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Revision as of 14:27, 11 April 2007
His Eminence John Carmel Cardinal Heenan (January 26, 1905—November 7, 1975) was an English prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Westminster from 1963 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1965.
Biography
John Heenan was born in Ilford, Redbridge, as the youngest of the four children of the Irish John and Anne (née Pilkington) Heenan. He studied at Ushaw College in Durham and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome before being ordained to the priesthood on July 6, 1930. Heenan then did pastoral work in Brentwood until 1947, at which time he became Superior of the Catholic Missionary Society of England and Wales. In this position, Heenan criticized the United States for being too concerned about Communism, and not enough about spiritual matters.
On January 27, 1951, he was appointed Bishop of Leeds by Pope Pius XII. Heenan received his episcopal consecration on the following March 12 from Archbishop William Godfrey, with Bishops Joseph McCormack and John Petit serving as co-consecrators. Named the sixth Archbishop of Liverpool on May 2, 1957, Heenan was later appointed the eighth Archbishop of Westminster on September 2, 1963. As Archbishop of Westminster, he served as the spiritual leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.
A participant of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1963), Heenan showed himself to be of a conservative mind. He opposed Gaudium et Spes, the Council's Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, saying that it had been "written by clerics with no knowledge of the world". The English prelate also condemned the periti, or theological experts, who sought to change the Church's doctrine on birth control. Moreover, despite the risks to ecumenism, Heenan later supported the canonization of the Forty Martyrs.
He was created Cardinal Priest of S. Silvestro in Capite by Pope Paul VI in the consistory of February 22, 1965. In 1968, Heenan was named President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales.
He died from a heart attack in London at age 70, and is buried in Westminster Cathedral.
| Preceded byHenry Poskitt | Bishop of Leeds 1951—1957 |
Succeeded byGeorge Dwyer |
| Preceded byWilliam Cardinal Godfrey | Archbishop of Liverpool 1957—1963 |
Succeeded byGeorge Beck |
| Preceded byWilliam Cardinal Godfrey | Archbishop of Westminster 1963—1975 |
Succeeded byBasil Cardinal Hume |
Trivia
- He succeeded William Cardinal Godfrey as both Archbishop of Liverpool and of Westminster.
- He was a close friend of fellow English clergyman, Archbishop Michael Ramsey of Canterbury. In 1968, Heenan, in an unprecedented move, invited Ramsey to speak at Westminster Cathedral
Quote
- "A church that is half empty is half full."
References
- Time Magazine. Dominant Theme June 12, 1950
- Time Magazine. The Bravest Schema October 30, 1964
- Ibid.
- Time Magazine. Furor over Forty January 19, 1970
- Time Magazine. November 17, 1975
- Time Magazine. Empty Pews, Full Spirit August 16, 1963
- Time Magazine. February 2, 1968
- Time Magazine. Revival in England May 9, 1949