[4] He later returned to the continental United States to study at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, where he earned a Doctor of Canon Law degree in 1937.
[2] During his tenure in Ponce, McManus became an outspoken critic of Luis Muñoz Marín, who served as Governor of Puerto Rico from 1949 to 1965.
[2] In 1958, he feuded with Muñoz Marín over his program to crack down on gambling, including bingo games for the support of parish churches.
[2] In 1960, after the Legislative Assembly failed to pass a law allowing religious instruction for schoolchildren, McManus said that the administration of Muñoz Marín was "responsible for the moral evils that cloud and de-Christianize our society.
[7] The party nominated Salvador Perea, a professor at the Pontifical Catholic University, as its candidate for governor, but was caught in a controversy over the validity of the signatures it collected to get on the ballot.
Cardinal Francis Spellman of New York declared that Puerto Rican voters would not be penalized by the Church, and Archbishop James P. Davis of San Juan defended the bishops.
"[6] As an auxiliary bishop, he served as pastor of St. Cecilia's Church in Manhattan (1964–1966)[8] and episcopal vicar of Sullivan and Ulster Counties, a post that he held until his retirement in 1970.