Search results for ""author morris j. macgregor""

Cardinal Patrick O'Boyle (1896-1987) is largely remembered as the controversial leader of the Archdiocese of Washington during its first, formative quarter century. Combining considerable foresight about the Church's social concerns with a stubborn resistance to innovation, he countered opposition from those who reviled his progressive stand, especially his steadfast demand for racial equality and support of organized labor. At the same time he earned the opprobrium of those who resisted his firm support of the magisterium, in particular his controversial defense of the pope's ban on artificial birth control and his rejection of liturgical experimentation in the wake of the Second Vatican Council.Often overlooked is the fact that O'Boyle's Washington years followed a quarter-century participation in the modernization of the American Church's charity apparatus and the organization of its international relief effort. Such assignments placed him at the epicenter of the debate over the proper roles of church and state in providing social services. A product of the Catholic ghettoization of the early twentieth century, he was expected to lead his Church into fruitful partnerships with government and other organizations in support of society's most needy.This engaging biography seeks to explain O'Boyle's apparent contradictions by placing special emphasis on his formative years as the only child in an immigrant, staunchly pro-labor family in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and his training as a seminarian and curate in the rigidly traditional Church of his adopted New York. These influences, combined with his subsequent work with the poor and orphaned, instilled in him a progressive economic and social outlook as well as a lifetime sympathy for society's neglected. At the same time they strengthened an unquestioned obedience and loyalty to those in authority that figured so prominently in his later Washington years, where he came to embody the paradox of simple faith and complex humanity.ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Morris J. MacGregor is the author of several books, including A Parish for the Federal City: St. Patrick's in Washington, 1794-1994 and The Emergence of a Black Catholic Community: St. Augustine's in Washington.FROM THE BOOK:""Today there are poor people--too many people--who are really poor, miserably poor. . . . To a great extent poverty resulted from injustice in the past and it continues to exist because of injustices we have not yet taken the trouble to end. . . . More important than money are the lives salvaged, the homes and families preserved, the young given a chance, the aged sheltered and cared for.""--Cardinal O'BoylePRAISE FOR THE BOOK:""Steadfast in the Faith is a detailed and accurate picture of a complicated man, placed in the context of his times. It is both excellent biography and history. Kudos to Morris J. MacGregor for his faithful stewardship of both disciplines!""--Tracy Dowling, Catholic Standard""This biography presents a fair, balanced picture of a key bishop at a critical time in the Church who founded a new diocese, fought for civil rights, responded to Vatican II, and faced dissent over Humanae vitae. It should be in every Catholic library.""--John Shewmaker, Catholic Library World""This volume, an important addition to any serious library of United States church history, provides an important window through which to gain an understanding of the many significant transitions which took place in the national Catholic experience during the twentieth century, an insight into the episcopal world of that time, and much information on the foundational period of the Archdiocese of Washington. . . . [H]istorians will be grateful to MacGregor for providing us with this biography.""--James Garneau, American Catholic Studies""[A] very readab

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Since the early days of the Republic, Washington has nurtured an increasingly prosperous and articulate community of black Catholics. For much of that time the spiritual welfare of these citizens as well as their material aspirations centered on St. Augustine's parish. From the days of Civil War, through the decades when Jim Crow ruled Washington, to recent times and new challenges for the inner city, black Catholics from all over the area have worshipped regularly at St. Augustine's. Popularly called ""The Mother Church of Black Catholics,"" it provides a beacon of hope for its parishioners, and its history offers a unique lens through which to view the emergence of an important Washington community.Morris J. MacGregor traces the history of St. Augustine's from its beginning as a modest chapel and school to its recent years as one of the city's most imposing and active churches. For more than a century, the congregation has counted among its members many of the intellectual and social elite of black society as well as impoverished newcomers struggling with the perils of urban life. This socially diverse membership, enhanced by a constant stream of visitors of all races and classes drawn by the beauty of the church and the artistry of its musicians, has made St. Augustine's an exemplar of Christian brotherhood.The book presents in considerable detail the history of race relations in church and state since the founding of the Federal City. Parish lay leaders have long been crusaders in the fight for racial justice; they have played important roles in the Congress of Colored Catholics, the Federation of Colored Catholics, the Catholic Interracial Council, and the NAACP. MacGregor discusses these groups as well as more recent urban institutions such as the vibrant 14th and U Streets Coalition. Because music has played an essential role at St. Augustine's, a sizable appendix is devoted to its history in the parish. The religious, racial, and social insights uncovered in this fascinating history make it a valuable resource for the study of American social and church history.ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Morris J. MacGregor is the author of several books, including A Parish for the Federal City: St. Patrick's in Washington, 1794-1994 and Integration of the Armed Forces, 1940-1965.PRAISE FOR THE BOOK:""Morris MacGregor's history of St. Augustine's parish in the nation's capital is much more than a conventional history of a Catholic parish and its people. MacGregor's history, thoroughly researched and carefully documented, recounts the history of a black Catholic community from the eve of the Civil War to the present day. Placing this parish within the context of the history of Washington, D.C., and most particularly within the context of the African American community, the author masterfully demonstrates how this unique black parish, one of the oldest in the nation, played a pivotal role in the social and religious history of the District of Columbia.""--Cyprian Davis, O.S.B., Saint Meinrad Archabbey""This is how parish history should be written: with an eye to the big picture! In this substantial volume, Morris J. MacGregor, drawing on rich archival sources, newspapers, and oral interviews, gracefully recounts the story of St. Augustine's Parish, the mother church of black Catholics in the nation's capital and historically one of the most prominent black congregations in the city.""--Catholic Historical Review""Morris MacGregor has finally done it. He has produced the most comprehensive treatment of a Catholic parish that we have seen. St. Augustine's Church is not just another African American Catholic parish. It is the mother church of Black Catholics in Washington.""--Catholic Standard

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Washington DC's mother church has often assumed a role in church-state relations - this look at its history describes the city's development and the issues that have shaped national policies and Catholicism in the US: race relations, religious freedom, education, immigration, and others.

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Cardinal Patrick O'Boyle (1896-1987) is largely remembered as the controversial leader of the Archdiocese of Washington during its first, formative quarter century. Combining considerable foresight about the Church's social concerns with a stubborn resistance to innovation, he countered opposition from those who reviled his progressive stand, especially his steadfast demand for racial equality and support of organized labor. At the same time he earned the opprobrium of those who resisted his firm support of the magisterium, in particular his controversial defense of the pope's ban on artificial birth control and his rejection of liturgical experimentation in the wake of the Second Vatican Council. Often overlooked is the fact that O'Boyle's Washington years followed a quarter-century participation in the modernization of the American Church's charity apparatus and the organization of its international relief effort. Such assignments placed him at the epicenter of the debate over the proper roles of church and state in providing social services. A product of the Catholic ghettoization of the early twentieth century, he was expected to lead his Church into fruitful partnerships with government and other organizations in support of society's most needy. This engaging biography seeks to explain O'Boyle's apparent contradictions by placing special emphasis on his formative years as the only child in an immigrant, staunchly pro-labor family in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and his training as a seminarian and curate in the rigidly traditional Church of his adopted New York. These influences, combined with his subsequent work with the poor and orphaned, instilled in him a progressive economic and social outlook as well as a lifetime sympathy for society's neglected. At the same time they strengthened an unquestioned obedience and loyalty to those in authority that figured so prominently in his later Washington years, where he came to embody the paradox of simple faith and complex humanity.

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