This week in Christian history: Thomas Coke dies, first Christian school in Montreal, Father Coughlin silenced

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Twitter

Father Coughlin ordered to stop political activism – May 1, 1942

Father Charles Coughlin (1891–1979), a popular politically outspoken Roman Catholic priest who garnered controversy for antisemitic views.
Father Charles Coughlin (1891–1979), a popular politically outspoken Roman Catholic priest who garnered controversy for antisemitic views. | Wikimedia Commons

This week marks the anniversary of when Father Charles Coughlin, a popular yet controversial Great Depression era Catholic radio personality, was ordered to halt his political activism.

A native of Ontario, Canada, Coughlin had a strong following in the United States, with the populist priest broadcasting political views that were sometimes antisemitic in nature.

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While initially a supporter of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, as the 1930s progressed, Coughlin shifted more to the political right and eventually opposed U.S. entry into World War II.

In 1942, the newly installed Detroit Archbishop Edward Mooney ordered Coughlin to refrain from political commentary or be defrocked as punishment. Coughlin would continue as a parish priest until retiring in 1966. He died in 1979.

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