Geno Baroni
Encyclopedia
Msgr. Geno Baroni, American
Roman Catholic
priest and social activist, was born on October 24, 1930, in Acosta, Pennsylvania
, the son of Italian immigrants.
Baroni graduated from Mount St. Mary's College in 1952 and Mount St. Mary's Seminary in 1956 (both are part of what is now Mount St. Mary's University). He was ordained a priest in 1956 and first served in Johnstown and Altoona, PA, later being assigned to Sts. Paul and Augustine parish in Washington, D.C. (1960–1965), where he ministered to the urban poor. He was appointed executive director of Office of Urban Affairs of the Washington Archdiocese (1965–1967), then director of the Urban Taskforce of the US Catholic Conference (1967–1970).
Baroni and his associates at the National Center for Urban Ethnic Affairs (NCUEA) developed an alternative approach to urban economic and cultural contradictions. This approach implied a critique of the civil rights movement and its advocate governmental agency, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. At bottom this difference involved ethnic and racial culturalism versus a White v. Black/Majority v. Minorities vision of America and the relative importance and emphasis on place and community v. individual rights and the universal claim of social justice. These advocates for urban neighborhoods and cultural pluralism argued for the creation of a National Neighborhood Commission which would promote the renewal of urban life and more adequately address the pluralistic character of American culture.
Baroni and the NCUEA forged substantial pieces of social legislation in the 1970s, and helped to launch the careers of future national leaders. U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski
, U.S. Representative Marcy Kaptur
, and Arthur J. Naparstek, Dean of the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University, worked with Baroni to write the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act
of 1975 and the Community Reinvestment Act
of 1977.
At the heart of Baroni's vision was catholic social teaching
in action. This places him in succession with notables: Fr. Edward McGlynn
of Henry George
association, Msgr. John A. Ryan
, Fr. Edwin Vincent O'Hara
as well as Dorothy Day
.
Baroni was a kind of godfather of the US Catholic Campaign for Human Development
(CHD). In the words of Rep. Marcy Kaptur
, D-OH, Baroni was a "visionary and crusader whose concern was always human development." He spearheaded today's CHD when he gathered a group of people in 1969 to form an institution to study the underlying causes of poverty. Understanding the strife still prevalent in urban areas, Baroni, in 1970, convoked the first national conference of urban ethnic neighborhoods and inaugurated the National Neighborhood Coalition.
On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of his death, Baroni disciple Sen. Barbara Mikulski
, D-MD, noted: "If Geno were alive today, he would be asking us to develop not only economic capital, but social capital -- values and virtues such as trustworthiness, respect, responsibility."
"Geno was not a leader but an organizer," said Dr. John A Kromkowski, current president of the National Center for Urban Ethnic Affairs. "His real arena was to bring different ethnic and racial voices to Washington to give testimony and challenge federal programs." At the heart of Baroni's vision was catholic social teaching
in action.
Baroni was the Catholic Coordinator for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
at which Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
gave his I Have A Dream
speech; he also marched with King in Selma.
In 1969 he gathered a group of people to form an institution to study the underlying causes of poverty. With strife still prevalent in urban areas, Baroni, in 1970, convoked the first national conference of urban ethnic neighborhoods and inaugurated the National Neighborhood Coalition.
In 1971, Fr. Baroni founded the National Center for Urban Ethnic Affairs which is now headquartered at The Catholic University of America
.
Fr. Baroni was instrumental in founding the National Italian American Foundation
in 1975 and served as its first president.
In 1977, he was offered position in the Carter administration as Housing and Urban Development Assistant Secretary for Neighborhood Development, Consumer Affairs, and Regulatory Functions. He helped push through the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act, which propped up revitalization processes in urban areas around the country. In a 1987 speech at Catholic University Arthur J. Naparstek, then president of the Geno C. Baroni society, noted that Baroni "attained the highest Government post a Catholic priest has ever achieved. He became a bureaucrat because he knew the only change in the bureaucracy comes through a change in the people."
Shortly before his death in 1984, Geno explored South Africa’s apartheid townships and visited with Bishop Desmond Tutu. He died at age 54 on August 26, 1984 after a long struggle with cancer.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
priest and social activist, was born on October 24, 1930, in Acosta, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, the son of Italian immigrants.
Baroni graduated from Mount St. Mary's College in 1952 and Mount St. Mary's Seminary in 1956 (both are part of what is now Mount St. Mary's University). He was ordained a priest in 1956 and first served in Johnstown and Altoona, PA, later being assigned to Sts. Paul and Augustine parish in Washington, D.C. (1960–1965), where he ministered to the urban poor. He was appointed executive director of Office of Urban Affairs of the Washington Archdiocese (1965–1967), then director of the Urban Taskforce of the US Catholic Conference (1967–1970).
Baroni and his associates at the National Center for Urban Ethnic Affairs (NCUEA) developed an alternative approach to urban economic and cultural contradictions. This approach implied a critique of the civil rights movement and its advocate governmental agency, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. At bottom this difference involved ethnic and racial culturalism versus a White v. Black/Majority v. Minorities vision of America and the relative importance and emphasis on place and community v. individual rights and the universal claim of social justice. These advocates for urban neighborhoods and cultural pluralism argued for the creation of a National Neighborhood Commission which would promote the renewal of urban life and more adequately address the pluralistic character of American culture.
Baroni and the NCUEA forged substantial pieces of social legislation in the 1970s, and helped to launch the careers of future national leaders. U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski
Barbara Mikulski
Barbara Ann Mikulski is the senior United States Senator from Maryland and a member of the Democratic Party. Mikulski, a former U.S. Representative, is the longest-serving female senator in U.S...
, U.S. Representative Marcy Kaptur
Marcy Kaptur
Marcia Carolyn "Marcy" Kaptur is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1983. She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, anchored by the city of Toledo, includes all of Ottawa and Erie counties, and part of Lucas and Lorain counties.Serving her fourteenth term in the House of...
, and Arthur J. Naparstek, Dean of the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University, worked with Baroni to write the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act
Home Mortgage Disclosure Act
The United States Home Mortgage Disclosure Act was passed in 1975. It requires financial institutions to maintain and annually disclose data about home purchases, home purchase pre-approvals, home improvement, and refinance applications involving 1 to 4 unit and multifamily dwellings...
of 1975 and the Community Reinvestment Act
Community Reinvestment Act
The Community Reinvestment Act is a United States federal law designed to encourage commercial banks and savings associations to help meet the needs of borrowers in all segments of their communities, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods...
of 1977.
At the heart of Baroni's vision was catholic social teaching
Catholic social teaching
Catholic social teaching is a body of doctrine developed by the Catholic Church on matters of poverty and wealth, economics, social organization and the role of the state...
in action. This places him in succession with notables: Fr. Edward McGlynn
Edward McGlynn
Father Edward McGlynn , American Roman Catholic priest and social reformer, was born in New York City of Irish parents, Peter and Sarah McGlynn. His parents had immigrated in 1824, and his father became a contractor, acquiring a small fortune before dying in 1847, leaving a widow and ten children...
of Henry George
Henry George
Henry George was an American writer, politician and political economist, who was the most influential proponent of the land value tax, also known as the "single tax" on land...
association, Msgr. John A. Ryan
John A. Ryan
Monsignor John Augustine Ryan was a leading moral theologian, priest, professor, author, and social justice advocate. Ryan lived during a decisive moment in the development of Catholic social teaching within the United States...
, Fr. Edwin Vincent O'Hara
Edwin Vincent O'Hara
Edwin Vincent O'Hara was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church.-Early life:Edwin O'Hara was born in Lanesboro, Minnesota, as one of eight children. His parents emigrated from Ireland during the potato famine and settled in the United States. O'Hara studied at St. Paul's Seminary before...
as well as Dorothy Day
Dorothy Day
Dorothy Day was an American journalist, social activist and devout Catholic convert; she advocated the Catholic economic theory of Distributism. She was also considered to be an anarchist, and did not hesitate to use the term...
.
Baroni was a kind of godfather of the US Catholic Campaign for Human Development
Catholic Campaign for Human Development
The Catholic Campaign for Human Development is the domestic antipoverty and social justice program of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops ....
(CHD). In the words of Rep. Marcy Kaptur
Marcy Kaptur
Marcia Carolyn "Marcy" Kaptur is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1983. She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, anchored by the city of Toledo, includes all of Ottawa and Erie counties, and part of Lucas and Lorain counties.Serving her fourteenth term in the House of...
, D-OH, Baroni was a "visionary and crusader whose concern was always human development." He spearheaded today's CHD when he gathered a group of people in 1969 to form an institution to study the underlying causes of poverty. Understanding the strife still prevalent in urban areas, Baroni, in 1970, convoked the first national conference of urban ethnic neighborhoods and inaugurated the National Neighborhood Coalition.
On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of his death, Baroni disciple Sen. Barbara Mikulski
Barbara Mikulski
Barbara Ann Mikulski is the senior United States Senator from Maryland and a member of the Democratic Party. Mikulski, a former U.S. Representative, is the longest-serving female senator in U.S...
, D-MD, noted: "If Geno were alive today, he would be asking us to develop not only economic capital, but social capital -- values and virtues such as trustworthiness, respect, responsibility."
"Geno was not a leader but an organizer," said Dr. John A Kromkowski, current president of the National Center for Urban Ethnic Affairs. "His real arena was to bring different ethnic and racial voices to Washington to give testimony and challenge federal programs." At the heart of Baroni's vision was catholic social teaching
Catholic social teaching
Catholic social teaching is a body of doctrine developed by the Catholic Church on matters of poverty and wealth, economics, social organization and the role of the state...
in action.
Baroni was the Catholic Coordinator for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was the largest political rally for human rights in United States history and called for civil and economic rights for African Americans. It took place in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, August 28, 1963. Martin Luther King, Jr...
at which Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
gave his I Have A Dream
I Have a Dream
"I Have a Dream" is a 17-minute public speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered on August 28, 1963, in which he called for racial equality and an end to discrimination...
speech; he also marched with King in Selma.
In 1969 he gathered a group of people to form an institution to study the underlying causes of poverty. With strife still prevalent in urban areas, Baroni, in 1970, convoked the first national conference of urban ethnic neighborhoods and inaugurated the National Neighborhood Coalition.
In 1971, Fr. Baroni founded the National Center for Urban Ethnic Affairs which is now headquartered at The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America is a private university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by the U.S. Catholic bishops...
.
Fr. Baroni was instrumental in founding the National Italian American Foundation
National Italian American Foundation
The National Italian American Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, educational foundation that promotes Italian American culture and heritage...
in 1975 and served as its first president.
In 1977, he was offered position in the Carter administration as Housing and Urban Development Assistant Secretary for Neighborhood Development, Consumer Affairs, and Regulatory Functions. He helped push through the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act, which propped up revitalization processes in urban areas around the country. In a 1987 speech at Catholic University Arthur J. Naparstek, then president of the Geno C. Baroni society, noted that Baroni "attained the highest Government post a Catholic priest has ever achieved. He became a bureaucrat because he knew the only change in the bureaucracy comes through a change in the people."
Shortly before his death in 1984, Geno explored South Africa’s apartheid townships and visited with Bishop Desmond Tutu. He died at age 54 on August 26, 1984 after a long struggle with cancer.
Further reading and primary source materials
- O'Rourke, Lawrence M. Geno: The Life and Mission of Geno Baroni. Paulist Press, 1991. ISBN 0809132745
- Forum on Public Morality, In Celebration of the Seventy-Fifth Birthday of Father Geno Baroni, Sponsored by the Eisenhower Foundation, Broadcast by C-SPAN October 24–25, 2005, Washington, DC http://www.eisenhowerfoundation.org/baroni_forum.php