Should I Read Thomas Merton?

[Gabriela]

Someone gave me two books by Thomas Merton as a confirmation present, but I'm a little concerned about their orthodoxy. Not because of anything I've seen in them, but because I keep hearing people hint that Thomas Merton wasn't orthodox. The books I have are "Contemplative Prayer" and "Seeds".

(Sorry if this question has already been answered elsewhere. The Phorum 'Search' function isn't working!)

—m.

[cappie]

With respect to Thomas Merton, there has been no official concern specifically expressed about his writings that I am aware of. However, the Vatican has specifically addressed the exploration of the integration of Eastern and Western faith systems (in which Merton was wholeheartedly engaged during the latter part of his life) in the following document (well worth reading): [url="http://www.ewtn.com/library/curia/pccpcida.htm"]http://www.ewtn.com/library/curia/pccpcida.htm[/url]

One resource that is particularly fair and insightful on Merton was written by Anthony E. Clark for This Rock Magazine and titled, Can You Trust Thomas Merton? Clark is a Catholic author and professor of Chinese History and is uniquely qualified to address the issues that surfaced in Merton’s later writings.

[url="http://www.catholic.com/magazine/articles/can-you-trust-thomas-merton"]http://www.catholic.com/magazine/articles/can-you-trust-thomas-merton[/url]

These works you mentioned represent the early era of Merton’s monastic life, when his views were still quite orthodox. These books are beautifully written; they are what made Thomas Merton Thomas Merton

[Brother Adam]

His Seven Story Mountain is excellent.