The American Jesuits: A History

9 The Social Question

9 The Social Question A New Jesuit Voice It is fitting that the name of the American Jesuits’ new flagship magazine should be the one proposed by Thomas Gannon, former Fordham rector and the Maryland–New York provincial in the first years of the 20th century. Gannon was most conscious of the negative aspects of European control of American Jesuit enterprises and was forthright in his efforts to break from European restrictions on an appropriate American lifestyle . His 1903 letter to Father General Martin was typical. European meddling was out of step, he said, with “our principles and spirit and in response to the requirements of time and place.” In 1905 he wrote Martin it was futile “to restrain . . . the liberty of American college students ,” who were “18 to 23 years of age.” They are men in “habits, dress, and social life” who attend dinners, receptions, and theater. He himself as a Holy Cross student 25 years before had gone out to dinners and lectures and returned quite late. Students should have their own rooms; otherwise Jesuit schools would lose them. He proposed a revision of the Ratio that would keep its spirit intact but be open to “all that is best and really valuable and progressive in our modern civilization .” When he heard of the new weekly magazine, to be modeled on the London Catholic Tablet, he proposed they call it America. In the first issue on April 17, 1909, the lead editorial spelled out its goals. It was to take the place of a monthly, The Messenger, to meet the needs of the time: Among these needs are a review and conscientious criticism of the life and literature of the day, a discussion of actual questions and a study of vital problems from the Christian standpoint, a record of religious progress, a defense of sound doctrine, an authoritative 115 statement of the position of the Church in the thought and activity of modern life, a removal of traditional prejudice, a refutation of erroneous news, and a correction of misstatements about beliefs and practices which millions hold dearer than life. The editor emphasized that America stood for both North and South America, that, with both Jesuit and lay correspondents, the review would try to cover the world, especially Europe. In tone it would be without bias, prompt, fresh, accurate, and courteous, “a bond of union among Catholics and a factor in civic and social life.” The editor was John J. Wynne, already the editor of the monumental Catholic Encyclopedia (1909), so far the towering scholarly achievement of the American church. Wynne lasted but one year, to be succeeded by Maryland– New York provincial Thomas Campbell, the man responsible for the timing of Walter Drum’s vocation. (Drum had thought of pursuing a PhD at Harvard before joining the Society. Campbell told him, “If you are going to be a Jesuit, enter the Society now, and don’t waste two years at Harvard.”) From 1914 to 1924, throughout World War I and its aftermath, Richard Henry Tierney brought to the office what Thurston N. Davis described, in the 50th anniversary issue (April 11, 1959) as “a polemic spirit, a readiness for controversy, and a deep concern for the international responsibility of American Catholics.” In its almost century of life, America has survived a series of minor and major controversies. Two editors have been removed for having followed policies that most historians today would judge prudent, brave, and correct, but which displeased authorities in Rome. Readers impatient with its moderation have called it “the bland leading the bland,” but its overall impact in the careful education of the Catholic public, particularly on issues of social justice, has been enormous. Appearing when it did, it was also a signal to Jesuits born in the previous century but now coming into maturity that they now had a national voice that would carry their words around the world. Anyone who worked at America or has followed it carefully over the years could read the 28 pages of the early issues, in their large format and columns of solid, unbroken, small typeface, and see characteristics embedded at birth that have hung on for a century: a consistent civil tone; a steady respect for authority, especially the hierarchy ; and a quaint preoccupation with New York, particularly its own neighborhood. For Jesuits are walkers, and some imagine that what 116 The Social Question strikes...