Bishop Paul Moore
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Paul Moore Jr. (November 15, 1919 – May 1, 2003) was a
bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
of the Episcopal Church and former
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
officer. He served as the 13th Bishop of New York from 1972 to 1989. During his lifetime, he was perhaps the best known Episcopal cleric in the United States, and among the best known of Christian clergy in any denomination.


Career

Paul Moore was a graduate of St. Paul's School and
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
, where, like his
father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fat ...
, he was a member of
Wolf's Head Society Wolf's Head Society is a senior secret society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The society is one of the "Big Three" societies at Yale, along with Skull and Bones and Scroll and Key. Active undergraduate membership is elected annual ...
. He had been president of the Berkeley Association, the Episcopal student group, and a
Boy Scout A Scout, Boy Scout, Girl Scout or, in some countries, a Pathfinder is a participant in the Scout Movement, usually aged 10–18 years, who engage in learning scoutcraft and outdoor and other special interest activities. Some Scout organizatio ...
leader at Yale. He was a member of one of America's richest families. Moore was senior fellow on the
Yale Corporation The Yale Corporation, officially The President and Fellows of Yale College, is the governing body of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Assembly of corporation The Corporation comprises 19 members: * Three ex officio members: the Preside ...
from the mid-1960s through the presidential administration of
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
. Moore joined the Marine Corps in 1941. He was a highly decorated Marine Corps captain, a veteran of the
Guadalcanal Campaign The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by the United States, was an Allies of World War II, Allied offensive against forces of the Empire of Japan in the Solomon Islands during th ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
earning the Navy Cross, a Silver Star and a Purple Heart. Returning home after the War, Moore was ordained in 1949 after graduating from the
General Theological Seminary The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church (GTS) is an Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal seminary in New York City. Founded in 1817, GTS is the oldest seminary of the Episcopal Church and the longest continuously operating ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. Moore was named rector of
Grace Church Van Vorst The Grace Church Van Vorst, is located in Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 1, 1979. The church was built in 1853 and was named after the former Van ...
, an inner city parish in
Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous
, in the former township of Van Vorst, where he served from 1949 to 1957. There he began his career as a social activist, protesting inner city housing conditions and racial discrimination. He and his colleagues reinvigorated their inner city parish and were celebrated in the Church for their efforts. In 1957, he was named Dean of Christ Church Cathedral in Indianapolis, Indiana. Moore introduced the conservative Midwestern capital to social activism through his work in the inner city. Moore served in Indianapolis until he was elected
Suffragan Bishop A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led b ...
of
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, in 1964. During his time in Washington he became nationally known as an advocate of civil rights and an opponent of the Vietnam War. He knew
Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...
, and marched with him in Selma and elsewhere. In 1970, he was elected as coadjutor and successor to Bishop
Horace Donegan Horace William Baden Donegan (May 17, 1900 – November 11, 1991) was a bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America and served as the Bishop of New York from 1950 to 1972. Early life Donegan was born at Cordella, the ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. He was installed as
Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
of the
Diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...
of New York in 1972 and held that position until 1989. Throughout the 1970s, Moore oversaw the New York Diocese's covert (and likely unwitting) support of the FALN, a terrorist group operating in the city in support of Puerto Rican independence. FALN members received tens of thousands of dollars from the Diocese and were allowed to utilize church property, including a safehouse in
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. When
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agents began to investigate FALN's ties to the Episcopal Church, Moore directed legal resources to stymie the effort, denouncing the investigation as a ploy to prevent "the church from funding progressive Hispanic groups." Moore was widely known for his
liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...
activism. Throughout his career he spoke out against homelessness and racism. He was an effective advocate of the interests of cities, once calling the corporations abandoning New York "rats leaving a sinking ship". He was the first Episcopal bishop to ordain an openly homosexual woman,
Ellen Barrett Ellen Marie Barrett (born February 10, 1946) is an American priest of the Episcopal Church. She was the first open lesbian to be ordained to the priesthood following the Episcopal Church's General Convention approval of the ordination of women in ...
as a
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
in the church. In his book, ''Take a Bishop Like Me'' (1979), he defended his position by arguing that many priests were homosexuals but few had the courage to acknowledge it. His liberal political views were coupled with fierce traditionalism when it came to the liturgy and even the creed. In his writings and sermons he sometimes described himself as "born again", referring to his awakening to a fervent Christocentric faith as a boarding school student. By birth, by inherited wealth, by friendships and career success, Moore was an acknowledged member of what was often called the "Liberal Establishment", a group that included
Kingman Brewster Kingman Brewster Jr. (June 17, 1919 – November 8, 1988) was an American educator, academic and diplomat. He served as the 17th president of Yale University and as United States ambassador to the United Kingdom. Early life Brewster was born i ...
and
Cyrus Vance Cyrus Roberts Vance (March 27, 1917January 12, 2002) was an American lawyer and diplomat who served as the 57th United States Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1980. Prior to serving in that position, he was the United ...
, along with many other graduates of
Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...
. He wrote three books: ''The Church Reclaims the City'' (1965), ''Take a Bishop Like Me'' (1979), and, after his retirement, ''Presences: A Bishop's Life in the City'' (1997), a memoir.


Personal life

In 1944, while in the Marine Corps, Moore married Jenny McKean a daughter of Bohemian privilege reared on the North Shore of Boston and educated at
Madeira School The Madeira School (simply referred to as Madeira School or Madeira) is an elite, Private school, private, Day school, day and Boarding school, boarding college-preparatory school for Single-sex education, girls in McLean, Virginia, United States ...
,
Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...
and
Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...
. (Her mother was Margarett Sargent McKean, a noted painter in the
Ashcan School The Ashcan School, also called the Ash Can School, was an artistic movement in the United States during the late 19th-early 20th century that produced works portraying scenes of daily life in New York, often in the city's poorer neighborhoods. T ...
and a follower of George Luks.) Together they had nine children (and, at his death, many grandchildren). Jenny McKean Moore published a well reviewed account of their decade together in the slums of Jersey City under the title ''The People on Second Street'' (1968). During that time the family lived in the tenement-like rectory of Grace van Vorst Church on Second Street in Jersey City (now called in his honor, Bishop Paul Moore Place). Jenny McKean Moore died of colon cancer in 1973. Eighteen months later Moore married Brenda Hughes Eagle, a childless widow twenty two years his junior. She died of alcoholism in 1999. It was she who discovered his bisexual infidelity, around 1990, and made it known to his children, who kept the secret, as he had asked them to, until
Honor Moore Honor Moore (born October 28, 1945) is an American writer of poetry, creative nonfiction and plays. She currently teaches at The New School in the MFA program for creative nonfiction, where she is a part-time associate teaching professor. ''The ...
's revelations in 2008.
Honor Moore Honor Moore (born October 28, 1945) is an American writer of poetry, creative nonfiction and plays. She currently teaches at The New School in the MFA program for creative nonfiction, where she is a part-time associate teaching professor. ''The ...
, the oldest of the Moore children and a
bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...
, revealed that her father was himself bisexual with a history of affairs with men in a story she wrote about him in the March 3, 2008 issue of ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'' and in the book ''The Bishop's Daughter: A Memoir'' (W. W. Norton, 2008). In addition, she described a call she received six months after her father's death from a man, identified in the article by a pseudonym, who was the only person named in Moore's will who was unknown to the family. Honor Moore learned from the man that he had been her father's longtime lover and that they had traveled together to Patmos in Greece and elsewhere.; Schuessler, Jennifer. "Her Father, His Secrets, Herself", ''New York Times.'' May 23, 2008. In 2018, Bishop Andrew Dietsche, Moore's successor at the helm of the Diocese of New York, released a pastoral letter describing the late Paul Moore Jr. as a "serial predator" who engaged in "long-time patterns" of sexual exploitation and abuse. One priest described himself as having been "one of Paul Moore's boys" when he was younger, and that the bishop's abuse "nearly ruined islife." Moore's daughter, Honor Moore, objected to the label of "sexual predator", arguing that he lived as a gay man in a period of "unfortunate boundaries."


Awards and honors

In 1991 he received the Four Freedoms Award for the Freedom of Worship.


References


External links and other sources


The New York Times article by Ari L. GoldmanNational Review articleThe New Yorker, Honor Moore
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Paul Jr. American LGBTQ military personnel United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II Episcopal bishops of New York American bisexual men LGBTQ Anglican clergy LGBTQ people from New Jersey Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) Recipients of the Silver Star St. Paul's School (New Hampshire) alumni United States Marine Corps officers 1919 births 2003 deaths Moore family Writers from Indianapolis Yale University alumni Cathedral of St. John the Divine