels that include bishops. Regional, diocesan, and parish groups were also given the option to hold their own meetings on the subject and they produced 800,000 responses. The response from the hearings and the meetings were reviewed by eight preparatory committees which produced working papers and recommendations to be presented at the Call to Action conference held in the Detroit convention center with 1,340 delegates in attendance, 152 of which were appointed by bishops of the 167 American dioceses. Each of 92 national Catholic organizations were allowed to send a single delegate to represent them. Almost a third of all delegates were clergy (mostly priests with 110 bishops) and another third were women. Half of all the delegates were church employees. The delegates broke into small groups using the working papers as a basis of discussion but free to make their own recommendations to the NCCB/USCC. In the end, the conference made 29 recommendations divided into 218 separate items. Many of the suggestions were viewed as radical:"Among them were recommendations for returning laicized priests to the ministry, the ordination of married men and of women, lay preachers, freedom to practice contraception, an open attitude toward homosexuality, and reception of communion by divorced and remarried Catholics. The recommendations of a social and political nature included ones supporting amnesty for Vietnam war resisters and for undocumented immigrants...[and] a recommendation backing the proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution".The NCCB received the recommendations with thanks but many bishops were unhappy with the results. The NCCB then appointed a committee to oversee their implementation, which then shelved them. The fruitless outcome of the conference ended any efforts of Dearden to work for a full national pastoral council. == Media coverage ==

Dearden drew the attention of the national media for "his innovative approach to the new liturgy and teachings." The New York Times speculated that in 1979 when Pope John Paul II came to New York City to address the United Nations, he "snubbed" Dearden by not scheduling a visit to Detroit. Instead, the pope met with Cardinal John Cody, "... whose conservatism the Pope found more to his liking." Despite his liberal outlook, Dearden refused to support the ordination of women as priests, citing "...too many theological objections". ==References==