Joseph Kaboski
David F. and Erin M. Seng Foundation Professor of Economics
University of Notre Dame
I apologize that this issue of the newsletter is both later and shorter than usual. There are several reasons for both, and unfortunately we couldn’t easily solve them.
The focus of this issue was supposed to be marriage and the family, but on April 17, Francis Cardinal George, passed away after a long bout with cancer. He was our Episcopal Moderator, that is, our church representative on CREDO’s board, and in many ways he was the impetus for the existence of our society, so I would like to spend some time in this column celebrating his life.
Francis George was born in Chicago on January 16, 1937, as the country was still struggling with the Great Depression. The second of two children, he attended the Chicago parochial schools, and he was the only bishop of Chicago to be a native Chicagoan. Although a native son, he had a measured view of the city of Chicago as an adult. He loved the people and his diocese, but he hated the corruption of local politics.
At age 13, he contracted polio, which left him with a permanent limp. He felt his calling to the priesthood early, attending a St. Henry Preparatory Seminary, a high school seminary of the Missionary Oblates of Mary because the Quigley Seminary in Chicago had rejected him because of his disability.
Francis George joined the Missionary Oblates of Mary and was ordained in 1963 at the age of 26. The order was a good fit because their mission combined his love of the poor and his zeal for evangelization, and because of their support for his studies. Earning master’s degrees in both theology and philosophy, and a PhD in theology, Father George taught many years at universities and seminaries. He would eventually add a second Ph.D. in sacred theology in 1988. Unfortunately for him, but fortunately for the Church, someone with Cardinal George’s leadership and intellect is not left to be a scholar or missionary for long.
Given his sharp intellect, level-headedness, and commitment to the faith, Cardinal George rose quickly, first in his order’s leadership and then in the Church hierarchy. In 1990, Cardinal George was consecrated Bishop of Yakima (Washington) by Pope John Paul II. In 1996, he became Bishop of Portland, and less than a year later in 1997, he was named Archbishop of Chicago. In 1998, he was made a cardinal, and in 2007 he became president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.
I first met Cardinal George as a graduate student at the University of Chicago in 1997, though he wouldn’t remember meeting me. In his first year as Archbishop he gave several talks down at the University. I remember being inspired by his intellect. At these public functions, he faced persistent attacks against the faith and the church from people both within and outside of the faith. Cardinal George had an ability to explain things calmly and clearly, and he often flipped the arguments on their head. At one point, someone tried to attack religion by pointing to the violence of religious conflicts, even among Christians. Cardinal George countered that such a depiction was false: both current and historical death tolls associated with ideology and statehood far outweighed anything attributed to religion. To a Christian quoting scripture on the nature of the priesthood, Cardinal George calmly explained the distinctions between the priesthood of all believers, the ordained priesthood, and the priesthood of Christ.
In the spring of 2008, I was visiting Chicago, and Thomas Levergood asked me if I wanted to join him for lunch with Cardinal George. I assumed it was a large public function, so imagine my surprise when we arrived at the Archbishop’s mansion for a casual private lunch with the cardinal and his auxiliary bishops. He was hoping to invoke a dialogue with economists and church leaders, and this was the start of the Lumen Christi conferences.
Cardinal George was always an intellectual by nature. Lehman had not yet crashed, but the public was worried about the financial situation, and so was the cardinal. He also had worries about the parochial schools’ future economic sustainability. And he had plenty of questions about the philosophical presuppositions built into economists’ research and policy advising. But mostly, Cardinal George wanted to learn. He enjoyed listening and occasionally trading barbs at the conferences. I always felt that, for him, these conferences were a nice respite away from the troubles of managing a diocese and back to his true love: the life of academia.
Cardinal George suffered and fought cancer for many years. His cancer first appeared in 2006, but he had a recurrence of cancer again in 2012, and then finally in 2014. Given his childhood experience with illness and disability, I suppose, he was not discouraged in the face of cancer. Indeed, I think his childhood experience left him with a deeper compassion for the suffering of others but a firmness of hope in his own suffering.
One small example of his sacrifice and perseverance was the Lumen Christi conference in April 2014. Our originally planned program for April 2014 was a keynote speech from Cardinal George with a response by Gary Becker. It was a sad time for both speakers. Gary Becker had to cancel a week before the conference because of illness, and he would pass away a few weeks later after a problematic surgery. As Cardinal George’s illness progressed, he was forced to take a lower profile at the conference, but the amazing fact to me was that he still participated, even speaking at the conference despite being in the midst of chemotherapy.
It is difficult to truly mourn the passing of Cardinal George. He lived a good life, a long life, and a life as full as anyone over his 77 years. He fought the good fight on so many fronts, and persevered in faithfulness, truth, and love toward God and man. He was a person of great accomplishments, but he also suffered courageously through illness. Unfortunately, he also suffered at times through unjust criticism from the press and even at times from within the Church. We of course will miss Cardinal George, especially his presence at the conferences and his role in our society, in particular. But we are reminded that death itself is not final. We know that God uses suffering in our lives to make us more Christ-like. Our Christian faith holds the promise that Cardinal George is still with us, and will continue to pray for us. With great hope, we will meet him again in the Communion of Saints.
A quick update on the society: First, we have continued to grow in membership. Second, we will be electing new leadership in October, including President, Vice-president, and three Executive Board Members. According to our bylaws, the Advisory Panel will nominate candidates, and the overall membership will vote. If you would like to be considered for a leadership position or are willing to help in other ways, please let us know. Finally, for our next issue, we will be looking for a range of people to comment on the Pope’s first social encyclical, Laudato Si’. Please email contact@credo-economists.org, if you would be willing to contribute a short commentary.
Joseph P. Kaboski is the President of CREDO and the David F. and Erin M. Seng Foundation Professor of Economics at the University of Notre Dame. His research is in the area of economic growth, development, and international economics. In 2012 he was awarded the prestigious Frisch Medal for his research on microfinance in Thailand. He has consulted for Catholic Relief Services on poverty programs in East Africa, and is a consultant to the USCCB (U.S. Bishops Conference). He teaches a course on economics and Catholic social thought. Kaboski earned his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago. He and his family attend St. Pius X Catholic Church in Granger, IN.
