OBITUARIES / PASSINGS / Rev. Robert J. Cornell

The Rev. Robert J. Cornell, 89, a Wisconsin Democrat who was one of only two Roman Catholic priests to serve as voting members of Congress, died Sunday at St. Norbert Abbey in De Pere, Wis.

A Norbertine priest, Cornell served two terms in the House of Representatives from Wisconsin’s 8th District. A Democrat, he was defeated for reelection in 1978. His plans to run again in 1980 ended when Pope John Paul II issued a ban on priests serving in elective office. The ban also ended the career of the Rev. Robert J. Drinan, a Massachusetts Democrat who served five terms in Congress.

In Congress, Cornell served on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee and the Education and Labor Committee. He worked to reform the welfare system and to provide additional benefits for veterans of the Vietnam War.

Cornell was born Dec. 16, 1919 in Gladstone, Mich. He earned his bachelor’s degree at St. Norbert College in De Pere and a master’s and doctorate at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He was ordained a priest in 1944.

After teaching at the high school level, Cornell became a history professor and dean of students at St. Norbert College. His writings include “The Anthracite Coal Strike of 1902,” a book that focused on President Theodore Roosevelt’s role in the historic labor action.

Last year, Wisconsin’s Green Bay Press-Gazette noted that Cornell was also a rock music promoter during his early years at St. Norbert College, bringing in talent for dances at the school. He also arranged big band concerts in Green Bay.