Eileen Egan
Encyclopedia
Eileen Egan was a journalist, Roman Catholic pacifist and activist, and co-founder of the Catholic peace group, American PAX Association and its successor Pax Christi-USA, the American branch of International Pax Christi. Starting 1943 she remained an active member of Catholic Relief Services
, and a longtime friend of Mother Teresa
, she wrote her biography Such A Vision: Mother Teresa, the Spirit, and the Work, and marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at Selma.. She first coined the term "seamless garment" to describe the unity of Catholic teaching on life issues.
, she moved with her family to New York City
in 1926, and completed her secondary education at Cathedral High School
. Later she graduated from Hunter College
in 1933.
movement which was started by Dorothy Day
. Day felt that Egan's vocation lay elsewhere and she began a career as a freelance journalist.
In 1943 she joined the staff of the U.S. Bishops' War Relief Services (later known as Catholic Relief Services
, or CRS). Her first assignment was in Mexico
, where she worked with displaced Polish
war refugees. The following year she was posted to Barcelona
, where she ministered to victims of the Holocaust. She then headed the CRS office in Lisbon, Portugal.
Back in New York briefly in 1945, she was out of the office the July day a B-25
crashed into the CRS headquarters on the seventy-ninth floor of the Empire State Building
. Ten fellow staff members were killed. The following year, Egan was back in Europe helping to resettle waves of displaced persons. She later received the highest honor awarded civilians by both the French
and German
governments.
In the course of her work, Egan visited Palestinian refugees in Gaza
, Chinese
exiles in Hong Kong
, and displaced civilians in Pakistan
, Korea
and Vietnam
. In 1955 she met Mother Teresa
in Calcutta. The two became lifelong friends and collaborators, Egan helping to introduce the latter's work in the West.
Egan combined CRS's practical work of providing economic assistance, food, housing, and transportation to war victims with speaking, writing and demonstrating against the causes of war
. In 1962 she co-founded the American Pax Society, which under her leadership evolved into Pax Christi
USA in 1972.
She marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. at Selma, Alabama
, had a major, behind-the-scenes hand in framing the "peace" statements of Vatican II, and promoted the work of Jean and Hildegard Goss-Mayr
, crucial to the peaceful ouster of Ferdinand Marcos
of the Philippines
. One of her major achievements was the 1987 UN recognition of conscientious objection as a universal human right. She traveled widely with Dorothy Day, introducing her to Mother Teresa in 1970, and was with Day picketing for farm workers in California
in 1973 when Day was arrested for the final time.
Eileen Egan was awarded the Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award
in 1989. It was named after a 1963 encyclical
letter by Pope John XXIII
that calls upon all people of good will to secure peace among all nations. Pacem in Terris
is Latin
for 'Peace on Earth.'
Egan did not care for the term "pacifist" because of its misleading echo in the word "passivity". She said that she used the term "gospel nonviolence, or "gospel peacemaking" instead. She argued that the so-called just war
concept was an alien graft on the gospel
of Jesus
.
In 1992, at the age of 79, Egan was mugged on the way to Mass
and had to go to a New York hospital with a broken hip and several fractured ribs. Her response to her attacker was one of care and forgiveness.
She died on October 7, 2000. She was 88 years old.
Catholic Relief Services
Catholic Relief Services is the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Founded in 1943 by the U.S. bishops, the agency provides assistance to 130 million people in more than 90 countries and territories in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and...
, and a longtime friend of Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa , born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu , was a Roman Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, in 1950...
, she wrote her biography Such A Vision: Mother Teresa, the Spirit, and the Work, and marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at Selma.. She first coined the term "seamless garment" to describe the unity of Catholic teaching on life issues.
Early life and education
Born in WalesWales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, she moved with her family to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1926, and completed her secondary education at Cathedral High School
Cathedral High School (New York City)
Cathedral High School is an all-girls, private, Roman Catholic high school in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is located within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York.-Background:...
. Later she graduated from Hunter College
Hunter College
Hunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
in 1933.
Career
She was drawn in the early 1940s to the Catholic WorkerCatholic Worker
The Catholic Worker is a newspaper published seven times a year by the Catholic Worker Movement community in New York City. The newspaper was started by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin to make people aware of church teaching on social justice...
movement which was started by Dorothy Day
Dorothy Day
Dorothy Day was an American journalist, social activist and devout Catholic convert; she advocated the Catholic economic theory of Distributism. She was also considered to be an anarchist, and did not hesitate to use the term...
. Day felt that Egan's vocation lay elsewhere and she began a career as a freelance journalist.
In 1943 she joined the staff of the U.S. Bishops' War Relief Services (later known as Catholic Relief Services
Catholic Relief Services
Catholic Relief Services is the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Founded in 1943 by the U.S. bishops, the agency provides assistance to 130 million people in more than 90 countries and territories in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and...
, or CRS). Her first assignment was in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, where she worked with displaced Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
war refugees. The following year she was posted to Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, where she ministered to victims of the Holocaust. She then headed the CRS office in Lisbon, Portugal.
Back in New York briefly in 1945, she was out of the office the July day a B-25
B-25 Mitchell
The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades.The B-25 was named...
crashed into the CRS headquarters on the seventy-ninth floor of the Empire State Building
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...
. Ten fellow staff members were killed. The following year, Egan was back in Europe helping to resettle waves of displaced persons. She later received the highest honor awarded civilians by both the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
governments.
In the course of her work, Egan visited Palestinian refugees in Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
, Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
exiles in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, and displaced civilians in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
and Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. In 1955 she met Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa , born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu , was a Roman Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, in 1950...
in Calcutta. The two became lifelong friends and collaborators, Egan helping to introduce the latter's work in the West.
Egan combined CRS's practical work of providing economic assistance, food, housing, and transportation to war victims with speaking, writing and demonstrating against the causes of war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
. In 1962 she co-founded the American Pax Society, which under her leadership evolved into Pax Christi
Pax Christi
-History:Pax Christi was established in France in 1945 as a reconciliation work between the French and the Germans after the Second World War. In 2007, it existed in more than 60 countries...
USA in 1972.
She marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. at Selma, Alabama
Selma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....
, had a major, behind-the-scenes hand in framing the "peace" statements of Vatican II, and promoted the work of Jean and Hildegard Goss-Mayr
Hildegard Goss-Mayr
Hildegard Goss-Mayr is an Austrian nonviolent activist and Christian theologian.-Life and commitment:Daughter of Kaspar Mayr, founder of the Austrian branch of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation, she studyed Philosophy in Vienna and New Haven.In 1958, she married Jean Goss , a French...
, crucial to the peaceful ouster of Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. was a Filipino leader and an authoritarian President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives and a member of the Philippine Senate...
of the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. One of her major achievements was the 1987 UN recognition of conscientious objection as a universal human right. She traveled widely with Dorothy Day, introducing her to Mother Teresa in 1970, and was with Day picketing for farm workers in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in 1973 when Day was arrested for the final time.
Eileen Egan was awarded the Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award
Pacem in Terris Award
The Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award is a Catholic peace award which has been given annually since 1964, in commemoration of the 1963 encyclical letter "Pacem in Terris" of Pope John XXIII...
in 1989. It was named after a 1963 encyclical
Encyclical
An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Catholic Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop...
letter by Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII
-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...
that calls upon all people of good will to secure peace among all nations. Pacem in Terris
Pacem in Terris
Pacem in Terris was a papal encyclical issued by Pope John XXIII on 11 April 1963. It was the last encyclical drafted by John XXIII, who died from cancer two months after its completion ....
is Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
for 'Peace on Earth.'
Egan did not care for the term "pacifist" because of its misleading echo in the word "passivity". She said that she used the term "gospel nonviolence, or "gospel peacemaking" instead. She argued that the so-called just war
Just War
Just war theory is a doctrine of military ethics of Roman philosophical and Catholic origin, studied by moral theologians, ethicists and international policy makers, which holds that a conflict ought to meet philosophical, religious or political criteria.-Origins:The concept of justification for...
concept was an alien graft on the gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
.
In 1992, at the age of 79, Egan was mugged on the way to Mass
Mass
Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
and had to go to a New York hospital with a broken hip and several fractured ribs. Her response to her attacker was one of care and forgiveness.
She died on October 7, 2000. She was 88 years old.
Works
- Transfigured night: the CRALOG experience, with Elizabeth Clark Reiss. Livingston Pub. Co., 1964.
- The works of peace. Sheed and Ward, 1965.
- The Catholic conscientious objector: the right to refuse to kill. Pax Christi, 1981.
- Dorothy Day and the permanent revolution. Benet Press, 1983.
- Such a vision of the street: Mother Teresa, the spirit and the work. Image Books, 1986. ISBN 0-385-17491-8.
- Catholic Relief Services: the beginning years ; for the life of the world. Catholic Relief Services, 1988. ISBN 0-945356-00-5
- Prayertimes with Mother Teresa: a new adventure in prayer involving Scripture, Mother Teresa, and you, with Kathleen Egan. Image Books, 1989. ISBN 0-385-26231-0.
- Suffering into joy: what Mother Teresa teaches about true joy, with Kathleen Egan. Servant Publications, 1994. ISBN 0-89283-876-0.
- For whom there is no room: scenes from the refugee world. Paulist Press, 1995. ISBN 0-8091-0473-3.
- At Prayer with Mother Teresa, with Judy Bauer. Liguori, 1999. ISBN 0-7648-0339-5.
- Mother Teresa's prayer book. Canterbury Press, 1999. ISBN 1-85311-313-1.
- Peace be with you: justified warfare or the way of nonviolence. Orbis Books, 1999. ISBN 1-57075-243-5
- Blessed Are You: Mother Teresa and the Beatitudes, with Kathleen Egan. Ignatius Press, 1999. ISBN 0-89870-724-2.
External links
- Eileen Egan: Pioneer of a Mission at Catholic Relief ServicesCatholic Relief ServicesCatholic Relief Services is the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Founded in 1943 by the U.S. bishops, the agency provides assistance to 130 million people in more than 90 countries and territories in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and...
- Eileen Egan Interview, 1997 at PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....