[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 83 (Tuesday, May 14, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3680-S3681]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO FATHER CLETUS KILEY

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, we all answer calls to serve in different 
ways. For me, that has meant representing the great State of Illinois 
in the U.S. Senate. But on May 8, 1974, a young priest answered the 
call to serve by receiving his ordination as a priest. Father Cletus 
Kiley could not have known the impact he would make on Chicago, and on 
people across the Nation, on that day in 1974. But as we celebrate the 
50th anniversary of his ordination as a priest, it is clear that his 
dedication to spiritual and social well-being has been nothing short of 
remarkable.

[[Page S3681]]

  Father Kiley was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, and he 
found spiritual and education homes in several of the Catholic schools 
in the city. Following his seminary education, Father Kiley earned a 
master's degree in applied spirituality from the University of San 
Francisco and a doctorate in ministry from the University of St. Mary 
of the Lake. He developed an affinity for languages--becoming fluent in 
Spanish, Italian, and French--which helped broaden his impact and touch 
the lives of even more communities.
  Much of Father Kiley's time as a young priest was spent in Chicago. 
He served as an associate pastor of Epiphany Parish and, later, as 
pastor of St. Agnes of Bohemia. During the first chapter of his life in 
Chicago, he also took on the roles of associate dean of Mundelein 
Seminary's formation team, director of the Archdiocese of Chicago's 
Department of Personnel Services, rector of Niles College Seminary, and 
a member of the College of Consultors for the Archdiocese of Chicago. 
It is safe to say Father Kiley's legacy in Chicago will not soon be 
forgotten.
  After decades spent serving the spiritual needs of the people of 
Chicago, Father Kiley's call to service took him to Washington, DC--
where, in 1997, his affinity for politics and passion for helping 
people led him to work as the executive director of the U.S. Conference 
of Catholic Bishops' Secretariat for Priestly Life and Ministry and as 
assistant to the General Secretary for Child and Youth Protection. 
Father Kiley excelled in these roles. And, shortly thereafter, he was 
named president and CEO of the Faith & Politics Institute and served as 
a senior fellow at the Institute for Policy Research and Catholic 
Studies at the Catholic University of America. In both roles, he was 
able to apply his deep faith to his interest in policy.
  But Father Kiley's call to serve extended far beyond the realm of 
religion. In 2010, with the permission of the Archdiocese of Chicago 
and Cardinal Francis George, Father Kiley became the director of 
immigration policy for UNITE HERE International Union, where he 
championed issues of immigration, workers' rights, and economic 
justice. In this role, Father Kiley began organizing a new generation 
of priests dedicated to furthering the mission of the labor movement. 
And, in 2012, he founded the Priest-Labor Initiative with a group of 
bishops, priests, and scholars committed to supporting to worker 
justice.
  To Father Kiley, the compatibility of his faith and the labor 
movement was obvious: Catholic social values taught him about the 
dignity of work that underpinned the fight for workers' rights. His 
faith informed his advocacy work, and his advocacy work strengthened 
his faith.
  In 2015, Father Kiley received a call from Chicago's Cardinal Blase 
Cupich. He wanted Father Kiley to return to Chicago. And, as Father 
Kiley put it, ``You don't say no to your Cardinal.'' So, after nearly 
two decades advancing spiritual and social well-being in our Nation's 
Capital, Father Kiley returned home to Chicago to begin another chapter 
in his long career as a priest.
  Today, Father Kiley continues his work with the Archdiocese of 
Chicago as special adviser and delegate for labor in the office of the 
cardinal. Because of his deep spiritual, social, and moral convictions, 
and because of his vast knowledge of Chicago, language, theology, and 
politics, Father Kiley's counsel is widely sought after. So it is 
hardly surprising that Father Kiley also serves as the Chaplain of the 
Chicago Federation of Labor, an adviser to UNITE HERE, a mentor to the 
leadership team of UNITE HERE Local 1, and a board member of 
Misericordia and UNITE HERE Health.
  Father Kiley has been a tremendous advocate, adviser, and friend to 
so many leaders and working people. I thank him for all he has done in 
Chicago and beyond to make our country a more just, equitable, and 
empathetic place.

                          ____________________