It was a gathering of fourteen immigrants who are Catholic Workers who inspired this article. These men were paid so little–$15.00 to $20.00 per week in their countries–that they were forced to migrate to survive. The response from new arrivals who have worked for foreign companies in their countries is always the same: “Either we have a place to… continue reading
The Common Good and the Body of Christ: St. Thomas Aquinas and the Catholic Worker Movement
November 1, 1997 by
This is the thirteenth article in the series on the saints and philosophers who influenced Peter Maurin and Dorothy in the development of the Catholic Worker movement. The Catholic Worker is neither liberal nor conservative. As the editors of the Houston Catholic Worker have insisted with determined constancy, the Catholic Worker embodies the radical discipleship… continue reading
The Roots of Dorothy Day’s Pacifism:Solidarity, Compassion and a Stubborn Hold on Truth
October 1, 1997 by
There has been one systematic study of Dorothy Day’s pacifism and that of the Catholic Worker movement, Robert Gilliam’s “Put Up Your Sword: the Pacifism of Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker,” an excellent unpublished 180 page manuscript. It would be folly for me to trace the development of Dorothy Day’s thinking on war and… continue reading
Dorothy Day, Prophet of Pacifism for the Catholic Church
October 1, 1997 by
One of Dorothy Day’s great gifts to the Catholic Church and to the United States was her drawing together of Catholic biblical and theological resources to establish pacifism and conscientious objection as a legitimate stance for Catholics and for Americans. Today this is not just a teaching of Dorothy Day. The U. S. Catholic Bishops… continue reading
The Sacrament of the Poor
August 1, 1997 by
T.J., a native Texan (Brownsville) and a lawyer (U.T.) spent several months at Casa Juan Diego as part of his Jesuit novitiate. The Southern Jesuit province is restoring the original Ignatian practice of having novices live poorly with the poor. Casa Juan Diego qualifies as a site for this experience! “And the King will answer,… continue reading
How to be a Christian in a Non-Christian World: Is there a Lay Theology?
June 1, 1997 by
It happened again, and as usual we had become upset and angry. An immigrant just asked us for the upteenth time, “Marcos, usted es un sacerdote y Luisa una monja?” (Mark, are you a priest and Louise a nun?) “No! No!” We say for the upteenth time. “Somos laicos.” We are lay people. And if they insist, we say… continue reading
Stop the Deportations of Immigrants and Refugees! Catholic Church says Deportation is Serious Sin
June 1, 1997 by
Sara and her Baby Sara Rodriguez was deported to El Salvador without her baby. She, like all women in the Houston area about to be deported, was imprisoned in the Liberty County jail many miles away and without representation. All that was needed was for someone to take the child to the Salvadoran Consulate to… continue reading
