17th Archdiocese

In Detroit last week newshawks hunted up Rev. Charles Edward Coughlin, radio priest of the Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak, Mich. Save when he announced that he was converting land across from his Shrine into a park, and when he ordered a gasoline filling station built there to force the hand of a filling station proprietor who would not sell, Father Coughlin has been sticking to religion lately. When asked to comment on the fact that he had a new superior, succeeding the late, well-meaning Bishop Michael James Gallagher of Detroit (TIME, Feb. 1), Father Coughlin was polite and virtuous. "I am highly pleased," said he. "I will fall in line exactly with any expressed suggestion of Archbishop Mooney."

In Castel Gandolfo, Pope Pius XI had turned from the confused course of Europe to consider the state of his Church in the U. S. Last week he commanded that a new, 17th archdiocese be established in Detroit. To it he assigned the 600,000-odd Catholics of that diocese, the 148,000 of Grand Rapids--both dioceses having been in the Province of Cincinnati--and some 87,000 of Marquette, heretofore part of the province of Milwaukee. Thus the Detroit archdiocese becomes the fifth largest in the U. S. Within it the Pope set up a new diocese, Lansing, 93rd in the U. S. Its bishop will be Most Rev. Joseph Albers, present auxiliary bishop of Cincinnati, brother of rich Merchant William Henry Albers (A. Nash Co., Albers Super Markets). And to organize and run the whole archdiocese of Detroit, Pius XI chose a trusted prelate, the only active Archbishop in the U. S. without an archdiocese--Most Rev. Edward Francis Mooney, Archbishop-Bishop of Rochester, N. Y.

Edward Mooney, born in Mt. Savage, Md. 55 years ago, was sent, as only the most promising Catholic youths are sent, to the North American College in Rome. Returning to the diocese of Cleveland, Father Mooney served as a professor at the Seminary of Our Lady of the Lake, later established and headed Cathedral Latin School for boys. He held a pastorate in Youngstown, Ohio until, in 1923, he was recalled to Rome to be Spiritual Director of his own North American College. The late Cardinal Gasparri, Papal Secretary of State, met the U. S. priest in preparing a new catechism, was so impressed with his qualities that in 1926 Father Mooney was drafted into the Church's diplomatic service, made a titular archbishop. Archbishop Mooney was appointed Apostolic Delegate first to India, later to Japan--first U. S. prelate ever to be so titled and sent abroad as the Pope's permanent agent.

Four years ago Archbishop Mooney was recalled from Tokyo, apparently for reasons of secular diplomacy. The diocese of Rochester fell vacant and the Pope as signed Archbishop Mooney to fill it. Of larger import, however, was the fact that his fellow bishops soon made him a member of the administrative board, presently board chairman, of the National Catholic Welfare Conference. That body launches and maintains such "Catholic Action" projects as the Legion of Decency and is the sounding-board of the U. S. hierarchy, lately stipulating to lay Catholics that it and it alone may speak the policies of the U. S. Church.

Catholics last week predicted that the red hat of a cardinal awaits Archbishop Mooney if the U. S. gets its fifth Prince of the Church in time. Tall, lofty of brow, matter-of-fact, he is a shrewd master of church and business law, a rigid disciplinarian who will take no back talk from any Father Coughlin. Indeed, observers felt that, though the Church had successfully liquidated the "Coughlin affair" of last autumn (TIME, Aug. 17 .et seq.) by giving the radio priest plenty of rope, it was putting a strong man in Detroit especially to prevent any repetition of Coughlinism. Archbishop Mooney is modest, good-natured, affable in dealing with churchmen of other faiths. In Rochester he drives his own automobile, plays golf in the 80s, stays away from parties. Catholic eulogizers speak of his "short, concise sermons," but Rochesterites long ago be came used to the fact that Archbishop Mooney is no great orator. Each year he takes a crowd of altar boys to the opening game of the baseball season.

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