{{short description|Catholic cardinal}} {{for-multi|the 19th century cricket player|James Stafford (cricketer)|the Sandy Hook pilot boat|James Stafford (pilot boat)|the 19th century baseball player|General Stafford}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2012}}
{{Infobox Christian leader | type = Cardinal | honorific-prefix = [[His Eminence]] | name = James Francis Stafford | honorific-suffix = | title = [[Apostolic Penitentiary|Major Penitentiary Emeritus of the Apostolic Penitentiary]]<br />[[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Denver|Archbishop Emeritus of Denver]] | image = James Cardinal Stafford.jpeg | caption = | province = | diocese = | archdiocese = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Denver|Denver]] | enthroned = October 4, 2003 | retired = June 2, 2009 | predecessor = [[Luigi De Magistris (cardinal)|Luigi De Magistris]] (Major Penitentiary) and [[James Vincent Casey]] (Denver) | successor = [[Fortunato Baldelli]] (Major Penitentiary) and [[Charles J. Chaput]] (Denver) | ordination = December 15, 1957 | ordained_by = [[Martin John O'Connor]] | consecration = February 29, 1976 | consecrated_by = [[William Donald Borders]], [[Lawrence Shehan]], and [[Thomas Austin Murphy]] | cardinal = February 21, 1998 | created_cardinal_by = [[Pope John Paul II]] | rank = Cardinal-Priest | other_post = [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|Cardinal Priest]] of [[San Pietro in Montorio]] | previous_post = {{unbulleted list|[[Pontifical Council for the Laity|President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity]] (1996–2003) | [[Archbishop]] of [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Denver|Denver]] (1986–1996) | Bishop of [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Memphis|Memphis]] (1982–1986) | [[Auxiliary Bishop]] of [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore|Baltimore]] and [[Titular Bishop]] of [[Respecta, Numidia|Respecta]] (1976–1982) }} | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1932|7|26|mf=y}} | birth_place = [[Baltimore, Maryland]], US | death_date = | death_place = | buried = | nationality = | religion = [[Catholic]] | residence = | parents = | occupation = | profession = | alma_mater = | signature = | motto = ''In principium erat verbum''<BR>(In the beginning was the word) | coat_of_arms = }}
{{Infobox cardinal styles | cardinal name = James Francis Stafford | image = Coat of arms of James Stafford.svg | image_size = 200px | dipstyle = [[His Eminence]] | offstyle = Your Eminence | relstyle = [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|Cardinal]] | See = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Denver|Denver]] ([[Emeritus]]) }}
'''James Francis Stafford''' (born July 26, 1932) is an American [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|cardinal]] of the [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic Church]]. He served as major penitentiary of the [[Apostolic Penitentiary]] from 2003 to 2009.<ref name="vatican">{{cite news |title=Stafford card. James Francis |work=[[Holy See]] |url=https://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/documentazione/documents/cardinali_biografie/cardinali_bio_stafford_jf_en.html |access-date=October 31, 2023}}</ref>
Stafford previously served as president of the [[Pontifical Council for the Laity]] (1996–2003), archbishop of the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Denver|Archdiocese of Denver]] (1986–1996), bishop of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Memphis|Diocese of Memphis]] (1982–1986), and as an auxiliary bishop of the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore|Archdiocese of Baltimore]] (1976–1982).<ref name="hierarchy">{{Catholic-hierarchy|bishop|bstafford|James Francis Cardinal Stafford|21 January 2015}}</ref> Stafford was made a cardinal by [[Pope John Paul II]] in 1998.<ref name="cardinals">{{cite news|work=The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church|title=STAFFORD, James Francis (1932– )|url=https://cardinals.fiu.edu/bios-s.htm#Stafford|last=Miranda|first=Salvador|access-date=August 2, 2011|archive-date=January 4, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104001717/http://www2.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios-s.htm#Stafford|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Biography==
=== Early life === James Stafford was born on July 26, 1932, in [[Baltimore]], [[Maryland]], the only child of Francis Emmett and Mary Dorothy (née Stanton) Stafford.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://cardinals.fiu.edu/bios1998.htm#Stafford |title=The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church - February 21, 1998 |access-date=August 30, 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20171230092652/http://www2.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios1998.htm%23Rouco#Stafford |archive-date=December 30, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> Francis Stafford was the owner of a furniture store, opened by his grandfather in 1902.<ref name="noel">{{cite news|work=Colorado Catholicism|title=Vehr: The Flowering of Catholicism (1931–1967)|url=http://www.archden.org/noel/04000.htm|last=Noel|first=Thomas J.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080821160508/http://www.archden.org/noel/04000.htm|archive-date=August 21, 2008|df=mdy-all}}</ref> James Stafford was raised in Irvington, a Baltimore neighborhood, and graduated from [[Loyola Blakefield|Loyola High School]] in Towson, Maryland, in 1950.<ref name="noel" />
Stafford then entered [[Loyola University Maryland|Loyola College Maryland]] in Baltimore, planning a career in medicine.<ref name="archbalt">{{cite news|work=[[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore]]|title=Most Rev. J. Francis Stafford|url=http://www.archbalt.org/about-us/our-history/people/stafford.cfm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101212231242/http://archbalt.org/about-us/our-history/people/stafford.cfm|archive-date=December 12, 2010|df=mdy-all}}</ref> However, in 1952, the death of a close friend in a car crash caused Stafford to rethink his future and to enter [[St. Mary's Seminary and University|St. Mary's Seminary]] in Baltimore. Stafford attended St. Mary's Seminary for two years.<ref name="archbalt" /> Archbishop [[Francis Patrick Keough|Francis Keough]] then sent him to Rome to the [[Pontifical North American College]], where he attended the [[Pontifical Gregorian University]].<ref name="cardinals" />
=== Priesthood === While in Rome, Stafford was [[Holy Orders|ordained]] to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Baltimore by Bishop [[Martin John O'Connor|Martin O'Connor]] on December 15, 1957.<ref name="hierarchy" /> He earned a [[Licentiate of Sacred Theology]] from the Gregorian University in 1958.
After his return to Baltimore, Stafford was assigned as an assistant [[pastor]] at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, remaining there until 1962.<ref name="vatican" /> He then entered the [[The Catholic University of America|Catholic University of America]] in Washington, D.C., where he earned a [[Master of Social Work]] degree in 1964 with a thesis on the [[foster care]] of children.<ref name="cardinals" />
From 1964 to 1966, Stafford served as assistant director of the archdiocesan [[Catholic Charities]] and assistant pastor of St. Ann Parish in Baltimore.<ref name="vatican" /> He was named in 1966 as director of the archdiocesan branch of [[Catholic Charities USA|Catholic Charities]] by Cardinal [[Lawrence Shehan]], serving in that position for ten years.<ref name="noel" />
In 1970, [[Pope Paul VI]] named Stafford as a [[Monsignor|chaplain of his holiness]].<ref name="cardinals" /> He was elected president of the presbyteral senate for the archdiocese the following year.<ref name="vatican" /> Stafford also helped reorganize the central services of the archdiocese and create its collegial structures.<ref name="archbalt" />
=== Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore === On January 11, 1976, Paul VI appointed Stafford as an [[Auxiliary Bishop|auxiliary bishop]] of Baltimore and [[Titular Bishop|titular bishop]] of Respecta.<ref name=hierarchy/> He was consecrated on February 29, 1976, by Archbishop [[William Donald Borders|William Borders]], with Shehan and Bishop [[Thomas Austin Murphy|Thomas Murphy]] serving as [[Consecrator|co-consecrators]], at the [[Cathedral of Mary Our Queen]] in Baltimore.<ref name=hierarchy/> Stafford selected as his episcopal [[motto]]: ''In principium erat Verbum'', which is [[Latin]] for: "In the beginning was the Word" ([[John 1]]:15).<ref name=cardinals/>
As an auxiliary bishop, Stafford served as [[vicar general]] of the archdiocese from 1976 to 1981.<ref name=vatican/> From 1978 to 1984, he led the [[United States Conference of Catholic Bishops|U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops]] (USCCB) Commission on Marriage and Family Life.<ref name=archbalt/> He also served as administrator of Sts. Philip and James Parish in Baltimore (1980–1981).<ref name=vatican/> Stafford attended the Fifth Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in [[Vatican City]] from September to October 1980.<ref name=cardinals/>
===Bishop of Memphis=== On November 17, 1981, [[Pope John Paul II]] appointed Stafford as the second bishop of Memphis.<ref name=hierarchy/> He was installed on January 17, 1982.<ref name=noel/> During his tenure, Stafford revised the structure of the pastoral office, improved the fiscal conditions of the diocese, and concentrated on the [[evangelization]] of [[African American|African Americans.]]<ref name=cdom>{{cite news|work=[[Roman Catholic Diocese of Memphis]] |title=History |url=http://www.cdom.org/archives/history.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928141039/http://www.cdom.org/archives/history.htm |archive-date=September 28, 2011 }}</ref>
In addition to his duties in Memphis, Stafford was chairman of the USCCB Commission for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs (1984–1991) and co-president of the [[Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogue|Dialogue between Roman Catholics and Lutherans]] (1984–1997).<ref name=vatican/>
===Archbishop of Denver=== [[File:SJVDenverGrounds2.jpg|thumb|258x258px|St. John Vianney Theological Seminary, Denver, Colorado (2012)]] Following the death of Archbishop [[James Vincent Casey|James Casey]], John Paul II appointed Stafford as the third archbishop of Denver on June 3, 1986.<ref name="hierarchy" /> He was installed at the [[Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Denver|Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception]] in Denver, Colorado, on July 30, 1986.<ref name="noel" />
In 1990, the [[Vincentian Fathers]] announced the closing in 1994 of [[St. Thomas Seminary (Denver)|St. Thomas Seminary]] in Denver due to falling enrollment. Stafford decided to buy the seminary property and plan a brand new institution, [[Saint John Vianney Theological Seminary|St. John Vianney Theological Seminary]]. The new facility opened in 1999 under Stafford's successor, Archbishop [[Charles J. Chaput|Charles Chaput]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-08-29 |title=A bold step for priestly formation, and now a leader in the New |url=https://denvercatholic.org/a-bold-step-for-priestly-formation-and-now-a-leader-in-the-new-evangelization/ |access-date=2021-12-14 |website=Denver Catholic |language=en-US}}</ref>
In a July 28, 2005 article in the ''[[The Denver Post|Denver Post]].'' five men described being fondled as boys during the 1960s by Reverend Harold Robert White. In August 1983, one of the men wrote to Stafford complaining about White. A response letter from the archdiocese said that White was to "...receive an evaluation from competent personnel to determine whether there are any recurring difficulties.” White continued to work in parish ministry until 1993; he was [[Loss of clerical state|laicized]] in 2004.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2005-07-28|title="Our little secret"|url=https://www.denverpost.com/2005/07/28/our-little-secret/|access-date=2021-12-15|website=The Denver Post|language=en-US}}</ref>
During his tenure in Denver, Stafford hosted the 1993 [[World Youth Day]], the first such event in the United States. In his last year as archbishop, he launched the first capital campaign in forty years and a "Strategic Plan" for Catholic schools.<ref name="archbalt" />
=== Roman Curia === [[File:001San-Pietro-in-Montorio-Rome.jpg|thumb|Church of San Pietro in Montorio, Rome, Italy (2014)]] Stafford was appointed by John Paul II as president of the [[Pontifical Council for the Laity]] on August 20, 1996. Stafford was created [[Cardinal-Deacon|cardinal-deacon]] of [[Gesù Buon Pastore alla Montagnola|Gesù Buon Pastore alla Montagnola Parish]] in Rome in the [[Papal consistory|consistory]] of 1998.
In 2003, Stafford was appointed [[Major Penitentiary|major penitentiary]], overseeing matters pertaining to [[indulgence]]s and the [[Internal and external forum (Catholic canon law)|internal forum]] of the Catholic Church. He was one the highest ranking American members of the [[Roman Curia]] and the second one in that role. Stafford participated in the [[Papal conclave, 2005|2005 papal conclave]] that selected [[Pope Benedict XVI]].
Stafford submitted his letter of resignation to Benedict XVI on his 75th birthday in 2007. On June 2, 2009, Benedict XVI appointed as his successor Archbishop [[Fortunato Baldelli]], then [[Apostolic Nuncio to France|apostolic nuncio to France]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zenit.org/rssenglish-26068 |title=Cardinal Stafford steps down as Penitentiary Major |publisher=Zenit.org |date=2 June 2009 |access-date=30 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302202454/http://www.zenit.org/rssenglish-26068 |archive-date=March 2, 2012 }}</ref>
On March 1, 2008, Stafford took the option, after ten years as a cardinal deacon, for promotion to the rank of cardinal-priest, and was assigned the titular church of ''[[San Pietro in Montorio]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gcatholic.org/churches/cardinal/262.htm |title=Cardinal Protector |publisher=GCatholic.org |access-date=30 December 2012}}</ref> In 2009, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the [[Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology]] and inducted into their College of Fellows.
==Political views== The ''[[National Catholic Reporter]]'' reported on November 19, 2008, that Stafford had criticized US President-elect [[Barack Obama]], saying he has "an agenda and vision that are aggressive, disruptive and apocalyptic".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://ncronline3.org/drupal/?q=node/2588 | title=Domain Unavailable! | access-date=November 21, 2008 | archive-date=May 3, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170503185758/http://ncronline3.org/drupal/?q=node%2F2588 | url-status=dead }}</ref> The story was first reported by ''The Tower'', the student newspaper of the [[Catholic University of America]], where Stafford made those remarks.
Saying that the United States experienced a "cultural earthquake" when Obama was elected president, Stafford said the president-elect "appears to be a relaxed, smiling man" with rhetorical skills that are "very highly developed". "But under all that grace and charm, there is a tautness of will, a state of constant alertness, to attack and resist any external influence that might affect his will", he added. Stafford then predicted that the Obama administration would compare to "Jesus' agony in the [[Garden of Gethsemane]]".<ref name="stafford">{{cite web|author=Grden, Elizabeth |date=14 November 2008 |title=Cardinal at CUA: Obama is 'Aggressive, Disruptive and Apocalyptic' |work=The Tower |url=http://www.cuatower.com/2008/11/14/cardinal-at-cua-obama-is-%E2%80%98aggressive-disruptive-and-apocalyptic%E2%80%99/ |access-date=20 November 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20090503041554/http://www.cuatower.com/2008/11/14/cardinal-at-cua-obama-is-‘aggressive-disruptive-and-apocalyptic’/ |archive-date=May 3, 2009 }}</ref>
The ''[[Catholic News Agency]]'' revealed more details about Stafford's remarks that same week: "If 1968 was the year of America's 'suicide attempt,' 2008 is the year of America's exhaustion," he said, contrasting the year of publication of ''[[Humanae vitae]]'' with this election year. "For the next few years, Gethsemane will not be marginal. We will know that garden," Stafford told his audience.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/14355/cardinal-stafford-criticizes-obama-as-aggressive-disruptive-and-apocalyptic |title=Cardinal Stafford criticizes Obama as 'aggressive, disruptive and apocalyptic' :: Catholic News Agency (CNA) |publisher=Catholic News Agency |date=17 November 2008 |access-date=30 December 2012 |archive-date=April 6, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090406213156/http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=14355 |url-status=live }}</ref> Catholics who weep the "hot, angry tears of betrayal" should try to identify with Jesus, who during his agony in the garden was "sick because of love".<ref name=":0" />
Stafford also attributed America's so-called decline to [[Supreme Court of the United States|US Supreme Court]] decisions such as the 1973 ruling in [[Roe v. Wade]], which Stafford claims imposed "permissive abortion laws nationwide".<ref name=":0" />
==See also== {{US-RC-cardinals}} {{portal bar|Biography|Catholicism|Colorado}} {{Div col}} *[[List of the Catholic bishops of the United States#American bishops serving outside the United States|American bishops serving outside the United States]] * [[Catholic Church hierarchy]] * [[Catholic Church in the United States]] * [[Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States]] * [[List of Catholic bishops of the United States]] * [[Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops]] {{div col end}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{cite web| access-date = 14 November 2017| title= Stafford Card. James Francis |publisher= [[Holy See Press Office]] | url= https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/documentation/cardinali_biografie/cardinali_bio_stafford_jf.html | url-status=live | archive-date= 4 September 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170904062425/http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/documentation/cardinali_biografie/cardinali_bio_stafford_jf.html }} * [http://www.archden.org/ Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Denver Official Site]
{{s-start}} {{s-rel|ca}} {{s-bef|before=[[Alexis Phạm Văn Lộc]]}} {{s-tul|title=Titular Bishop of Respecta|years=19 January 1976 – 17 November 1982}} {{s-aft|after=Cornelius de Wit}} {{s-break}} {{s-bef|before=[[Carroll Thomas Dozier]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Roman Catholic Diocese of Memphis|Bishop of Memphis]]|years=17 November 1982 – 30 May 1986}} {{s-aft|after=[[Daniel M. Buechlein|Daniel Mark Buechlein]]}} {{s-break}} {{s-bef|before=[[James Vincent Casey]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Denver|Archbishop of Denver]]|years=30 May 1986 – 20 August 1996}} {{s-aft|after=[[Charles Joseph Chaput]]}} {{s-break}} {{s-bef|before=[[Eduardo Francisco Pironio]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Pontifical Council for the Laity|President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity]]|years=20 August 1996 – 4 October 2003}} {{s-aft|after=[[Stanisław Ryłko]]}} {{s-break}} {{s-bef|before=[[Jozef Tomko]]}} {{s-ttl|title=Cardinal Deacon of [[Gesù Buon Pastore alla Montagnola]]|years=21 February 1998 – 1 March 2008}} {{s-aft|after=[[Velasio De Paolis]]}} {{s-break}} {{s-bef|before=[[Luigi De Magistris (cardinal)|Luigi De Magistris]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Apostolic Penitentiary|Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary]]|years=4 October 2003 – 2 June 2009}} {{s-aft|after=[[Fortunato Baldelli]]}} {{s-break}} {{s-bef|before=[[Aloísio Lorscheider]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[San Pietro in Montorio|Cardinal Priest of San Pietro in Montorio]]|years=1 March 2008 –}} {{s-inc}} {{s-end}}
{{Cardinals created by John Paul II}} {{College of Cardinals}} {{US-RC-cardinals}} {{Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Denver}} {{Roman Catholic Diocese of Memphis}} {{Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stafford, James}} [[Category:1932 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the United States]] [[Category:21st-century American cardinals]] [[Category:20th-century American cardinals]] [[Category:Roman Catholic archbishops of Denver]] [[Category:Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II]] [[Category:Major Penitentiaries of the Apostolic Penitentiary]] [[Category:American Roman Catholic clergy of Irish descent]] [[Category:Religious leaders from Baltimore]] [[Category:People from Catonsville, Maryland]] [[Category:Pontifical Council for the Laity]] [[Category:Pontifical Gregorian University alumni]] [[Category:Pontifical North American College alumni]] [[Category:Roman Catholic bishops of Memphis]] [[Category:Catholic University of America alumni]] [[Category:Catholics from Maryland]] [[Category:Loyola Blakefield alumni]] [[Category:Bishops appointed by Pope Paul VI]]