A Fighter Bows Out

Lawrence Cardinal Shehan, 76, is a slight (5 ft. 5 in.), self-effacing prelate who as Archbishop of Baltimore has been a tenacious fighter for liberal causes. Named to the diocese in 1961, Shehan issued, a year later, a blunt pastoral letter demanding the end of racial discrimination in all phases of Catholic life. He lent personal weight to his words by joining Martin Luther King's 1963 march on Washington. When Pope Paul VI named him cardinal in 1965, Shehan viewed the honor as a papal endorsement of "racial justice." But he was not always so heartily endorsed at home; testifying in favor of open housing in 1966, he was booed and jeered. His own mounting concern about the war in Viet Nam finally grew into an angry 1971 declaration that the conflict was "a scandal the Christian conscience can no longer endure."

Last week word came from Rome that Pope Paul VI had accepted the cardinal's resignation as archbishop, tendered last year when Shehan reached the recommended retirement age of 75. Baltimore's new archbishop will be Bishop William Borders, 60, of Orlando, Fla., a prelate known for his programs to help migrant workers and other poor. Shehan will remain a cardinal for the rest of his life.

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