Saturday, September 7, 2024

My Father Twomey biography is now fully "Kickstarted"!

Last Sunday—which coincidentally was the birthday of my previous biographical subject, Father Edward Dowling, S.J.—I awoke to the wonderful news that my Kickstarter for my next biography was fully funded. Thanks to nearly ninety backers who believe in the project, I now have the means to devote myself fully for the next five months to writing the life story that I have been researching for more than a year: A Priest in Good Trouble: Father Louis J. Twomey, S.J.’s Battle for Human Dignity with MLK in the Deep South.

If you haven't backed the Kickstarter, there is still time to chip in to help fulfill my stretch goal, which will fund my hiring a professional to create the index for A Priest in Good Trouble (as my publisher, like most publishers today, requires the author to provide the index). But, in any case, I'm grateful and relieved to have my living expenses covered as I tell the story of the Jesuit priest who was the first Catholic ally of Martin Luther King Jr.


 

This week also brought several new media items related to my Father Twomey research: 

My video interview on Father Twomey and my own journey for Thomas Howes and James McGill Patterson's podcast Why Postliberalism Failed (above). It was a great pleasure speaking with Dr. Howes and Dr. Patterson, whose work promoting democratic principles and countering harmful ideologies is in many ways a modern-day continuation of Father Twomey's mission. They not only gave me the opportunity to speak about Twomey's work but also asked me about my personal journey. Because I felt comfortable with them and appreciated their own openness, I ended up sharing more of my inner life than I normally share in interviews. So, even if you've heard me speak about my life and views before, I don't think you've ever heard the exact things I share in this interview. 

— In the Vital Center journal (edited by Howes), a preview of my Father Twomey research: "Mater Si, Buckley No: The Jesuit Who Took on National Review's 'Compartmentalized Catholics." The article gives a good idea of how, in A Priest of Good Trouble, I'll be tracing Father Twomey's participation in the public discussions of his time, many of which are echoed in today's discourse. 

My video interview with Tom Neal for his "Sharing the Faith" podcast. This too was a warm and highly enjoyable conversation. Tom and I have known each other for many years, and I greatly admire his work as a layman who has dedicated much of his life to the formation of candidates for the priesthood. In the interview, I appreciated his asking me about my Father Dowling biography as well as my Father Twomey research. 


My friend Stefan Gigacz of Cardijn Research, who was passing through Washington on his way to the Peter Maurin Conference in Chicago, snapped this photo of me last Tuesday, on my 56th birthday. Earlier that day, in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament and my spiritual director, I renewed my dedication of my celibacy to the Sacred Heart, which is like a renewal of marriage vows, only to God. All of my Kickstarter backers were in my prayers, as well as all my family, friends, spiritual family, and readers of my writings. I enter my 57th year full of hope and gratitude for being able to tell the story of Father Twomey's life and achievements. Thank you for your part in that. God bless you! 

Wednesday, August 28, 2024

The next two weeks will determine whether I can write my next book

In my Kickstarter video, I explain why I want to tell Father Twomey's story. Watch on Kickstarter.

My Kickstarter for A Priest in Good Trouble, the biography I am writing of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Jesuit ally Father Louis J. Twomey, has now been running for twenty-four days, with sixteen days to go. It is currently just under 50 percent funded, which means that, unless a significant number of new people choose to back it, it will fail. Kickstarter is all or nothing, because it's about enabling creative people to complete projects, and I can only complete my Father Twomey biography if it's fully funded.

I am grateful to the fifty-eight backers thus far who have shown me that they agree that Father Twomey's story is worth telling. If you would like to see me continue my work as a biographer of Jesuits who are models for the priesthood and for pastoral engagement with the modern world, I hope you'll visit my Kickstarter, pray for its success, and support it if you are able. Thank you and God bless you.

Saturday, August 3, 2024

Preview my Kickstarter for my next book

Screenshot showing how my Kickstarter will look on launch day

On Monday, August 5, I'm launching the Kickstarter for my next book, a biography of the most amazing Jesuit you've never heard of. Father Louis J. Twomey, S.J., was a labor priest, the first Catholic ally of Martin Luther King Jr., and a major force in bringing the U.S. Jesuits to make a definitive break from racially discriminatory practices. His faith coupled with his courage in putting Catholic social teaching into action make him an inspiring model for the priesthood and for everyone seeking to be a positive force for change. Please visit my pre-launch page, sign up to be notified when it goes live, and spread the word!

Friday, August 2, 2024

Why I Refused to Endorse Bob Schuchts’s Be Healed


"Bad Theology Hurts" t-shirt from Apologia Studios


I was glad to read Sister Josephine Garrett, C.S.F.N.’s recent observation to reporters at the Eucharistic Congress that it is against the Gospel to attribute people’s psychological wounds to their spiritual failures. Her words put me in mind of problems that concern me about the "inner healing" approach as promoted by Catholic therapist and author Bob Schuchts, founder of the John Paul II Healing Center. For that reason, I am sharing a email I sent eleven years ago to an editor at Ave Maria Press citing serious theological issues that I found in Catholic therapist Bob Schuchts’s Be Healed.

The editor to whom I addressed my concerns was my own editor, who had shepherded the publication of my book on healing from childhood sexual abuse, My Peace I Give You: Healing Sexual Wounds with the Help of the Saints. She had sent me an advance copy of Be Healed in the hope that I would endorse it. In my reply, below, I explained why I could not do so in good conscience.

At the time that I wrote the letter below, I had an ecclesiastical licentiate in sacred theology from the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies and was completing my doctoral studies. I now hold a doctorate in sacred theology, specializing in systematic theology, from the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary, a terminal degree that is licensed by the Holy See. In addition, I have a license in canon law from the Catholic University of America.

I recently read Schuchts’s 2022 retreat book Do You Want to Be Healed? and was disappointed to discover that the author continues to perpetuate the dangerous errors that I noted in my letter to his editor. For further reading, I recommend Chris Damian’s critique of Schuchts.

Here is the email I sent to Schuchts's editor on July 21, 2013:

Dear K_____,


I wish very much that I could give you a blurb for Dr. Schuchts' book, because I would like to support your work at Ave Maria Press in any way I can. Unfortunately, having read Be Healed, I am unable to endorse the book. Although parts of it are good, I find that major aspects of its message are contrary to Catholic teaching. Moreover, certain aspects of his message are extremely dangerous. Considering that he is targeting readers who are already vulnerable, Schuchts has the potential with this book to inflict profound psychological damage.

I am particularly distressed by Schuchts's repeated attribution of physical illness to personal sin. For example, he writes on page 57, "The primary root of our suffering and sickness is separation from God, resulting in the fragmentation of our bodies and souls, and thus manifesting in broken relationships with other people and nature."

On page 61, Schuchts favorably quotes the following passage from J. Brennan Mullaney's Authentic Love: “The avoidance, rejection, or deprivation of love is the source of all functional (physical, psychological, and spiritual), illness." And on page 128, in concluding the book, Schuchts writes, "Behind most of our physical and psychological ailments, are spiritual root issues."

Schuchts quotes Pope Benedict XVI and other popes selectively in an effort to reinforce his points, but he takes them out of context. When Benedict and others speak of Jesus' healing, they are speaking of the healing that begins in this life and is not completed until the general resurrection.

What's more, nowhere does John Paul II, Benedict, Francis, or any pope say that Jesus' redemption brings mankind back to the original rectitude of Eden, which is what Schuchts is implying on pages 57-58. Just the opposite! The Catechism is very clear that, while original sin is taken away by baptism, its physical effects will remain until the Last Day:

CCC 405 Although it is proper to each individual, original sin does not have the character of a personal fault in any of Adam's descendants. It is a deprivation of original holiness and justice, but human nature has not been totally corrupted: it is wounded in the natural powers proper to it, subject to ignorance, suffering and the dominion of death, and inclined to sin - an inclination to evil that is called "concupiscence". Baptism, by imparting the life of Christ's grace, erases original sin and turns a man back towards God, but the consequences for nature, weakened and inclined to evil, persist in man and summon him to spiritual battle.

Moreover, in Salvifici doloris 11, John Paul II strongly refutes the idea that most physical suffering is due to spiritual root issues: "While it is true that suffering has a meaning as punishment, when it is connected with a fault, it is not true that all suffering is a consequence of a fault and has the nature of a punishment. The figure of the just man Job is a special proof of this in the Old Testament. ...And if the Lord consents to test Job with suffering, he does it to demonstrate the latter's righteousness. The suffering has the nature of a test."

Related to Schuchts' attribution of physical suffering to personal sin is his attribution of physical injuries from childhood trauma to the demonic stronghold of unforgiveness. I have in mind the story he tells, beginning on page 69, of Ana, who, as a 6-year-old child, was injured in a car crash so that one of her legs was eight inches shorter than the other. He says that he urged Ana her to release her unforgiveness towards the driver of the offending car (and, by extension, to be released from the demon that held her within such unforgiveness)--and her leg was immediately healed.

Please understand that I am not doubting the healing itself. I am willing to believe that God, for whatever reason, answered Ana's prayer and healed her. But Schuchts's conclusion—that Ana, at age six, was so angry at the driver that her leg refused to heal—is simply irresponsible.

Think of someone you know who retains physical, mental, and spiritual wounds from being harmed at a very young age. I have in mind my own readers, some of whom recall being abused as toddlers. They now suffer from flashbacks and other PTSD symptoms; some have physical illness. One reader told me that all four of her daughters, now adults, have endometriosis--because every one of them as a child was sexually abused by their grandfather. Three of them are infertile. Would it be helpful to tell these adult women that they are personally at fault for their inability to have children? Would that be a healing realization for them? Or would it put them at increased risk of depression, suicide, hatred of God, and hatred of the insensitive people in the Church who blame them for the effects of the evils they suffered?

On a personal note, a young woman came up to me after a talk to tell me that she suffered serious damage after being told by a priest who read Neal Lozano's Unbound (a book Schuchts recommends) that her PTSD from childhood abuse was caused by demonic strongholds. The priest prayed Lozano's "unbinding" prayers over her, which, far from healing her, actually made her worse than before. Prior to the "unbinding," she only suffered flashbacks. Afterwards, every time she felt a flashback, she feared that the demons were out to get her.

My other problems with Be Healed have mostly to do with Schuchts' misunderstandings of sacramental theology. Although he quotes Raniero Cantalamessa saying that "sacraments are not magic rites," he places such emphasis on miraculous physical healings through the Eucharist and Baptism that he obscures the true nature of those sacraments. Most disturbingly, he calls the communion rites of non-Catholic ecclesial communities "Holy Communion" and implies that Jesus is present in them in the same way he is in the Eucharist (page 95).

Schuchts also misunderstands the nature of the Sacrament of Matrimony, saying that his parents had the graces of a sacramental marriage until the marriage was "annulled" (page 96). In fact, if the marriage was declared null (not "annulled"), it was never a sacrament to begin with.

I am very sorry to disappoint you by being unable to support this book. While I respect his good intentions, Schuchts unfortunately has the potential with Be Healed to do a lot more harm than good.

Grace and peace,

Dawn

Friday, July 12, 2024

A video message on my upcoming Father Ed talk near the Eucharistic Congress

I recorded this rooftop video today to spread the word about the talk I'm giving on Father Ed: The Story of Bill W.'s Spiritual Sponsor in Indianapolis on Thursday, July 18, near the Eucharistic Congress. See more details and register at this link. 

The free event is for anyone interested in the history of Alcoholics Anonymous and the role that a Jesuit priest played in encouraging A.A. co-founder Bill W. Coffee and cookies will be served. Please let your friends attending the Congress know the gathering, sponsored by iTHIRST and Ignatian Spirituality Project. Locals who are not attending the Congress are welcome too! 

Also, if you're based in the Indianapolis area, see my Upcoming Talks page for information on the other talks I'll be giving there, one on Wednesday, July 17, at St. Louis in Batesville, and the other on Sunday, July 21, at St. Jude in Indianapolis. Thank you and God bless you! 

Tuesday, June 4, 2024

Come hear me speak about Father Ed during the Eucharistic Congress—and help spread the word!


Four months ago, I approached an official from the 2024 National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis offering to speak on Father Ed: The Story of Bill W.'s Spiritual Sponsor, my biography of the Jesuit whose spiritual guidance changed the life of Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill W. The official told me that all speaking slots for the event were filled.

I then asked if there would be a room set aside at the Eucharistic Congress for Friends of Bill W. It is common practice at large conferences and on cruise ships to designate a place for people who are in recovery programs to meet. Out of respect for the participants' anonymity, the meeting space is called the place for Friends of Bill W. rather than the "A.A. room" or some other name identifying it as a place for recovering alcoholics or addicts.

The official responded that no such room had been designated. There were no plans for any programming at the Eucharistic Congress for people in recovery, and no space for them to meet.

I found it absolutely incredible that an event promoted by the U.S. bishops that is expected to draw eighty thousand Catholics from around the country failed to make any provision whatsoever for people in recovery. Studies show that about ten percent of Americans abuse alcohol. Many more suffer from drug addiction or have family members who abuse substances. If the Eucharist is about healing, then these people should be among the first whom the Eucharistic Congress seeks to reach, not an afterthought. Certainly under no circumstances should the Catholic Church ignore them.

So I decided to step out in faith and rent an event room, coffee and cookies included, at the nicest hotel I could find within walking distance of the Eucharistic Congress, on the evening of the congress's first full day. I wanted there to be an attractive and welcoming place where people in recovery, their families, and their friends could find fellowship for an hour and a half, and could enjoy hearing me share Father Ed's story.

To my joy, two outstanding Catholic-led apostolates to people in recovery, the Ignatian Spirituality Project and iTHIRST Initiative, stepped forward to co-sponsor the event. Through their generosity and that of other kind folks who stepped up, all my costs are now covered, thanks be to God.

I am therefore delighted to invite you to hear me speak on "Father Ed: The Story of Bill W.'s Spiritual Sponsor" on Thursday, July 18, at the Theory Room at Hyatt Regency Indianapolis, One South Capitol Avenue, Indianapolis, IN, 4:00 p.m.–5:30 p.m. Registration is strongly recommended; register online at tinyurl.com/IndyFatherEd.

Please, please, please spread the word. We can't wait for someone out there somewhere in the Church to do something to encourage people in recovery. We are the Church, and with the help of fellow members of the faithful such as those in the Ignatian Spirituality Project and iTHIRST Initiative, we can make a real difference in the lives of people with addictions and their families.

Thursday, May 30, 2024

Where to find Father Ed: The Story of Bill W.'s Spiritual Sponsor

Artwork for the wraparound dust jacket of the hardcover edition of Father Ed: The Story of Bill W.'s Spiritual Sponsor. Click the image to enlarge.


The publication of the paperback edition of Father Ed: The Story of Bill W.'s Spiritual Sponsor, my biography of the Jesuit Father Edward Dowling, who was a spiritual advisor to the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, has unfortunately caused the book's Amazon sale page to go haywire.

At this writing, Amazon's paperback sale page for Father Ed has disappeared into the ether. Earlier, the site had confused the book with another one published by Orbis Books, and the Father Ed paperback sale page looked like a mix-and-match of the two different books, with Father Ed's book cover and the other book's title, or vice versa. Also, Amazon's Kindle page for Father Ed has somehow become de-linked from Father Ed's hardcover page, making the Kindle difficult to find. In case prospective buyers of Father Ed are confused by the Amazon mix-ups, I'm writing this post to list the reliable places where Father Ed may be ordered.

The best place to purchase Father Ed is your local bookstore. If you do not have a bookstore near you, or if your local bookstore refuses to order Father Ed, I recommend purchasing it from Bookshop.org, a collective of local stores, which has the paperback edition in stock. Alternatively, the paperback edition and the hardcover edition are both available directly from the publisher, Orbis Books. Other online sellers, such as Barnes & Noble, carry Father Ed as well.

If you prefer to purchase an electronic edition of Father Ed, the book is available in Kindle, Google Books, and Nook editions.

Finally, if you would like to purchase a signed copy of Father Ed, you can purchase it directly from me, in hardcover or paperback, for the list price of $30 plus $6 shipping and handling (USPS Media Mail). Write me at the email address listed on my Contacts page.

P.S. And of course, there's always your local library

Friday, May 24, 2024

Newly unearthed photo shows Father Ed shortly after his first meeting with Bill W.


Father Edward Dowling, SJ, November 18, 1940, as pictured in the Springfield Daily News

When I was writing Father Ed: The Story of Bill W.'s Spiritual Sponsor, I spent a good deal of time reflecting on how Father Edward Dowling, SJ, would have appeared when he met Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill W. on November 16, 1940, in an encounter that would change Bill's life. Today, with the help of Newspapers.com, I found a photograph of Father Ed taken just two days after that historic meeting—or, rather, less than two days, since the Jesuit and Bill conversed into the wee hours. 

It is truly amazing to see Father Ed almost as Bill saw him on that historic evening. Dowling's hair is no doubt better combed in the photo than it was when he arrived at the A.A. clubhouse late at night after more than three hours on a train. But he is wearing the same clerics and is holding the same cane, and he has the same posture (reflecting the crippling disease he suffered, ankylosing spondylitis) that he would have had upon meeting Bill. 

Most of all, although the image of his face is marred by a black spot (which I would love for some reader skilled in Photoshop to remove), Father Ed's expression reflects his eager engagement in a conversation. There is more than a hint of the warm and even numinous presence that Bill described whenever he recounted that fateful first meeting.

UPDATE, 5/27/24: Here's a touched-up version corrected by Nick DeBenedetto. I love it!

Looking to learn more about Father Ed? Listen to my podcast interviews or watch my most recent lecture on that great-souled Jesuit.