Father John F. Cronin was a member of the Sulpician order of Roman Catholic priests. Cronin joined in a struggle to keep Communists out of organized labor in Baltimore, Maryland, during the Second World War, and in doing so established connections with the FBI. Afterward, the American bishops asked him to write a report on the Communist Party. In February 1947, Cronin met Representative Richard M. Nixon and became an unofficial adviser and one of his chief speechwriters. In the 1950s and 1960s, Cronin helped the American bishops respond to rising racial tensions.