Year: 1954

Summary: Diary-like account of talks and visits to friends in Massachusetts, Minnesota, Chicago, and Milwaukee. Relishes reporting on the apostolates of lay and clergy alike. Notes her attraction to the Abbey of St. Procopius. (The Catholic Worker, December 1954, 2,6. DDLW #679).

Summary: Appeals for help to continue the works of mercy at the Catholic Worker houses and farms which is a reflection of God’s love for us. Says the ideal is that every parish have a mutual aid center. (The Catholic Worker, November 1954, 2. DDLW #676).

Summary: Tender obituary of Fr. Pacifique Roy telling of his long involvement with the Catholic Worker–his love of work, reverent way he said Mass, joy in feasting, and how he introduced the workers to the famous “retreat” which “made us feel the power of love.” Writes of his illness and death in his native Quebec. (The Catholic Worker, November 1954, 1, 6. DDLW #675).

Summary: Highlights from letters from those connected to the Catholic Worker community. She extols their hard work and struggles. (The Catholic Worker, November 1954, 3, 8. DDLW #677).

Summary: Recommends many books: novels, history, about saints, social teachings of the Church. Singles out a book for teaching children about God and one about Martin de Porres. (The Catholic Worker, November 1954, 4. DDLW #678).

Summary: Comments on a potpourri of events–Halloween costumes of the saints, hurricane Carol, pacifist conference, and irritations while saying the community rosary. (The Catholic Worker, October 1954, 2, 7. DDLW #238).

Summary: Criticizes those Catholics who affirmed the Industrial Council Plan that supported co-management. Calls for co-ownership as the only means to alleviate the injustice caused by industry and quotes “Observatore Romano” on its condemnation of capitalism. Also criticizes those who call the Industrial Council Plan the Pope’s plan, and repudiates the claim by quoting Pius XII’s 1952 Christmas message which calls for an agriculture economy. (The Catholic Worker, October 1954, 1,6. DDLW #175).

Summary: Retells the indignity and jailing that an interracial group endured in Shreveport, Louisiana. (DDLW #239: The Catholic Worker, October 1954, 1, 6.)

Summary: A testament of Vito Marcantonio’s political work with the poor. Seen as a Communist sympathizer, he is denied a Church burial. She says he lived Matthew 25 and did the works of mercy. Keywords: obituary (The Catholic Worker, September 1954, 1, 6. DDLW #674).

Summary: Recoils at the senseless murders of “bums” by four youths on August 16, 1954, in Brooklyn. Links this violence to the hate and fear of the McCarthy anti-communist hearings in Washington and the violence of weapons of mass destruction. Keywords: non-violence (The Catholic Worker, September 1954, 1, 8. DDLW #673).