United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Office of the General Secretary

An Inventory of the Records of the Office of the General Secretary at The American Catholic History Research Center and University Archives

Historical Note

Prior to the twentieth century, the Roman Catholic Church in America lacked a unified voice to represent it in national and international affairs. The bishops met in councils in 1852, 1866, and 1884 to consider and address common problems but such meetings were infrequent. The organization of the American Federation of Catholic Societies in 1901 did little to encourage national cohesiveness. Many in the American hierarchy were indifferent or hostile to the Federation and it was troubled by ethnic infighting. Nevertheless, there was a powerful trend in America at the turn of the twentieth century towards organization on a national scale. The rise of new systems of transportation and communication fused together a national economy and culture with the power of the federal government growing in turn. Groups sought to concentrate at the national level to promote their interests. For example, in 1908, mainstream Protestant churches formed the Federal Council of Churches and many Catholics, fragmented by region and ethnicity, worried about their increasing vulnerability. There was some progress in the special fields of education and charity with the establishment of the Catholic Education Association (later the National Catholic Education Association) in 1904 and the National Conference of Catholic Charities (later Catholic Charities USA) in 1910, but little impetus toward creating a more effective national voice until the First World War. Then church leaders, concerned about being left out of the national mobilization effort, and eager to encourage and demonstrate Catholic loyalty, moved to create the National Catholic War Council. Formed after two meetings at the Catholic University of America (CUA) in 1917, the War Council was an emergency organization engaged in numerous activities. It represented Catholic interests in Congress, ministered to troops at home and overseas, fostered Americanization of recent immigrants, and developed a Program for the Reconstruction of American Society after the war.

The National Catholic Welfare Council (NCWC), officially defined as the annual meeting of the American hierarchy and its standing secretariat, was established by the bishops in 1919 as the successor to the War Council. The Administrative Committee was organized to conduct Council business between plenary meetings with headquarters established in Washington, D.C., first at 1312 Massachusetts Avenue, and from 1987 at 3211 Fourth Street. Transition from a temporary national organization to a permanent one was difficult. Some bishops and the Vatican were willing to tolerate a potential rival to their authority during a brief crisis but worried about the establishment of a potential permanent rival. In 1922, the Vatican's attempt to suppress the NCWC was only reversed with a compromise in which the organizational name was changed to the National Catholic Welfare Conference, not Council, underlining the fact that it was consultative rather than legislative, and the administrative board was incorporated as the National Catholic Welfare Conference, Inc. Thereafter, the NCWC blossomed into the single most important national organization in the American Catholic Church through the middle years of the twentieth century. It became the principal lobbying arm for the church with the federal government. Early on it fought against federal aid to education bills for fear such laws would impose government controls on private schools though later it would fight for funding for parochial schools. The NCWC would also serve as the forum for bishops to discuss common problems and the mechanism to issue their pastoral letters and judgments on critical issues of the day such as birth control, communism, fascism, poverty, and race relations. The NCWC promoted Catholic teaching, developed and distributed publications, issued national guidelines, and provided training and national coordination for hosts of local Catholic societies. Of special note was the radio program, The Catholic Hour, which represented and communicated the Catholic point of view on various issues to the general public. The NCWC would grow to include many departments answerable to the Administrative Board and directed by the Office of the General Secretary (OGS). It is difficult to underestimate the importance of the General Secretary on both the national and international level as a representative of and spokesman for the American Catholic Bishops. There were four general secretaries from inception in 1919 through the reorganization and renaming of the conference in 1966. The first was a Paulist priest, John Joseph Burke (1875-1936), born in New York City, educated at CUA, and editor of The Catholic World, who organized and guided the NCWC during it formative years, 1919-1936. He left his stamp on all aspects of NCWC work during his tenure. The second General Secretary was Michael Joseph Ready (1893-1957) of New Haven, Connecticut. Ordained in Cleveland in 1918, he served the dioceses there in various capacities until joining the NCWC as Assistant General Secretary to Burke, 1931-1936, and General Secretary for 1936-1944. He went on to become Bishop of Columbus, Ohio, 1944-1957. The third General Secretary was Howard Joseph Carroll (1902-1960) of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Ordained in 1927, he served the Diocese of Pittsburgh until he joined the NCWC to serve as Assistant General Secretary under Ready, 1938-1944, and then as General Secretary, 1944-1957. He finished his career as Bishop of Altoona-Johnstown, 1957-1960. The fourth General Secretary was Paul Francis Tanner (1905-1994) of Peoria, Illinois. Ordained in 1931, the CUA educated priest served the NCWC as Director of the Youth Department from 1942 to 1945, Assistant General Secretary under Carroll from 1945 to 1958, and General Secretary from 1959 to 1968. He ended up as Bishop of St. Augustine, Florida, 1968-1979.

Besides its main office, the Executive Department, also known as the Office of the General Secretary (OGS), sponsored several adjunct offices such as the Latin American Bureau, the United Nations Affairs Office, and the Peace Corps Desk as well as groups affiliated with the NCWC but organized as separate legal entities, including the National Office for Decent Literature (NODL), Catholic Relief Services (CRS), and the National Catholic Community Service (NCCS). The adjuncts usually reported directly to the General Secretary and were head quartered in the same building. The Office of Consultant on International Affairs and Inter American Bureau was established by the Administrative Board on 1 January 1946 to both advise the Executive Department and supervise the operation of the Inter-American or Latin American Bureau. Though the Social Action Department's Latin American Bureau was suspended in 1933, interest in Latin American affairs persisted with discussions about re-instating it as the Inter-American Bureau in 1944-1945 with the hope that Richard Pattee, a lecturer in History at CUA and Assistant Chief of the Cultural Relations Division at the US State Department, would agree to serve as Director. The combined Office of Consultant on International Affairs and the Latin American Bureau began to function in July 1946 with Pattee as head and John Parr handling administrative work. Both men wrote articles and lectured extensively on a series of international and inter-American questions. There were several name changes, with Foreign Affairs replacing International Affairs and Inter-American replacing Latin America Bureau, and simply reference to the International Bureau at times as well. There are no annual reports nor mention of the office/bureau after 1950 so its final status is difficult to determine though a bona fide Latin American Bureau was re-established in 1959. The United Nations (UN) Affairs Office was established in New York City in 1946 following the 1945 San Francisco Conference which drafted a charter for the United Nations. The NCWC decided on a policy of cautious promotion of an 'imperfect' UN and the office was conceived as a vehicle for the promotion of Catholic principles and programs as well as a clearinghouse for intelligence to give the insular American church a more international outlook. The director of this office from inception was Catherine Schaefer who was assisted by Alba Zizzamia from 1948 and they remained the core of the staff until the office closed in 1972. The Latin American Bureau was established in 1929, within the NCWC and attached to the Executive Department, to promote an interchange of information between Catholics of the United States and Latin America primarily in the field of Catholic Social Action. Under the directorship of Father Raymond A. McGowan, who was also Assistant Director of the Social Action Department, the focus was upon education, social work, lay organization, economics, the press, and international relations. Suspended in 1933, it was re-established in 1959. Father John Considine was selected to head the revived bureau whose mandate was updated to include assistance in the recruitment and service of United States lay and religious personnel in Latin America, especially the Papal Volunteers, as well as the forwarding of financial assistance there. It was reconstituted as the Division for Latin America in 1968, with Rev. Louis M. Colonnese succeeding Father Considine as director, and phased out by 1974. The Peace Corps Desk, inspired by President Kennedy's Peace Corps of volunteers carrying out technical and education projects in developing countries, was established in 1961 in Washington under the episcopal chairmanship of Auxiliary Bishop Edward E. Swanstrom of New York with Robert Melina as Executive Director. It sought to assist applicants, dioceses, organizations, and institutions in recruiting Catholics for the Peace Corps. However, Peace Corps Director Sargent Shriver bowed to pressure from certain Jewish and Protestant groups and announced in December of 1961 a reversal of policy in that there would be no cooperation with religious groups nor would any handle Peace Corps projects. Therefore, Bishop Swanstrom expressed 'regret' and the NCWC Peace Corps Desk ceased operations on 19 January 1962.

The affiliates were more loosely controlled than the adjuncts and often had separate incorporation, were located outside Washington, or reported to an episcopal committee. The Episcopal Committee on Motion Pictures was established in 1933 to work to improve the standard and quality of motion pictures and directed the National Legion of Decency based in New York City. Archbishop John T. McNicholas of Cincinnati, who also served as Chairman of the NCWC Administrative Board from 1946-1950, was the longtime head of this committee. The National Office for Decent Literature (NODL), and its supervisory episcopal committee, were established in 1938 to act against literature thought to threaten moral and social life. The NODL was a service organization that advised interested groups working on literature programs. It issued a quarterly bulletin detailing activities and programs nationwide and printed a monthly list of magazines and books judged objectionable for youth. The NODL was not exclusively Catholic and many reviewers were Jewish or Protestant. Publications were evaluated according to a code which condemned, among other things, explicit horror, violence, and sex as well as blasphemous, profane, and obscene speech. It also was critical of stories that glorified criminals, disrespected lawful authority, and ridiculed religious or racial groups. The National Catholic Community Service (NCCS) operated from 1940 to 1980 with both professional personnel and volunteers at home and overseas to serve the spiritual, social, educational, and recreational needs of the military and defense workers and their families. It was a member agency of the United Service Organization (USO) and the Veteran's Administration's (VA) Voluntary Service National Advisory Committee and operated a VA Hospital Program with the assistance of a VA diocesan hospital committee. NCCS was under the direction of a board of trustees composed of members of the NCWC/USCC Administrative Board, the military vicar and his delegate, that worked closely with the various departments and committees of the NCWC/NCCB. Thomas Hinton was Executive Director for much of it's history, 1948-1972. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is the official overseas aid and development agency of American Catholics. It is a separately incorporated organization of the NCWC/USCC. It was founded as War Relief Services in 1943 to assist victims of the mass devastation caused by World War II. It has since become a global operation which works not only to alleviate suffering caused by war and other disasters but to raise the general standard of living for the poorer nations of the world.

Following the Vatican II Council, the bishops reorganized the NCWC in 1966, transforming it into the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and its standing secretariat, the United States Catholic Conference (USCC). As separate organizations with distinct responsibilities, the NCCB focused on internal ecclesiastical concerns while the USCC carried forward work in society at large. The NCCB enabled the bishops to deliberate and respond collectively on a broad range of issues, with work being supervised by the Office of the General Secretary and carried out through various secretariats as well as standing and ad hoc committees. The USCC included clergy, religious, and lay people who developed public policy and programs for approval by the Administrative Board and the bishops for implementation by the various departments. Another post Vatican II development was the creation of the Advisory Council reflecting a new vision of the Church as a community of the 'people of God' and not just a hierarchical structure. There was a focus on the shared responsibility of bishops and non bishops alike in conducting the pastoral affairs of the Church. A major undertaking of the Advisory Council was to study the possibility of creating a National Pastoral Council but it was decided that this was not feasible. On 1 July 2001, the NCCB and the USCC were combined to form the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)consisting of the same staff continuing the work formerly done by the NCCB and the USCC. The bishops themselves form approximately fifty committees, each with its own particular responsibility, while the General Secretary overseas the work of hundreds of lay people, priests, and religious located at the Conference headquarters in Washington, DC. The USCCB is a civil non-profit entity organized as a corporation in the District of Columbia.

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Scope and Contents

It would scarcely be possible to write the history of the America Catholic Church in the twentieth century without consulting this monumental and voluminous body of records produced by the American Catholic Bishops and their working secretariat through various name changes and administrative re-organizations. Due to a variety of factors, including long standing usage and complex diversity, this significant assemblage of records, 232 record center and 2 scrapbook boxes of 290 linear feet, have been divided into 11 series with 44 sub-series.

Series 1, the first and most important, consists of the extensive General Administration files, 154 record center boxes of 192.5 linear, that are maintained in five divisions or subseries. Beginning with the erection in 1919 of the National Catholic Welfare Council (NCWC) with the Office of the General Secretary (OGS), also known as the Executive Department, administrative files consisting primarily of correspondence, were organized and filed according to an arbitrary numerical system. This filing system remained in effect until 1949-1950 when efforts were made to convert to a system of general subject files with thirteen major subject headings: Administration, Church, Communism, Cults and Sects, Education, Information Media, International Affairs, Military Affairs, NCWC, Organizations, Social Action, Travel, and U.S. Government. The conversion process was not completed so that currently there are 97 boxes of subject files and 46 boxes of numerical files.

This complicated original order has been preserved primarily due to its sheer scale, long standing use, and workable accessibility. Since the larger body of records had been converted to the new filing system, archives staff decided to constitute this group as the first and clearly most important sub-series, especially since the time span of these records was greater than the smaller group of numerical files which became the second sub-series. Research focusing prior to 1949 must consult both of these subseries to pursue a particular person, organization, country, event, or topic whereas those researching after 1949 can safely ignore the numerical files.

Subseries 1.1 of the General Administration series, the heart and soul of the collection, is the Subject files, Boxes 1-97, 120 linear feet, covering primarily the years 1919-1966 under the thirteen subject headings mentioned above: Administration, Church, Communism, Cults and Sects, Education, Information Media, International Affairs, Military Affairs, NCWC, Organizations, Social Action, Travel, and U.S. Government.

The Administration category focuses on the internal operations of the conference in regard to finances and personnel. Church has material on individual members of the clergy and hierarchy, relations with the Vatican, overseas missions such as in China, anti-Catholic propaganda, ecumenical affairs, and monumental issues of church and state like bible reading in public schools, busing, federal aid to education, and the Oregon School case of 1926. Communism files reflect the church's efforts to track and combat this ideology, both at home and abroad, including Father John Cronin's seminal 1945 Report of the status of Communism in America and documents pertaining to the persecution of Archbishop Stepanic in Yugoslavia. Cults and Sects has only a few files and scarcely rates its own heading. The Education heading contains files ranging from correspondence with the NCWC Education Department to Catholic institutions such as The Catholic University of America as well as programs dealing with foreign students and exchange of persons with post war Europe.

Information Media is an extensive area dealing with press organizations such as the National Catholic News Service and the Catholic Press Association, publications such as the NCWC Bulletin and Commonweal, radio broadcasts like the The Catholic Hour and the Voice of America, and the critical issue of censorship of motion pictures, also covered in Series Seven, the Episcopal Committee on Decent Literature and the National Office for Decent Literature (NODL). International Affairs is a large and important assemblage of files dealing with enduring issues such as immigration and human rights, programs of famine relief in Russia in the 1920s and war relief in Europe during and after World War II, the rise of fascism in Spain and Germany in the 1930s, support for the League of Nations and then the United Nations, and commitment to the understanding of the problems and welfare of Latin America. Military Affairs covers issues such as chaplains, memorials, prisoners of war, selective service, and veteran affairs. NCWC is a heading that overlaps somewhat with Administration though its focus is more on policy with the Administrative Board, the General Secretary, and general legal issues.

Organizations deals with relations with numerous lay organizations such as the National Council of Catholic Women (NCCW) and National Council of Catholic Men (NCCM), secular organizations such as the Red Cross and the National Catholic Community Service (NCCS) that was part of the United Services Organization (USO), and religious organizations like the National Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) and the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. Social Action is a critically important grouping covering Child welfare, civil rights, crime, family life, health care, housing, labor relations, marriage, race relations, rural life, social security, and youth. Travel is a minor topic with just a few general files. U.S. Government is the final major heading and concerns relations with the President and various cabinet departments, federal programs like the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and National Youth, and federal policy and legislation on a variety of issues including birth control, civil defense, education, poverty, and taxation.

A seminal event in the history of the NCWC was its near dissolution in 1922 and files concerning this were for many decades filed separately though now located in Box 60. They are indexed as: A, B, C, D, F, G, H, K, Laughlin, Sara E.; McGrath Justin; Muldoon Peter J., Bishop, and John J. Burke; Muldoon, Peter J., Bishop, Correspondence in regard to Dissolution; Muldoon, Peter J., Bishop, Telegrams; N, O, P, R, S, Turner, William, Bishop, W., Notes from Cleveland meeting of Administrative Committee, April 6, 1922, and from Washington Meeting of Administrative Committee, April 26, 1922. There are two white and one purple bound copies of the Petition and Report of the Administrative Committee of the National Catholic Welfare Council to His Holiness, Pope Pius XI, April 25, 1922. There are also unbound fascicles of newspaper clippings concerning the Dissolution.

Subseries 1.2 of the General Administration series is the Numerical Files, boxes 98-143, some 70 feet, covering 1919-1948. This constitutes the remnants of the original filing system, that was not converted to subjects in 1949-1950, in which simple numbers had been assigned in ascending order to notable persons, organizations, countries, and topics apparently in the order of the creation of the file. For example, a person like Archbishop Edward Hanna was assigned number 18, the religious organization the National Council of Catholic Women (NCCL) was number 8, the country Haiti was 14, and a topic such as social action was 56. There were also further subdivisions when necessary by both topic and number so that you have #121 for Birth Control in general, #121-A for Venereal Disease (V.D.) Control, #121-C for Child Welfare, and #121-D for Sterilization. This system was not consistently applied however. Early NCWC staff created a series of 3" x 5" subject cards which provided an access key. These have been retained as they still can provide access to records remaining in the numerical sub-series but are of no use to those pulled for the subject subseries.

There is a notable selection of files in Box 140 pertaining to the Catholic Youth Bureau which was established under the National Council of Catholic Men (NCCM) in 1933, transferred to the Executive Department in 1937, and established as the Youth Department in 1940. Mooney resigned as Director in April 1942 and was replaced by Paul Tanner, 1942-1945. Additional Mooney material is located in the files titled just 'Social Action: Youth.' The Department was renamed the Youth Activities Division and placed under the Education Department in 1968. In the early days the Catholic Youth Bureau was also referred to as the National Catholic Youth Council.

Subseries 1.3 of the General Administration series has 1 box, number 144, 1.25 feet, of correspondence files of James Hugh Ryan, OGS Executive Secretary, 1919-1928, who sometimes directed the office during Father Burke's absence. These were apparently removed from the general administration files and indexed by former USCC Archivist, Dr. Warren Willis, whose 1971 doctoral dissertation from The Catholic University of America (CUA) was about James H. Ryan.

Subseries 1.4 consists of 7 boxes, numbers 145-151, 10 linear feet, related to Mexico, 1921-1981, removed by NCWC staff from the main body of OGS files. They were probably given special treatment due to the precarious position of the Church in unstable Mexico beginning in the 1920s, which was of special interest to the American bishops. Records include card files and interview books, general correspondence, miscellaneous publications, and specific files on the Montezuma Seminary and the Pious Fund of the Californias. The Seminary moved to Tula, Hidalgo, Mexico, in 1972, and new folders were made for the files. The more common subject heading, 'Montezuma Seminary, New Mexico,' was used rather than the earlier heading, 'U.S. Seminary for Mexican Candidates to the Priesthood, ' or the later heading, 'Education: Educational Institutions: Seminaries: Montezuma.' Regarding the Pious Fund, the final disposition was made to Montezuma Seminary and the researcher is referred to Francis J. Weber's article "The United States Versus Mexico," Southern California Quarterly, (June, 1969), 97-152. This study was later published as a monograph: The United States Versus Mexico: The Final Settlement of the Pious Fund. See also old file 18-A 1934. With the exception of some of the publications and Pious Fund items, these have been microfilmed and the decision was made not to attempt to restore them to their proper provenance though they remain in close intellectual and physical proximity.

Subseries 1.5 has 3 boxes, numbers 152-154, 3.75 linear feet, titled 'Private Files,' 1905-1944, housed separately due to their sensitivity. This includes alphabetical correspondence files, 1917-1944; books by and about Burke, 1926-1936, 1951; interview books regarding Burke and Mother Helen Lynch, 1905-1936; and prayer cards, 1917-1936.

Series 2 consists of 4 boxes, numbers 155-158, 5 linear feet, of the Office of Consultant on International Affairs and Inter-American Bureau, 1942-1954. This office began to function in July 1946 with Richard Pattee, a History professor at CUA and U.S. State Department official, as Director, and John Parr to handle administrative work. They wrote and lectured extensively, both at home and abroad, on a series of international and inter American questions. There are general office files, including correspondence and annual reports; material in both English and Spanish and including correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs, and typescript and printed copies of Pattee publications such as This is Spain and L'Amerique Latine. In addition, there are various national and international publications in both English and Spanish, including NCWC Foreign Affairs, UN Social Welfare Information Series, and several from the U.S. State Department. Material is divided into three subseries: General Administration Files, A-Z, 1944-1951, filed alphabetically; Richard Pattee Personal Papers, 1942-1952, filed in loose alphabetical order; and Miscellaneous Publications, 1942-1954, filed in no particular order.

Series 3 contains 23 boxes, numbers 159-181, 29 linear feet, of the Office of United Nations (UN) Affairs, 1946-1972. Material is from the New York office that, under director Catherine Schaefer and assistant Alba Zizzamia, promoted Catholic issues at the UN. They are divided into nine subseries: Hierarchy Correspondence, Interdepartmental Correspondence, General Correspondence, General Subject Files, Memoranda, Catholic Association for International Peace (CAIP), International Union of Catholic Women's Leagues (IUCWL), later known as the World Union of Catholic Women's Organizations (WUCWO), International Catholic Coordinating Center for UNESCO Files, and Publications and Press Releases. They are mostly filed alphabetically though some are chronological.

Series 4 has 11 boxes, numbers 182-192, 14 linear feet, of the Latin American Bureau, 1928(1928-1933, 1959-1964)1970. Established in 1929 under Father Raymond A. McGowan as Director to promote inter American Catholic cooperation in social action, it was suspended in 1933. Revived in 1959 under Father John Considine, its renewed mandate included the recruitment and service of lay and religious personnel in Latin America, especially the Papal Volunteers. It was reconstituted as the Division for Latin America in 1968 and phased out by 1974. Files are alphabetical and arranged into three subseries: General Administration Files, Subject A-Z, 1928-1933; General Correspondence Files, A-Z, 1959-1964; and the Catholic Inter-American Cooperation Program (CICOP) Working Papers, 1970. The seventh conference of CICOP, sponsored by the Latin American Division under Director Father Louis M. Colonnese, met in Washington on 5-8 February 1970 around the theme of achieving liberation of Latin Americans for social and economic development on both the personal and national levels.

Series 5 contains 4 boxes, numbers 193-196, 5 linear feet, of the Peace Corps Desk, 1961-1962. Inspired by President Kennedy's Peace Corps of volunteers working in developing countries, it was established under the Episcopal chairmanship of Auxiliary Bishop Edward E. Swanstrom of New York with Robert Melina as Executive Director. It assisted applicants, dioceses, organizations, and institutions in recruiting Catholics for the Peace Corps. However, when Peace Corps Director Sargent Shriver announced in December 1961 that there would be no further cooperation with religious groups, the NCWC Peace Corps Desk ceased operations on 19 January 1962. Series has files, primarily alphabetical, of both Swanstrom and Melina divided into four sub-series: Correspondence, Chronological and Subject, A-Z, 1961-1962; Correspondence, Organizations, A-Z, 1961-1962; Correspondence, Countries, A-Z, 1961-1962; and Application card files, 1961-1962.

Series 6 consists of 2 boxes, numbers 197-198, 2.5 linear feet, of files of a national figure active in the highest levels of American Catholicism, John Timothy McNicholas, Archbishop of Cincinnati, 1925-1950. They are arranged as two subseries, with the first being correspondence from his time as Chairman of the NCWC Administrative Board, 1946-1950. Arrangement is alphabetical with files about countries such as France and Germany, organizations like Pax Romana and the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD), individuals including Cardinal Patrick O'Boyle and Bishop Edwin V. O'Hara, and topics such as Federal Aid to Education and international aid to war ravaged countries. The second is correspondence from his service on the Episcopal Committee on Motion Pictures, which founded the National Legion of Decency. Arrangement is alphabetical, primarily by name of correspondents and includes such persons as Bishop John J. Cantwell, Legion Director John J. McClafferty, and publisher Martin Quigley.

Series 7 consists of 6 boxes, numbers 199-205, 7.5 linear feet, of the Episcopal Committee on Decent Literature and the National Office for Decent Literature (NODL), 1939-1969. The NODL was a service organization established in 1938 to oppose obscene literature, especially for youth. It printed lists of objectionable publications according to a code that condemned, among other things, violence, sex, blasphemy, and profanity. Files are divided into four subseries: Annual Reports, 1939-1967, filed chronologically; Subject Files, 1953-1969, filed alphabetically; Evaluation Reports, 1954-1969, filed numerically; and Index Cards to Publications, 1959-1969, filed alphabetically.

Series 8 is 3 boxes, numbers 206-208, 3.75 linear feet, of the Advisory Council to the Administrative Board of U.S. Bishops Series, 1969-1975.The Council was a post Vatican II creation focusing on the shared responsibility of bishops and non bishops in pastoral affairs. These files concern the feasibility study of organizing a National Pastoral Council. There is no filing order and arrangement is generally chronological, divided into two subseries: the Steering Committee to Study the Feasibility of National Pastoral Council, 1970-1974, and the Committee on the History of the Advisory Council, 1974-1975.

Series 9 has 8 boxes, numbers 209-216, 2.5 linear feet, of Photographs, 1921-1980. The photos are an assortment, mostly 8" x 10" and black and white, depicting NCWC staff, departments, and meetings at the NCWC building and grounds as well as on visits nationally and abroad. There are also photos of Pope Paul VI and other Vatican officials visiting America.

Series 10: Publications and Publicity Material, 1919-2001, consists of 16 boxes, numbers 217-232, 20 linear feet, and is generally filed chronologically and divided into ten subseries.

Subseries 10.1 is the NCWC Bulletin, the official organ of the NCWC that published departmental news, beginning June 1919 and ending December 1953, with name change from to Catholic Action in January 1932. Filed chronologically with multiple loose copies. Additional bound reference sets available in many libraries.

Subseries 10.2, Bibliographies: Social, Economic, Political, Religious, 1918-1934, is a selective range of typescript bibliographies, on both regular and onion skin paper, filed in loose alphabetical order.

Subseries 10.3, General, 1919-2001, has a broad range of NCWC/USCC sponsored publications, mostly pamphlet and booklet but including the odd book or printed statement. Major topics include Papal Encyclicals, promotion of NCWC, Birth Control, Communism, Education, Labor, Marriage, the Mass, Movies, Peace, and Religion, filed chronologically.

Subseries 10.4, NCWC Notes and Supplements, 1945-1950, is an incomplete set, filed chronologically, of this typescript newsletter about national and international affairs apparently for internal distribution. Supplements consist of relevant material published by the federal government, foreign governments, or the United Nations.

Subseries 10.5, Directories and Catalogs, 1983-1998, filed chronologically, is a miscellaneous assortment of conference building, membership, and telephone directories as well as catalogs of publications and videos for sale.

Subseries 10.6, Catholic Relief Services (CRS), 1958-1991, filed chronologically, has a mixed batch of promotional booklets and pamphlets as well as educational teaching and study guides.

Subseries 10.7, Canon Law, 1975-1978, filed chronologically, has a selection of typescript and printed drafts of revisions of Canon Law by the Pontifical Commission for Revision of the Code of Canon Law, with both translations and commentary by a combined task force of the NCCB and the Canon Law Society of America.

Subseries 10.8, the Bishops' Committee on the Bicentennial, 1974-1976, filed chronologically, has a variety of discussion guides, document kits, proceedings, and a newsletter of the bishops' committee that marked the nation's bicentennial. The theme was 'Liberty and Justice for all' which sought to represent an approach that was neither too adulatory nor too critical of American History. There is also a pamphlet copy of the American bishops' A Document on Ecclesiastical Archives.

Subseries 10.9, A Call to Action, 1976-1978, has a number of printed working papers on topics such as Family and Neighborhood, final committee evaluations, and a national survey supporting the bishops' A Call to Action or To Do the Work of Justice parish program. This grew out of the Bishops' Committee on the Bicentennial and a 1978 conference in Detroit was the culmination of this effort.

Subseries 10.10, Publications and Publicity Material is Non-NCWC/USCC, 1963-1984, filed chronologically, has a small amount of miscellaneous material, mostly typescript, including a survey of migrant ministries and a center for a universal apostolate.

Series 11 consists of 6 boxes, numbers 233-238, 8 linear feet, is Scrapbooks and Oversized Material Series, 1919-1972, divided into two subseries: Bureau of Information Scrapbooks, 1919-1958, and Miscellaneous, 1934-1972. The first has twelve numbered Scrapbooks, mostly news clippings, from the Bureau of Information. Some have general press releases while others cover such topics as Federal Aid to Education, Mexico, Prayer, and Prohibition. The second has Miscellaneous oversized material including the 1971 Synod of Bishops, Donor Lists to the NCWC Christ Statue, and financial account books. Items in both sub-series were filed as size and shape permitted.

Records of affiliate The National Catholic Community Service (NCCS), which was a part of the United Service Organizations (USO), have been treated as a separate sub-group and are organized and stored separately in the CUA Archives while those of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) remain archived with CRS in their Baltimore headquarters. Organized as a war relief measure in 1943, the name of War Relief Services, National Catholic Welfare Conference was changed officially to Catholic Relief Services (CRS), National Catholic Welfare Conference by its Board of Trustees at its spring meeting, April, 1955. Files under both names are located in Series 1, subseries 1.1, Boxes 48-49. For CRS publication see Series 10, subseries 10.10, Box 225.

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Arrangement

The Records of the Office of the General Secretary consists of 11 series:

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

There are access restrictions for 25 years from date of record creation or living persons.

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Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

In 1952, the National Catholic Welfare Conference (NCWC) deposited the records of its predecessor, the National Council War Council (NCWC), at The Catholic University of America (CUA). In the years thereafter, Catholic historians, archivists, and librarians increasingly expressed concerns over access to and disposition of the records of its successor, which in 1966 had been reorganized and renamed the United States Catholic Conference (USCC) and National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB). At the April 1972 regional meeting of the American Catholic Historical Association (ACHA) in Notre Dame, an informal meeting of concerned scholars offered their cooperative services to the USCC to address the critical needs of records management. On 11 May 1972, the CUA Committee on Archives moved that the USCC, while retaining jurisdiction, ship its non current records, then housed in the USCC Annex, to a CUA space to be examined and organized by responsible administrators, historians, archivists, and librarians. This proposal was approved by USCC General Secretary, Joseph L. Bernardin, in a letter dated 19 July 1972 and 450 linear feet of records, 210 transfiles and 24 files cabinets, were transferred on 5 October 1972 to CUA's Brady Hall, Room 17. The committee formed to evaluate the records, noting that CUA was the only university "supported by substantial funding from the bishops," decided to permit the papers to remain there. On 10 March 1975, the Conference signed an agreement with CUA officially depositing them there, but retaining ownership and imposing a twenty five year access rule on researchers.

The initial deposit was the largest ever received in the CUA Archives and included material from almost every department, bureau, office, and adjunct that operated during the Conference's first fifty years. Those related to the Executive Department, otherwise known as the Office of the General Secretary (OGS), included records from the Decent Literature and United Nations offices, the Latin American Bureau, and the Peace Corps Desk. In addition, there was material from the Advisory Council to the Administrative Board and the Episcopal Committee on Motion Pictures of Archbishop John T. McNicholas. Significant administrative files of the OGS concerning the Church State conflict in Mexico arrived in 1977, with more in 1997. It was the year 1992, however, that was a banner year for the deposit of OGS files, with over 170 feet of records, including the Numerical, Subject, and Private files (see more detailed descriptions of these below) as well as a box of McNicholas' files as Administrative Board Chairman. Additionally, over the years there have been numerous accessions of scrapbooks, photographs, and publications.

Processing Information

Given both the size and magnitude of the NCWC collection, it was decided to break the records into record groups based upon the different departments, with the OGS being the largest and most important. The smaller bureaus, offices, and other adjuncts are generally attached to the department that had oversight.

Processing completed in November 20, 2002 by William John Shepherd. Data Entry/Contributors: Amy Agnew, Lynn M.Conway, David Fortin, Mary Beth Fraser, Mary Kopcho, Timothy J. Meagher, Mark O'Tool, Marcia Segal, H. Warren Willis. EAD markup completed in January 2006 by Jordan Patty. Revised in 2010-2012 by William John Shepherd.

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Related Material

The American Catholic History Research Center and University Archives:

George G. Higgins Papers

John A. Ryan Papers

Records of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops

NCWC publications

Other Repositories:

Burke papers at the Paulist Archives in Washington, D.C.

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Archives in Baltimore, Maryland

NCWC Immigration Department records at the Center for Migration Studies at Staten Island, Neew York

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Index Terms

Subjects:

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Selected Bibliography

Trisco, Robert (ed.) Catholics in America, 1796-1976. Washington, DC: Committee for the Bicentennial, National Conference of Catholic Bishops, 1975, 1976.

Trythall, Marisa Patuli. 'Edmund A. Walsh S.J. and the Settlement of the Religious Question in Mexico,' Archivum Historicum Societatis IESU (LXXX: 159), 2011, 3-44.

Trythall, Marisa Patuli. 'The Little Known Side of Fr. Edmund Walsh:  His MIssion to Russia in the Service of the Holy See,' Studi sull'Oriente Cristiano (14:1), 2010, 159-181.

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Detailed Description of the Collection