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Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2008 A broad and compelling
look at the impact of the largest Catholic order of men on American
culture With infectious energy and a genuine gift for storytelling,
Raymond A. Schroth recounts the history of Jesuits in the United
States. The American Jesuits isn't simply a book for Catholics;
it's for anyone who loves a well-told historical tale. For more
than 450 years, Jesuit priests have traveled the globe out of a
religious commitment to serve others. Their order, the Society of
Jesus, is the largest religious order of men in the Catholic
Church, with more than 20,000 members around the world and almost
3,000 in the United States. It is one of the more liberal orders in
the Church, taking very public stands in the U.S. on behalf of
social justice causes such as the promotion of immigrants' rights
and humanitarian aid, including assistance to Africa's poor, and
against American involvement in "unjust wars." Jesuits have played
an important part in Americanizing the Catholic Church and in
preparing Catholic immigrants for inclusion into American society.
Starting off with the first Jesuit to reach the New World-he was
promptly murdered on the Florida coast-Schroth focuses on the key
periods of the Jesuit experience in the Americas, beginning with
the era of European explorers, many of whom were accompanied by
Jesuits and some of whom were Jesuits themselves. Suppressed around
the time of the American Revolution, the Society experienced
resurgence in the nineteenth century, arriving in the U.S. along
with waves of Catholic immigrants and establishing a network of
high schools and universities. In the mid-twentieth century, the
Society transformed itself to serve an urbanizing nation. Schroth
is not blind to the Society's shortcomings and not all of his story
reflects well on the Jesuits. However, as he reminds readers,
Jesuits are not gods and they don't dwell in mountaintop
monasteries. Rather, they are imperfect men who work in a messy
world to "find God in all things" and to help their fellow men and
women do the same. A quintessential American tale of men willing to
take risks - for Indians, blacks, immigrants, and the poor, and to
promote a loving picture of God-The American Jesuits offers a broad
and compelling look at the impact of this 400-year-old
international order on American culture and the culture's impact on
the Jesuits.
Raymond Schroth's Bob Drinan: The Controversial Life of the First
Catholic Priest Elected to Congress shows that the contentious
mixture of religion and politics in this country is nothing new.
Four decades ago, Father Robert Drinan, the fiery Jesuit priest
from Massachusetts, not only demonstrated against the Vietnam War,
he ran for Congress as an antiwar candidate and won, going on to
serve for 10 years. Schroth has delved through magazine and
newspaper articles and various archives (including Drinan's
congressional records at Boston College, where he taught and also
served as dean of the law school) and has interviewed dozens of
those who knew Drinan to bring us a life-sized portrait. The result
is a humanistic profile of an intensely private man and a glimpse
into the life of a priest-politician who saw advocacy of human
rights as his call. Drinan defined himself as a "moral architect"
and was quick to act on his convictions, whether from the bully
pulpit of the halls of Congress or from his position in the Church
as a priest; to him they were as intricately woven as the clerical
garb he continued to wear unapologetically throughout his elected
tenure. Drinan's opposition to the Vietnam War and its extension
into Cambodia, his call for the impeachment of President Richard
Nixon (he served on the House Judiciary Committee, which initiated
the charges), his pro-choice stance on abortion (legally, not
morally), his passion for civil rights, and his devotion to Jewish
people and the well-being of Israel made him one of the most
liberal members of Congress and a force to be reckoned with. But
his loyalty to the Church was never in question, and when Pope John
Paul II demanded that he step down from offi ce, he did so
unquestioningly. Afterward, he continued to champion the ideals he
thought would make the world a better place. He didn't think of it
in terms of left and right; as moral architect, he saw it in terms
of right and wrong. This important book doesn't resolve debate
about issues of church and state, but it does help us understand
how one side can inform the other, if we are listening. It has much
to say that is worth hearing.
Raymond Schroth's Bob Drinan: The Controversial Life of the First
Catholic Priest Elected to Congress shows that the contentious
mixture of religion and politics in this country is nothing new.
Four decades ago, Father Robert Drinan, the fiery Jesuit priest
from Massachusetts, not only demonstrated against the Vietnam War,
he ran for Congress as an antiwar candidate and won, going on to
serve for 10 years. Schroth has delved through magazine and
newspaper articles and various archives (including Drinan's
congressional records at Boston College, where he taught and also
served as dean of the law school) and has interviewed dozens of
those who knew Drinan to bring us a life-sized portrait. The result
is a humanistic profile of an intensely private man and a glimpse
into the life of a priest-politician who saw advocacy of human
rights as his call. Drinan defined himself as a "moral architect"
and was quick to act on his convictions, whether from the bully
pulpit of the halls of Congress or from his position in the Church
as a priest; to him they were as intricately woven as the clerical
garb he continued to wear unapologetically throughout his elected
tenure. Drinan's opposition to the Vietnam War and its extension
into Cambodia, his call for the impeachment of President Richard
Nixon (he served on the House Judiciary Committee, which initiated
the charges), his pro-choice stance on abortion (legally, not
morally), his passion for civil rights, and his devotion to Jewish
people and the well-being of Israel made him one of the most
liberal members of Congress and a force to be reckoned with. But
his loyalty to the Church was never in question, and when Pope John
Paul II demanded that he step down from offi ce, he did so
unquestioningly. Afterward, he continued to champion the ideals he
thought would make the world a better place. He didn't think of it
in terms of left and right; as moral architect, he saw it in terms
of right and wrong. This important book doesn't resolve debate
about issues of church and state, but it does help us understand
how one side can inform the other, if we are listening. It has much
to say that is worth hearing.
Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2008 A broad and compelling
look at the impact of the largest Catholic order of men on American
culture With infectious energy and a genuine gift for storytelling,
Raymond A. Schroth recounts the history of Jesuits in the United
States. The American Jesuits isn't simply a book for Catholics;
it's for anyone who loves a well-told historical tale. For more
than 450 years, Jesuit priests have traveled the globe out of a
religious commitment to serve others. Their order, the Society of
Jesus, is the largest religious order of men in the Catholic
Church, with more than 20,000 members around the world and almost
3,000 in the United States. It is one of the more liberal orders in
the Church, taking very public stands in the U.S. on behalf of
social justice causes such as the promotion of immigrants' rights
and humanitarian aid, including assistance to Africa's poor, and
against American involvement in "unjust wars." Jesuits have played
an important part in Americanizing the Catholic Church and in
preparing Catholic immigrants for inclusion into American society.
Starting off with the first Jesuit to reach the New World-he was
promptly murdered on the Florida coast-Schroth focuses on the key
periods of the Jesuit experience in the Americas, beginning with
the era of European explorers, many of whom were accompanied by
Jesuits and some of whom were Jesuits themselves. Suppressed around
the time of the American Revolution, the Society experienced
resurgence in the nineteenth century, arriving in the U.S. along
with waves of Catholic immigrants and establishing a network of
high schools and universities. In the mid-twentieth century, the
Society transformed itself to serve an urbanizing nation. Schroth
is not blind to the Society's shortcomings and not all of his story
reflects well on the Jesuits. However, as he reminds readers,
Jesuits are not gods and they don't dwell in mountaintop
monasteries. Rather, they are imperfect men who work in a messy
world to "find God in all things" and to help their fellow men and
women do the same. A quintessential American tale of men willing to
take risks - for Indians, blacks, immigrants, and the poor, and to
promote a loving picture of God-The American Jesuits offers a broad
and compelling look at the impact of this 400-year-old
international order on American culture and the culture's impact on
the Jesuits.
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