Bishops To Vote On Canonical Step For Dorothy Day Canonization

By USCCB
11/10/2012
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (www.nccbuscc.org/)

Day already carries the title Servant of God, a designation awarded by the Vatican when it gave her cause a Nihil Obstat, that is,a formal declaration that the Vatican has no objection to the cause moving forward.

Day's life was marked by fidelity to the Scriptures, voluntary poverty, the works of mercy and work for peace and justice. She was shot at while working for integration and prayed and fasted for peace at the Second Vatican Council. She died November 29, 1980, at Maryhouse in New York City, where she died among the poor.

Dorothy Day

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WASHINGTON, DC (USCCB) - The U.S. bishops will engage in a canonical consultation regarding the cause for canonization of Dorothy Day, a pacifist and convert to Catholicism from New York City.

This consultation will take place during the bishops' General Assembly November 12-15 in Baltimore.

Dorothy Day dedicated her life fighting for justice for the homeless in New York City and was co-founder the Catholic Worker Movement.

Biographical materials provided by the New York Archdiocese note she was born in Brooklyn, New York, on Nov. 8, 1897. Her parents moved to San Francisco and she was later baptized in the Episcopal Church. Her family later moved to Chicago, and she attended the University of Illinois at Urbana. In 1916 left college to go to New York City to work as a journalist on social newspapers.

Her biographies describe a political activist who participated in protest marches and developed friendships with famous artists and writers. At the same time she experienced failed love affairs, a marriage, a suicide attempt and an abortion.

A key moment in her life occurred in 1926 with the birth of her daughter Tamar. She embraced Catholicism and had Tamar baptized to the dismay of her associates and ending her common-law marriage. She reported for several Catholic magazines, including America and Commonweal, as she struggled to find her role as a Catholic.

In 1932, she met Peter Maurin, a French immigrant and former Christian Brother, with whom she co-founded The Catholic Worker newspaper. Work at The Catholic Worker led to the founding of several Houses of Hospitality and farm communes in the United States and other nations.

The canonical consultation is a procedural step in the process toward canonization. Church law governing canonizations as found in the Vatican document Sanctorum Mater requires that the diocesan bishop promoting a canonization cause to consult at least with the regional bishops conference on the advisability of pursuing the cause. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and head of the Archdiocese of New York, is seeking the consultation of the full body of bishops.

Day already carries the title "Servant of God," a designation awarded by the Vatican when it gave her cause a Nihil Obstat, that is,a formal declaration that the Vatican has no objection to the cause moving forward.

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1 - 5 of 5 Comments

Rebekah Scott
6 months ago
last time I looked, "Communism" was a political and economic system, not a sin. Dorothy Day was politically active. She followed Our Lord´s direction to "sell everything you have and give it to the poor, and follow me." Like Jesus, she lived among the poor and shared what she had with less fortunate people, without subjecting them to political judgements. She is a model I can only hope to live up to. If being Christlike and sharing my abundance with the community makes me a Communist, then so be it!
JoAnn
6 months ago
Shawn: Thanks for the info. I will check it out. God bless.
CPFstaff
6 months ago
In response to Lisa, if the bishops approve this change then it will be passed to the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints and the Pope to declare her "venerable." "Servant of God" is the title given once a cause has been opened without objection, so there is a difference.

In response to Joann, Dorothy Day did leave behind communism when she became Catholic, but continued to critique excesses and problems with capitalism using the gospel, especially the Sermon on the Mount and Magisterial documents from Catholic Social Teaching.

Also, Dorothy Day's commitments regarding social justice were quite different from those held by President Obama (and virtually every other presidential candidate in the past election).

If you would like to learn more about why the Church is considering her for sainthood, I would gladly share more information with you. You could find more about her on the Archdiocese of New York's Guild for the Canonization of Dorothy Day, or on some sites about the Catholic Worker. I work for the Catholic Peace Fellowship and Dorothy Day was one of our early advisors. Should you like to learn more or have some books recommended to you please visit:
www.catholicpeacefellowship.org or email me at staff@catholicpeacefellowship.org.

In Christ's Peace,
Shawn
JoAnn
6 months ago
Do these bishops know something I don't know? I am not aware that Dorothy Day ever had a full conversion and repented about her COMMUNISM.. To my knowledge, she was a communist through and through which is highly incompatible with the Catholic Faith. Any canonizatin of Miss Day (which by the way is done by Rome, not bishops) by the Church would make me discern what the Church was thinking. Miss Day knew Jim Wallace, Obama's current spiritual mentor, very well, and her political persuasions regarding "social justice" were very much like Obama's, not the Church's definition of "social justice." I hope the Church is researching her activities very carefully. God bless.
Lisa Burke
6 months ago
So if the bishops approve, does this mean she would be considered Venerable or is Venerable the same as "Servant of God"?

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