[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 133 (Thursday, November 18, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2019]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          IN HONOR AND REMEMBRANCE OF CARDINAL JAMES A. HICKEY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 17, 2004

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, we rise today in honor and remembrance of 
Cardinal James A. Hickey, a humble leader, friend and guide to many, 
whose spiritual journey focused on civil rights and the struggle of the 
oppressed and poor. His significant contribution served to uplift the 
lives of countless individuals and families, here in Cleveland, and far 
beyond.
  Throughout his entire vocation, Cardinal Hickey was a tireless 
advocate on behalf of those held back by racism and poverty. In 1974, 
he was named Bishop of the Cleveland Catholic Dioceses. During his six-
year tenure here, Cardinal Hickey worked with community leaders and 
organizations on vital issues such as the peaceful integration of the 
public schools, and he also worked to stop banks from red-lining urban 
neighborhoods. He strongly encouraged leaders of neighborhood parishes 
to become involved with the issues affecting their congregations. 
Cardinal Hickey led by example, and led with a consistently kind and 
humble nature. When he was named Archbishop of Washington, DC in 1980, 
he again worked to establish strong bonds with local community leaders 
to address the needs of the growing population of citizens struggling 
with poverty and AIDS. He led the charge to create and implement social 
programs to address the needs of the poor, with a special focus on 
children, the elderly and refugee individuals and families. While in 
Washington, Cardinal Hickey worked closely with Americans of Hispanic 
heritage, and advocated on behalf of their collective and individual 
struggles here in America, and in El Salvador as well. His twenty-year 
tenure in Washington, DC, where he was named Cardinal in 1988, 
reflected a man who became a powerful representative of the poor and 
homeless. Throughout the metropolitan area of Washington, Cardinal 
Hickey directed the efforts that established sixteen parish missions, 
housing for dependent elderly, housing for independent elderly, and 
countless educational, legal and medical services for the homeless, 
individuals suffering from AIDS, refugees, and the poor.
  Mr. Speaker and Colleagues, please join me in honor and remembrance 
of Cardinal James A. Hickey, whose compassion, guidance and good works 
uplifted the lives of countless individuals--in Michigan where he was 
first ordained, here in Cleveland, in Washington, DC, and in Latin 
America. His leadership and advice were consistently sought by national 
and world leaders, yet he felt most at home when working with the 
people of the neighborhood parishes and missions. Graceful, humble, 
committed and articulate, the words and deeds of Cardinal James A. 
Hickey will live on forever in the hearts of the countless families and 
individuals whom he so greatly served--reflecting his light of hope and 
justice, today, and for generations to come.

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