DuBay first stepped into the public eye in 1964 after he publicly denounced his superior, Cardinal James Francis McIntyre, and asked that Pope Paul VI strip McIntyre of his title. The issue at hand was civil rights: according to DuBay, McIntyre was unfit to preside over the racially diverse Los Angeles Archdiocese because of his indifferent attitude toward racial injustice and his refusal to oppose California Proposition 14, a ballot initiative that aimed to repeal fair housing legislation that had been implemented in the state the previous year. The file includes 69 telegrams addressed to DuBay that commend his criticism of McIntyre and his commitment to the civil rights movement.