Dorothy Day, Superhero?

Inside the new graphic novel about Dorothy Day. Also: Ugandan CW detained following land-grab intervention; Reznicek seeks aid for 'prison family,' and the history of Christian anarchism.

Dorothy vs. Batman

Just when you think you “know” the story of Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker, someone goes and creates a graphic novel that includes all sorts of little gems you'd never heard of before.

Take, for example, the fact that Dorothy apparently served as the inspiration for a recurring character in the Batman comic book series. Jeff Korgen, the writer behind said graphic novel (Dorothy Day: Radical Devotion) related this little tidbit to Joan Bromberek during her interview with him. Apparently, the writer tasked with rebooting the franchise in the 1970s had hung around the Catholic Worker—a fact verified by Tom Cornell, according to Korgen—and created a pacifist doctor based on Dorothy to serve as Batman’s conscience. The character’s name? Leslie Thompkins…or Leslie Maurin Thompkins, to be specific.

Want an even weirder CW cultural reference? According to Korgen, many Star Trek fans speculate that Day was the inspiration for Edith Keeler, a soup kitchen operator from 1930s New York City whose life is saved by a time-travelling Dr. McCoy. She goes on to launch a pacifist movement that succeeds in keeping the United States out of World War II, leading to the Nazis conquering the world. While there’s no definitive evidence that the Catholic Worker founder inspired the Keeler character, Korgen and other fans find it “plausible.”

Ah, the things you learn when you cross a Catholic social justice geek with a comic book/sci-fi fan.

On a more serious note, we received word from Michael Sekitoleko as this issue was being made up that he had been illegally detained for 28 days as a result of his intervention in an illegal land grab. You’ll find that story, which we will continue to follow, along with a bunch of Roundup items, in the rest of this issue.

Jerry

FEATURED

Dorothy Day Graphic Novel Tells of Her ‘Hero’s Journey’

A page from the new graphic novel, Dorothy Day: Radical Devotion. © Paulist Press. Used with permission.

There’s a new graphic novel that tells the story of Dorothy Day’s life and the Catholic Worker Movement she co-founded. Joan Bromberek and Jerry Windley-Daoust interviewed Jeff Korgen, the writer behind Dorothy Day: Radical Devotion, about why the graphic novel format suits her life, plus some of the little-known anecdotes revealed in the book. Here’s an excerpt from the story:

Dorothy Day famously quipped that she didn’t want to be called a saint.

She never said anything about calling her a superhero, though.

Whatever might happen with her cause for canonization, she now has her own graphic novel, Dorothy Day: Radical Devotion, to be released by Paulist Press on Labor Day. 

The graphic biography is the product of an eight-year collaboration between Jeff Korgen, who wrote most of the script; comic book enthusiast Friar Mike Lasky, OFM Conv., who consulted on the book; and illustrator Christopher Cardinale, a veteran graphic novelist and muralist. All three men have been deeply involved in promoting social justice for most of their lives.

Telling Dorothy’s Story in Art

The idea for a graphic novel biography of Dorothy Day was sparked by the seven years Korgen spent coordinating the local phase of the cause for Day’s canonization under vice postulator George Horton. The position was like being a “canon law paralegal,” Korgen said, doing all the legwork to collect and organize the evidence for the cause.

The project was massive, resulting in 1,300 pounds of paper being sent on to Rome. Among other things, Korgen sorted through testimony submitted by the many people who had known Day; he also recruited 125 volunteers to transcribe Day’s 10,000-page diary.

“I’d been working for two years on the cause, and I just became so overwhelmed by her story and the need to share it,” Korgen said.

Korgen considered many possibilities for telling the story—a musical, maybe, or a Netflix series—but in the end, he decided that a graphic novel would be the best medium. It’s a medium he knows well.

Growing up, Korgen was a “reluctant reader.” To encourage him to read more, his parents gave him comic books.

“It actually worked,” Korgen said. “My gateway drug was Marvel Comics, and then I got a taste for reading right after that.”

That early experience not only improved his reading skills but also left a lasting appreciation for comic books; he would go on to write three of his own with artist Kevin C. Pyle: Wage Theft Comics, Worker Justice Illustrated, and Migrant. 

The graphic novel format offers a new way to tell Dorothy’s story, Korgen said.

“The art brings the drama alive in a way that a standard biography can’t,” he said. “Quoting Dostoevsky, Dorothy said the world will be saved by beauty, so I think she would appreciate the contribution of art to storytelling.”

Dorothy Gets Her Superhero Moment

Day’s life fits the archetypal “hero’s journey” story arc, Korgen said. The story he and Cardinale and Lasky told captures the essence of Day’s transformation and struggles, presenting her as a character whose journey inspires others to reflect on their paths and actions. 

But as much as her life’s journey, with all its trials and triumphs, aligns with the archetypal hero’s journey, it is her sanctity and deep faith that truly define her legacy, Korgen said. The graphic novel attempts to convey both of these dimensions of her life story.

This isn’t exactly Dorothy Day’s first turn in a comic book; previously, she inspired a supporting character in the Batman comic book series. Korgen has a copy of Detective Comics #457 (March 1976) in which writer Dennis O’Neil and artist Dick Giordano introduced the character of Leslie Maurin Thompkins in a story titled “There Is No Hope in Crime Alley.”

As Korgen explained, O’Neil often hung out at the Catholic Worker (Tom Cornell remembered him there), although he never became formally involved in the movement.  Tasked with rebooting the franchise in the 1970s, O’Neil returned Batman to its darker, grittier roots. At the same time, he felt conflicted about Batman’s use of violence in the stories. His solution was to create Thompkins, a pacifist doctor who opens a clinic to serve the poor. Thompkins becomes a mentor to Bruce Wayne, forcing him to wrestle with his conscience.

(O’Neil spoke about Leslie Thompkin’s connection to Dorothy Day several times, including in a 2015 essay mildly protesting how the character had evolved away from her pacifist roots.)

Day’s origin story features her own inner conflict, Korgen noted, as she tried to reconcile her radical  roots with her newfound Catholic faith. 

“Dorothy Day was a seeker,” Korgen said, “and I think a lot of seekers today would be inspired by her because she tried different things, but the one thing that could fill the God-shaped space in her soul was God, found through the Catholic Church.” 

Read on at CatholicWorker.org to learn about Day’s collaboration with the Dominican Sisters of Bethany to find safe harbor for trafficking victims, plus a little-known epilogue to her relationship with Forster Batterham.

Ugandan CW Sekitoleko Detained, Tortured, Following Intervention in Illegal Land Grab

Michael Sekitoleko, founder of the Uganda Catholic Worker, tells Roundtable that he was released on Friday following a 28-day detention in jail following his intervention in an illegal land seizure.

Sekitoleko said he was met by police at his home on June 9 and detained without explanation for three days in the Kiboga jail before being charged with “Unlawful Society/Inciting Violence.” Seven other activists involved in the intervention were arrested at the same time, he said. Sekitoleko and the activists had been supporting 37 peasant families who were being threatened with the loss of their land in an illegal land seizure near Kiganzi village.

Sekitoleko reported that during his detention he and the other activists were subjected to severe mistreatment, including torture and systemic corruption. He said he was pressured to make false confessions by the police, who demanded that he abandon his advocacy efforts.

The conditions in detention were dire, he said, with prisoners being fed out of the same bucket that was used for the toilet. Sekitoleko and the seven other activists who supported the threatened families were isolated and tortured, he said. The police frequently transferred him between stations to further break his spirit.

Sekitoleko said he never received a court hearing; instead, on the seventh day, the authorities demanded one million Ugandan shillings (about $250) for his release.

The police deleted records of Sekitoleko’s activities with the villagers from his phone before they let him use the phone so he could call friends and relatives to raise the money demanded for his release. A copy of the police record provided to Roundtable by Sekitoleko characterizes the money as a bond; Sekitoleko calls it a bribe.

Concerned about his rapidly deteriorating health, Sekitoleko managed to raise the money in order to be released. The terms of his release require him to report to the Luwakaka Police Station weekly beginning next Friday. He has yet to have a court date scheduled.

This isn’t the first time Sekitoleko has been arrested for intervening on behalf of subsistence farmers fighting land seizures. He was previously detained for six weeks in 2017 for bringing pro bono lawyers to educate peasants about their rights under Ugandan law.

Illegal land seizures are common in Uganda, often driven by powerful individuals exploiting vulnerable communities. The lack of legal protection and rampant corruption enables these unlawful practices, leaving many families displaced and without recourse. The issue has been the focus of international NGOs such as GRAIN and the Slow Food Foundation and studies by Cambridge University and Friends of the Earth International. Land grabbing not only displaces subsistence farmers and indigenous people, but worsens the effects of climate change, according to the Pulitzer Center. Despite a 2013 presidential statement officially condemning the practice, the problem persists.

Sekitoleko is appealing for financial help so he can receive medical treatment as well as international contacts to help protect him from further human rights abuses. Interested donors can reach out to hello@catholicworker.org for details.

THE ROUNDUP

Jessica Reznicek is requesting funds to help her “prison family” with various needs. Reznicek is the Des Moines Catholic Worker currently serving an eight-year prison sentence for her 2016 action to stop the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline by dismantling construction equipment and pipeline valves. “I am a few years into my prison sentence now and fully immersed in the culture here,” Reznicek wrote in a letter to fellow DMCW member Frank Cordaro. “In some ways, I expected this depth of closeness to develop but was for the most part unaware of the intimacies which would form within the relationships of my prison family.” To read the entire letter and get details about how to support her, see the Free Jessica Reznicek Facebook page.

“I can't say that I fully understand the Eucharist other than what Dorothy showed us. The Eucharist is in the poor,” Martha Hennessy told Black Catholic Messenger in a recent article about her upcoming appearance at the National Eucharistic Congress. Noting recent controversy around the U.S. Catholic bishops’ Campaign for Human Development, Hennessy said she hoped “that these contentions can fall by the wayside and people really can feel the spirit of the Eucharist in this gathering. I'm hopeful that there'll be a lot of good things that come out of it.” Read the full article at the Black Catholic Messenger.

The Appalachian Catholic Worker, along with other organizations, will be gathering in Martin, Kentucky September 13-15 for the Catholic Committee of Appalachia’s 54th annual gathering.  This event takes place yearly in different states in central Appalachia “to learn, celebrate, worship together, and rejuvenate for another year of working for justice in the mountains.” The theme for this year is “How to Be Church in the Face of Fascism & Christian Nationalism.” While registration for the event has passed, there are still opportunities to learn more and livestream the event. 

A longtime guest at the Las Vegas Catholic Worker was recently hospitalized with a stroke, prompting Julia Occhiogrosso to write a reflection on the challenges of living the ideal of Catholic Worker personalism. “I often wonder about my capacity to hold fast to these ideals. It is one thing to philosophize about these principles, it’s another thing to attempt to embody them. In the process, I had to recognize my limitations. I have deep appreciation for the many who practice these principles of personalism by caring for family and friends with special needs.” You can read her essay and more in the June issue of Manna in the Wilderness, the community’s newsletter.

The birth of goat twins, a new kitten, and several visitors helping with chores and music ministry are among the spring and early summer highlights at Strangers and Guests Catholic Worker (Maloy, Iowa), Betsy Keenan writes in the latest issue of The Sower. The issue also includes a letter from Susan Crane and Susan van der Hijden, Catholic Workers serving time in a German prison for their nonviolent nuclear disarmament actions at Büchel air base, as well as a reflection by Brian Terrell on his 2017 five-day “respite” in Wisconsin’s Juneau County Jail. Read the issue at CatholicWorker.org.

The July/August issue of the German magazine CONTRASTE focuses on the Catholic Worker movement, with articles offering a basic overview of the movement and the life of Dorothy Day. along with profiles of the Bread & Roses Catholic Worker in Hamburg, Germany, and Noëlhuis Catholic Worker in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Other articles in the issue cover the European Catholic Worker meeting, an interview with Susan Crane, and an article from Brian Terrell (Strangers and Guests Catholic Worker) recounting his 49 years with the Catholic Worker movement. You can get a look at the summer issue on the CONTRASTE website; use a browser to translate the website into English.

Dorothy Day Tampa (Tampa, Florida) has launched a new initiative addressing the burden of driver’s license fines and fees, which disproportionately impact poor communities and people of color. The program is a collaborative effort involving Love INC Tampa, The Portico, Dorothy Day Tampa, and Abe Brown Ministries, pooling funds and pro bono legal resources to assist individuals with resolving fines and fees. Guests undergo a thorough vetting process, contribute financially, and work alongside attorneys to manage and resolve their issues. Currently, eight individuals are benefiting from this program. Read more in the community’s July newsletter.

The affordable housing building operated by Lydia’s House (Cincinnati, Ohio) is getting covered in large roses as the community paints a wrap-around mural on it. The mural is inspired by the suffragist slogan, “Bread for all, and Roses too!” used during the Bread and Roses Strike that advocated for fair wages and better working conditions in textile factories. See photos of the mural in progress at their website.

“If you ask a Christian if they’re an anarchist (I did), many of them will tell you, ‘Absolutely not.’ But a select few might say, ‘Of course: Christians were the first anarchists.’ Indeed, Christianity has a long history of anarchism that dates back to the early Christians of scripture and continues to today.” Roundtable editor Renee Roden takes readers on a deep dive into the history of Christian anarchism, from its scriptural roots through the French Revolution, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon. Leo Tolstoy, and the Catholic Worker Movement in her latest article for U.S. Catholic magazine. You can read it here.

CALENDAR

July 19 | National Eucharistic Congress, Indianapolis
Martha Hennessy: “Dorothy Day’s Radical Devotion to the Eucharist”

August 7 | Virtual event
The Long Loneliness Virtual Study Group

August 10 | Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
CW Memorial & Action at Vandenberg Space Force Base

September 6-7 | Chicago
Peter Maurin Conference

September 12-15 | Sugar Creek, Iowa
Midwest Catholic Worker Gathering

October 4-6 | St. Francis CW, Chicago
Catholic Worker National Gathering

Art by Monica Welch at DoveTailInk

A FEW GOOD WORDS

The Age of Order

If we make

the right decisions

in the age of chaos

the effect of those decisions

will be a better order.

The new order

brought about

by right decisions

will be functional,

not acquisitive;

personalist,

not socialist;

communitarian,

not collectivist;

organismic,

not mechanistic.

The thing to do right now

is to create a new society

within the shell of the old

with the philosophy of the new.

which is not a new philosophy

but a very old philosophy.

a philosophy so old

that it looks like new.

–Peter Maurin, The Catholic Worker, April 1942

---

Roundtable covers the Catholic Worker Movement. This week’s Roundtable was produced by Renée Roden, Joan Bromberek, Monica Welch, and Jerry Windley-Daoust.

Roundtable is an independent publication not associated with the New York Catholic Worker or The Catholic Worker newspaper. Send inquiries to roundtable@catholicworker.org.