[3] He remained in Rome for the next six years as a staff member of the North American College and an official of the Vatican Secretariat of State.

[1] In 1938, he earned a Doctor of Canon Law degree from the Pontifical Roman Athenaeum S. Apollinare, and was awarded the Benemerenti medal for his services to the Secretariat of State.

[2] Upon his return to the United States, Cody served as private secretary to Archbishop of St. Louis John J. Glennon until 1940, when he became chancellor of the Archdiocese of St.

According to James Ralph, he became an object of national attention as archbishop, due to his predecessor Joseph Rummel's efforts to desegregate the Catholic schools in the archdiocese.

This was one of the salient points in the encyclical, "Pacem in Terris.” The ecumenical council, showing to the world the spirit of unity and harmony among all Catholics, has been felt appreciably in the present racial crisis in our country.

Cody's time in Chicago was marked by strife and controversy, including federal investigations of financial improprieties and an ambiguous relationship with Helen Dolan Wilson, who was alleged to be his mistress.

Roy Larsen, the religion editor of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote:"Legally, the investigations by the paper and the federal prosecutors ended inconclusively.

Eight months before the first story was published, the US Attorney's office issued subpoenas to Cody and the archdiocese, but the information that was sought was never turned over to the government.

He was opposed to some of the decisions of Apostolic Delegate Jean Jadot and led a protest campaign against what he felt was his excessive progressivism and radicalism.

Cody did not budge and threatened to withdraw archdiocesan funds from the parish if the St Anthony statue was not returned to its place.

Eventually Cody did withdraw financial support from Clements' parish and they operated for a time via fundraisers and special appeals.