Martha Hennesy, the granddaughter of Dorothy Day, presents on peace and non-action.
REYNA ORLOVA / THE QUADRANGLE
Reyna Orlova, Contributor
On Tuesday Nov. 3, Manhattan University (MU) hosted an event focused on activist Dorothy Day’s granddaughter, Martha Hennessy, where she discussed how faith and peace can mean non-violent action.
Martha Hennessy, peace activist and granddaughter to Dorothy Day, visited MU and shared both her and her grandmother’s thoughts on the current state of the world. During the talk, she urged for non-violent acts of change around the world. Hennessy shared with The Quadrangle how her faith shaped this mindset.
“I think Jesus was trying to show us…love thy neighbor, put up your sword,” Hennessy said. “…Have mercy, take pity and love your enemy. If I’m going to call myself a Catholic, I need to reject violence, reject war, especially modern warfare.”
Hennessy’s faith sits at the crux of her mission, but she shared that her grandmother also influences her action towards peace. During the talk, Hennessy informed the crowd that her childhood is distinctly marked by her mother, Tamar Batterham Hennessy, and Day’s messages and actions.
REYNA ORLOVA / THE QUADRANGLE
“One of the first things I remember holding onto is [when] both of them said, ‘Pay attention to the suffering of others,’” Hennessy said. “‘Not only pay attention to the suffering of others, but care about it and do something.’ So that was instilled very early in me by Tamar and Dorothy.”
Kevin Ahern Ph.D., chair of the department of religion and philosophy at MU as well as the director of the Dorothy Day Center, showed that Day’s impact stretched far beyond her family and into the hearts of many hoping to make positive change to the world.
“…[Dorothy] is a woman who tried to live her life with integrity,” Ahern said. “And that is not an easy thing to do in our world. To practice what you preach, and that challenges me to try and do that, and to try and do that boldly.”
Ahern is heavily involved in sharing Day’s legacy within the university. He worked on the creation of the Dorothy Day Center, which can be contacted at ddcenter@manhattan.edu, and shared that the center serves as an embodiment of MU’s Lasallian values and as a promotion of Day’s work.
“[The center] is hopefully a way to inspire students first and foremost to take action and be involved in the world,” Ahern said. “And to be involved in social action. [MU] has a long tradition of working on peace and justice issues. We’re one of the first universities to have a peace studies program and a major, so we’re tapping into a legacy that’s a counter witness to the temptations to work…only for profit.”
Casey Mullaney, member of the Catholic Worker movement and the Dorothy Day Guild as well as a writer for The Catholic Worker newspaper, shared how the Catholic Worker movement first began.
“The Catholic Worker movement started as a newspaper, and then the houses of hospitality, the farms, the active resistance, work out in the world,” Mullaney said. “All of that comes from a desire to put into practice the ideals expounded in the paper. So, the paper is there as the organ of the movement.”
Mullaney shared that The Catholic Worker newspaper serves as an alternative way to spread the gospel.
“…The paper is really a means of offering the spiritual works of mercy…it’s a way of announcing the good news,” Mullaney said. “And it should be denouncing the ways that our world has failed to bring about this vision of peace, of harmony, of justice.”
To end the event, Hennessy emphasized the importance of young people not losing hope in our current climate. She acknowledges the mess made for the youth but asks us to be brave in the face of it.
“Give each other courage,” Hennessy said. “Do the work that’s at hand. Find out what you can do where you are. Find your vocation that contributes to the common good.”