About This Issue
It’s been a lot of work, but American Catholic Studies is almost on schedule. By the spring 2003 issue, we will be publishing four issues a year – spring, summer, fall and winter. We appreciate your patience and support as we work to achieve this goal. It is within reach, and we look forward to your continued suggestions and submissions.
This issue continues our commitment to publish articles appropriate to the broad and emerging field of American Catholic Studies. Michael McNally, professor of Church History at Philadelphia’s St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, reminds us that there is Catholic life outside of the Northeast with his study of antebellum southern Catholicism in a Georgia parish. Angelyn Dries, OSF, Chair of the Religion Studies Department at Cardinal Stitch University in Milwaukee, examines the ways in which several Catholics viewed “world religions,” We think Dries’ work will be especially helpful to those of you trying to include issues related to diversity and globalization in your fall courses! Anyone who has spent time in religious and/or university archives will enjoy Timothy Meagher’s discussion of how the Archives at the Catholic University of America has begun to enter the digital world. We are happy to publish his first-hand account, and welcome submissions from other archivists interested in enlightening our readers about their collections. Two articles serve as a reminder that the question of Catholic identity and Catholic intellectual life did not originate at the end of the twentieth century. William Portier, professor of Theology at Mount St. Mary’s, Emmitsburg, has written about Leslie Dewart, an important Catholic thinking of the 1950’s and 1960’s. Mary Brown, assistant to the provost at the University of Dayton (as well as a doctoral student in the university’s American Catholic Studies program) revisits UD’s “heresy affair” of the 1960’s. Brown’s article also serves as a reminder to our readers enrolled in graduate programs that we welcome your submissions to ACS, and hope to hear from you. Our cover essay by co-editor Rodger Van Allen examines the significance of John Kennedy’s Catholicism for his co-religionists. Enjoy!
Margaret McGuinness, Co-editor