National Catholic Welfare Council
Encyclopedia
The National Catholic Welfare Council (NCWC) was the annual meeting of the American Catholic hierarchy and its standing secretariat; it was established in 1919 as the successor to the emergency organization, the National Catholic War Council.
It consisted of a staff of clergy as well as committees of bishops who discussed and sometimes issued statements on matters of national policy such as education, welfare, and health care.
In order to better address challenges posed by World War I
, the American Catholic hierarchy in 1917 chose to meet collectively for the first time since 1884. In June, two months after America's entry into the European war, Paulist Father and Catholic World editor John J. Burke
, Catholic University sociology professor William Kerby, Paulist Father Lewis O'Hern, and the former Secretary of Labor, Charles O'Neill
, met in Washington, D.C. to formulate an official Catholic response to the war.
As the group's spokesman, Burke consulted with Cardinal James Gibbons of Baltimore, who approved an August meeting of the hierarchy. Representatives from sixty-eight dioceses and twenty-seven Catholic societies met at the Catholic University of America and formed the National Catholic War Council, "to study, coordinate, unify and put in operation all Catholic activities incidental to the war." An executive committee, chaired by Cardinal George Mundelein of Chicago, was formed in December 1917, to oversee the work of the Council.
. The issue of prohibition
and the threat of federalization of education necessitated a united Catholic response that only an episcopal conference could provide. Thus, on 24 September 1919, ninety-five prelates from eighty-seven of the country's one hundred dioceses came together at The Catholic University; the result was the formation of the National Catholic Welfare Council.
Archbishop Edward Hanna
of San Francisco was elected as the first chairman; he continued as chairman through his retirement in 1935. As chairman, he was responsible for coordinating the American bishops' lobbying efforts and response to the domestic and foreign policies of the government.
The Council created five departments: Education, Legislation, Social Action, Lay Organizations, and Press and Publicity, each headed by a bishop. John Burke was appointed general secretary and Archbishop Hanna was elected to chair an administrative committee whose task he described thus: "The Executive Department has to deal directly with the United States government and its numerous departments on matters that affect Catholic interests."
, completely changed the relationship between Russia and the rest of the world, including the United States. The threat posed by Communism
, with its political and economic ideologies antithetical to American democracy and laissez-fair capitalism, was strongly felt in the United States, especially after World War I. American citizens feared that the Bolshevist influence, which was spreading rapidly in Europe, demanded vigilance to prevent it from penetrating America as well. In 1919, this fear generated the infamous "Red Scare
," led by United States Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer and future FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover
. Placed on high alert, Americans often saw a ubiquitous communist menace. San Francisco's archdiocesan newspaper, The Monitor, expressed the view of many, "The Real Communist who would establish the Soviet in America by violence must be brought to bay and taught that free America will not stand for the methods that have ruined rich and poor alike in Russia."
died on January 22, 1922. Cardinals O'Connell and Dougherty
arrived in Rome on February 6, only to learn that a new pope had been elected only a half hour before. As Dougherty was leaving Rome, he was handed a decree of the Consistorial Congregation, signed by Cardinal Gaetano De Lai
, one of O'Connell's friends, and dated February 25. It ordered the immediate disbanding of the NCWC.
In response, the members of the administrative committee of the NCWC immediately petitioned Pope Pius XI
to delay publication of the decree until they could make a representation in Rome. With the permission of Cardinal Pietro Gasparri
, the Cardinal Secretary of State
, they then delegated Bishop Joseph Schrembs of Cleveland to take the case personally to Rome. Next, they circularized the trustees of the Catholic University of America and then the entire American hierarchy to support a petition to save the NCWC.
Bishop Louis Walsh
of Portland, Maine, a member of the administrative board, saw in the Consistorial Congregation's action "a dangerous underhand blow from Boston, aided by Philadelphia, who both realized at our last meeting that they could not control the Bishops of this country and they secured the two chief powers of the Consistorial Congregation, Cardinals De Lai and Del Val [sic] to suppress all common action." Walsh hoped to enlist the support of Archbishops Curley
of Baltimore and Hayes
of New York in the effort to ward off the order to disband.
As O'Connell told Cardinal De Lai, he regarded this circularizing of the bishops as a "plebiscite" designed "to annul the force of the decree. The customary maneuver demonstrates again more evidently the wisdom of the decree. Today we are in full 'Democracy, Presbyterianism, and Congregationalism.'"
In Rome, the American delegation learned that the Consistorial Congregation was inclined to accept the attacks of O'Connell and Dougherty against the NCWC because of a concern about a resurgence of Americanism
and an anxiety regarding the implicaitons of such a large hierarchy meeting on an annual basis. The Consistorial Congregation's decree, moreover, reflected tension between Gasparri, who was supporting the Americans, and those cardinals who wanted a return to the policies of Pope Pius X
. Ultimately, the American delegation won the day. On July 4, 1922, the Consistorial Congregation issued a new instruction: the NCWC could remain in existence, but the congregation recommended, among other things, that the meetings of the hierarchy take place less often than every year, that attendance at them be made voluntary, that decisions of the meetings not be binding or construed in any way as emanating from a plenary council
, and that the name "council" in the title be changed to something like "committee."
Due to the disparate natures of these three entities, there was an inherent ambiguity with respect to the role that the organization played. On the one hand, it served in a merely consultative role with respect to individual bishops and the Holy See
. On the other, it was perceived by the government and the public at large as the official voice of the American bishops. As a result, there was often confusion both within American society and within the church hierarchy regarding the organization's function and official status.
(USCCB).
It consisted of a staff of clergy as well as committees of bishops who discussed and sometimes issued statements on matters of national policy such as education, welfare, and health care.
National Catholic War Council
- See footnotes
In order to better address challenges posed by World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the American Catholic hierarchy in 1917 chose to meet collectively for the first time since 1884. In June, two months after America's entry into the European war, Paulist Father and Catholic World editor John J. Burke
John J. Burke
John J. Burke was a Paulist priest and editor of the Catholic World from 1903 to 1922.A central point of Burke's writing and lecturing concerned the supernatural element of charity...
, Catholic University sociology professor William Kerby, Paulist Father Lewis O'Hern, and the former Secretary of Labor, Charles O'Neill
Charles O'Neill
Charles O'Neill was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania during the American Civil War and Reconstruction.-Biography:...
, met in Washington, D.C. to formulate an official Catholic response to the war.
As the group's spokesman, Burke consulted with Cardinal James Gibbons of Baltimore, who approved an August meeting of the hierarchy. Representatives from sixty-eight dioceses and twenty-seven Catholic societies met at the Catholic University of America and formed the National Catholic War Council, "to study, coordinate, unify and put in operation all Catholic activities incidental to the war." An executive committee, chaired by Cardinal George Mundelein of Chicago, was formed in December 1917, to oversee the work of the Council.
Formation
After the war ended, Burke and Gibbons led a campaign to establish a permanent bishops' councilEpiscopal Conference
In the Roman Catholic Church, an Episcopal Conference, Conference of Bishops, or National Conference of Bishops is an official assembly of all the bishops of a given territory...
. The issue of prohibition
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
and the threat of federalization of education necessitated a united Catholic response that only an episcopal conference could provide. Thus, on 24 September 1919, ninety-five prelates from eighty-seven of the country's one hundred dioceses came together at The Catholic University; the result was the formation of the National Catholic Welfare Council.
Archbishop Edward Hanna
Edward Joseph Hanna
Edward Joseph Hanna was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of San Francisco from 1915 to 1935.-Early life and education:...
of San Francisco was elected as the first chairman; he continued as chairman through his retirement in 1935. As chairman, he was responsible for coordinating the American bishops' lobbying efforts and response to the domestic and foreign policies of the government.
The Council created five departments: Education, Legislation, Social Action, Lay Organizations, and Press and Publicity, each headed by a bishop. John Burke was appointed general secretary and Archbishop Hanna was elected to chair an administrative committee whose task he described thus: "The Executive Department has to deal directly with the United States government and its numerous departments on matters that affect Catholic interests."
Anti-Communism
The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, and the rise of Communism under Vladimir LeninVladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
, completely changed the relationship between Russia and the rest of the world, including the United States. The threat posed by Communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
, with its political and economic ideologies antithetical to American democracy and laissez-fair capitalism, was strongly felt in the United States, especially after World War I. American citizens feared that the Bolshevist influence, which was spreading rapidly in Europe, demanded vigilance to prevent it from penetrating America as well. In 1919, this fear generated the infamous "Red Scare
Red Scare
Durrell Blackwell Durrell Blackwell The term Red Scare denotes two distinct periods of strong Anti-Communism in the United States: the First Red Scare, from 1919 to 1920, and the Second Red Scare, from 1947 to 1957. The First Red Scare was about worker revolution and...
," led by United States Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer and future FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover
J. Edgar Hoover
John Edgar Hoover was the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States. Appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation—predecessor to the FBI—in 1924, he was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he remained director until his death in 1972...
. Placed on high alert, Americans often saw a ubiquitous communist menace. San Francisco's archdiocesan newspaper, The Monitor, expressed the view of many, "The Real Communist who would establish the Soviet in America by violence must be brought to bay and taught that free America will not stand for the methods that have ruined rich and poor alike in Russia."
NCWC
In 1919, the National Catholic Welfare Council, composed of US Catholic bishops, founded NCWC at the urging of heads of Catholic women's organizations desiring a federation for concerted action and national representation. The formal federation evolved from the coordinated efforts of Catholic women's organizations in World War I in assisting servicemen and their families and doing relief work.Bureau of Immigration
In 1920, the National Catholic Welfare Council established a Bureau of Immigration to assist immigrants in getting established in the United States. The Bureau launched a port assistance program that met incoming ships, helped immigrants through the immigration process and provided loans to them. The bishops, priests, and laymen and women of the National Catholic Welfare Conference (NCWC) became some of the most outspoken critics of US immigration.Threat of suppression
Pope Benedict XVPope Benedict XV
Pope Benedict XV , born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, reigned as Pope from 3 September 1914 to 22 January 1922...
died on January 22, 1922. Cardinals O'Connell and Dougherty
Dennis Joseph Dougherty
Dennis Joseph Dougherty was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1918 until his death in 1951, and was created a cardinal in 1921.-Early life and education:...
arrived in Rome on February 6, only to learn that a new pope had been elected only a half hour before. As Dougherty was leaving Rome, he was handed a decree of the Consistorial Congregation, signed by Cardinal Gaetano De Lai
Gaetano de Lai
Gaetano de Lai was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was part of the Roman Curia. He was an outspoken defender of the French monarchist Action française....
, one of O'Connell's friends, and dated February 25. It ordered the immediate disbanding of the NCWC.
In response, the members of the administrative committee of the NCWC immediately petitioned Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI , born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, was Pope from 6 February 1922, and sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 until his death on 10 February 1939...
to delay publication of the decree until they could make a representation in Rome. With the permission of Cardinal Pietro Gasparri
Pietro Gasparri
Pietro Gasparri was a Roman Catholic archbishop, diplomat and politician in the Roman Curia and signatory of the Lateran Pacts.- Biography :...
, the Cardinal Secretary of State
Cardinal Secretary of State
The Cardinal Secretary of State—officially Secretary of State of His Holiness The Pope—presides over the Holy See, usually known as the "Vatican", Secretariat of State, which is the oldest and most important dicastery of the Roman Curia...
, they then delegated Bishop Joseph Schrembs of Cleveland to take the case personally to Rome. Next, they circularized the trustees of the Catholic University of America and then the entire American hierarchy to support a petition to save the NCWC.
Bishop Louis Walsh
Louis Walsh
Louis Walsh is an Irish music manager and judge on the British television talent show The X Factor.-Band manager:...
of Portland, Maine, a member of the administrative board, saw in the Consistorial Congregation's action "a dangerous underhand blow from Boston, aided by Philadelphia, who both realized at our last meeting that they could not control the Bishops of this country and they secured the two chief powers of the Consistorial Congregation, Cardinals De Lai and Del Val [sic] to suppress all common action." Walsh hoped to enlist the support of Archbishops Curley
Michael Joseph Curley
Michael Joseph Curley was an Irish-born clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. Originally a priest and bishop in the Diocese of St...
of Baltimore and Hayes
Patrick J. Hayes
Patrick John Hayes or Pat Hayes is a British computer scientist who lives and works in the United States. , he is a Senior Research Scientist at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition in Pensacola, Florida. He received a B.A. in Mathematics from University of Cambridge and a Ph.D...
of New York in the effort to ward off the order to disband.
As O'Connell told Cardinal De Lai, he regarded this circularizing of the bishops as a "plebiscite" designed "to annul the force of the decree. The customary maneuver demonstrates again more evidently the wisdom of the decree. Today we are in full 'Democracy, Presbyterianism, and Congregationalism.'"
And now it seems more than ever that this N.C.W.C. shows more clearly that not only does it tend little by little to weaken hierarchical authority and dignity, but also wishes to put into operation the same tactics against the Consistorial [Congregation]. It is incredible that Rome does not see the danger of conceding today in order to have to concede much more tomorrow.
In Rome, the American delegation learned that the Consistorial Congregation was inclined to accept the attacks of O'Connell and Dougherty against the NCWC because of a concern about a resurgence of Americanism
Americanism (heresy)
Coined in the nineteenth century, in Roman Catholic use the term Americanism referred to a group of related heresies which were defined as the endorsement of the separation of church and state...
and an anxiety regarding the implicaitons of such a large hierarchy meeting on an annual basis. The Consistorial Congregation's decree, moreover, reflected tension between Gasparri, who was supporting the Americans, and those cardinals who wanted a return to the policies of Pope Pius X
Pope Pius X
Pope Saint Pius X , born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the 257th Pope of the Catholic Church, serving from 1903 to 1914. He was the first pope since Pope Pius V to be canonized. Pius X rejected modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrine, promoting traditional devotional practices and orthodox...
. Ultimately, the American delegation won the day. On July 4, 1922, the Consistorial Congregation issued a new instruction: the NCWC could remain in existence, but the congregation recommended, among other things, that the meetings of the hierarchy take place less often than every year, that attendance at them be made voluntary, that decisions of the meetings not be binding or construed in any way as emanating from a plenary council
Plenary council (Catholicism)
A plenary council, in the Roman Catholic Church, is a term applied to various kinds of ecclesiastical synods, used when those summoned represent the whole number of bishops of some given territory...
, and that the name "council" in the title be changed to something like "committee."
National Catholic Welfare Conference
In compliance with the Consistorial Congregation's instructions, the administrative board of the NCWC voted to change the name from "council" to "conference." The National Catholic Welfare Conference was used interchangeably to denote three entities: the administrative board (the term "committee" was also used), the standing secretariat with its departments, and the annual meetings of the hierarchy.Due to the disparate natures of these three entities, there was an inherent ambiguity with respect to the role that the organization played. On the one hand, it served in a merely consultative role with respect to individual bishops and the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
. On the other, it was perceived by the government and the public at large as the official voice of the American bishops. As a result, there was often confusion both within American society and within the church hierarchy regarding the organization's function and official status.
Administrative Committee
The Administrative Committee was organized into five departments:- Department of Education, which safeguarded the interests of Catholic education
- Department of Press, Publicity, and Literature, which had charge of the news service and issues the N.C.W.C. weekly news sheet to 3 dailies and 84 weeklies
- Department of Social Action, which deals with industrial relations, civic education, social welfare, and rural life
- Department of Laws and Legislation, which protected Catholic interests in state and nation
- Department of Lay Organization, which endeavored to organize Catholic men and women
Bureau of Immigration
In the 1920s, the National Catholic Welfare Conference’s Bureau of Immigration met ships, helped immigrants through reception, provided loans, protected them from fraud, provided guidance on resettlement and arranged for their transportation and reception at their final destinations.Current status
The National Catholic Welfare Conference later split into the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and the United States Catholic Conference. Today it is the United States Conference of Catholic BishopsUnited States Conference of Catholic Bishops
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops and United States Catholic Conference, it is composed of all active and retired members of the Catholic...
(USCCB).