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He returned to Rome in 1962 as an adviser to the Second Vatican Council, especially on relations with non-Catholic Christians and Jews. The U.S. bishops were the first national hierarchy to launch a successful ecumenical commission, with Baum as executive director. He became bishop of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, Mo., in 1970, and Archbishop of Washington three years later. Baum got off on the wrong foot when he bought a $525,000 suburban mansion to live in. After protests, he acquired more modest quarters. Though he issued a fervent pastoral letter denouncing racism as heresy and was praised for his evangelism and support of the arts, the Cardinal seemed ill at ease as an administrator and public figure in a sophisticated and complex diocese like Washington.
At the Vatican, the cultured and ecumenical Cardinal may prove just what the Pope wants in Catholic education, since he will treat non-Catholics as friends rather than enemies and will clarify differences. Baum believes that today ecumenism must be an "intrinsic part" of any modern priest's training. "I consider unity to be the will of the Lord, as expressed in his prayer at the Last Supper, 'that they may all be one, even as Thou, Father, art in me and I in Thee.' "