Generation gap
Cardinal Maida and Bishop Flores grew up in very different times, but a shared faith
Joe Kohn of The Michigan Catholic
Published December 8, 2006
You want to get a sense of diversity when it comes to bishops in the United States? Detroit's your town, then.
Not only does the Archdiocese of Detroit have cultural diversity in its episcopal ranks – including one of 14 black U.S. bishops (retired Auxiliary Bishop Moses Anderson), and Michigan's only Hispanic bishop – it also now has the country's youngest bishop, Bishop Daniel Flores, and its oldest serving archbishop, Cardinal Adam Maida.
 Bishop Flores
When born: USSR detonated 50-megaton hydrogen bomb during Cold War.
Popular candy when child: Country Store Taffy, bubble gum cigarettes, Swedish Fish
Possible first car: Buick Century or Oldsmobile Cutlass
Popular film when teenager: "Rocky" staring Sylvester Stallone
Popular personalities: Jack Nicholson, Johnny Carson
Trends in teens: Ant farms, monster trucks and arcade games
| "I am young, though not as young as I used to be," Bishop Flores said upon first announcing his appointment to Detroit in October. "And I have a great deal to learn about how to serve the people of this archdiocese wisely and well."
In Cardinal Maida, he has a seasoned archbishop to learn from. Of course, the age gap between the two shepherds is 31 years. Cardinal Maida had been a priest for five years and received his licentiate in canon law before Bishop Flores was even born.
So the two bishops may notice some cultural differences between themselves.
For example, they grew up amid vastly different world events. When Cardinal Maida was born in 1930, the economy in the United States was in a dire state, and Nazis were gaining popularity in German elections. In contrast, Bishop Flores was born into a world in which Germans had just constructed the Berlin Wall, a decade and a half after World War II, and America's economy was more-or-less humming.
As cars are a big thing in the Motor City, it's also interesting to note what folks were driving.
If we go by the current Michigan legal driving age of 16, Cardinal Maida might have found a 1947 Chevy Fleetwood a suitable first car, or perhaps Jeep's very first all-steel station wagon. He could have worn his straw hat while driving (a popularly advertised product in 1947 editions of The Michigan Catholic).
Bishop Flores, on the other hand, could have found himself behind the wheel of a 1977 Buick Century or Oldsmobile Cutlass if he bought a new car at age 16 – something exceedingly less likely, even in the late 1970s, than it is now. The newest bishop could drive up to the roller rink or drive-in movie theatre, if he were one to follow trends.
What would he see at the theatre?
The movies of the year when Bishop Flores was a teenager were "The Sting" starring Paul Newman, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" with Jack Nicholson, and "Rocky" with Sylvester Stallone. In Cardinal Maida's youth, he might have seen "Going My Way" starring Bing Crosby, "The Lost Weekend" with Ray Milland, and "The Best Years of Our Lives" with Myrna Loy.
Actually, though, both bishops likely would be more apt to catch a baseball game, based on their personal tastes.
Bishop Flores may be able to find some other common ground with Cardinal Maida, too, in terms of popular music.
"I like Big Band music from the 1940s," the new bishop wrote upon his introduction in the Archdiocese of Detroit. "I like to listen to (Frank) Sinatra, Dean Martin, Peggy Lee and Harry Connick, Jr."
Cardinal Maida
When born: Great Depression era. Stamps were 2 cents.
Popular candy when child: Root beer barrels, Necco Wafers, Rock Candy Crystals
Possible first car: '47 Chevy Fleetwood
Popular film when teenager: "Going My Way" starring Bing Crosby
Popular personalities: Jack Benny, Jimmy Stewart and Abbot & Costello
Trends in teens: Movies, comic books and soda fountains | Those are artists Cardinal Maida is sure to recall, even with his partiality toward the classical music genre.
It's not as though Bishop Flores and Cardinal Maida are from different worlds. In fact, as long as they've both been around, Americans have been trying to look beyond the world. When Cardinal Maida was born, the "planet" Pluto was first discovered. In the year of Bishop Flores' birth, Russians had sent its first astronaut into orbit, and the United States had sent its first astronaut into space. Money's changed, too. From the price of stamps (2 cents when Cardinal Maida was born; 4 cents when Bishop Flores was born), to the amount of federal spending – from $3.32 billion at Cardinal Maida's birth to $97.72 billion at Bishop Flores' birth.
One thing, however, has not changed since Christ's coming 2000 years ago and will not change until the Lord comes again – the bishops will dedicate their lives, whether they've been longer or shorter, to build up the Body of Christ on earth.
"I look forward to learning from you how best to serve," Bishop Flores said in his introductory press conference in Detroit. "I happily dedicate myself to working with you and your auxiliary bishops, your priests, the deacons, religious men and women, and all the faithful of the archdiocese for the up-building of this local Church."
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