Cooney, John. The American Pope: The Life and Times of Francis Cardinal Spellman. New York: Times Books, 1984. 364 pages.

Author John Cooney interviewed dozens of priests who worked with Cardinal Spellman, many of whom would only speak on background. He also filed the usual FOIA requests with the FBI and State Department. The records of the Archdiocese of New York, where Spellman reigned for 28 years, are closed to researchers, but one priest slipped Cooney a copy of Spellman's diary. This is the first major biography of Spellman (1889-1967), who was a major figure in American politics during the first half of the Cold War.

A consummate politician, Spellman laid low at first and cultivated key people in Rome. After his friend Cardinal Pacelli became Pope Pius XII in 1939, Spellman was appointed an archbishop. During the war, he travelled to war zones and acted as FDR's secret agent. After the war he allied himself with Joseph McCarthy and Roy Cohn, and became a kingmaker in New York City politics. He continued to support U.S. military adventures by visiting the troops, attending Pentagon briefings, discussing strategy with generals, and gathering intelligence for the CIA and State Department. Were it not for Spellman's early (beginning in 1950) efforts to support Ngo Dinh Diem, South Vietnam's puppet government might not have emerged. Ultimately the Vatican became wary of Spellman's power. So did antiwar activists, who demonstrated against "Spellman's War" outside his residence and cathedral.
ISBN 0-8129-1120-2

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