Cushing could not have gotten out of the Seminary in those days without being conversant in Latin - no way. He probably graduated in the 1920s.
This I know. When Cardinal Cushing spoke the Mass no person who was fluent in Latin knew what he was saying. They knew what he was supposed to be saying. Big difference.
This I know. You may not have understood Cushing. You cannot speak for others. My father was totally amazed that someone would assert that Cushing didn't speak Latin - and he was around him quite a bit, and was, in fact, confirmed by Cushing. Didn't you use your missal during Mass to follow the Latin?
Your father is right in that Cardinal Cushing spoke like a machine gun. It was difficult to keep up with him when he was speaking in his "native" Bostonese. He is the one who taught the "faithful" how to "speed talk". He could say the whole Mass and have the congregation out, and the parking lot emptied in 1/2 hour. He would then rush to Suffolk Downs.
I didn't say my father said that Cushing spoke like a machine gun - you did. In fact, I have heard Cushing speak via tapes - he had a Boston accent, yes, but drew out his words - my feeling when hearing the tapes was "get on with it!" - BTW, Cushing supported the racetracks because of the money that some of the founders of the tracks donated to projects of Cushing's - like hospitals. And at the time that racing was legalized, it provided much needed relief in our area in the form of jobs. Cushing did say Mass on the raceway of several local tracks, if that is what you mean.
You know we love bingo ;-)