Cornell Catholic Community
Encyclopedia
The Cornell Catholic Community is the Catholic organization and parish at Cornell University, providing worship services and community for Catholic students. Its current director is Father Daniel McMullin.
. In the early 1900s it was renamed the Newman Club. Similar groups began at the University of Michigan (1889), Brown (1892), and Harvard (1893).
Cornell's Newman Club, like most, were composed mainly of Irish students and was primarily a literary society, with a strong element of dancing and socializing. Over time, the goals of the group became more intellectual and political.
Father James Cronin became the first priest to join the Cornell Newman Club on a full-time basis in 1929. 1929 also saw the founding of Cornell United Religious Work. It was one of the first interfaith campus organizations in history. In 1936, Father Donald Cleary arrived on campus, overseeing the community as chaplain for twenty-five years. Under his leadership Cornell's Newman Club grew to be the largest in the United States.
Many chaplains came and went over the course of a short period of time, reflecting and exacerbating the social difficulties of the 1960s and 70s.
In 1966, during this period of change, Father Daniel Berrigan
, a Jesuit priest, became pastor at the community and also assistant director of Cornell United Religious Work, the umbrella organization for all religious groups on campus, including the Cornell Catholic Community. In 1968, Berrigan entered a government office in Catonsville, Maryland
housing drafts cards and napalmed 378 of them, in protest of the Vietnam War
. On October 3, 1968, on the eve of his trial, Berrigan addressed a crowd of over 2,000 in Bailey Hall to explain why he was prepared to face 50 years of imprisonment for his action. Berrigan was convicted and sentenced to prison to begin on April 9, 1970. According to Anke Wessels, director of Cornell's Center for Religion, Ethics, and Social Policy, said "On the very day he was scheduled to begin his prison term, he left his office keys on a secretary's desk in Anabel Taylor Hall and disappeared." Cornell celebrated Berrigan's impending imprisonment by conducting a weekend-long "America Is Hard to Find" event on April 17–19, 1970, which included a public appearance by the then-fugitive Berrigan before a crowd of 15,000 in Barton Hall. On August 11, 1970, the FBI later found and arrested Berrigan, who was released from prison in 1972.
Cornell hired Charles E. Curran
as a visiting professor while he was the center of an academic freedom controversy. Curran was removed from the faculty of Catholic University of America in 1986 as a dissident who unapologetically maintained the right to dissent from official Church teachings which had not been issued as ex cathedra
statements. He maintains in his 1986 "Faithful Dissent" that Catholics who may dissent nevertheless accept the teaching authority of the Pope, bishops and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In 1986, the Vatican declared that although a tenured professor, Curran could no longer teach theology at Catholic University of America schools, because "clashes with church authorities finally culminated in a decision by the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, headed by then-Cardinal Josef Ratzinger
[now Pope Benedict XVI
], that Curran was neither suitable nor eligible to be a professor of Catholic theology." The areas of dispute included publishing articles that debated theological and ethical views regarding divorce, "artificial contraception", "masturbation, pre-marital intercourse and homosexual acts." Curran later became a full tenured professor at Southern Methodist University
, and the American Association of University Professors
censured CUA for his firing.
In 2002, Father Robert S. Smith
became director, instituting a peer ministry program, Taize
meditation groups, and the Emmaus Bible Study groups.
The Cornell Catholic Community is now under the direction of Father Daniel McMullin.
Origin and Early Years
In 1888, Catholic students at Cornell University organized the Cornell Catholic Union, one of the first organized Catholic groups at a secular or Protestant university. One of its earliest presidents was William Artingstall, Class of 1900. Catholic students did not have an outlet for the expression of their community and beliefs. Most students were Protestant and gathered for Protestant worship services at Sage ChapelSage Chapel
Sage Chapel is the non-denominational chapel on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York State and serves as the final resting place of the university's founders, Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, and their wives...
. In the early 1900s it was renamed the Newman Club. Similar groups began at the University of Michigan (1889), Brown (1892), and Harvard (1893).
Cornell's Newman Club, like most, were composed mainly of Irish students and was primarily a literary society, with a strong element of dancing and socializing. Over time, the goals of the group became more intellectual and political.
Father James Cronin became the first priest to join the Cornell Newman Club on a full-time basis in 1929. 1929 also saw the founding of Cornell United Religious Work. It was one of the first interfaith campus organizations in history. In 1936, Father Donald Cleary arrived on campus, overseeing the community as chaplain for twenty-five years. Under his leadership Cornell's Newman Club grew to be the largest in the United States.
Mid-Twentieth Century Development
The 1960s fundamentally changed the Catholic student body at Cornell and the Cornell Newman Club. Overall societal changes, such as the sexual and cultural revolutions in the U.S., combined with new currents of thought and spirituality springing out of the reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) to create a period of intense discourse and activity over what the role and meaning of the Church was, across the nation and at Cornell. The size of the overall Cornell student body grew and, along with other Ivy League universities, Cornell became more open to people from more diverse backgrounds and less elite social classes. This resulted in a marked increase in the number of Catholic students at Cornell. In 1970 the Newman Club was renamed the Cornell Catholic Community, marking the Catholic group's development into a full-fledged parish. This reflected a widespread move away from the social-club structure of previous Catholic college organizations and towards a campus ministry structure. The move to self-identify as a 'campus ministry', a term already in widespread use by Protestant groups, reflected the ever more widespread cultural diffusion between Catholics and Protestants taking place as the 20th century unfolded.Many chaplains came and went over the course of a short period of time, reflecting and exacerbating the social difficulties of the 1960s and 70s.
In 1966, during this period of change, Father Daniel Berrigan
Daniel Berrigan
Daniel Berrigan, SJ is an American Catholic priest, peace activist, and poet. Daniel and his brother Philip were for a time on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list for their involvement in antiwar protests during the Vietnam war....
, a Jesuit priest, became pastor at the community and also assistant director of Cornell United Religious Work, the umbrella organization for all religious groups on campus, including the Cornell Catholic Community. In 1968, Berrigan entered a government office in Catonsville, Maryland
Catonsville, Maryland
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , all of it land.-Demographics:In 2010 Catonsville had a population of 41,567...
housing drafts cards and napalmed 378 of them, in protest of the Vietnam War
Catonsville Nine
The Catonsville Nine were nine Catholic activists who burned draft files to protest the Vietnam War. On May 17, 1968 they went to the draft board in Catonsville, Maryland, took 378 draft files, brought them to the parking lot in wire baskets, dumped them out, poured homemade napalm over them, and...
. On October 3, 1968, on the eve of his trial, Berrigan addressed a crowd of over 2,000 in Bailey Hall to explain why he was prepared to face 50 years of imprisonment for his action. Berrigan was convicted and sentenced to prison to begin on April 9, 1970. According to Anke Wessels, director of Cornell's Center for Religion, Ethics, and Social Policy, said "On the very day he was scheduled to begin his prison term, he left his office keys on a secretary's desk in Anabel Taylor Hall and disappeared." Cornell celebrated Berrigan's impending imprisonment by conducting a weekend-long "America Is Hard to Find" event on April 17–19, 1970, which included a public appearance by the then-fugitive Berrigan before a crowd of 15,000 in Barton Hall. On August 11, 1970, the FBI later found and arrested Berrigan, who was released from prison in 1972.
Cornell hired Charles E. Curran
Charles Curran (theologian)
The Rev. Charles E. Curran is a moral theologian. He currently serves at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, as the Elizabeth Scurlock University Professor of Human Values.-Biography:...
as a visiting professor while he was the center of an academic freedom controversy. Curran was removed from the faculty of Catholic University of America in 1986 as a dissident who unapologetically maintained the right to dissent from official Church teachings which had not been issued as ex cathedra
Ex Cathedra
Ex Cathedra is a British choir and early music ensemble based in Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. It performs choral music spanning the 15th to 21st centuries, and regularly commissions new works....
statements. He maintains in his 1986 "Faithful Dissent" that Catholics who may dissent nevertheless accept the teaching authority of the Pope, bishops and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In 1986, the Vatican declared that although a tenured professor, Curran could no longer teach theology at Catholic University of America schools, because "clashes with church authorities finally culminated in a decision by the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, headed by then-Cardinal Josef Ratzinger
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
[now Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
], that Curran was neither suitable nor eligible to be a professor of Catholic theology." The areas of dispute included publishing articles that debated theological and ethical views regarding divorce, "artificial contraception", "masturbation, pre-marital intercourse and homosexual acts." Curran later became a full tenured professor at Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
, and the American Association of University Professors
American Association of University Professors
The American Association of University Professors is an organization of professors and other academics in the United States. AAUP membership is about 47,000, with over 500 local campus chapters and 39 state organizations...
censured CUA for his firing.
Contemporary Period
In 1983 the Father Michael Mahler became chaplain. Mahler consolidated the community, instituting new programs and reforms, and established a new foundation for growth in membership. Soon thereafter the Community started a new outreach to Catholic alumni to raise funds and awareness.In 2002, Father Robert S. Smith
Father Robert S. Smith
Robert S. Smith , the Robert R. Colbert Sr. '48 Catholic Chaplain and Distinguished Scholar at Cornell University, was a Catholic priest, author, and educator. His interests ranged from philosophy and theology to the ethics of medical care to interfaith dialogue...
became director, instituting a peer ministry program, Taize
Taizé
Taizé is the name or part of the name of several places in France and an asteroid:* Taizé Community in Taizé, Saône-et-Loire, a monastic order visited by many young people* Taizé, Saône-et-Loire in the Saône-et-Loire département...
meditation groups, and the Emmaus Bible Study groups.
The Cornell Catholic Community is now under the direction of Father Daniel McMullin.