God and Mammon in Chicago

Cardinal Cody's finances are under investigation

John Cardinal Cody, 73, has aroused passionate reactions ever since he was appointed Archbishop of Chicago in 1965. His detractors found him cold, arrogant and aloof, given to acting arbitrarily without consulting lower church officials. His supporters praised his generally strong record on civil rights and his relatively efficient administration of the nation's largest Roman Catholic archdiocese (2.4 million members).

But friends and foes alike were shocked by allegations last week that Cody diverted up to $1 million in tax-free church funds to enrich a longtime friend, Helen Dolan Wilson, 74. The Chicago Sun-Times, which had been...