(1928–96), U.S. Roman Catholic prelate. The son of Italian immigrants, Cardinal Bernardin was born in 1928 in Columbia, S.C. Cardinal Bernardin studied philosophy at St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore, Md., before pursuing a master's degree in education from Catholic University in Washington. He was ordained in 1952 and, in 1966, became an auxiliary bishop in Atlanta, Ga. Cardinal Bernardin went on to serve as the General Secretary of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, and in 1972 he became archbishop of Cincinnati, where he served for ten years before being installed in Chicago. He was made a cardinal of the church in 1983. Throughout his years of service within the Roman Catholic church, Cardinal Bernardin was known as one of the strongest voices for moderation and compromise. One of the most enduring contributions made by Cardinal Bernardin came in 1982, when he helped to shape and draft the Roman Catholic church's position statement on nuclear armaments, entitled “The Challenge of Peace,” in which the church condemned the use of nuclear weapons against civilians in enemy countries. The letter brought the cardinal into direct conflict with then United States President Ronald Reagan at the height of the Cold War with the Soviet Union. In June of 1995, Cardinal Bernardin was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. In the last year of his life, he continued to serve his ministry and remained a powerful moral and ethical voice within the United States. |