Dougherty’s Movie Boycott
...heaters.[1] By doing so, Dougherty declared it sinful for any of the area’s 800,000 Catholics to enter a movie theater. In his letter to the priests of the Archdiocese, Dougherty called the motion picture theater “perhaps the greatest menace to faith and morals in America today.”[2] Dougherty and many others
Benedict Club: A Home Away From Home
...rst year about 200 men visited the club each day and by 1943 that was up to 800.[11] The women volunteers, called the Morale Corps, would organize various themes for the dances as well as staff the offices and service desks and serve food and refreshments. The military men described
The Centennial Fountain
(This post follows up on the last blog about the history of the Temperance Movement) With the approach of the centennial celebrations in Philadelphia to mark the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Catholic Total Abstinence Union of the Diocese of Philadelphia wanted to partake in the festivities. To
The Church and Labor
...tates. Archbishop Patrick Ryan was active in labor relations, working on a number of occasions as a mediator between management and labor unions to bring about peace resolutions. In a 1953 Labor Day speech, John Cardinal O’Hara rejoiced in the work that had been done to restore the dignity of