In recognition of Commonweal’s one-hundredth anniversary this November, Commonweal was featured in the October-November 2024 issue of the Catholic Worker. Written by former Commonweal managing editor Patrick Jordan, the article reflects on the enduring connection between the two publications.
As Jordan describes, the relationship between Commonweal and the Catholic Worker goes back to the very beginning. Dorothy Day was a Commonweal contributor when managing editor George Schuster connected her to Peter Maurin. Together, they cofounded the Catholic Worker movement. Since then, Jordan writes, “The stable of shared authors between the two publications has been relatively constant and stellar.”
Over the decades, members of both publications have continued to impact one another. For former Commonweal editor Edward S. Skillin, for instance, Dorothy Day and her movement had a formative influence. “Day served as an inspiration,” he explained, “reminding me of our duties as Christians toward our needy brothers and sisters.... Because of her, I developed a different point of view of what should be the social message of Catholicism.” Meanwhile, members of the Commonweal community, including Carlton J. H. Hayes, Peter Steinfels, Rita Ferrone, and Miles Doyle, have been invited to address Catholic Worker gatherings as part of the Workers’ tradition of Clarification of Thought.
Jordan writes that Commonweal and the Catholic Worker embody distinct but interconnected approaches to faith and public life. While the Catholic Worker emphasizes works of mercy and active resistance to war, Commonweal exemplifies freedom of thought in both the Church and the world. With their distinctive approaches, the two publications, both dynamic expressions of the American Catholic laity, have found common cause over the years in rejecting Fr. Coughlin’s antisemitism, opposing the use of atomic bombs in Nagasaki and Hirsoshima, and supporting the pursuit of a common good.
Jordan’s article, originally published in the Catholic Worker, can be found here on our website.
