Nuns and priests were MAJOR civil rights activists in the South

Nuns and priests were MAJOR civil rights activists in the South

I grew up 20 miles South of Atlanta. My family's homes (Grandma's and ours) were on property by what had been 'Rough and Ready' during the civil war. We lived just 2 or 3 miles South of Hapeville and the busy, prosperous Ford Motors assembly plant (long shut down, alas). Many of the people who worked at the plant were from up North and were catholic. During the late 1950s mid to late 1960s the South was roiling with the Civil Rights movement. In my elementary school, especially during Kennedy's few short years, Father Roche the parish priest (who had served as a Marine during WWII) was often preaching brotherhood and preaching against segregation. Through my elementary school years the taught us good history and we learned about slavery. There was no question we were being taught to learn tolerance and understanding by some very good people. One kid's parents pulled him out of school because they didn't like what little Joseph was learning. Some of our parish funds went to provide a few scholarships for black children from 'across the tracks.'

I'll never forget the Sisters of Mercy (mother house in Pennsylvania). They understood when some of us -like me- came from troubled families and they'd try to help us. And sometimes during springtime, we'd have our school lunches as picnics outside. A couple of the nuns played guitars. the first time I heard Bob Dylan's "Blowin in the Wind" it was sung by a nun. And we all learned it and sang along to that and "Michael, Row the Boat Ashore."

I am so grateful for my Catholic educational foundation. Later,after the first year of high school, my sister and I got rebellious and insisted on going to the public high school. Our grandparents agreed because the high school was 'good' and there would be little or no tuition. (We were out of district, anyway.) That was the biggest mistake i ever made. In the public school there was no discipline and next to no oversight from the school teachers or principal. Kids could easily get away with skipping classes, even the 'rest of the afternoon' and all sorts of things which turned out to hurt us.

I first heard the name Daniel Berrigan from a dear friend who remained in catholic school. I was already an anti-war activist but I didn't kbow about the Berrigan brothers except they had a reputation.

Can anybody here tell me about the Berrigan brothers? How about Father Thomas Merton? (I know next to nothing about him.) An early 1970s friend of mine who had served in Army Intelligence had told me on a brief mention that there had been a 'pressing reason' for the US to issue 'executive action' orders on Thomas Merton.Merton was 'old' when he died so there probably wasn't anything to my friend's allegation. I don't know much. However that friend died mysteriously -for a young person in his mid 30s - in 1978. I want to know more. On D.U. there is always somebody who knows deep info. :)

step waaaaaaaaaaay back from 'the google' and wikipedia'. Go to a GOOD library and look up Merton, while you still can.

IF, after some effort, you don't find anything (unlikely if you TRULY tried), please don't hesitate to PM me.

What I am asking for is the kind of insights which veteran Democratic Underground 'deep scholars' often supply. That beats the heck out of 'Wikipedia.'

Thomas Merton, O.C.S.O. (January 31, 1915 – December 10, 1968) was a 20th century Anglo-American Catholic writer. A Trappist monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani, Kentucky, he was a poet, social activist and student of comparative religion. In 1949, he was ordained to the priesthood and given the name Father Louis.<1><2><3>

Merton wrote more than 70 books, mostly on spirituality, social justice and a quiet pacifism, as well as scores of essays and reviews, including his best-selling autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain (1948), which sent scores of disillusioned World War II veterans, students, and even teen-agers flocking to monasteries across the US,<4><5> and was also featured in National Review's list of the 100 best non-fiction books of the century.<6> Merton was a keen proponent of interfaith understanding. He pioneered dialogue with prominent Asian spiritual figures, including the Dalai Lama, D.T. Suzuki, the Japanese writer on the Zen tradition, and the Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh. Merton has also been the subject of several biographies.


More at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Merton

Merton also wrote extensively to and about JFK and his peace overtures to both Nikita Khrushchev and Fidel Castro. This is outlined in the book, "JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters".

I didn't know either had had children. Great to know. *smiling*

These are his collections from Taoism and the early Christian desert fathers

Dan Berrigan wrote a play ("The Catonsville Nine"? "Trial of the Catonsville Nine"?) based on the anti-war activists' trial: it's as good an intro as any

As were Jews, ppl of color, and of course gay ppl and those of other religion, but many if not most "out of the mainstream" ppl supported civil rights.

So of course they stood up for civil rights for all... well, maybe not "all."

Forgive my cynical view, but those who once did right, then did wrong (covering up child molestation, etc) are not elevated based on their honorable past if they furthered human suffering afterwards.

Of course, I tend to think all religion, regardless of theory, is nonsense. If you think differently, great. I'm not trying to fight.

I know that Bishops in some dioceses were accessories after the fact. New Orleans had inherited an Archbishop from Boston who'd been involved in the scandal. Before he came we had the Honorable Archbishop Philip Hannan who'd delivered the sermon/eulogy at JFK's funeral.

I am not now a practicing Catholic. During the years we lived in New Orleans I attended a few masses. But I had also went to African American Spiritualist Churches' far more often. We attended Anglican churches which had separated from American Episcopalian churches.

The Catholic Church establishment has had a bunch of troubles which stemmed from their celibacy policy. The celibacy doctrine is not based in Scripture as most of us know, It came about because the Church Militant had experienced some 'property' disputes related to priests having children.

The Catholic church has had a pedophile problem in the modern age because a few candidates for the priesthood who were homosexual took the vows of celibacy. Before anybody jumps at that investigate the figures, most of the cases against the church weren't about heterosexual kiddy diddling. Nor were most of those kids under puberty age. They were usually 12 to 16, and male.

It's not my business to dictate doctrine to the catholic Church. They will solve this problem or they won't. I see it as a problem of MALE SEXUALITY. It's about MALES who can't control their 'lust' not about religion per se.

In the secular non-religious world as well as in churches, mthe profligate sexuality and lack of control of males is what mainly causes problems. You can clim the catholic Church has pedophiles. But so do families with stepfathers. Stepfathers being about 4 or 5 times more likely to molest children than their natural fathers.

I probably wouldn't be the liberal I am without my Catholic education.