FBI Files on Cardinal Spellman

Rather than actually writing an introductory first post, I figured it might be more in keeping with the more casual nature of this blog to jump right in with some interesting miscellany.

Also, I'm kinda too busy with finals to be writing a manifesto at the moment.

But anyway, the miscellany: I happened to come across a blog post on Aggie Catholics noting that the FBI kept files on a number of Catholic leaders, including several prominent bishops. The most famous one is Archbishop Fulton Sheen (if you're not familiar, think Cardinal Dolan on steroids with his own primetime TV show). I was a bit more interested in Francis Cardinal Spellman, a graduate of my own Fordham University. He was the longest-serving Archbishop of New York at 28 years, and led the Archdiocese through a period in which there was massive building of parishes and parish schools. He's a character with his fair share of controversy, but he's an undeniable giant in American Catholic history. The FBI's files are now available online, and they're huge (as in physically hundreds of pages of documents).

On page 20 of Spellman's, there's an interesting document about agents having a semi-secret meeting with the cardinal and asking him for information about a Eucharistic Conference in Argentina. Here's some excerpts:

"During Agent [REDACTED]'s meeting with Archbishop Spellman, it was discreetly ascertained that in October 1944, there will be a Eucharistic Conference which is to be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina."

"Before the conference terminated, Agent [REDACTED] made preliminary arrangements whereby Mr. [REDACTED] would meet Archbishop Spellman for the purpose of cultivating the Archbishop's acquaintance in the event that at any future time, questions might arise relative to which the Archbishop could assist the Bureau in answering"

Interpret that as you will. Sounds like something taken out of a spy film.

Interestingly, although Spellman and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover seem to have been
cordial with one another, Spellman would later refuse Hoover's request to publicly condemn Martin Luther King, Jr., and in fact raised money for a group of priests and religious sisters to attend the Selma-Montgomery  marches.

Image credit: Wikipedia