John Anthony Hardon (June 18, 1914 – December 30, 2000) was an American Jesuit priest, writer, teacher and theologian. As a beatification process was opened for him in 2005, he is recognized by the Catholic Church as a Servant of God.
Early life
John Hardon was born on June 18, 1914, to John and Anna Hardon in Midland, Pennsylvania. When he was a year old, John Hardon Sr. died in an industrial accident. After the accident, Hardon was raised by his 26-year-old mother Anna (née Jevin) Hardon. The two moved to Cleveland, Ohio. Hardon later recalled that they only spoke Slav at home. He contrasted it to English which he believed was "the worst language in the world to try to talk Catholicism in."
Hardon was Anna's only child, and she supported him by cleaning offices in Cleveland, often working nights. Janaro reports that as a child Hardon was "willful and self-possessed; he was determined that no one was going to tell him what to do";
At age six, John Hardon received religious instruction from a Sister Benedicta. She told her students "Whatever you ask Our Lord on your First Communion day, you will receive."
Unwilling to leave Anna on her own, Hardon decided not to pursue the priesthood immediately after high school. Instead, "with the help of savings his mother had put aside specifically for his future", he attended John Carroll University in Cleveland.
Hardon later confessed to LeMay that he felt he had abandoned his mother. LeMay told him "John, you belong in the Society of Jesus. What you are experiencing is a temptation. Put it out of your mind." That same year, Hardon received a papal medal.
Teaching
After receiving his doctorate in 1951, Hardon petitioned the Jesuits to send him to Japan as a missionary. However, due to his chronic asthma, the Jesuits instead assigned him to the faculty of West Baden College, teaching theology to Jesuit students. He pronounced his final vows to the Jesuits on February 2, 1953, including the Fourth vow to the pope. He later worked for the Congregations for the Clergy in Rome to implement these reforms. His book Protestant Churches in America (1956) received critical acclaim in both Catholic and Protestant circles. It was followed by Religions of the World (1963).
Hardon's most notable publication was Catholic Catechism: A Contemporary Catechism of the Catholic Church (1975). Paul VI was displeased with doctrinal errors in the controversial Dutch Catechism, published in 1966. In line with his letter Solemni Hac Liturgia (Credo of the people of God), the pope requested that Hardon produce a new English catechism. Hardon also wrote articles for Catholic newspapers and magazines and served as executive editor of The Catholic Faith magazine. In 1971, Pope Paul VI asked Abbot Ugo Modotti to increase Catholic evangelism through print, film, radio and television. Hardon told an interviewer in 2003 that, [date inconsistent - Hardon died in 2000]