St Dorothy of New York?

Stubborn and feisty, Dorothy Day was accustomed to getting her own way. Before her death, the co-founder of the Catholic Worker movement begged her followers: "Don't trivialize me by trying to make me a saint."

So if Day is in heaven right now, she's no doubt aware of (and none too pleased by) the fact that the Vatican recently began her canonization process.

When Newsweek broke the news in their March 27 issue, they focused on the aspects of Day's life that will no doubt get a lot of attention in the secular media. "She was a Greenwich Village radical in the 1920s," Newsweek reported. "Friend to leftists like John Reed [played by Warren Beatty in the film Reds] and drinking buddy to writers like John Dos Passos [and Eugene O'Neill]. By the age of 30, she had had an abortion, been divorced and borne another lover's child. Not the stuff that saints are usually made of."

That's not quite true, of course. Neither Augustine or Ignatius Loyola led stellar early lives. But Day is a woman, and, historically, very few female saints have such controversial personal backgrounds.

I hope the media will mention Day's life after her conversion to Catholicism, since these activities are the real reason her canonization is being considered. Along with fellow radical Peter Maurin, Day founded the Catholic Worker movement. Their philosophy blended the Gospel, Church social teachings and anarchist political theory. One result was that "houses of hospitality" sprang up during the Depression, and continue to thrive today. Unlike soup kitchens, Catholic Worker houses welcome the poor as guests, even as family, rather than "clients."

The Catholic Worker philosophy champions the rights of the poor, immigrants and laborers, and is generally fiercely loyal to the magisterium. Day also advocated pacifism (even during the Second World War) and civil disobedience. "Old fashioned" popular piety, such as praying the rosary, is often a feature of Catholic Worker life.

No doubt these beliefs will stir up controversy among Catholics as Day's canonization cause progresses. Needless to say, not all Catholics agree with the Catholic Worker philosophy, even if they admire its dedication and good works.

Even progressive Catholics are divided by Day's beliefs, and by her possible canonization. Many welcome her inspiring, challenging views, and look to the publicity "St. Dorothy" will generate regarding social justice issues. Yet, as a former peace activist myself, I can tell you that Day's radicalism often seems too harsh, unyielding and idealistic to work in the "real world." At the end of the day, I wasn't able to forsake everything and live with the poorest of the poor, which is what Day demands of all of us. And her often scolding, "finger-wagging" prose style is best digested in small doses.

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