USD Magazine, Winter 2001

him at the White House, so they met at Hyde Park (Roosevelt's New York residence) instead," says Quinn. "To walk through the front door of the White House with the pope meant we had come a long way."

his scholarship into question. And when uni– versity officials suggested Quinn be rhe first to hold the chair, Portman didn't hesitate to call his one-rime Larin mentor with the news. "I couldn't be more pleased that a mar– velous reacher like John Quinn is coming to USO to reach," says Portman. "I know first– hand that the students wi ll be fortunate to learn from such a patient and knowledgeable reacher. "

topic that suggested giving local bishops more authority in running their dioceses. Time has perhaps muted some of the ini– tial outcry, as che book didn't receive the overly sensationalized response Quinn feared. In face, the archbishop might simply be considered ahead of his rime. His book is being translated into several ocher languages, and other theologians are beginning to pro– duce their own responses to the encycl ical. Quinn traveled to Rome in December 1999, and personally presented a copy of his book to the pope. "Consideration of these issues starts slow– ly, bur we're seeing che beginning of the dis– cuss ion," Quinn says. "A synod (meeting) on

Since stepping down from his San Francisco post - he shuns the term

"retired," pointing out rhar he preaches at different parishes, conducts retreats for priests and lectures throughout the country - Quinn has continued to focus on making

progress with in the Church. He's mainly studied rhe question of Christian unity, an issue consid– ered crucial, and at rimes some– what controversial, by many Christians. In response to an encyclical, or letter, issued by Pope John Paul II in 1995, Quinn began thinking abo ut ecumenism, or the unity of all Christians. The archbishop first espoused his view that decentralization of

A Lifetime of Service

In terms of practical experi– ence, few are better suited to lead a graduate semi nar in ecclesiology, the exploration of rhe Church's rheology, than Quinn, who will be the first bishop to hold an endowed chair at a U.S. university. Named bishop in 1967 at the age of 38, the youngest of his ri me, Quinn served as auxil–

the life of bishops in che Chu rch is sched– uled for next year, and chere will most likely be more talk of the issue then." Issues of Faith In the meantime, Quinn will focus at least part of his USO class exploring the ecumeni– cal themes discussed in his book. The endowed chair represents more than another chance to reach for Quinn, however. His arrival at USO this spring is also a home– commg. Back in che 1960s, when USO was still two separate colleges - the College for Men and the School of Law, and the College for Women - Quinn caught rheology to young priests-in-training at che San Diego semi– nary, then housed in Desales Hall, now Maher Hall. His charges looked up to him and admired his style. "His attitude toward studen ts was revolu– tionary at che time," says Del Nelson, a student of Qui nn's who eventually left the seminary

iary bishop of San Diego and bishop of Oklahoma City. Promoted to archbishop in 1972, he headed the Archdiocese of San Francisco for 18 years and presided over the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, the governing body of American bishops, from 1977 to 1980. Among the highlights of Quinn's career was the opportunity to accompany Pope John Paul II on a trip through Ireland and che United Scares in 1979, including visiting President Jimmy Career at rhe White House. "When Pope Pius XII, at that rime a car– dinal, visited Franklin Roosevelt, the presi– dent felc it was too controversial to receive

papal authority was a necessary step toward the unity the encyclical so ught in a 1996 speech at Oxford University, where he was a visiting fellow. His views stirred up some conservative Catholics, who disagreed with Quinn's assessment of the need for reform and rook exception at what chey saw as cri ticism of che Vatican. Some even went as fa r as to call him disloyal. Believing that his response to a papal call for input could hardly be consid– ered disloyal, Quinn pursued the issue and in 1999 produced the book The Reform ofthe Papacy: The Costly Call to Christian Unity, a more in-depth exploration of the

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WINTER 2001