Cardinal Sheen?

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Brian_C

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Can anyone tell me why Archbishop Sheen was never elevated to Cardinal? Was it just bad timing (ie if he’d ived longer into JPII’s papacy) or was there tension somewhere? I’ve aways wondered and searched the threads but never saw it discussed. Surely such an archbishop who touched so many lives was worthy of the honor…:confused:

I mean, is Cardinal Dulles the only American cardinal who wasn’t archbishop of a huge archdiocese? Forgive me if this has been answered and I missed it in my search!
 
tee_eff_em said:
I would say the odds are simply against it – *Most *bishops, after all, are never elevated to Cardinal.

tee
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Right, I realize the odds but it just seems Archbishop Sheen was so well-known and such a powerful witness to the Faith.
 
Wasn’t it that he was a bishop, but having such a hectic schedule and being such a witness to the Faith doing what he was doing, he received the title “archbishop” as a reward for pushing forward, without thought to his ever being placed in the same position of his title?
 
OutinChgoburbs said:
Wasn’t it that he was a bishop, but having such a hectic schedule and being such a witness to the Faith doing what he was doing, he received the title “archbishop” as a reward for pushing forward, without thought to his ever being placed in the same position of his title?
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Yes, he was a titular archbishop, in fact the Titular Archbishop of Newport in Wales. They always give such a person a defunct diocese, often something in North Africa.

Other bishops who were not archbishops of large dioceses have been made cardinals, almost always if they were called to Rome to serve in the Curia. Cardinal Wright of Pittsburgh was in that category.

John Henry Cardinal Newman, btw, was another cardinal was never ordained a bishop at all, as was Augustin Cardinal Bea, like Dulles a Jesuit theologian.
 
Bishop Sheen! Boy, does that bring back the memories! as l little lad when visiting my Grandmother in Canada, she always had him on. This must’ve been in the early 60’s. Those were the days when the Church’s were full in the Montreal area. It is sad how the people in Quebec have turned from the Church.
 
Pax vobiscum!

Not everyone who is a great witness for the faith is elevated to a higher position in the Church. For example, look at Fr. Benedict Groeshel, Fr. John Corapi, and Fr. Mitch Pacwa. They are all just priests, but all very very powerful witnesses to the faith. I think God just knows where he wants people. If these men were to be (or in the case of Bishop Sheen had been) raised to a higher position, it might take up so much of their time that they wouldn’t be able to witness the same way that they are right now.

In Christ,
Rand
 
Isn’t there a movement for canonization for Abp. Sheen? If so, the title of “Blessed” or “Saint” will outrank “Cardinal”.
 
mystified said:
Isn’t there a movement for canonization for Abp. Sheen? If so, the title of “Blessed” or “Saint” will outrank “Cardinal”.
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And I believe another benefit would be that there is no St. Fulton in the calendar. 😉
 
most often cardinals are elevated because they are bishops of important dioceses. If he had become bishop of NYC he probably would have become cardinal.
 
mystified said:
Isn’t there a movement for canonization for Abp. Sheen? If so, the title of “Blessed” or “Saint” will outrank “Cardinal”.
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Yes, currently his title is Venerable Archbishop Fulton J Sheen. You can goggle the foundation that is working for the canonization. Last time I spoke with Fr. Andrew Apostoli, CFR (vice-postulator) he told me that the first miracle that was sent to the Cause was rejected but that he now has a couple more that he believes will be approved. So, fairly soon we may see him elevated to the altar as a Blessed.
 
I was unaware of this movement. I met the man twice. Both times, it was when he gave the sermon at the Sunday service at Princeton, which was non-denominational, except that it was Presbyterian. If there were still an advocatus diaboli, I’m sure that would be used against him. He was, by the way, a brilliant in-person preacher.
 
Additionally, as Auxiliary Bishop of New York, Sheen’s popularity became a bit of an issue within the Archdiocese of New York. As the sixties wore on and a more delicate situation developed in the Church, there was some concern that the Auxiliary had become a bit too large a figure for his diocese (a situation somewhat akin to Mother Angelica, but even more so, since Sheen was known to most Americans and was a member of the hierarchy). The appointment to Rochester was widely viewed as a way of removing him from that strata.
 
Additionally, as Auxiliary Bishop of New York, Sheen’s popularity became a bit of an issue within the Archdiocese of New York. As the sixties wore on and a more delicate situation developed in the Church, there was some concern that the Auxiliary had become a bit too large a figure for his diocese (a situation somewhat akin to Mother Angelica, but even more so, since Sheen was known to most Americans and was a member of the hierarchy). The appointment to Rochester was widely viewed as a way of removing him from that strata.
 
Additionally, as Auxiliary Bishop of New York, Sheen’s popularity became a bit of an issue within the Archdiocese of New York. As the sixties wore on and a more delicate situation developed in the Church, there was some concern that the Auxiliary had become a bit too large a figure for his diocese (a situation somewhat akin to Mother Angelica, but even more so, since Sheen was known to most Americans and was a member of the hierarchy). The appointment to Rochester was widely viewed as a way of removing him from that equation.

Look at John Henry Newman. More than a century has passed and he, easily the most conspicuous figure of English Catholicism over the last two centuries, and a leading light in all English-speaking nations, has still not been beatified. Like the Sheen situation, politics (though of a different sort) may have played a factor.
 
Now THAT’S the type of thing I was wondering about. I realize Fathers Groeschel, Corapi, and Pacwa are superstars to many of us today but from everything I can see, Sheen was a superstar to many OUTSIDE the Catholic community. Sheen’s TV ministry is even credited with helping JFK get elected b/c he gave such an all-American face to Catholicism. Not that that’s a reason to make someone a cardinal, but…I just can’t understand why such a celebrated bishop wasn’t made a prince of the Church.

But yes, St. Fulton Sheen sounds better than Cardinal Sheen any day…
 
being a superstar or media personality is not the normal route to elevation to the rank of cardinal in the Catholic Church.
 
asquared said:
being a superstar or media personality is not the normal route to elevation to the rank of cardinal in the Catholic Church.
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What you say is true, however, it is also true that the title is given not only for positions but also for advancing the cause of the faith. One such example is Avery Cardinal Dullas as was stated earlier or Urs Cardinal von Balthasaar and many others in the history of the Church. Why Archbishop Fulton Sheen was not honored with the title of Cardinal can only be speculated but speculating just the same if he had lived longer perhaps John Paul II would have seen fit to give him such an honor.
 
One also has to give consideration to the notion that the college of cardinals, or at least those eligible to vote, has to be limited to the number who can fit in the Sistine Chapel. As silly as that sounds, that is in fact the main limiting consideration. So every decision to make a cardinal is taken very carefully. In the US, only New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston, Washington, and Los Angeles are guaranteed to have a cardinal. Washington is smaller, but is of course the capital. The rationale for Boston when Baltimore does not always have one escapes me. (There are in fact more American cardinals, of course, but where they are is not always the same.)

If I am not mistaken, Avery Dulles was appointed when he was already too old to vote for the pope, so it was something of an honorary thing, I assume to set an example in favor of orthodoxy. Theologians of greater world renown such as Karl Rahner would have had no chance.
 
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