Cardinal James A. Hickey, former archbishop of Washington, who led the Roman Catholic Church in the nation's capital for two decades, died yesterday in a Washington nursing home. He was 84 and had been in worsening health for the past year, a diocese spokeswoman said.
One of 13 Americans in the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Hickey headed the Washington Diocese from 1980 to 2000. Born Oct. 11, 1920, in Midland, Mich., he was ordained a priest 58 years ago and became a cardinal in 1988, eight years after he became archbishop of Washington. On his selection as cardinal, he expressed humility and appreciation to the pope.
''In the years remaining for me, I shall strive to be a caring pastor, a faithful teacher, a loving father and brother and a true servant of the people of God in the District of Columbia and the five counties of Maryland," Cardinal Hickey said at the time. ''I am truly honored, very humbled, and deeply grateful that our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, has chosen me to serve as a cardinal of the church."
Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the current archbishop and Cardinal Hickey's friend for more than 40 years, said Cardinal Hickey's death was a ''poignant loss for the church of Washington and a personal loss for me."
McCarrick said that despite his illnesses, Cardinal Hickey ''continued to be a great inspiration to us all. . . .He was a great archbishop and a good and holy priest. We will all miss his smile and his wisdom very much."
Cardinal Hickey came to Washington with a reputation as an activist priest. He became a crucial figure in dealing with the government on issues affecting the church in Central America.
Two of four nuns killed in El Salvador in 1980, the year Hickey was brought to Washington, had been under his jurisdiction as bishop of Cleveland, and he had ridden in the van in which they were murdered.
President Reagan's secretary of state, Alexander Haig, said the four nuns were trying to run a roadblock when troops of El Salvador's right-wing government shot them. A 1993 UN report on human rights abuses by that earlier Salvadoran government called Haig's statement ''totally outrageous."
Also in 1980, Cardinal Hickey attended the tumultuous funeral of his friend, assassinated Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero, whose death precipitated a 12-year civil war that ended in 1992.
Cardinal Hickey began his activist career ministering to immigrants in the Saginaw, Mich., area, said the cardinal's longtime secretary, Monsignor Kevin T. Hart.
''He will be remembered for his work with the poor," said Hart, pastor of St. Ann's Catholic Church in Washington.
Cardinal Hickey lobbied for increased spending to aid the poor, tried to persuade members of Congress to stop giving aid to the Nicaraguan Contras in the 1980s, and pushed for bishops to take strong stands in favor of nuclear disarmament and against increased military spending.
In his diocese, he established a center for the area's large Hispanic population and expanded Catholic Social Services greatly, to serve not only the poor of inner-city Washington but people in rural areas of southern Maryland, said Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport, Conn., a close aide and confidante.
Lori said Cardinal Hickey opened, expanded, and strengthened Catholic schools; set up networks for health care and legal aid for the poor; and established 10 new parishes.
Church people considered Cardinal Hickey farsighted in dealing with abusive priests, a problem that grew rapidly around the country during his tenure in Washington.
''The cardinal dealt with it forthrightly and upfront in the '90s," Lori said. ''He handled everything thoroughly and publicly, much according to the standards that would be expected today."
Among his innovations were establishment of a review board and a policy not to return abusive priests to ministry. The Rev. Stephen Rossetti, who heads a treatment center in Silver Spring, Md., for abusive priests, said Cardinal Hickey was ''a man of integrity. . . he lived what he preached."
A Mass will be celebrated Saturday at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Gibbs said a public viewing will be scheduled this week.
