Witness to Freedom: The Letters of Thomas Merton in Times of Crisis ed. by William H. Shannon

Abstract

BOOK REVIEWS 337 revealed a growing maturity" (p. 392). But why was he less mature in the later than the earlier of these two? In conclusion, read with caution. The question raised is important; let the reader decide whether Kennedy met the mark. Thomas R. Greene Villanova University Witness to Freedom: The Letters ofThomas Merton in Times ofCrisis. Selected and edited by William H. Shannon. [The Thomas Merton Letters Series,V] (NewYork: Farrar, Straus, Giroux. 1994. Pp. xiv, 352. $25.00.) With Witness to Freedom, the ten-year project of the publication ofThomas Meiton's correspondence draws to a close. This fifth volume of letters of the prolific Trappist completes a cycle that began with die publication of The Hidden Ground ofLove in 1985 and continued through The Road toJoy (1989), The School ofCharity (1990), and The Couragefor Truth (1993). Like the first volume in 1985, this last one is excellently edited by Monsignor William H. Shannon, who also served as general editor of the series. The most notable inclusion of writings in Witness to Freedom for most readers will be the "Cold War Letters" written by Merton during 1961-62 to a wide array of correspondents including Dorothy Day, Erich Fromm, Ethel Kennedy, and Clare Booth Luce. In all, there are 111 such dispatches that were put into mimeograph form and circulated for friendly eyes and hearts when some of the monk's monastic superiors objected to the publication of his controversial writings. As Merton put the situation at the time, "I am having a bit of censorship trouble" (p. 18). Merton appended a preface of some four pages to the Cold War Letters that began to circulate in 1963· Within that short piece is to be found some of his most intensive commentary on war and peace in general and critique of postWorld War II America in particular: "... this country has become frankly a warfare state built on affluence, a power structure in which the interests of big business, the obsessions of the military and the phobias of political extremists both dominate and dictate our national policy" (p. 20). Also included in this volume are letters written during the "vocation crisis" of 1959-1960 when Merton sought a deeper solitude within which to live his monastic life. A variety of other topics are covered as well, most movingly letters of advice to persons writing for spiritual help. Especially here, Merton reveals himself to be a person ofbalanced sensitivity. In this concluding section of"Religious Thought and Dialogue" are some of the keenest of Merton's telegraphic one-liners of spiritual insight. And here as well the reader finds the pastoral side of Merton, the man who said of himself in 338 BOOK REVIEWS 1965, "I still want above all to try to be a bridge builder for everybody and to keep communication open between the extremists at both ends" (p. 325). Clyde F. Crews Bellarmine College, Lousiville In the Midst of His People. The Authorized Biography of Bishop MauriceJ. Dingman. By Shirley Crisler, SFCC, and Mira Mosle, BVM. (Iowa City: Rudi Publishing. 1995. Pp. xvii, 283- $14.95 paperback.) To borrow George Will's comment about David McCullough's Truman, this book is a 300-page "valentine" to Maurice J. Dingman. Not that the sixth bishop ofDes Moines does not deserve such. He was a most gracious, holy, inspirational gentleman, whose name is still revered in his home Diocese of Davenport, and the Diocese of Des Moines, where he served as bishop from 1968 until his debilitating stroke forced his resignation in 1986. Nor does the quasi-hagiographical style make it less than informative reading. Particularly will those who knew the man find this collection of memories and anecdotes about this effective shepherd interesting and moving. The work also provides a human portrait ofa typical "pastoral bishop," a term used to describe some bishops appointed after the close of the SecondVatican Council who exercised a collégial, informal, collaborative style and who were aggressive in promoting what they understood to be the mandated reforms of the council. The sections on the papal visit to Iowa masterminded by Dingman, his struggle over the question of womens' ordination , and the...