I Am Your Brother Joseph: Cardinal Bernardin of Chicago

Christian Century, July 1, 1998 by Judith Anne Testa

By Tim Unsworth. Crossroad, 156 pp., $11.95 paperback.

Reading Tim Unsworth's unpretentious but intriguing little book is like listening to a colorful raconteur. Unsworth's memoir is a rambling, chatty, touching, sometimes humorous tribute to an extraordinary man. Although the author describes his anecdotes as the "small change" of Bernardin's Chicago years, he provides some fascinating revelations.

Unsworth begins with Bernardin's announcement in August 1996 that the cancer for which he had undergone treatment a year earlier had returned and was terminal; then he doubles back to the original surgery. The second chapter dips back even further, to relate how Unsworth and Bernardin got to know each other.

This engaging tale involves a chance meeting at a DePaul University commencement in 1976. It continues with Bernardin's waspish response to an open letter Unsworth published in 1982 addressed to the as yet unnamed archbishop of Chicago, and finally with a deliciously nervy dinner invitation issued to the new cardinal by Unsworth's wife, who happened to be sitting next to him at an archdiocesan committee meeting. The result was an annual dinner visit by Bernardin to the Unsworths' home, as well as a friendship between the two men. Although Unsworth describes getting to know the cardinal as "a heady experience," it was not one that turned his head. The book radiates the author's affection and regard for his subject without becoming adulatory or cloying.

Unsworth's formal manner, use of telling anecdotes, and inclusion of first-person incidents warms what could have been a rehash of well-known material, since the media covered the cardinal in detail during the weeks before and after his death. Unsworth's stories build up a picture of a warm, funny, modest man who was intelligent, shrewd, subtle and deeply spiritual. The author also characterizes the cardinal as a bit of a fusspot, capable of being "terminally prudent," "vague" and "pedantic." He refuses to turn his subject into a plaster saint.

Some of the book's funniest anecdotes probably originated with Bernardin himself--they are typical of his gently self-deflating humor. Others, more serious, show aspects of Bernardin that may come as a surprise--perhaps even a shock--to many readers. One such story concerns Bernardin's 1987 mention to a group of resigned priests that he too had several times thought of resignation, a most surprising admission from a man whom the priesthood seemed to fit like a glove. Although it would be interesting to learn what lay behind these personal crises, and how Bernardin resolved them, Unsworth offers no further details.

Despite Bernardin's public defense of the Catholic Church's refusal to ordain women, we learn from Unsworth that late in his life the cardinal had a change of heart. He told Sister Donna Quinn, a strong advocate of women's fights, "I personally favor the ordination of women," adding that "this is not the time." Even if made in private and with such a qualification this is a real bombshell. It would have been helpful if Unsworth had included the context in which Bernardin made the comment and, even more important, his source for such a controversial statement.

The chapter on Bernardin's last days opens with an affirmation of how much this man who so serenely accepted death enjoyed being alive. The author relates how Bernardin relished good food and wine, liked being recognized for his achievements, and enjoyed wearing stylish clothing. Unsworth describes Bernardin's "almost child-like glee" at being chosen to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the pleasure he took in telling his friends about it. The author informs us that for the cardinal's occasional excursions in nonclerical attire he wore elegant, beautifully tailored clothes. These and other details help create a warmly human portrait.

Even in his final chapter on Bernardin's wake and funeral, one of the most publicized in Chicago's history, Unsworth offers new or little-noticed details. Without speculating on the cardinal's motives, he notes Bernardin's decision to include the Windy City Gay Men's Chorus among the groups providing music at his wake. Describing Monsignor Kenneth Velo's funeral homily, which moved most listeners to laughter and applause, Unsworth observes that the front row of cardinals and senior bishops sat in stony silence, shocked by such a spontaneous outpouring of joyous emotions during a funeral liturgy.

The author also mentions the unique instance of a group of Reform rabbis conducting a Jewish memorial service in Holy Name Cathedral. He quotes Rabbi Byron Sherwin, who declared: "Had there been more people like [Bernardin] during the Holocaust, there would be many more... Jews alive today."

Here and there throughout his book the author uses the present tense when referring to the cardinal. This may be due to careless editing, but it gives the odd sense that, for Unsworth, Bernardin is still alive. Although Chicago now has a new cardinal-archbishop, Unsworth's endearing portrait should keep Bernardin's memory green.