James E. Kearney

James Edward Kearney (October 28, 1884 – January 12, 1977) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lake in Utah (1932–1937) and bishop of the Diocese of Rochester in New York State (1937–1966).

Biography

Early life James Kearney was born on October 28, 1884, in Red Oak, Iowa, the second of the three sons of William Patrick and Rosina (née O'Doherty) Kearney. His parents were immigrants from County Donegal in Ireland. In 1886, the family moved to New York City, where his father worked selling furniture. In 1903, Kearney began studying for the priesthood at St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, New York. He earned a Licentiate of Sacred Theology from Catholic University in 1909. and founded the parish school there in 1929. During his tenure at St. Francis Xavier, he also served as professor of religion at Our Lady of Good Counsel College, an academy for girls in White Plains, New York, and as superintendent of parochial schools in the Bronx.

Bishop of Rochester Following the appointment of Bishop Edward Mooney to the Archdiocese of Detroit, Kearney was appointed the fifth bishop of Rochester on October 21, 1937.

Kearney attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council in Rome between 1962 and 1965. Kearney Residence Hall at Nazareth College in Pittsford, New York Kearney Hall at Saint John Fisher College in Pittsford is named for his mother.

Viewpoints

Politics In 1936, Kearney spoke before the New York chapter of the Knights of Columbus in Manhattan, urging them to fight communism and saying, "The spirit of Christ has been driven out of one organization after another...When statesmen meet no thought of God or representative of God is in their council." In February 1943, Kearney spoke before the Newman Club Federation at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan. He declared, "The spirit of Christianity can dictate a lasting peace, but secularism, exploitation or totalitarianism cannot, whether of Nazi, Communist or Fascist variety."

Popular culture Kearney in 1937 spoke before a group at the Convent of Our Lady of the Cenacle in Manhattan. In his sermon, he condemned what he termed the "mad craze for entertainment" in modern society, including picture magazines. He stated that man had brought evil upon himself because he did not "pause to take stock of his relationship with God."

In 1947, Kearney denounced the 1947 film Forever Amber as a "glorification of immorality and licentiousness." He encouraged Catholics to boycott it.

Education In 1937, speaking at Our Lady of Good Counsel Kearney accused American colleges of teaching their students "cynical precepts" and causing them to distrust the "perfect lessons they learned at their mother's knee." He also said, "Those who declare it doesn't make any difference what we believe in an attempt to attain religious harmony will fail. For religious intolerance was created...by people who sold dogmatic teaching short."