Hi seedy:
Thanks for the interesting question.
The good news: I don't believe your sanity needs to be called into
question. :-)
The bad news: I think you are a little off on some of your details.
I'm fairly certain that the priest you are remembering was Fr. Charles
E. Coughlin, the founder of the National Union for Social Justice
(Union Party). His very disturbing views were broadcast on national
radio from 1930 - 1942 (that is, before and during the war, not
after). At his zenith, Fr. Coughlin had an audience/membership of
nearly 40 million Americans.
The following sites back up this information. I have taken specific
quotes from these pages, but if you want more details, please read the
complete pages.
Father Charles E. Coughlin
URL: http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/coughlin.html
Quote: "Coughlin is of the Catholic faith, however over time there has
been much discussion on his adherence to several Catholic doctrines
for the clergy (in regards to the vow of poverty and celibacy
doctrines). He is most known for his highly anti-semitic views, in
which he claimed that Jewish manipulation of the economy was
responsible economic collapse of the 1930s on the Jewish. He claimed
that the Jewish controlled the economy and most businesses and that
the Jews had invested funds in foreign markets in order to create a
monetary shortage in the United States. Coughlin found himself on
opposing sides with president Roosevelt throughout his career,
ultimately leading to the founding of his own political partry, the
National Union for Social Justice. In a sermon delivered on Sunday,
November 11, 1934, Coughlin identifies his beliefs and the beliefs of
his organization."
Charles Edward Coughlin
URL: http://atheism.about.com/library/glossary/western/bldef_coughlincharles.htm
Quote: "Charles Edward Coughlin (1891-1979) was a Roman Catholic
priest who achieved a great deal of public notoriety through his
weekly radio program. According to Coughlin, whose greatest exposure
was during the Great Depression, most of the country's problems could
be attributed to godless communists and Jewish bankers - and,
unfortunately, American liberals like President Roosevelt were little
more than dupes for the communists and Jews."
Coughlin, Charles Edward
URL: http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/C/Coughlin.asp
Quote: "(kog´lin) , 1891-1979, Roman Catholic priest in the United
States, b. Ontario, Canada, grad. Univ. of Toronto, 1916. After study
at St. Michael's College, Toronto, he was ordained (1916) and became
(1926) pastor of the Shrine of the Little Flower at Royal Oak, Mich.
In the 1930s he made radio addresses in which he criticized such
diverse groups as U.S. bankers, trade unionists, and Communists. In
1934 he organized the National Union for Social Justice, which
denounced President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal policies and
advocated such measures as silver inflation as well as the
nationalizing of banks, utilities, and natural resources. Coughlin
also published a magazine, Social Justice, in which he expressed
pro-Nazi opinions and made increasingly anti-Semitic remarks directed
especially at Jewish members of Wall Street. The magazine was barred
from the mails by the U.S. government for violation of the Espionage
Act and ceased publication in 1942. Father Coughlin was meanwhile
silenced by his superiors but continued his parish duties."
Charles Edward Coughlin
URL: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAcoughlinE.htm
Quote: "Coughlin warned of the dangers of 'socialism, communism, and
kindred fallacious social and economic theories'. Like Pope Leo XIII,
Coughlin believed the best way of combating the appeal of these
ideologies was the introduction of reforms that would make America a
more equal society. This included industrialists paying their workers
a 'just and living wage' and 'providing old age compensation
insurance.' He also denounced the greed and corruption of America's
industrialists and warned about the dangers of the 'concentration of
wealth in the hands of the few.'"
Facing Anti-Semitism and American History
URL: http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/~hns/articles/2000/032700b.html
Quote: "But the United States has its own history of anti-Semitism. As
Adolf Hitler was rising to power in Germany, the United States was
producing its own anti-Semitic demagogues. One of the most popular of
these was Father Charles Coughlin, a Roman Catholic priest whose radio
programs attracted an estimated forty million listeners. Although he
did not start out as an anti-Semitic broadcaster, by the late 1930s he
was speaking out in support of the Nazis and blaming Jews for a host
of political and economic troubles."
The following site has some transcripts of some of his radio
addresses:
Father Coughlin & The Search For "Social Justice"
URL: http://www.ssa.gov/history/fcspeech.html
More information on the National Union for Social Justice can be found
at:
National Union of Social Justice
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAnationunionsocial.htm
The following book also treats this subject:
Radio Priest: Charles Coughlin, the Father of Hate Radio
URL: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0684824035/002-9839868-4982404?vi=glance
I found no concrete connection with St. Louis (Fr. Coughlin's parish
was in the Detroit area), nor was he ever ex-communicated (though he
was severely censured).
I hope this information helps with your research.
If you need any clarification of the information I have provided,
please ask using the clarification feature and provide me with
additional details as to what you are looking for. As well, please
allow me to provide you with clarification(s) *before* you rate this
answer.
Thank you.
websearcher-ga
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