THE ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE OF NEW YORK AND THE PUERTO RICAN MIGRATION, 1950-1973: A SOCIOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL ANALYSIS

In this dissertation, the organized institutional response of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York to the Puerto Rican migrant community from 1950 to 1973 is examined. The dissertation is composed of a preface, an introduction and seven additional chapters. The following areas are addressed: the Puerto Rican migration as a new challenge to the Roman Catholic Church in New York; the use of a typological approach in contemporary sociology of religion in the United States, Latin America and the Netherlands; the history of the Roman Catholic Church before the Puerto Rican migration--from an ethnic village mentality to the strongly unified urban institution it became during Archbishop John Hughes\u27 episcopacy; the need of the Catholic Church in New York to become a missionary church in its response to the Puerto Ricans; and the nature of the response in terms of organized mechanisms and key personalities. This response poses three basic questions concerning the perception and response to a problem, and the evaluation of the response. In order to address these questions, data is drawn from: historical treatises, speeches, official and pastoral letters, chancery newsletters, official minutes of meetings, conclusions of conferences and other related materials such as interviews with persons related to the Archdiocesan Office for the Spanish-Speaking Apostolate during the period under study. This dissertation goes beyond a mere reporting of historical data and identifies a methodology whereby the nature of the response and its results may be understood and evaluated in terms of its effectiveness. Specifically, an answer is sought to the following question: Which of the typological approaches currently used to study the Catholic Church best helps to interpret the response of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York to the Puerto Rican presence in New York City, to assess its effectiveness apostolically and to reveal its meaning sociologically? This produces an evaluation, not only of the reasons for the establishment of a special office in the chancery and innovative modes of clergy preparation, but to an evaluation of the typologies themselves and ultimately to the construction of a new typology to analyze the institutional response to the Puerto Rican migration