John Patrick Foley

John Patrick Foley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
John Patrick Foley
Church positions
See Neapolis in Proconsulari (titular)
Title Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem
Period in office 27 June 2007—present
Previous post President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications
Created cardinal November 24, 2007
Rank Cardinal Deacon of S. Sebastiano al Palatino
Personal
Date of birth November 11, 1935 (1935-11-11) (age 72)
Place of birth Darby, Pennsylvania
Styles of
John Foley


Reference style His Eminence
Spoken style Your Eminence
Informal style Cardinal
See Neapolis in Proconsulari (titular)

John Patrick Foley (born November 11, 1935) is an American Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the current Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, having previously served as President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications from 1984 to 2007.

Contents [hide]
1 Biography
2 Trivia
3 References
4 External links



[edit] Biography
Born in Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, John Foley studied at Saint Joseph's Preparatory School; Saint Joseph's College, from where he obtained a bachelor's degree in history; St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, earning a doctorate in philosophy; and Columbia University's School of Journalism, earning his master's degree in journalism. He was ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal John Krol on May 19, 1962, for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and celebrated his first Mass the next day at Holy Spirit Church in Sharon Hill, PA. He received his Licentiate degree in Philosophy in 1964 and his Doctorate cum laude in 1965 from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum)[1] with a dissertation on Natural Law, Natural Right and the Warren Court. He served as assistant editor and Rome correspondent for the archdiocesan newspaper, The Catholic Standard & Times. From 1970 to 1984 he was the newspaper's editor, and in 1976 he became a Monsignor.

On April 5, 1984, Foley was appointed President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications and Titular Archbishop of Neapolis in Proconsulari by the late Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration on the following May 8 from Cardinal Krol, with Bishops Martin Lohmuller and Thomas Welsh serving as co-consecrators. During his tenure, the Archbishop once sparked outrage in the homosexual community by describing the AIDS pandemic as a "natural sanction for certain types of activities"[2]. He also defended the Church's exclusively male priesthood, once saying, "Jesus clearly did not ordain women to the priesthood, nor did he authorize the Church to do so"[3]. Upon the death of John Paul II on April 2, 2005, Foley and all major Vatican officials, in accord with custom, automatically lost their positions during the sede vacante. He was later confirmed as the Council's president by Pope Benedict XVI on April 21 of that same year.

Pope Benedict XVI named him as Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre on June 27, 2007, replacing the retiring Cardinal Carlo Furno. The Grand Masters of the two Orders are thus Papal Viceroys who provide Vatican diplomacy with procedural support for making motions, proposing Amendments and requiring votes in the sphere of international diplomacy.

Foley, as the Council's president, was the longest-serving head of a Curial dicastery until receiving this appointment; Archbishop Claudio Celli, former Secretary of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See, was appointed as his successor.

The Archbishop has sat on various organizations, including the National Conference of Christians and Jews, Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada, Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission, and National Conference of Catholic Bishops.

On October 17, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI announced that he would make Foley a Cardinal. Foley was elevated to the College of Cardinals in the consistory at St. Peter's Basilica on November 24, 2007.[4] Cardinal Foley was named the Cardinal-Deacon of San Sebastiano al Palatino.[5]

On 12 June 2008 in addition to his duties he was appointed by Benedict as a member of congregations in the Roman Curia [1]. These are: the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments and the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.


[edit] Trivia
Foley would rise at 6:00 a.m. to watch CNN, in order to "know what to pray about"[6].
Foley was the English liaison for Pope John Paul II's 1979 visit to the United States[7].
He is a teetotaler[8] and self-described chocoholic[9].
He was awarded honorary degrees by St. Joseph's University, Philadelphia (1985); the Allentown College of St. Francis de Sales (1990); The Catholic University of America, Washington, (1996); Assumption College, Worcester, (1997); Regis University, Denver, (1998); John Cabot University, Rome, 1998; University of Portland, 2007.
He was made knight commander with grand cross, Order of the Northern Star, Kingdom of Sweden (1991); knight commander with circle of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem (1991); commander with grand cross in the Order of Bernardo O'Higgins of the Republic of Chile (1996); commander with grand cross in the Order of Libertador General San Martin of the Republic of Argentina (2003).
Preceded by
Andrzej Maria Deskur President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications
5 April 1984—27 June 2007 Succeeded by
Claudio Maria Celli
Preceded by
Carlo Furno Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem
27 June 2007—present Succeeded by
incumbent


[edit] References
^ Cf. Sala Stampa della Santa Sede, Il Collegio Cardinalizio, Cenni biografici, Foley Card. John Patrick (Italian)
^ TIME Magazine. "I Come as a Pilgrim" June 24, 2001
^ TIME Magazine. Women: Second-Class Citizens? February 4, 1985
^ Holy See Press Office (2007-10-17). "Annuncio di Concistorio per la Creazione di nuovi Cardinali" (in Italian). Press release. Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
^ Rocco Palmo (November 24, 2007). "Hats and Titles". Whispers in the Loggia. Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
^ TIME Magazine. History As It Happens January 6, 1992
^ Whispers in the Loggia. Seeing Red. Finally. June 27, 2007
^ Ibid.
^ Catholic News Service. 'Chocoholic' archbishop talks to Nestle execs about advertising June 25, 2007

[edit] External links
Catholic-Hierarchy
www.themass.org/people/foley.htm
Cardinal Foley bio
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Patrick_Foley"
Categories: 1935 births | 20th century Roman Catholic archbishops | 21st century Roman Catholic archbishops | American cardinals | American Roman Catholic bishops | American Roman Catholics | Irish-Americans | Living people | Roman Catholic titular archbishops