About This Issue
Although readers will receive this issue of American Catholic Studies in January 2008, it will go the printer before we break for Christmas. We are sure if you received a scholarly journal in the mail before the holidays you would put it aside and hope to find time to read articles and reviews at a later date. We hope this issue reaches you when you are able to take a bit of a breather in between your responsibilities, and enjoy some fine articles and reviews.
"The Women in John Lancaster Spalding's Life" by C. Walker Gollar (Xavier University, Cincinnati) examines a side of Spalding's life that has not received much attention: his views on women's rights. Gollar's essay explains Spalding was influenced by several women from diverse walks of life, including his slave nanny and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Although his views of women's suffrage and higher education are considered progressive, it was his dialogues with Cady Stanton, Mother Caroline Freiss, and others that enabled him to develop his thoughts on this subject.
Ryan D. Dye (St. Ambrose University, Davenport) sheds new light on Holy Cross father Leo Ward. A professor of moral philosophy at the University of Notre Dame and the author of over twenty books on a variety of subjects, Ward was also interested in how communities are formed and preserved. Dye's article focuses on this aspect of his thought and reminds us Ward was no "mere rural sentimentalist"; he supported Vatican II and called for Catholic universities to emerge from their "isolationist slumber."
The early years of NBC radio's Catholic Hour is the subject of an article by Alexander Pavuk, a Ph.D. candidate in American history at the University of Delaware. Readers of this essay will learn about the early days of radio, as well as the development of religious programming and some of the early "stars" of the airwaves such as James Gillis, C.S.P., and Bishop Fulton Sheen.
In addition to some fine reviews, please remember to read the cover essay on the Knights of Columbus (celebrating their 125th anniversary in 2007) by Christopher Kauffman (The Catholic University of America/U.S. Catholic Historian). We are grateful to Dr. Kauffman for his help and friendship over the years, and we hope you enjoy the essay and photos.
As always, we appreciate the support of our readers, and we invite your comments, questions, and suggestions. Have a wonderful 2008.
Margaret M. McGuinness
Co-editor