American Catholic Pacifism The Influence of Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement

Subjects:

• Religious Studies » Comparative Religion
• Political Science » Civil/Political/Human Rights
• History » American History -- 1900 to 1945

Awards:

• Pax Christi USA Book Award, 1997

Reviews:

• The essays here document the sources, origins, and consistent pacifism of the Catholic Worker, placing it in the context of the broader American pacifism scene and Catholic pacifism internationally....Runkel's archival guide is invaluable.
  —
  Choice

• Endorsement From David J. O'Brien, Loyola Professor of Roman Catholic Studies
  College of the Holy Cross: The editors bring together a wonderful set of essays on a subject often asserted but rarely examined seriously.... First-rate scholars provide new information on neglected aspects of the Catholic peace movement during World War II, the Cold War, and Vietnam. Others assess the significance of the Catholic wing on the wider peace movement. Presentation of the correspondence of Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton is the frosting on a rich cake of historical writing. A superb book for scholars and general readers interested in religion and public life and in the developing conscience of Americans on matters of war and violence.
• Endorsement From Marv Davidov, adjunct teacher
  St. Thomas University and St. Cloud State University
  Founder, The Honeywell Project: This is crucial reading for all students of social change. My experience as a college teacher is that the educational system in America has worked almost perfectly. The students, with few exceptions, are totally ignorant of the history of dissent in America. This book profoundly illuminates the seminal role played by Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker not only in the Church, but in the broader peace and justice movement.
• Endorsement From Lawrence S. Wittner, Professor of History
  State University of New York at Albany: A superb collection of articles and letters by distinguished scholars and leading activists. Beginning with World War I and concluding with the nuclear crisis of our own time, it illuminates key events in the history of the Catholic Worker movement, thereby providing important insights into the development of Catholic pacifism and the broader peace movement. All persons concerned with spiritual meaning and human survival will find it of great value.

Table of Contents:

• The Catholic Worker in the United States Peace Tradition, by Charles Chatfield
• The Radical Origins of Catholic Pacifism: Dorothy Day and the Lyrical Left during World War I, by Anne Klejment
• Catholic Peace Organizations and World War II, by Patricia McNeal
• Conscription and the Catholic Conscience in World War II, by Patrick G. Coy
• Prophecy Faces Tradition: The Pacifist Debate during World War II, by Francis J. Sicius
• The Catholic Worker and Peace in the Early Cold War Era, by Mel Piehl
• The Leaven, by James W. Douglass
• The Correspondence of Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton, compiled, introduced and edited by William H. Shannon
• The Struggle of the Small Vehicle, Pax, by Eileen Egan
• The Catholic Worker and the Vietnam War, by Anne Klejment and Nancy L. Roberts
• ANZUS Plowshares: A Nonviolent Campaign, by Ciaron O'Reilly
• The Catholic Worker and Peace: Resources in the Marquette University Archives, by Phillip M. Runkel
• Index