Sister Mary Dennis Donovan, Catholic Action, and Human Relations in the Diocese of Pittsburgh in the 1940s through the 1970s
In 1944, Sister Mary Dennis Donovan, CSJ, embarked on the task of developing a Christian Social Living (CSL) curriculum for middle school students as envisioned by the Pittsburgh diocesan school superintendent Father Thomas Quigley. Drawing upon her upbringing in a socially conscious household in a...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
American Catholic Historical Society
2021
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| In: |
American catholic studies
Year: 2021, Volume: 132, Issue: 2, Pages: 67-96 |
| IxTheo Classification: | CH Christianity and Society KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history KBQ North America KCA Monasticism; religious orders KDB Roman Catholic Church RF Christian education; catechetics |
| Online Access: |
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| Summary: | In 1944, Sister Mary Dennis Donovan, CSJ, embarked on the task of developing a Christian Social Living (CSL) curriculum for middle school students as envisioned by the Pittsburgh diocesan school superintendent Father Thomas Quigley. Drawing upon her upbringing in a socially conscious household in a Western Pennsylvanian steel mill town, she saw her work culminate in the publication of the co-authored textbook The Christian Citizen, which brought the principles of CSL into many classrooms in the United States. Her CSL work in the 1940s through the early 1960s provided middle school students with the tools to carry out Catholic Action. As Catholic Action was evolving within the post-conciliar church in the mid-1960s, Sister Mary Dennis co-authored a new textbook, The Responsible Citizen, and created a program of educating the laity of all faiths on race relations. As part of an initiative to improve race relations, the Pittsburgh diocese adopted this Catholic Action program and, subsequently, hired her to implement it. By the 1970s, her work had broadened to human relations. This article examines the contributions of this woman religious to Catholic Action and human relations in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, from the late 1940s through the early 1970s. |
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| ISSN: | 2161-8534 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: American catholic studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1353/acs.2021.0024 |