THE
ARCHBISHOP
WORE
COMBAT
BOOTS
FROM COMBAT, TO CAMELOT, TO KATRINA
THE
ARCHBISHOP
WORE
COMBAT
BOOTS
MEMOIR OF AN EXTRAORDINARY LIFE
Archbishop Philip Hannan
with Nancy Collins and Peter Finney, Jr.
Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division
Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.
Huntington, Indiana 46750
The Scripture citations contained in this work are taken from the Catholic Edition of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible (RSV), copyright © 1965 and 1966 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Except where otherwise noted, interior images are courtesy of the author.
Every reasonable effort has been made to determine copyright holders of excerpted materials and to secure permissions as needed. If any copyrighted materials have been inadvertently used in this work without proper credit being given in one form or another, please notify Our Sunday Visitor in writing so that future printings of this work may be corrected accordingly.
Copyright © 2010 by Archbishop Philip Hannan
Published 2010
16 15 14 13 12 11 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
All rights reserved. With the exception of short excerpts for critical reviews, no part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means whatsoever without permission in writing from the publisher. Write:
Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division
Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.
200 Noll Plaza
Huntington, IN 46750
[email protected] 1-800-348-2440
ISBN 978-1-59276-697-0 (Inventory No. T1018)
LCCN: 2010922943
Interior design by Sherri L. Hoffman Cover design by Lindsey Luken
Cover images: John F. Kennedy — Superstock/Getty Images
Jackie Kennedy — Michael Stroud/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Boots — Shutterstock
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Contents
Chapter 1 — The Funeral of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Chapter 4 — Four Years in Rome
Chapter 5 — My First Parish Assignment
Chapter 7 — England and Combat
Chapter 8 — Back in Washington, D.C.
Chapter 10 — The Kennedy Years
Chapter 11 — The Second Vatican Council
Chapter 12 — Appointment to New Orleans
Chapter 13 — Race Relations and Politics in New Orleans
Chapter 14 — The Cajuns’ “Joie de Vivre”
Chapter 15 — The New Orleans Saints
Chapter 16 — Television, Politics, and Abortion
Chapter 17 — Pope John Paul II’s Historic Visit to New Orleans
Chapter 18 — Changes in the Province of New Orleans
Chapter 19 — Hurricane Katrina and Its Aftermath
Chapter 20 — Stroke and Recovery
Chapter 21 — Pope John Paul II the Great
Chapter 22 — A Few Final Thoughts
Appendix — Recollections of the Major Documents of Vatican II
Epilogue — Love Is the Most Important Thing
Acknowledgments
It is impossible to simply acknowledge the friendship and love of the thousands of people who have supported me over my ninety-seven years. As such, I will try to say a few words about the folks who have helped me with this book. To any whom I may have omitted, I offer my deepest apologies and my heartfelt thanks to you also.
I want to first extend a thank you to Nancy Collins and Peter Finney, Jr., who have helped me every step of the way; this book is as much theirs as mine. I thank them for their incredible help and assistance.
My secretary, Alma Cartagena, has helped me with the typing, transcription, and collection of materials and photographs through the years related to this book. I credit her custodial skills in keeping together a 1,200-page manuscript that could have become scattered!
My publisher, Our Sunday Visitor, and their team were enthusiastic supporters of this project from the time when we approached them; my thanks to them, and especially to Jacquelyn Lindsey.
My close friends, the Garvey Brothers and Dorinda Bordlee, have been tireless supporters of the Pro-Life cause and helped on those portions of the book.
My friends here in New Orleans provided encouragement and support (and in some cases food!) at every opportunity; Anne and King Milling, Garic and Susie Schoen, Mr. and Mrs. Drago and Clara Cvitanovich, Phillip Brooks, the late Deacon Paul Nalty, V.M. Wheeler, Joe and Sue Ellen Canizaro, Tom and Gayle Benson, the late Pat Taylor, Phyllis Taylor, my best friend Alden “Doc” Laborde, and Donna and Ben Rosen, the couple through whom I found Peter.
My medical and personal