Coughlin Retorts Sharply to Cardinal Mundelein’s Rebuke on Radio Talks

Father Charles E. Coughlin replied sharply and briefly today to a statement by Cardinal Mundelein which declared that the priest was not authorized to speak for the Catholic Church. He stated: “Father Coughlin is in agreement with the Cardinal when he says that Father Coughlin does not speak for the Catholic Church. No priest speaks for the whole church, on bishop speaks for the whole church, and no Cardinal speaks for the whole church. Only the Pope speaks for the church.”

The statement of Cardinal Mundelein, who returned from Rome recently, was read over the stations of the National Broadcasting Company yesterday by Bishop Barnard J. Sheil, Vicar General and Senior Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago, after Father Coughlin’s address. Bishop Sheil said to the radio audience: “His Emince, George Cardinal Mundelein of Chicago having been importuned by news commentators and correspondents from every section of the country in reference to the broadcasts of Father Coughlin of Detroit, makes the following statement: ‘As an American citizen, Father Coughlin has the right to express his personal views on current events, but he is not authorized to speak for the Catholic Church, nor does he does he represent the doctrine or sentiments of the church.'”