The Kennedys

by Thomas Maier

  Joe Kennedy’s monetary contributions to church-related activities is mentioned in several letters, including in 1957 financing for the Basilica of Saints John and Paul mentioned in May 10, 1957, letter from Galeazzi to Kennedy. Several letters in the JPK papers mention or allude to the Vatican’s effort to procure U.S. reparations for damage to papal properties during World War II, including a detailed memo prepared from Galeazzi dated September 5, 1955, in JPK papers. A private letter from Sen. John F.Kennedy to his father about the passage of the “Vatican bill”was contained in a June 29, 1956, letter in the JPK papers. Spellman’s letter for thanks to JFK for getting the federal money for the damaged church property was in a “Dear Jack” letter from Spellman dated July 30, 1956 in JPK papers.

  JFK’s role as “white knight” in support of certain federal aid for private and parochial schools was praised in a March 18, 1950, edition of the Boston Pilot contained in the JFK early years collection of papers at the JFK Presidential Library. The same newspaper is quoted in James MacGregor Burns, John Kennedy: A Political Profile. Details about the exchange of Rogers and Congressman Kennedy can be found in the Hearings before Subcommittee Number One of the Committee on Education and Labor, House of Representatives, 80th Congress, 1st Session,Vol. 1, p. 332–357, also cited in Burns’s John Kennedy. Spellman’s position on federal education aid was discussed in John Henry Cutler, Cardinal Cushing of Boston; John Cooney, The American Pope; and Robert I. Gannon, S.J., The Cardinal Spellman Story.Quotations from the written public exchanges between Spellman and Eleanor Roosevelt was documented in Gannon’s book as well as Burns, Cooney and others cited in this chapter. When Spellman blasts the film, Baby Doll, in 1957, Kennedy bans it from his Kennedy-owned theaters without seeing it, David E. Koskoff, Joseph P. Kennedy:A Life and Times.

  The discussions about JFK’s own sense of Catholic faith and culture varies greatly. Jacqueline Kennedy’s quip about her husband being “such a poor Catholic” and Bobby who “never misses mass and prays all the time” was repeated in several works, including Garry Wills, The Kennedy Imprisonment.The description of JFK’s churchgoing to that of going to a club, and as a person who “avoided all forms of ethnic chauvinism” is from Richard D. Mahoney, Sons & Brothers: the Days of Jack and Bobby Kennedy. Lem Billings’s recollection of JFK and religion were contained in Nigel Hamilton, JFK: Reckless Youth. Sorensen’s comments about JFK and religion were from the author’s two separate interviews with him, in 2000 and 2002, and from Sorensen’s Kennedy. Schlesinger’s brief assessment of the cultural impact of Catholicism on Kennedy was in Schlesinger’s A Thousand Days. Gargan’s comments are from an interview with the author.

  Galeazzi’s encouragement to Joe Kennedy “for the great goal which is ahead” was found in a letter dated February 6, 1959, in JPK papers. The secret meeting between CIA director Allen Dulles and Joe Kennedy at his Florida home is mentioned in his April 15, 1958, letter to Galeazzi in the JPK papers. In this letter, Kennedy tells the Vatican administrator of his willingness to act as a go-between with Dulles. There is no indication that this author could find, either in the histories of this period or in Allen Dulles’s oral history at the JFK Library, that Galeazzi or any other Vatican official ever acted on Joe Kennedy’s offer. Dulles remained with the CIA during the early days of the Kennedy administration, but left the agency shortly after the disasterous Bay of Pigs episode. Galeazzi’s half brother who was barred from practicing medicine after he sold Pope’s deathbed stories is detailed in the NewYork Times, December 13, 1958.The decline of Galeazzi’s influence at the Vatican (under Pius XII, he held nine separate posts within the Vatican, according to the 1958 Vatican yearbook) is discussed in a magazine profile about the new tenure of Pope John XXIII in Robert Neville,“The Pope and The Vatican,” Look, March 17, 1959.

  Joe Kennedy’s bitterness toward Rev. Theodore Hesburgh of Notre Dame and about the American Catholic Church hierarchy’s lack of support for Jack’s presidential candidacy was discussed in his letter to Galeazzi, dated March 30, 1959, in the JPK papers. After Galeazzi’s calming note, Joe Kennedy wrote back that Jack Kennedy is less affected than his father by the church’s position “but he is definitely upset,” according to a letter dated April 17, 1959, in JPK papers. Joe Kennedy’s August 9, 1959, letter to Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tardini, invoking Galeazzi’s name high up, recalled the 1928 Al Smith fiasco, asked for the church to keep quiet on the “religious issue” and suggested the difficulty that a future Catholic might face in running for president if Jack Kennedy lost in 1960.

  Chapter Twenty-Three: Primary Lessons

  Author’s interview with former Sen. Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota (and later presidential candidate in the 1968 Democratic primaries) formed the basis for the opening scene at the Kennedy’s Georgetown dinner. “All we have are Protestants and farmers” was taken from Theodore Sorensen, Kennedy. JFK’s comment about McCarthy to Joseph Alsop (“Well, Joe, there’s an old saying in Boston politics, never trust a Catholic politician who reads his missal in the trolley car”) is from Joseph Alsop Oral History cited in Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., Robert Kennedy and His Times. Photos and quotes from the Kennedy clan appeared in Laura Bergquist,“The Rise of the Brothers Kennedy,” Look,August 6, 1957. JFK’s quote that “all of us want a big family too,” like his parents, was in “A Debut into a Burgeoning Family,” Life, April 21, 1958. Joe Kennedy’s quotes about the Kennedys’ sense of family and their Irish heritage appeared in Harold H.Martin,“The Amazing Kennedys,” Saturday Evening Post, September 7, 1957. Mention of JFK’s “poor Irish immigrant stock” appeared in Cabell Phillips,“How to Be a Presidential Candidate,” New York Times Magazine, July 13, 1958. JFK’s conversation about religion with Rev. Henry Knox Sherrill was recalled by the candidate in Fletcher Knebel,“Democratic Forecast: A Catholic in 1960,” Look, March 3, 1959.Kennedy’s firm public stance on separation of church and state and disagreement with some church positions on public policy—including the appointment of a U.S. ambassador to the Vatican—made it one of the most controversial pieces of the campaign. In this same article, while talking about Kennedy, Knebel states that “some people believe Mrs. Roosevelt opposes Kennedy because he is a Catholic.” Knebel never identified who “some people” might be by name, though the inference is clearly from the Kennedy camp, and Knebel quotes Mrs. Roosevelt’s firm denial of holding such anti-Catholic sentiments. Knebel’s anecdote about JFK’s angry reaction to the Senate chaplain’s anti-Catholic comments was recorded in the oral history of Fletcher Knebel at the JFK Presidential Library. The negative reaction to Kennedy’s interview was reflected in “On Questioning Catholic Candidates,” America, March 7,1959; and “Senator Kennedy and His Critics,” Commonweal,March 20, 1959, with examples of the negative reaction nationally in the Catholic press compiled in “Aftermath of the Kennedy Statement,” Commonweal, March 20, 1959.

  When Jack wins the Pulitzer Prize, Cardinal Cushing writes:“I don’t know when a Catholic was awarded such an honor,” in letter dated May 7, 1957, in JPK papers. Cushing’s liberal Catholicism and his support for JFK’s political effort was discussed in Jospeh Dever, Cushing of Boston:A Candid Portrait; John Henry Cutler, Cardinal Cushing of Boston; and Thomas H. O’Connor, Boston Catholics: A History of the Church and Its People. Bishop John Wright’s relationship with the Kennedys involves seeking money in 1957 from the Kennedy Foundation, and offering political support the following year to Joe Kennedy (“Would not a dramatic action, like the election of a Catholic president all of a sudden, help to exorcise these demons?”) in letters dated September 6, 1957, and May 7, 1958, in the JPK papers. In January 22, 1959, letter to Joe Kennedy, Cushing is boldly partisan for JFK (“I wish this Democratic National Convention was over. I dream about it. It is my opinion that if we can get by the Convention with a victory, we are ‘in.’”) By March 1959, Cardinal Cushing meets privately with David Lawrence, then governor of Pennsylvania who has expressed doubts about JFK or any Catholic presidential candidacy, but
whose potential support, as Joe notes in a March 23, 1959, letter, is “very, very important.” Cushing also gave a “courageous, generous speech on Jack’s position” regarding church-state separation, which “gave me confidence that there was somebody left in high places in the Catholic Church who saw something in this battle that Jack is making,” the senior Kennedy said in the same letter contained in the JPK papers. Joe Kennedy tells Cushing that “this letter really adds up to saying that if Jack stays in this fight, it will be you who has kept him in. If he wins, it will be you who has made it possible.” In letter dated September 23, 1959, Cushing wrote to Joe Kennedy, promising to lobby on Jack’s behalf and contact Wright (formerly a lower-ranking aide in Boston, who became bishop in Worchester and then Pittsburgh) “to the end that he [Wright] will start a little aggressive talk among the folks in his area that will reach the ear of the Governor of Pennsylvania.” In a note to his son “Dear Jack,” Joe Kennedy tells of his conversation with Father Cavanaugh of Notre Dame who suggests seeking advice on the religious question from Rev. John Courtney Murray and Rev. Gustave Weigel in seeking to “prepare some answers to the Protestant interrogation” on the church and state issue, in Joe Kennedy letter dated January 14, 1958, in JPK papers. John Cogley’s experiences with JFK were recalled in John Cogley, A Canterbury Tale: Experiences and in Cogley’s oral history for the JFK Presidential Library. JFK’s quip to Cogley (“It is hard for a Harvard man to answer questions in theology. I imagine my answers will cause heartburn at Fordham and B.C.”) was found in John Cogley, “Kennedy the Catholic,” Commonweal, January 16, 1964.

  Chapter Twenty-Four:West Virginia

  The scene and circumstances of JFK’s presidential candidacy announcement comes from several sources, including Theodore H. White, The Making of the President, 1960; James Reston, “Party’s Debate on Kennedy Takes Note of Catholic Vote,” New York Times, January 3, 1960; and Russell Baker,“Kennedy in Race,” in the same issue. Kennedy’s comment that he believed the religious issue was “exhausted”was in the July 4, 1960, edition of Life magazine. Speculation about what Protestant Americans might do”in the secrecy of the ballot box”was discussed in Herbert S. Parmet, Jack: The Struggles of John F. Kennedy. Criticism of Archibald MacLeish’s comments in Life magazine about Irish Catholics appeared in “Reality and the American Dream,” Commonweal, July 8, 1960. Gore Vidal’s recollections were in Gore Vidal,“The Holy Family,” Esquire, April 1967. Kennedy says his religion is becoming “very well known—fortunately or unfortunately” in “Kennedy Hailed by Bobby Soxers,” NewYork Times, April 21, 1960.“That might play well in certain parts of Boston but The New York Times wouldn’t like it” from Pierre Salinger, P.S.,A Memoir, St. Martin’s Press, 1995. Eunice Shriver’s question to her brother “What does it all mean, Johnny?” came from Kenneth P. O’Donnell and David F. Powers, Johnny,We Hardly Knew Ye;Memories of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and was cited in several other works. In the April 17, 1960, issue of the New York Times, political writer Leo Egan said “Kennedy’s religion appears to be becoming the dominant issue” of the primary campaign. The resolution passed by Southern Baptists—the nation’s second largest Protestant denomination—fearing a Catholic president was reported in the July 4, 1960, edition of Life magazine. The president of Southern Baptists vow that he wouldn’t “stand by and keep my mouth shut when a man under the control of the Roman Catholic Church runs for the Presidency of the U.S.”was reported in “Attack on Catholics,” New York Times, February 11, 1960. The Missouri Baptist leader identitied as “a Negro” who asked for “the Lord’s blessing and assistance” in electing a Protestant to the White House in 1960 was reported in “Catholic Opposed,” New York Times,April 9, 1960. Before the Wisconsin primary in 1960, Joe Kennedy confided to Galeazzi that “if we cannot make a showing and if the religious thing becomes very acute, then I am for stepping out,” in letter dated March 31, 1960, in JPK papers. “If Jack’s heart is broken because he may be beaten on the religious question, then so be it,” was mentioned in JPK’s April 8, 1960, letter to Michael Morrissey in JPK papers. Rose Kennedy’s attempts to enlist the help of Mother O’Byrne of Manhattanville in obtaining names of alumnae who can be contacted in Wisconsin in anticipation of the primary was in Rose’s letter dated January 19, 1960, in the JPK papers. O’Byrne’s reply was dated January 25, 1960. Rose Kennedy’s efforts in her son’s primary campaign and the underlying reasons why she wasn’t involved in West Virginia were recounted in Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, Times to Remember. Bobby Kennedy’s chagrined reaction to the religion problem in West Virginia (“There’s only one problem. He’s a Catholic. That’s our goddamned problem!”) was recounted in Kenneth P. O’Donnell and David F. Powers, Johnny,We Hardly Knew Ye; Memories of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Bobby’s emotional comments about his older brother’s death and the religious issue prompts JFK to say “Bobby must be getting tired,” in Theodore Sorensen, Kennedy Legacy.The Charleston Gazette advertisement aimed at Kennedy was reported on in April 30, 1960, edition of the New York Times. The survey by the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith finding large-scale amount of anti-Catholic circulars and other religious bias toward Kennedy was cited both in the June 5, 1960, edition of the New York Times, with a copy of report in the file marked “The Religion Issue in 1960 Campaign” at the JFK Presidential Library. The important role of Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr. for Kennedy in the WestVirginia primary was detailed in several accounts, including Richard Reeves, President Kennedy: Profile of Power. After the West Virginia victory, JFK said religious issue was “buried eight feet deep” reported in July 4, 1960, edition of Life.The Kennedy clan “as handsome and spirited as a meadow full of Irish thoroughbreds, as tough as a blackthorn shillelagh, as ruthless as Cuchulain, the mythical hero who cast up the hills of Ireland with his sword,” is from “Pride of the Clan,” Time, July 11, 1960.

  Chapter Twenty-Five: The Fall, 1960

  Richard Nixon’s public refusal to bring up the religious issue in the 1960 campaign was discused in “Nixon Previews Campaign,” January 28, 1960, New York Times; an updated look at Nixon’s position appeared in August 23, 1960, New York Times, and the role of Nixon and other Republicans on the religious issue was discussed in Theodore H. White, The Making of the President, 1960. Eisenhower’s comments about religion in the 1960 campaign were taken from published excerpts of a presidential press conference and an accompanying article in the August 25, 1960, edition of the New York Times. Robert Kennedy’s statements identifying six Southern states where the religious issue was a problem for his brother’s campaign appeared in “Kennedy Faces Southern Battle,” September 8, 1960, the New York Times, and discussed further in Evan Thomas, Robert Kennedy: His Life. Kennedy’s appointment of James Wine, Presbyterian minister, to “interpret church-state position” for his campaign was reported in the August 25, 1960, edition of the New York Times. Ex–President Harry S Truman’s comments about religion in the campaign and the role of the Republicans was found in “Truman Accuses GOP of Bigotry,” September 6, 1960, New York Times; later in “Truman Hails Nixon on Religious Issue,” September 15, 1960, edition of the New York Times as well as the September 26, 1960, issue of Time magazine.

  The critical role of Protestant ministers in the 1960 campaign, including Dr. L.Nelson Bell, Billy Graham’s father-in-law, is in a Washington Post article of September 8, 1960, by John J. Lindsay, and an undated newspaper column entitled “Religious Issue: Nixon’s Attitude,” by Joseph Alsop, both of which were contained in the JFK Presidential Library archives, as well as “Protestants in Politics,” New Republic, September 19, 1960, and “Protestant Unit Wary on Kennedy,” New York Times, September 8, 1960. Bobby Kennedy’s response to the Peale group’s statement was contained in “Peale Criticized,” New York Times, September 9, 1960.The impact of a Catholic priest, John F. Cronin, an anti-communism expert,was discussed in Christopher Matthews, Kennedy and Nixon; as well as Irwin F. Gellman, The Contender.

  Kennedy’s speech in Houston before the mi
nisters and its aftermath were recounted in the September 26, 1960, edition of U.S. News and World Report; “Test of Religion,” Time, September 26, 1960;“Kennedy Accepts Invitation,” New York Times, September 9, 1960;“Kennedy Assures Texas Ministers of Independence,” New York Times, September 13, 1960; and “Campaign Issues,” New York Times, November 3, 1960; as well as David Burner, John F. Kennedy and a New Generation; Theodore Sorensen, Kennedy;William Shannon, The American Irish; and John Cogley, A Canterbury Tale.Cogley’s oral history at the JFK Presidential Library also provided insight.