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St. Dorothy Day? Controversial, Yes, but Bishops Push for Canonization

By David Gibson, Religion News Service
Circa 1969, American social activist Dorothy Day. Getty Images
Circa 1969, American social activist Dorothy Day. Getty Images
Nov 15, 2012
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BALTIMORE — The Catholic bishops gathered here for their annual meeting couldn’t agree on a statement on the economy on Tuesday morning, but with a unanimous voice vote that afternoon they easily backed a measure to push sainthood for Dorothy Day, whose life and work were dedicated to championing the poor.

Indeed, it was a remarkable moment for the reputation of Day, one of the most famous figures in 20th-century Catholicism.

Born in Brooklyn in 1897, Day lived a bohemian life in New York City in the 1920s while working as a leftwing journalist. She endured a failed marriage, a suicide attempt, and had an abortion when suddenly, after the birth of her daughter, she converted to Catholicism.

That decision confounded her literary friends but launched her on a new path of activism and piety.

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Circa 1969, American social activist Dorothy Day. Getty Images
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