This is a file in the correspondence of Thomas Merton under the heading: "Champney, Katharine".
Mrs. Katharine Champney writes from Cincinnati, Ohio, in response to "Apologies to an Unbeliever", published in the November 1966 issue of Harper's Magazine (and later appeared with a related article in the book Faith and Violence).
Please click here for general restrictions concerning Merton's correspondence.
See published letter from Merton to Champney in Witness to Freedom, pp. 327-329; see also 1966/11/11 entry about Champney from his journals, published in Learning to Love, pp. 158-159; and see also the "McKervey, Henry A." file.
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. |
1966/11/07 |
TLS to Merton |
Please excuse the (contrived) confusion of my salutation. However, the crossed-out titles certainly |
|
dislikes organized religion in any form - feels a kinship with Merton after reading "Apologies to an Unbeliever" he wrote for Harper's magazine / does Merton truly appreciates the isolation and lack of security in not believing? / has not heard/seen God - is there no God? / does it matter or change things if she believes?
«detailed view» |
2. |
1966/11/10 |
TL[c] from Merton |
You talk a bit like my other friend Catharine with a C who is one of the editors at Harpers. |
✓ |
"Believing is not only not seeing but it is also a staunch refusal to say you see what you don't see." / on not seeing God either and being as "alone in the Void" - only difference is that Merton is "happy with traditional religious concepts" as a tool - also sees they "ultimately go nowhere" / feels "more at home with unbelievers"
«detailed view» |
|
|