Joseph Cardinal Bernardin
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Chicago
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago
The Archdiocese of Chicago was established as a diocese in 1843 and as an Archdiocese in 1880. It serves more than 2.3 million Catholics in Cook and Lake counties in Northeastern Illinois, a geographic area of 1,411 square miles. The Archdiocese is divided into six vicariates and 31 deaneries...
from 1982 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
in 1983.
Biography
Joseph Bernardin was born on April 2, 1928 in Columbia, South CarolinaColumbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
to Joseph and Maria Simion Bernardin, an Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
immigrant
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
couple. He was baptized and confirmed at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Columbia. His father died of cancer when Bernardin was six. He took responsibility for his younger sister, Elaine, while his widowed mother worked as a seamstress.
Bernardin's original academic ambition was to become a physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, inspiring him to enroll in the pre-medical program at the University of South Carolina
University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
. However, a year later, Bernardin recognized his calling to serve as a Catholic priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
, and transferred to Saint Mary Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
in 1948, and subsequently enrolled in the Catholic University of America to complete his theological studies.
On April 26, 1952, Bernardin was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Charleston by John J. Russell at St. Joseph Church. This diocese covers the entire state of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. During his 14-year tenure at the Diocese of Charleston, Father Bernardin served under four bishops in capacities including chancellor
Chancellor
Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...
, vicar general
Vicar general
A vicar general is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ordinary executive power over the entire diocese and, thus, is the highest official in a diocese or other particular...
, diocesan counselor, and, when the See
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
was vacant, diocesan administrator. In 1959, Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII
-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...
named Bernardin a Papal Chamberlain
Papal chamberlain
Papal chamberlain was one of the highest honours that could be bestowed on a Catholic layman by the Pope, and was often given to members of noble families. It was mostly an honorary position, but a chamberlain served the Pope for one week per year during official ceremonies...
with the title Very Reverend Monsignor.
Auxiliary Bishop of Atlanta
On March 9, 1966 Pope Paul VI appointed MonsignorMonsignor
Monsignor, pl. monsignori, is the form of address for those members of the clergy of the Catholic Church holding certain ecclesiastical honorific titles. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian monsignore, from the French mon seigneur, meaning "my lord"...
Bernadin titular Bishop of Ligura and Auxiliary Bishop
Auxiliary bishop
An auxiliary bishop, in the Roman Catholic Church, is an additional bishop assigned to a diocese because the diocesan bishop is unable to perform his functions, the diocese is so extensive that it requires more than one bishop to administer, or the diocese is attached to a royal or imperial office...
of the Archdiocese of Atlanta. His episcopal consecration took place on April 26, 1966 at the hands of his mentor, the late Archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
of Atlanta, Paul Hallinan
Paul John Hallinan
Paul John Hallinan was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Charleston and Archbishop of Atlanta . He was known as a champion of racial equality and liturgical reform.-Early life and education:Paul Hallinan was born in Painesville, Ohio, to Clarence C. and...
. Bernardin, only 38 years old, thus became the youngest bishop in America. From 1966 to 1968, Bishop Bernardin served as rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
.
General Secretary of National Conference
In 1968, he resigned as auxiliary bishop of Atlanta to become the first General Secretary of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, a post he held until 1972. He was instrumental in shaping the Catholic Church in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
according to the vision of the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
. Bernardin became a mediator between the diverging parties in the changing Post-Conciliar Church.
Archbishop of Cincinnati
Pope Paul VIPope Paul VI
Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
appointed Bernardin Archbishop of Cincinnati
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati covers the southwest region of the U.S. state of Ohio, including the greater Cincinnati and Dayton metropolitan areas. The Archbishop of Cincinnati is Most Rev...
on November 21, 1972, and was installed there December 19, 1972. Bernardin served the Metropolitan See of Cincinnati for nearly ten years.
While Archbishop of Cincinnati, Bernardin was named to the Sacred Congregation of Bishops
Congregation for Bishops
The Congregation for Bishops is the congregation of the Roman Curia which oversees the selection of new bishops that are not in mission territories or those areas that come under the jurisdiction of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches who deal with the Eastern Catholics, pending papal...
, elected to the permanent council of the Synod of Bishops, served as president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, worked to improve relations between Catholics and Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
, strove for better understanding between the Catholic Church and Protestant denominations, and made pastoral visits to both Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
.
Archbishop of Chicago
Following the death of Cardinal John Cody of ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
chose Archbishop Bernardin, already prominent among his fellow American bishops, to one of the most significant Sees in the United States: the Archdiocese of Chicago. The final years of Cody's tenure had been marred by accusations of financial mismanagement and other scandals, and Bernardin's appointment was intended to restore order and reputation to the diocese. He was appointed the twelfth Bishop and seventh Archbishop of Chicago on July 10, 1982. On August 25, 1982, he was formally installed in that role by the Apostolic Delegate, Pio Laghi.
Elevation to Cardinal
In the ConsistoryConsistory
-Antiquity:Originally, the Latin word consistorium meant simply 'sitting together', just as the Greek synedrion ....
of February 2, 1983, he was elevated to the Sacred College of Cardinals by Pope John Paul II. He was given La Perrocchia di Gesù Divino Lavoratore (The Church of Jesus the Divine Worker) as his titular church.
He also served as President of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Honorary degrees and awards
In 1989, Bernardin was awarded the F. Sadlier Dinger Award by educational publisher William H. Sadlier, Inc.William H. Sadlier, Inc.
William H. Sadlier, Inc. is the oldest family-owned publishing company in the United States.-History:It began in 1832 when brothers Denis and James Sadlier emigrated from Cashel, County Tipperary to New York and began to publish materials to meet the spiritual and educational needs of the Catholic...
, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the ministry of religious education in America.
An award sponsored by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops called the 'Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Award For Social Justice and Anti-Poverty' is awarded to Catholic youths who are considered to have provided outstanding advocacy in this area.
Clerical abuse scandal
Bernardin implemented a policy concerning priests accused of sexual misconductSexual misconduct
Sexual misconduct is misconduct of a sexual nature. The term may be used to condemn an act, but in some jurisdictions it has also a legal meaning....
with minors. His hand had been forced in this effort by a lawsuit by John and Jane Doe over the abuse of their child
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
, one of the many clerical sex abuse cases that occurred during his tenure (and documented in the Sun Times by Andrew Greeley). Bernardin's reforms concerning this issue soon served as a model for other dioceses across the nation.
Bernardin himself said in a press conference that he had been accused of three cases of sexual misconduct. One of his accusers, former seminarian Stephen Cook, claimed to have been abused by Bernardin and another priest in the 1970s. However, Cook subsequently dropped Bernardin from his lawsuit, being no longer certain that his memories (which had emerged while he was under hypnosis) were accurate. The two later reconciled; Cook told him in this meeting that his motivation for including him in the lawsuit was that it would make the case of a higher profile, and thus more likely to stick to his original abuser.
Final illness
In June 1995, following a string of international visits and pilgrimages, Bernardin underwent surgery for pancreatic cancerPancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer refers to a malignant neoplasm of the pancreas. The most common type of pancreatic cancer, accounting for 95% of these tumors is adenocarcinoma, which arises within the exocrine component of the pancreas. A minority arises from the islet cells and is classified as a...
.
Following the operation, Bernardin began his cancer ministry. Bernardin so touched the lives of cancer patients, relating to them on such a personal and spiritual level, that countless sick, dying and survivors of the terror of cancer wrote to him, expressing their thanks, admiration, love and hope. He wrote a best-selling book about the end of life (and about his own approaching death in particular) called The Gift Of Peace, with the help of his good friend Eugene Kennedy.
On August 30, 1996, Bernardin told his flock that the cancer had returned, was in his liver, and was inoperable.
On September 23, Bernardin traveled to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
to visit with Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
and visit Assisi
Assisi
- Churches :* The Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi is a World Heritage Site. The Franciscan monastery, il Sacro Convento, and the lower and upper church of St Francis were begun immediately after his canonization in 1228, and completed in 1253...
. It was on that trip that the Bernardin made his funerary arrangements. Upon his return to Chicago, Bernardin arranged for the care for his mother after his death, and the distribution of his personal possessions. Bernardin arranged for his personal papers and administrative files to be transported from the Residence and Pastoral Center to the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Archives and Records Center.
Bernardin surrendered control of the day-to-day care of the Archdiocese to his vicar general and auxiliary bishop, Most Rev. Raymond Goedert, after his doctors at Loyola University Medical Center
Loyola University Medical Center
The Loyola University Medical Center is a quaternary care system with a main medical center campus in the western suburbs of Chicago. The medical center campus is conveniently located in Maywood, west of the Chicago Loop and east of Oak Brook, Illinois. The heart of the medical center campus,...
's Cancer Center told him the pancreatic cancer which had metastasized to the liver was not responding to gemcitabine or other experimental and palliative treatments, which were discontinued (even today, pancreatic cancer is not amenable to treatment). His personal physician, Warren Furey, M.D., was then chief of the medical staff at Northwestern University Mercy Hospital; his surgeon, Loyola's Gerard Aranha, M.D., was one of the area's best in pancreatic surgery. His other doctors at Loyola, oncologist Ellen Gaynor, O.P., M.D. (a Sinsinawa Dominican sister) and radiologist Anne R. McCall, M.D., became his close friends. In his last public appearance as Archbishop, during a violent storm, Loyola University renamed the cancer center in his honor.
Shortly before his death, Bernardin made a visit to Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
. In his final weeks, he was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with thecomparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award in the United States...
by President Bill Clinton. He gave a major "Seamless Garment of Life" address at Georgetown University, where he received an award from and conversed with Father Leo J. O'Donovan
Leo J. O'Donovan
Rev. Leo J. O'Donovan, S.J. was the 47th President of Georgetown University, Washington, DC, United States. A 1952 graduate of Iona Preparatory School, and a 1956 graduate of Georgetown, he studied at the Universite de Lyon on a Fulbright scholarship and received a doctorate in 1961 from Fordham...
, S.J., then Georgetown's president.
He bade an emotional farewell to 800 of the diocesan and religious clergy of the Archdiocese at Holy Name Cathedral weeks before his death. On October 7, the Bernardin met with the Presbyterate, and by the end of October, he withdrew from his active ministry due to his deteriorating strength. Reflecting on Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
in the Garden of Gethsemane, Bernardin chose to face death in the public eye: Bernardin tried to teach people how to die. In his last days, Bernardin wrote to the United States Supreme Court against assisted suicide
Assisted suicide
Assisted suicide is the common term for actions by which an individual helps another person voluntarily bring about his or her own death. "Assistance" may mean providing one with the means to end one's own life, but may extend to other actions. It differs to euthanasia where another person ends...
.
On November 14, 1996, Bernardin died from pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer refers to a malignant neoplasm of the pancreas. The most common type of pancreatic cancer, accounting for 95% of these tumors is adenocarcinoma, which arises within the exocrine component of the pancreas. A minority arises from the islet cells and is classified as a...
at the age of 68.
He was interred in the Bishops' Mausoleum at Mt. Carmel Cemetery
Mount Carmel Cemetery (Hillside)
Mount Carmel Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery located in the Chicago suburb of Hillside, Illinois. Mount Carmel is an active cemetery, located within the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago. The cemetery is located near the Eisenhower Expressway at Wolf and Roosevelt...
, Hillside, Illinois
Hillside, Illinois
Hillside is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 8,155 at the 2000 census.One notable landmark in Hillside is the Mount Carmel Cemetery. On the grounds of the cemetery are the graves of a number of organized crime figures, such as Al Capone and Dion O'Bannion...
, following a Funeral Mass celebrated by his good friend, Cardinal Roger Mahony and a wake for priests at which his good friend, Father Scott Donahue, spoke. The funeral homily was given by his good friend and executive aide, then-Catholic Extension Society President Reverend Monsignor Kenneth Velo. In the weeks before his death, he emphasized to the faithful and the public that he was at peace because of his life's profound reliance on God's sustaining grace in his ministry and his struggles with cancer, seeing death as a continuation and a friend to prepare properly for by conducting ourselves well and letting go to abandon one's self to God in the end.
Legacy
Two Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago were named after Bernardin.Cardinal Joseph Bernardin School in Orland Hills, Illinois
Orland Hills, Illinois
Orland Hills is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 6,779 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Orland Hills is located at ....
is named after Bernardin.
Cardinal Bernardin Early Childhood Center is named after Bernardin.
In his hometown of Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
, the University of South Carolina
University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
has established the annual "Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Lecture", which is usually held during October. The city of Columbia also named a street for him, Bernardin Way, adjacent to the downtown campus of Providence Hospital, which is operated by the Roman Catholic Sisters of Charity.
The Catholic Theological Union in Chicago is home to the Bernardin Center for Theology and Ministry. The Catholic Common Ground Initiative has also recently moved to the Bernardin Center in Chicago.
Seamless garment of Life
In 1983 Bernardin developed the "Consistent Ethic of LifeConsistent Life Ethic
The consistent life ethic, or the consistent ethic of life, was a term coined in 1983 by Joseph Cardinal Bernardin to express an ethical, religious, and political ideology based on the premise that all human life was sacred and should be protected by law. The ideology opposes legal abortion,...
" (or CLE) ideology, which expressed his response to living in an age in which he believed modern technologies threatened the sanctity of human life. Bernardin's CLE philosophy is sometimes called the seamless garment of life, a reference from John 19:23 to the seamless robe of Jesus
Seamless robe of Jesus
The Seamless Robe of Jesus is the robe said to have been worn by Jesus during his crucifixion...
. The seamless garment philosophy holds that issues such as abortion, capital punishment, militarism, euthanasia, social injustice and economic injustice all demand a consistent application of moral principles that value the sacredness of human life (as defined by the Catholic Church). In response to critiques from some pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
activists, Bernardin clarified that the ethic never meant that all threats to life were equal, from a societal or political standpoint (see paragraph 11, section II of his statement) http://www.priestsforlife.org/magisterium/bernardinwade.html.
One of his final works was writing a book about his own dying, an excerpt of which served as a Newsweek Magazine cover story, and which admirers saw as a lesson in dying.
While in Chicago, Bernardin also served as head of the NCCB Ad Hoc Committee on War and Peace, which drafted the pastoral letter, "The Challenge of Peace: God’s Promise and Our Response". This book-length document challenged the morality of nuclear deterrence and sparked a decade-long debate both in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and abroad. Perhaps the most well known of these discussions on nuclear morality played out in the November 29, 1982 issue of Time Magazine, entitled "God and the Bomb", which featured Bernardin on its cover.
Other social issues
In 1996, Bernardin inaugurated the Catholic Common Ground Initiative and was among the authors of its founding document "Called to Be Catholic: Church in a Time of Peril”, released August 12, 1996.Bernardin is also noted for his interest in the concern of young adults, which was in part evidenced by his involvement in the nascent Theology on Tap
Theology on Tap
Theology on Tap is a program of lectures sponsored by a number of local Catholic dioceses. The lectures, which are often given by noted spiritual leaders and religious academics, address current topics in religion and theology, and are notable and sometimes controversial for their venue, which is...
lecture movement in the early 1980s. In 1985, he told attendees of a special Theology on Tap Mass, “If I had children of my own, they would be your age. You are very special to me and to this Archdiocese.”http://www.yamchicago.org/yam-TOT-bishopreport.htm
Additionally, Bernardin was the first to offer a Mass
Mass
Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
for divorced and separated Catholics at Holy Name Cathedral.
In 1985, Bernadin established an AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
task force to determine how the Archdiocese might best care for those stricken by the AIDS crisis. In 1989, he dedicated Bonaventure House with the help of the Alexian Brothers, a residential facility for people suffering with AIDS.
Bernardin was also lauded for his anti-pornography work, his leadership of the U.S. bishops, and the presidency of the Catholic Church Extension Society
Catholic Church Extension Society
The Catholic Church Extension Society of the United States of America is a charitable organization affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church that seeks to support the Church's activities in under-resourced and isolated communities in the United States...
. In his final years, he relied heavily on the assistance of his adviser Monsignor Kenneth Velo, director of Catholic Extension.
Interfaith relations
Ardently adhering to his own interpretation of one particular teaching of the Second Vatican CouncilSecond Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
, Bernardin, first in Cincinnati, then in Chicago, was committed to ecumenical and interfaith dialogues. While Archbishop of Cincinnati, Bernardin maintained dialogues with local congregations of Jews, Presbyterians, Episcopalians and Lutherans. In Chicago, this dedication led to the formation of the Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago in 1985. Bernardin served as the council’s first president. Subsequently, under his leadership, the Archdiocese of Chicago established official covenants with both the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago
Episcopal Diocese of Chicago
The Episcopal Diocese of Chicago is the official organization of the Episcopal Church in Chicago and Northern Illinois, USA. The diocese is served by The Right Reverend Jeffrey D. Lee, who serves as Bishop of the diocese, and The Right Reverend Victor A. Scantlebury, who serves as Assistant Bishop...
and the Evangelical Lutheran Metropolitan Synod.
Bernardin also participated in the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1993. During his interfaith pilgrimage to the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
in 1995, he met with Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i, Palestinian
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
, ecumenical, and interfaith leaders, and urged peace and mutual respect between Israelis and Palestinians. Bernardin consistently spoke out against the increasing violence in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, and elsewhere.