Unlikely Spiritual Heroes

by Brennan R. Hill

Brennan Hill profiles eight improbable candidates for the great things they did: Thomas Merton, at first glance, a party-going lady's man, becomes a Trappist monk and peace activist; Helen Prejean, a quiet religious sister, befriends and advocates for the seemingly most monstrous among us murderers on death row; Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, a bookish, shy son of Italian immigrants, becomes one of the most outspoken prelates of our time; Pedro Arrupe, a medical student then priest, survives nuclear holocaust and becomes a great Jesuit leader; Jean Donovan, a Harley-riding businesswoman, turns missionary and is martyred; Dorothy Stang, a religious sister and schoolteacher, champions the environment and loses her life doing so; Maximilian Kolbe, a sickly, eccentric Franciscan, turns publisher and warrior for peace and dies in Auschwitz trading his life for a Jewish prisoner; Karol Wojtyla, a young Polish actor whose election to pope makes him one of the most famous men on the world stage. These unlikely heroes saw great injustice, sorrow, and violence in the world and, in their own ways some small, some universal sought and created love, justice, peace, and hope for our time.

143 pages, Paperback

First published February 24, 2010

Reviews

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I consider myself to be on the conservative side of the spectrum, both politically and religiously. When I was perusing books offered for review by The Catholic Company this one piqued my interest because it was biographical, but I knew that several those whose names I recognized were on the liberal end of the spectrum. Unlikely Spiritual Heroes offers short biographies of the following:

Jean Donovan: A Maryknoll missionary killed in El Salvador
Helen Prejean: A Louisiana sister who has acted as a spiritual director to those on death row and is an anti-death penalty activist
Pedro Arrupe: Jesuit who served in Japan during WWII and who came to lead the whole order
Thomas Merton: Trappist monk and writer
Maximilian Kolbe: Priest killed at Auschwitz
Joseph Bernardin: Late Archbishop (and Cardinal) of Chicago
John Paul II: Pope
The author, Brennan Hill, Ph.D. is professor emeritus in the theology department at Xavier University in Cincinnati. The book is extensively footnoted but the writing style is more simplistic than academic. It just did not seem to be written by a professional writer, though I have a hard time explaining exactly why I say that.

The book focuses on each person's working, teaching or writing in the area of social justice and frankly, it takes the usual liberal line that liberation theology is great, the death penalty is bad, and that Vatican II really changed the teachings of the Catholic church.

As I said at the beginning, I'm a conservative. I found this book somewhat discomforting, and I'm sure that was the idea. There is no question that the dictatorial regimes in Central and South America are bad, that they have killed innocent people and that the poor down there need help. I think there are questions about the methods some people, including church people like Donovan and Stang used down there, but as this book points out, the Nazis and the Communists in Europe found the teachings and teachers of the Catholic church to be every bit as big a threat as the dictators in the Americas do today. On the other hand, John Paul II, who lived through WWII and was a great contributor to the downfall of Communism, found fault with Liberation Theology and the movements it started.

I'd like to thank the Catholic Company for providing a complimentary review copy of Unlikely Spiritual Heroes.

[Zoraida Rivera Morales]

The eight biographies presented in this book provide a rich and objetive view into the lives of some modern heroes. Some of them I knew, but some I had never heard of before. The author,
Brennan R.Hill shows their courage, strength and solidarity, but he, also, shows their struggles, fears and incongruences. He gives you facts. Decide for yourself, if they're heroes. I recommend this book.

[Kelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading about the lives of some of these amazing men & women. They inspire me to want to be a better person.