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Statistics for the use of the archives show the numbers of
visitors 3,191 (3,215) remaining steady, a decrease of the
number of telephone calls 591 (734), and both long 1,474 (1,170)
and short 3,244 (3,031) reference inquiries increasing slightly.
The greater part of these inquiries are handled by e-mail.
(These figures are for Jan. – Dec. 2013. Figures in brackets are
for the same period in 2012. These figures do not include mail
related to fundraising donations to the Center or ITMS
Membership renewals.).
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A wide variety of groups
continue to come to the Center for talks introducing the life
and thought of Merton or for other meetings, including two
Merton Road Scholar Programs a year in the Spring and Fall, and
a weekly meditation class for Bellarmine students and staff.
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In February M. Shawn
Copeland gave the 7th Annual Thomas Merton Black History Month
Lecture – “The Wound and the Witness: Merton and King and the
Exercise of the Prophetic.” The 2014 lecture will be given by
Dorothy Cotton on February 26th 2014. Dr. Cotton was Martin
Luther King Jr’s head of education for the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference from 1960 – 1968 and as such was a part of
his inner circle. She accompanied him to Oslo when he received
the Nobel Peace Prize and was staying in the next door room to
King at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis when he was assassinated.
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The Center’s Fall 2013
Lecture series focused on Thomas Merton and the Second Vatican
Council with four lectures:
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“Thomas Merton and Pope John
XXIII” by Michael W. Higgins.
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“Thomas Merton, Vatican II,
and Women Religious” by Bonnie B. Thurston.
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“Vulnerable Prophets: Thomas
Merton, Abraham Joshua Heschel and Vatican II” by Edward K.
Kaplan.
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“The Impact of Thomas Merton
and Vatican II on the Church” by Anthony T. Padovano .
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In Fall 2014 the Center will
host a symposium marking the fiftieth anniversary of Thomas
Merton’s 1964 retreat for peacemakers.
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Throughout the first part of 2013 Paul was heavily involved
in planning for the May visit of the Dalai Lama to Louisville.
To coincide with the visit the Merton Center hosted two events
on the Bellarmine campus:
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A Hidden Wholeness: The Zen Photography of Thomas Merton
- May 7th-June 2nd, 2013.
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Thomas Merton and the Dalai Lama - Special Exhibit -
April 29th-June 2nd, 2013.
In addition:
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A web page about these events and about Merton’s
friendship with the Dalai Lama was created at:
merton.org/DalaiLama/
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Working with local filmmaker Morgan Atkinson Paul had the
opportunity to briefly interview the Dalai Lama about his
memories of Merton. A short extract from the interview was
included in a report by local journalist, Peter Smith.
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Paul worked closely with the organizers of the 2013 Festival
of Faiths on a number of Merton related aspects of the May
Festival including the design of an evening audio-visual
presentation entitled “Merton: In His Own Voice” and an exhibit
of Ralph Eugene Meatyard’s photographs of Merton.
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The photography exhibit “A Hidden Wholeness – The Zen
Photography of Thomas Merton” was exhibited at:
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McGrath Art Gallery, Bellarmine University, Louisville.
May 7th-June 2nd, 2013.
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Australian Catholic Union Gallery, Melbourne, Australia.
July 10th-24th, 2013.
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ACME Et Al, Yarra Glen, Australia. August 30th-October
6th, 2013.
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The Center was also involved in sponsoring a number of other
events including:
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A showing of "The Forgotten Bomb" film followed by a
discussion on February 17th, 2013 - 2 pm.
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Kentucky Interfaith Power and Light Annual Awards Dinner
on May 9th, 2013.
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“My Recipe for Peace” on August 28th, 2013.
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"The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know is Possible"
with Charles Eisenstein on October 4th 2013.
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The Center continues to publish quarterly a running
bibliography listing new works by and about Merton.
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The Center oversaw the publication and distribution of
The Merton Seasonal (volume 38, issues 1-4) and volume 25
of The Merton Annual.
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In additional to his work as Resident Secretary for the ITMS
Paul is chairing the ITMS Shannon Fellowship Committee, and
serving on the Centenary and Advancement Committees.
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Both Paul and Mark are on the Program Committee for the 14th
ITMS Conference to be held at Bellarmine in June 2015, and are
both serving as ex officio members of the ITMS Communications
committee.
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Mark is serving as Treasurer of the ITMS for the 2013-2015
administration.
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Paul undertook speaking engagements at Iona College, New
Rochelle, NY., and participated in a panel about Thomas Merton
at the 44th meeting of the College English Association in
Savannah, GA.
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Paul and Mark both attended the biennial conference of the
ITMS at Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, CT., where they both
gave presentations in concurrent sessions. Paul also took part
in a panel on Merton Research which will probably become a
regular feature of future conferences.
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In September Paul was a guest on “Talking History” on the
Irish radio station Newstalk 106-108fm in an hour-long program
about Thomas Merton's life and legacy. It is available online
at:
https://www.newstalk.com/podcasts/highlights-from-talking-history/thomas-merton-part-1.
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Paul’s talk “‘Give Them Poetry, Poetry, Poetry’ The Donald
Allchin Memorial Address Delivered at the Ninth General Meeting
of the Thomas Merton Society of Great Britain and Ireland at
Oakham School, Rutland on 13th April 2012” was published in
The Merton Journal 19.2 (Advent 2012): 8-17 and his article
“‘Wisdom Cries the Dawn Deacon’: Thomas Merton and the Ox
Mountain Parable” was published in The CEA Critic 75.3
(November 2013): 278-284.
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Mark transcribed and introduced a recording by Merton on
“Camus, Catholicism and the Death Penalty” in The Merton
Seasonal 38.3 (Fall 2013): 12-15.
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The Center has also been involved in assisting in numerous
publication projects as well as assisting book and journal
publishers requiring access to images or permissions.