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Msgr. Josiah George Chatham was a priest from Jackson, Mississippi, who had known Merton since their meeting at Gethsemani in 1940. They became friends and discussed Chatham's opposition to the war, his protests of nuclear weapons, and his support of Civil Rights in the South.
Please click here for general restrictions concerning Merton's correspondence.
See also Cold War Letters #13, published in Witness to Freedom, pp. 25-26.
If the person in correspondence with Merton has full text records in the Merton Center Digital Collections, there will be a numeric link to them below.
This Record Sub-Group is not divided into Series and is arranged chronologically.
Click icons for links: ✓="Published | Library Record", ✉="Scanned" | 🗷="Scanned, Viewable Only at Merton Center"
| # | Date | From/To | First Lines | Pub ✓ | Notes |
| | y/m/d | Merton | | Scan ✉ | |
| 1. |
1961/12/no |
transcript from Merton |
I think that in this awful issue of nuclear war there is involved much more than the danger |
✓ |
moral theologians sticking to "safe" positions instead of denouncing war - similar to German clergy and Catholic press support of Nazis - did not prevent Fr. Metzger and priests and religious killed at Dachau / Pope's strong language of peace / views of Russian Orthodox
«detailed view» |
| 2. |
1962/05/28 |
TLS[x] from Merton |
Fr Francis passed your letter along and I am glad we can look forward to seeing you in June. |
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on Chatham getting jailed for picketing the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Building in Berkeley in 1961 / superiors curtailing Merton's peace activities - completed Peace in the Post-Christian Era will not go to publication
«detailed view» |
| 3. |
1963/06/27 |
HLS to Merton |
For some reason I have been thinking of you and my other Trappist friends very often here lately. |
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"Program of Neighborhood Visitation" in progress at St. Richard's Parish in Jackson, Mississippi / article "Total Parish Apostolate" in publication Worship / outreach to the black community - featured in the next issue of America / series of sermons published in Jubilee
«detailed view» |
| 4. |
1963/07/15 |
HLS to Merton |
Will you please let Father Francis read the enclosed? Rev. Thomas Tiller and his family are being |
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«detailed view» |
| 5. |
1965/03/no? |
HNS from Merton |
Many thanks for your fine "keynotes" on Religion and Race. I think of you often |
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[handwritten note from Merton to Chatham on the cover of a spiral bound mimeograph copy of "The Council and Monasticism" (22 pages) - the note has not date, but the mimeograph has a typed date of March 1965 - this copy transferred from file of mimeographs from Gethsemani]
«detailed view» |
| 6. |
1971/02/08 |
TLS[x] to Center from Chatham, Josiah |
I have your recent communications concerning possible copies of letters that I may have |
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[see the "Fox, James" file, Series 29 for the original signed letter] 1940 retreat at Gethsemani in which Fr. William Chassagne (now Dom Anthony Chassagne, O.C.S.O.) and Josiah Chatham considered a Trappist vocation / later years Chatham met with Merton many times and established correspondence
«detailed view» |
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