by Edward Rohs and Judith Estrine

The New York Times
BOOKSHELF

By SAM ROBERTS
Published: November 4, 2011

In “Raised by the Church: Growing Up in New York City’s Catholic Orphanages” (Fordham University Press), Edward Rohs, a state mental health worker, recalls an odyssey that began when he was 6 months old and his unwed parents left him at the Angel Guardian Home in Brooklyn to be raised by the Sisters of Mercy. He couples a moving first-person account of coping with a system that separated orphans by age and gender with a historical perspective on child care in the 19th and 20th centuries.

“I remember being lonely,” he writes, “but I was never alone — not ever.” Being an orphan was Mr. Rohs’s secret until he shared his experience at an alumni awards ceremony at Fordham University, where he was honored for his social work. He “saw jaws drop and tears shed” and decided to make his unpublished memoir public with the help of a writer friend, Judith Estrine.

READ MORE…

Basile, a cantor and historian at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, talks about his book, as well as, the Pontiff’s visit to St. Patrick’s in 2008 and Cathedral life in the days immediately after 9/11.

Here is the podcast.

Monday, November 29, 6:30 p.m.
New York Public Library
Mid-Manhattan Branch
455 Fifth Avenue (at 40th Street)
Talk and book signing
(as part of the exhibition Three Faiths: Judaism, Christianity, Islam)

Monday, December 6, 6:00 p.m.
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
40 Lincoln Center Plaza
Talk and book signing
FORGOTTEN SHOWBIZ: New York’s Extravagant Sacred Music Scene in the Gilded Age—
And How Tossing Out the Ladies Ended it All (as part of the exhibition Life Upon the Wicked Stage)

For more information on Salvatore Basile and his book, visit his blog . The blog contains ruminations on everything from cookbooks to the publishing process of Fifth Avenue Famous.

Photo credit: Michael Bodnyk

Salvatore Basile, author of Fifth Avenue Famous: The Extraordinary Story of Music at St. Patrick’s Cathedral blogs on his recent trip with St. Patrick’s Cathedral Choir to Rome:

Fresh off the plane from Rome yesterday. I was quite proud of myself, thinking that I’d handled the problem of jet lag extremely well—until later in the evening when I was on the phone with a friend, describing the Papal audience in St. Peter’s Square, and heard myself saying, “Then they moved us into the front row, and it provided that real bachelor’s-party atmosphere.”

(No, I have absolutely no idea where that mental overlap came from.)

Allow me to explain. The St. Patrick’s Cathedral Choir has just returned from its participation in this year’s Festival Internazionale di Musica e Arte Sacra, a series of musical performances which took place throughout Rome’s major churches. It was a singular invitation (we were the only Americans asked to participate) that placed us on the program with such colleagues as the Vienna Philharmonic. But while the Wiener Philharmoniker gave a single performance, the Cathedral Choir had a more intensive schedule, singing not only a full-length concert, but five Masses, three of which took place in St. Peter’s Basilica . . . and to top it off we wound up, er, being asked (!!) to provide music for Wednesday’s Papal audience. Further details on that experience later.

Personally, it was my first time in Europe, and an astonishing introduction. I just wish it had happened in time to make it into Fifth Avenue Famous.

Salvatore Basile

Tune in tomorrow for more on Sal’s trip to Rome!

Tim Reidy, the Online Editor for America Magazine, sat down with Ray Schroth, S.J., on Election Day, to discuss his new book,  Bob Drinan: The Controversial Life of the First Catholic Priest Elected to Congress.  Here is the interview:

Yesterday was the official pub date for Fr. Ray Schroth’s new biography of Robert F. Drinan, S.J.–the controversial Jesuit priest and congressmen–and NCR has already weighed in with a positive review. As the review notes, the most intriguing question raised by the book is whether Drinan, who served in Congress from 1970 until 1980, had official permission to run for office:

Schroth masterfully lays out the many internal maneuvers that cleared the way for Drinan’s candidacy in the first instance. These involved his immediate Jesuit superior in New England, his two local bishops in Boston and Worcester, Mass., and the Jesuit superior general in Rome. Each successive candidacy seemed to involve more intricate negotiations than the one preceding. To say that the approval for Drinan to run was a gray area seriously understates the case. In fact, whether or not Drinan had the proper authorization became an issue in a number of his re-election campaigns.

Read more on the America Magazine blog, In All Things
Listen to the podcast.

It’s Hard to Be a Saint in the City

South Orange author Tom McCabe traces the history of Newark and St. Benedict’s

By Marcia Worth | SouthOrangePatch.com | November 1, 2010

South Orange author Thomas McCabe views local history through the lens of St. Benedict’s Preparatory School in Newark. McCabe’s book, Miracle on High Street: The Rise, Fall and Resurrection of An American Catholic Prep School, will be released today by Fordham University Press.

A decade-long labor of love, it’s fitting that McCabe’s book is released on All Saints Day. He explains that the Benedictine tradition calls for service in a particular setting, rather than itinerant good works. Thus, St. Benedict’s has been teaching young men in Newark since 1868. The school’s fortunes mirror that of the city. Teachers saw students move out of the city, first to the Oranges and Maplewood, then further west. Now the school stands at the center of a Newark renaissance.

McCabe, a graduate of Delbarton in Morristown, notes that his alma mater grew from St. Benedict’s. He began teaching, then serving as an administrator at the Newark school, after he graduated from Princeton. He saw the school develop through the 1990s, adapting to the changes of Newark and demands of the times.

“Somebody needs to write this,” McCabe said to himself 10 years ago, when he looked around the now-thriving school. Some 95 percent of its graduates–mainly boys from Newark, Irvington and the Oranges –go to college, a statistic unimaginable in 1967, when monks watched riots from the school rooftop. Five years later, in 1972, the school closed.

McCabe explains that the Benedictine monks’ “vow of stability” kept them focused on Newark. The school reopened a year later with a handful of teachers and students. Its current student body numbers more than 550, in addition to more than 50 faculty members.

A life-long South Orange resident, McCabe holds a doctorate in history from Rutgers University. He teaches at Montclair State and Rutgers – Newark, where he crafted a popular course centered on this summer’s World Cup, drawing parallels between past events and present ethnic loyalties.

McCabe sees the pull of tradition in Catholic education at St. Benedict’s and even locally, in South Orange. He explains that what draws students and their parents to St. Benedict’s are “tradition, the safe school environment, the excellent extra-curricular activities, and the rigorous academics.” He hypothesizes that the same qualities attract parents to South Orange’s Catholic schools. Our Lady of Sorrows and Marylawn of the Oranges have both grown significantly this year, and Seton Hall University boasts the largest freshman class in decades.

However, McCabe notes that schools such as St. Benedict’s offer a sense of community, as well, that may be their greatest strength throughout the decades. “Convocation,” which is a daily morning meeting, “draws the community together for prayers, ritual, a message from the headmaster,” according to McCabe.

“The message,” McCabe adds, “is that if you, as an individual, don’t show up, the school is lesser for it.” Likewise, without St. Benedict’s, says McCabe, the community would be lesser for it, too.

Tom McCabe will read from Miracle on High Street: The Rise, Fall and Resurrection of An American Catholic Prep School at Words on Tues., Nov. 16, 2010, at 7:30 p.m.
Read more

Visit www.miracleonhighstreet.com

Bob Drinan: The Controversial Life of the First Catholic Priest Elected to Congress by Raymond A. Schroth is coming out next month.  Here is an *Advanced Review* just in from Booklist:

Pioneering the path of priest-as-politician during a turbulent era on the modern American political and social landscape, Father Robert F. Drinan, S.J., was elected as a U.S. representative from Massachusetts in 1970. Serving in Congress for 10 years, he managed to stir up controversy on both sides of the aisle and among both Catholics and non-Catholics. An uncompromising social advocate, he vehemently opposed the Vietnam War, vocally called for the impeachment of Richard Nixon, and, perhaps most startling of all for a Catholic priest of his era, supported abortion rights on legal, rather than moral or spiritual, grounds. Whether one agrees or disagrees with his political views, stances, or methods, there is no doubt that the late Drinan was a dedicated priest and a tireless advocate for the socially disenfranchised. Written by a friend and fellow Jesuit, this intriguing portrait in courage provides an intimate glimpse into the heart and soul of a deeply textured spiritual and political groundbreaker. —Margaret Flanagan

Available November 2010
Read more about the complex and fascinating Bob Drinan.

But this only scratches the surface of what Loyola and his followers believed in. Fordham offers several titles to help you delve deeper into understanding the Jesuits and their teachings:

Black Robes & Buckskin: A Selection from the Jesuit Relations , forthcoming in November, focuses on The Jesuit Relations, written by Jesuits in the New World about their beliefs, and the work of converting native peoples. Since the original runs an astounding 73 volumes, Catherine Randall has thoughtfully selected the most informative and relevant pieces for Black Robes & Buckskin. It’s a must-read for all interested in understanding the foundations of this important religious movement.

In January, we have Jesuit and Feminist Education: Intersections in Teaching and Learning in the Twenty-First Century, a book which examines the overlap of Ignatian educational thought and feminist educational theory by presenting a lively dialogue about the shared goals between the two philosophies.

Friends on the Way: Jesuits Encounter Contemporary Judaism, new in paperback in September, is a collection of essays illustrating the long-standing mission of the Jesuits to bridge the gap between Catholicism and Judaism.

Last, but certainly not least, is Thoughts of St. Ignatius Loyola for Every Day of the Year. This volume shares 365 of the iconic theologian’s maxims for integrating God into daily life. The book gives daily spiritual guidance and inspiration and is truly a gift.

Fordham offers a wealth of new titles that study Catholic history in New York, the history of music at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Jesuit history, a modern reading of Augustine’s groundbreaking Confessions, and a Catholic view of the Holy Land debate.

Here’s a list of more backlist titles to help you remember the roots of the Easter tradition:

Being in Love

Believing Scholars

Between Dancing and Writing

Cathedrals of Bone

The Catholic Church and the Jewish People

Catholicism at the Millennium

Citizens or Papists?

Fears and Fascinations

Finding God in All Things

Let it Shine!

Method and Catholic Moral Theology

Thoughts of St. Ignatius Loyola for Every Day of the Year

This is just the beginning of Fordham’s Religion titles. For more titles, please check out the full catalog!

 From Salvatore Basile comes Fifth Avenue Famous, the story of St. Patrick’s Cathedral and its music–a stirring monument to one of the most iconic Catholic churches in America. 

 For another look at Catholicism in New York City, check out Catholics in New York: Society, Culture, and Politics 1808-1946 edited by Terry Golway. The book, copublished with the Museum of the City of New York, is a synthesis of rare images and essays that study the growth of the city’s largest Christian denomination. 

Moving back across the pond, we have Ireland’s Art, Ireland’s History.  Síghle Bhreathnach-Lynch, Curator of Irish Art at the National Gallery in Ireland, takes one of the first in-depth looks at how art has shaped the history of Ireland as a nation and a people. 

Gerard Manley Hopkins, one of the most revered poets of all-time, spent the last years of his life in Ireland. Hopkins in Ireland illustrates the man’s legacy both through his words and photos taken by the author, Michael Flecky, S.J., showing the places memorialized in his poems, journals, and letters. 

Want more? Here are a few more titles:

The Other Bishop Berkeley: An Exercise in Re-enchantment

Victor Herbert: A Theatrical Life

To Bear Witness: A Journey of Healing and Solidarity

Fordham: A History and Memoir, Revised Edition