xt7pk06x1368 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7pk06x1368/data/mets.xml  Thomas Merton 1967-05-26 This letter is from collection 75m28 Thomas Merton papers. archival material 75m28 English  Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Thomas Merton correspondence Letter from Thomas Merton to Julian [?], May 26, 1967 text Letter from Thomas Merton to Julian [?], May 26, 1967 1967 1967-05-26 2023 true xt7pk06x1368 section xt7pk06x1368 May 26,1957

Dear Julian:

I have finally manageé to get around to the me of Ghadow of God.
Not having read it in its entirety, I can't give yen a fully reeponeible
stitement, but i have read enougu of it to say the following:

’ It reeds well and will uufiouhteily be a best filler.

2) AS re >rds the nuns, you will have no special problem with most
Catholics today. The: are obviously hercically Virtuous in bizarre
circumetenoes and that is the current formula, even a movie formula. No
problem whatever that I can see, except from a few squeaoish people who
will only edd to the lustre of the book.

3) My own personal question bears on the eesuistieal aspect of the
and the triel~like interrogation of the nu 3' "case”. I think thet

unneeesee i . Ogre like anfl legalistic. I know that Church official-

1!

on is sometimes pretty awful With legal red tape, but in things like
surely, I doubt if eVefl toe worst arch conservative would turn the
Knife in the wounds for page after yoga. Zoe Charon does have some
understanding of human frailty, after all. fly iceLing in that this is

sowewhet overdone, and that it reflects a lack of knowleflge of a certain
officia‘ type which, whatever its ehortc*mings, has heard about fornica-
tion and perhaps preetieed it.ln ether words, to eat the whole thing in
utterly unouotable blunt language: theee some of bitches will be mean

as hell if you fifimfix fail to observe their legal rubrics but they will
let you off glentyheasy if you are caught in an mktx obviously human
frailty kind of a mess are er,u't tryinJ to be neety about it yourself.
This mostly for the edification of the author, I suppose.

4) As I say, I haven't read the whole thing, and there may be other
wiete that I should comment on. But this much anyway. I assure you that you
ave no need of a quote from me to publish, you will do Oh. You are "safe".

I enclose a copy of a letter I wrote to the NY Times Book Review

.hoot Lewis Mumford'e new book. indentli they did not see fit to publish
‘ne letter. I thought you and Mr Mumford would like to see it. Is there
some chance of my having a copy of his book? I could use it to very good
advantage, and there I assure you that, if the occasion arises, I will
give it a plug somewhere. (Each year I am asked by several publications
to list SOme books of the year that I have liked, etc).

Sorry I can't just go overboard for Shadow of God but I have done what

was humanly possible in the situation.
With my best regards always,