"Why They Ran"

Peggy Noonan has a charming and thought-provoking article in the April 21st issue of Opinion Journal, entitled "Why They Ran." She begins by recollecting the sight of the hundreds and thousands of people who came running to St. Peter's Square in Rome when the bells began to toll. "Why did they come running?" she asks. "The faith is dead in Europe, everyone knows that. So why did they come?" And why did so many weep as the new pope came out, she asks. Why did they chant "Benedict, Benedict" as he stood in the balcony? Why were so many non-Catholics similarly moved? And why in America, where Catholics are so divided, did people run to their TVs and radios when the news spread? Read more. She'll make you think.

The personal side of Pope Benedict XVI

I think of all the things I've read about His Holiness since his election, the most poignant I found personally was the observation in a recent Newsweek article that, after his election, the new Pope went back to his apartment outside the Vatican walls and began making plans to personally carry the books of his personal library over to the papal apartments. Perhaps only an academic can fully appreciate the charm of that. We academics love our books. They constitute a "world" for us, if not the world itself. But the most touching dimension of all this is his assumption that he would personally be moving them to the papal apartments! Of course, he was accustomed to walking from his apartment to the Vatican and back again everyday, a solitary figure crossing the cobblestones, pausing to browse the bookstores. He was used to living in a manner that was comparatively private and ordinary, compared to the life he will be compelled to live as Pope. But imagine! Can't you see it--His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, laboring across the cobblestones with suitcase-load after suitcase-load of books, all morning and all afternoon, transferring his personal library to the Vatican!

My only other observation concerns the coverage of the former Cardinal Ratzinger and current Pope Benedict XVI in the print media since his election. My reading hasn't been that extensive. People have shared their periodicals with me. I've read TIME, NEWSWEEK, a number of newspapers, even PEOPLE MAGAZINE, and my very subjective impression is that, of those periodicals I've read, the most balanced and fair treatment His Holiness has received in the secular press has been from NEWSWEEK. Not only has NEWSWEEK allotted generous space to George Weigel, the authorized biographer of the Pope, in key issues covering the papal election. It's own columnists, most notably Kenneth Woodward, have been comparatively balanced and less apt to view matters exclusively through the politicized lenses of trendy lefty hostility and opposition to nonrevisionist Catholicism. Again, this is only a very subjective impression, and I should be glad to be corrected by the observations of more balanced and wide-ranging readers. Don't take this as a blanket endorsement of NEWSWEEK. Some of its recent articles such as the cover story on "Faith and History: How the Story of Christmas Came To Be," I found completely wrong-headed and tendentious, blindly embracing all the uncritical philosophical assumptions about the historical-critical and deconstructive approaches to biblical interpretation found among most contemporary biblical scholars. But that's another story.

Benedict XVI, Benedict XV, and St. Benedict

In a recent reflection on his choice of a papal name, "To Reflect on the Name I Have Chosen," His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI mentioned both Pope Benedict XV (1914-1922) and St. Benedict of Nursia (480-547). The former, Giacomo della Chiesa, served as a diplomat for the Vatican before being made a Cardinal by Pope Pius X in 1914, just prior to his election as pope. His was one of the rare voices of sanity, though largely unheeded by heads of state, during the ravages of the "War to End all Wars" (1914-1918). The latter, author of the Rule of St. Benedict, was the founder of western monasticism, a stalwart and godly ascetic renown for his spiritual combat against the forces of darkness (see the image of the well-known and richly indulgenced St. Benedict crucifix and medal below, right). His was one of the rare voices of luminous clarity amidst a Mediterranian Europe overrun by half-civilized pagan and Arian hordes, a Europe falling back into barbarism during the fifth century.

Benedict XV called for peace and reconciliation amidst a war-torn Europe in the early twentieth-century. By referencing him, Pope Benedict XVI shows us the nation-transcending universality of the Catholic Church, ever solicitous of the wellbeing of all peoples, reiterating the prominent note struck by the pontificate of Pope John Paul II. St. Benedict of Nursia was a spiritual warrior, declaring "Prefer absolutely nothing to Christ" (Rule 72,11; cf. 4,21). By referencing him, Pope Benedict XVI shows us where alone we find true peace, reconciliation, and wellbeing. Many people seem surprised to find that Pope Benedict XVI, who has been so reviled by the media in some quarters as some sort of an authoritarian monster, should also be a soft-spoken gentleman with--surprise!--human sentiments like charity and compassion! One report recently even enthused, as though it were unbelievable, "God's Rottweiler loves cats! Benedict XVI's penchant for felines." On the other hand, it comes as no surprise to those who truly understand their Catholic Faith that one should find the qualities of intransigence in the cause of doctrinal and moral fidelity combined with compassion and sensitivity in the same individual. As someone once said in analogous circumstances, "Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice, and tolerance in the face of tyranny is no virtue."

Ratzinger prayed not to be elected Pope

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI said Monday he had viewed the idea of being elected pope as a "guillotine," and he prayed to God during the recent conclave to be spared selection but "evidently this time He didn't listen to me."

Speaking in his native tongue, Benedict told the audience that at one point during the conclave, when it became clear he was garnering many votes, a fellow cardinal slipped him a note reminding him what he had preached before the conclave about Christ calling Peter to follow him even where he did not want to go.

Benedict, 78, said he had hoped to spend his last years living quietly and peacefully. Read more ...

Predicted libellous liberal backlash against new Pope begins

Well, the predicted teeth-gnashing, wailing, abusive slander, and vociferous name-calling has begun with a vengeance. UPI Religious Affairs Editor, Uwe Siemon-Netto offers this analysis:

"Nazi pope a clear and present danger to the civilized world," read the headline of a reader's letter in a forum of NYTimes.com, The New York Times' Web site.

It wasn't the worst abuse leveled at Pope Benedict XVI, the former Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, a German. Type the words "Nazi pope" into the Google search line, and you will get nearly 700 mentions [see, e.g., this].

"Seig Heil, hail Mary!" read one post, misspelling German word for victory, which is "Sieg."

"What can you expect from a filthy Nazi?" asked one blogger quoted, with horror, by National Review Online. The blogger went on: "...Nazi bas-- wearing a dress and no doubt with a past in child-molesting." (Source: Commentary: Benedict abused as 'nazi pope')

The British press has been portraying new Pope as Nazi, citing his brief membership in the Hitler Youth, "Nazi to Pope Ratzi," etc. Matthew Mcallester, a staff correspondent for Newsday.com offers this analysis of the faceoff between British and offended German newspapers:

Pope Benedict XVI's past membership in a Nazi youth organization has sparked a faceoff between British and German newspapers that has highlighted the deep sensitivities that run in Germany about World War II and the role of its now-aging citizens in that war.

"English Insult German Pope," yelled the front-page headline on Germany's largest daily newspaper, Bild, yesterday in response to a slew of uncomplimentary British headlines the day before that referred to Benedict as "God's Rottweiler" and "Hitler Youth."

"The British press should think about themselves and how they're always talking about Nazis and how this influences their own youths and you end up getting Prince Harry with a swastika on his arm," said Winfried Rohmel, spokesman for the archdiocese of Munich, who became then-Archbishop Joseph Ratzinger's spokesman in 1977." (source: "Germans, Brits spar over pope")

For more on this, see also the following Yahoo.news article on the issue, which reports:

Germany's top-selling newspaper Bild was furious at the coverage of the new pope by British newspapers, which had accentuated Benedict XVI's past as a teenager in Nazi Germany.

"English insult the German pope," said the front-page headline, below the words "Hitler Youth."

The Sun, like Bild the highest-selling daily newspaper in its market, had headlined its coverage of the election of Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday with the words "From Hitler Youth to... Papa Ratzi."

....A Bild editorial written by senior journalist Franz Josef Wagner said: "If you read the British tabloids yesterday, you would have thought Hitler had become pope.

"Only the devil could come up with such a thing. Or you English, with your complexes.

"It is like in football matches, we are always the Nazis."

.... Jewish groups around the world have generally acknowledged the new pontiff's earlier efforts to build links between Jews and Catholics. (source: "German paper outraged at British coverage of 'Nazi' pope")

Next thing to watch for: liberal pseudo-Catholic media (National Catholic Reporter, Commonweal, U.S. Catholic magazine, etc.) to begin their spin. Don't expect them to be any happier than the New York Times, that parish magazine of affluent and self-congratulatory liberal "enlightenment."

Apologia pro lepos in iocando mea

... or "A Defense of My Sense of Humor" ...

After the recent conclave, a Latin American Cardinal was interviewed who said that the personal characteristic of the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) that most decisively struck him was his humility. This is a man, for all who truly know him, knows nothing of arrogance, power-mongering, or political posturing. Even before he was elected Pope, he was always a true prince of the Church. However, self-styled Catholics who despise Church teaching, especially on what I call the "pelvic" issues (chastity, celibacy, masturbation, cohabitation, adultery, contraception, abortion, homosexuality, divorce, remarriage, etc.) used to describe Cardinal Ratzinger in draconian terms. They called him "Darth Vader," the "Panzerkardinal," the "Grand Inquisitor," conjuring up popular grim images of the Spanish Inquisition. These same people also saw Pope John Paul II as a "reactionary," and were fully hoping that a new pope would bring a more "Enlightened" administration to the Vatican, implementing a new "collegiality" that would decentralize Catholicism, making it more "truly Catholic, and less Roman," granting virtual autonomy to local dioceses and parishes to teach and practice whatever they liked. These cafeteria Catholics look longingly at Episcopalians whom they regard "progressive" for not giving a damn what anyone believes and for ordaining a practicing homosexual bishop, but they aren't able to see the humor of the joke which says that the trouble with Anglicans trying to play chess is that they can't tell the difference between a bishop and a queen. The election of Pope Benedict XVI is, for them, an unimaginable nightmare in which the figure on the papal throne must appear something like the monstrous figure on the right. This is a fact, and it is one for the life of me that I can't help finding a trifle amusing. Forgive me.

Some of my good readers have taken exception to my admittedly somewhat perverse sense of humor in quoting actor Robert Duvall's words ("I love the smell of napalm in the morning ... it smelled like victory ...") in the Vietnam film Apocalypse Now as a foil for introducing my reflections on Pope Benedict XVI's election on April 19th (see my post: "It smells like victory"). CNN reportedly ran a story showing the page from my blog prominently featuring the image of Duvall brandishing his M-16, along with a reference to my son, Christopher and his Cardinal Ratzinger Fan Club website. Albion Land, a correspondent for Agence-France Presse, who was in Rome to cover the papal election, also released a story (with my permission) citing the details, "On Internet Frontlines, Bloggers Have a Lot to Say About New Pope."

The intended humor, of course, can be easily misunderstood by those who lack the context for it, and can easily offend, and for any who have been offended by it, I offer my sincere regrets. The danger of this sort of thing happening is particularly notorious in the written media, where one has no access to modulations of voice in the spoken word, or other factors that can help contextualize and render such humor intelligible. H.W. Crocker III [pictured left], author of Triumph: The Power and Glory of the Catholic Church had similar difficulties with his sense of humor in an article he wrote for Crisis magazine not long ago entitled "Making Babies: A Very Different Look at Natural Family Planning" (Crisis, Dec. 2004), in which he launched into what I consider a hilariously funny article by proposing a new rallying cry: "Use NFP: It Doesn't Work!" Here's an excerpt:

And to hell with improving "communication" as a dogmatic defense of NFP. For men, the whole point of marriage is to avoid communicating, all that dating conversation stuff can finally be foregone. Married communication, as successful husbands know, is best limited to grunts and hand signals--one upraised finger meaning, "I need a beer," two upraised fingers meaning, "You need to change the brat's diapers," three upraised fingers meaning, "Honey, why don't you mow the lawn while I watch football?" and so on. No words are more doom-laden than a wife's sitting down and saying, "Let's talk." Communication is, of course, the first step towards divorce.

I don't know about you, but I find this hilarious. This sort of thing can convulse my wife and I with such laughter that it knocks us out of our chairs flat on our asses. We don't for a moment, however, take it literally. But a subsequent issue of Crisis (February 2005) carried a predictable five pages of letters to the editor by outraged and offended readers, who took Crocker literally and sincerely thought he had misunderstood what NFP is all about and (amusingly) tried to correct him. In response to these letters, Crocker wrote, typically tongue-in-cheek:

So overwhelmingly enthusiastic were those people who responded to me directly about this piece that I thought I was fast becoming a hero of Desparate Catholic Housewives. One Catholic blogger even ran excerpts of the piece under the heading: "Why I Love H.W. Crocker III." This seems to me the right reaction. (p. 8)

The blogger he refers to, of course, is none other than yours truly (see my post, "Why I Love H.W. Crocker III").

Now I suspect Crocker is as afflicted with as perverse a sense of humor as I and with at least as many occasions of being sadly misunderstood. Perhaps we ought to temper our perverse senses of humor, especially when it comes to subjects as sacred and holy as Catholic teaching on sexuality (NFP) and the recent election of His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI (our beloved erstwhile Cardinal Ratzinger). Will we do so? Probably not. We're probably no more capable of changing our humor than the leopard his spots. Will we continue to be misunderstood? Absolutely. But be assured, there are few Catholics who love the Church, Pope John Paul II and his successor, and Sacred Tradition more than converts such as Crocker, myself, and countless others (see my list of Notable Converts to the Catholic Faith). Just read Crocker's book Triumph: The Power and Glory of the Catholic Church, and see for yourself. I know that there are some of you out there, at least, who "get" this--who "get" a sense of humor like Crocker's or mine. The top of the day to y'all. To the rest, my sincere condolences.

A Pope Benedict XVI Bibliography

• Introduction to Christianity (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1990)
• The Spirit of the Liturgy (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2000)
• God Is Near Us: The Eucharist, the Heart of Life (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2003)
• Truth And Tolerance: Christian Belief And World Religions (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2004)
• In the Beginning...: A Catholic Understanding of the Story of Creation and the Fall (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Co., Reprint ed., 1995)
• Called to Communion: Understanding the Church Today (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1996)
• Ratzinger Report: An Exclusive Interview on the State of the Church (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1985)
• Salt of the Earth: Christianity and the Catholic Church at the End of the Millennium: An Interview With Peter Seewald (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, Reprint ed., 1997)
• Milestones: Memoirs 1927-1977 (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1998)
• Many Religions, One Covenant: Israel, the Church, and the World (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1999)
• God and the World: A Conversation With Peter Seewald (San Francsico: Ignatius Press, 2002)
• Pilgrim Fellowship Of Faith: The Church As Communion (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2005)
• Eschatology: Death and Eternal Life (Dogmatic Theology, Vol 9) (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1988)
• The Nature and Mission of Theology: Essays to Orient Theology in Today's Debates (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1995)
• The End of Time?: The Provocation of Talking about God (Boston: Paulist Press, 2005)
• Introduction to the Catechism of the Catholic Church with Christoph Schonborn (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1994)
• Feast of Faith: Approaches to a Theology of the Liturgy (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1986)
• Gospel, Catechesis, Catechism: Sidelights on the Catechism of the Catholic Church (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1997)
• Behold the Pierced One (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1987)
• Theology and the Church: A response to Cardinal Ratzinger and a warning to the whole church (G. Chapman, 1985)
• Principles of Catholic Theology: Building Stones for a Fundamental Theology (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1987)
• A New Song for the Lord: Faith in Christ and Liturgy Today (Herder & Herder, 1996)
• Looking Again at the Question of the Liturgy With Cardinal Ratzinger: Proceedings of the July 2001 Fontgombault Liturgical Conference with Alcuin Reid, ed. (St. Augustine's Press, 2004)

It smells like ... victory ...

"I love the smell of napalm in the morning ... The smell -- you know, that gasoline smell -- the whole hill -- it smelled like ... victory." [Lt. Killgore in Apocalypse Now]

When John Kerry lost the last presidential election, nobody thought the world could witness a more disappointed constituency than the Democrat "blue state" partisans who endured the triumph of George W. Bush. I then predicted that the disappointment and gnashing of teeth among Democrats was nothing compared to what the world would see in the disappointment of liberal, dissident Catholics-- readers of National Catholic Reporter, Commonweal, America, U.S. Catholic, and all of those other dissident rags-- at the outcome of the next conclave. Well, I never could have been more right in a prediction. The liberal cafeteria Catholic's worst nightmare has come true: the Panzerkardinal, the Grand Inquisitor himself, has come to the papal throne. The Lord in His mercy and grace has sent us a Pope who loves truth, every bit as much as the late John Paul II did. Furthermore, He has sent us a Pope who, we pray, will offer a firm hand of guidance in this time of confusion and uncertainty. May the Lord in His mercy and grace grant peace, clarity, and guidance to His Church through the hand of His faithful servant, Pope Benedict XVI. He will need our prayers as much as the Church will need his firm and steady governance.

I can't help thinking what a fortuitous decision my son, Christopher made, some five or six years ago, when he launched the Cardinal Ratzinger Fan Club website. Michael Davies' son apparently presented the Cardinal with a Tee-shirt he had ordered from the Fan Club website with "Cardinal Ratzinger Fan Club" on the front and "truth is not a matter of majority vote" on the back, which the Cardinal is said to have received with jovial approval. Where will things go from here? Will the name of the website have to be changed to the "Pope Benedict XVI Fan Club"?

Garry Wills' insane claim: Pope John Paul responsible for gay priests

In the April 11th, 2005 issue of U.S. News & World Report, Jay Tolson writes in a bar across the bottom of pages 28-29 a short piece entitled "Admirers and Doubters" [of Pope John Paul II]. He concludes--true to secular media form--by quoting two sources, neither of which can be trusted to shed any reliable light on anything Catholic. First, he quotes historian Garry Wills [pictured left], who says in his book, Papal Sin: Structures of Deceit, that many people "suspect that John Paul's real legacy to his church is a gay priesthood." Then, to cap off this remark, he quotes Margaret O'Brien Steinfels, former editor of the lay Catholic dissident biweekly, Commonweal, who says of the late Pope: "He's done some wonderful things, but he will have a lot to answer for."

Now, you tell me: what can be more preposterous than the notion that the pontificate of His Holiness, Pope John Paul II was responsible for crisis of homosexuality in the Catholic Church that Michael Rose brought to light in excruciating detail in his expose, Goodbye, Good Men: How Liberals Brought Corruption Into the Catholic Church? Nothing has been more clear or onerous to dissidents than Pope John Paul's consistent reiteration of traditional Catholic doctrine on sexual morality. In fact, the Pope has written a significant body of literature specifically addressing this issue in works like Love and Responsibility and The Theology of the Body According to John Paul II: Human Love in the Divine Plan. What liberal dissidents like Gary Wills and Margaret O'Brien Steinfels want us to believe is that the sexual scandals in the Church are due to the "unbending patriarchy" of Pope John Paul's traditional Catholicism, its exclusion of women from ordination to the priesthood, and its prohibition of married clergy. If only the Church relented on these issues, they want us to think, if only priests had licit means of indulging their carnal cravings, there would have been no sexual scandal, no pedophiles, no crisis of homosexuality in the priesthood. What kind of sense does that make? Anglican and Episcopalian clergy are permitted to marry, and do they suffer no crisis of homosexuality and sexual scandal? What about the other mainline Protestant denominations? The publicity may not be as great, since there is less money to be made in lawsuits where diocesan properties are not owened by the local bishop, but when the sex scandals first came to light a few years ago, there were a significant number of reports showing comparative statistics across denominations and the largest number of sex abuse cases were not those in the Catholic Church. All of which goes to show simply that allowing for a married clergy does not prevent sexual abuse or homosexuality.

There is a perversity at work in the sort of accusation Gary Wills makes that borders on the unconscionable. How can Wills or Steinfels not know that a well disciplined priesthood that faithfully conformed to Church teaching would prevent precisely the sort of scandal of "a gay priesthood" cited by Wills? The sexual scandal of gay priests is a product, not of faithful adherence to the Catholic teaching of Pope John Paul, but of its antithesis: a conspiracy of dissent and apostasy allowing for an active gay subculture to establish itself within a sector of the Catholic priesthood. Look at what's happened to the Jesuits. Look at what has happened in the vocations programs of many of the major religious orders and diocesan priestly formation programs. Read Michael Rose's book. Look and see for yourself. Not only are the opinions of Wills and Steinfels laughable: they are an offense to reason and common sense, let alone an offense against the Catholic Faith.

Notable Converts to the Catholic Faith

I'm going to be incommunicado for another week or so. In the meantime, however, here's a list of Catholic converts I've been working on for some time. If any of you can think of any glaring omissions or notes any errors, I would be most grateful to be advised of them. Eventually I will post the list permanently on my institutional website, but for now, here it is for all of you, my fellow bloggers and blog-readers, to examine.

Classification by:

1. Historical Periods (by century)
2. Religious Background (agnostic, anglican, jewish, native american, etc.)
3. Profession (actors, clergy, composers, philosophers, writers, etc.)

1. HISTORICAL PERIODS:

21st century

• Jay Budziszewski (1960?- ): philosopher, Univ. of Texas; converted on Easter of 2004 from Anglican, lapsed Baptist and nihilistic background; author of Written on the Heart: The Case for Natural Law (1997) How to Stay Christian in College (1999); The Revenge of Conscience: Politics and the Fall of Man (2004); What We Can't Not Know: A Guide 2004); (conversion story).
• Reinhard Huetter: theologian, professor at Duke Divinity School; converted in 2004 from Lutheran (ELCA) background (he was received into full communion, together with his wife, on the feast day of Holly Innocents, Dec. 28, 2004).
• Leonard Klein: priest; former editor of the Lutheran Forum and Lutheran minister; converted in 2003 from Lutheran background; ordained a Catholic priest in Wilmington, Delaware, in 2006.
• Canon Edward Norman: church historian, chancellor of York Minster; convert from Anglicanism.

20th century

• Mortimer J. Adler (1902-2001): philosopher & founder of Great Books program; convert from secular Judaism & Anglicanism.
• Jimmy (James) Akin: Catholic apologist, philosopher and blogger at Karl Keating's Catholic Answers apologetics organization in San Diego, California; converted from evangelical Presbyterian background (read the story of his conversion in Surprised by Truth: 11 Converts Give the Biblical and Historical Reasons for Becoming Catholic; and "A Triumph and a Tragedy").
• Francis Cardinal Arinze (1932- ): highly placed Vatican official; converted in youth from Nigerian animist tradition.
• Mgsr. Robert Hugh Benson (1871-1914): novelist, priest, apologist, son of E. W. Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury; coverted in 1903 from Anglican tradition (link: Joseph Pearce, "R.H. Benson: Unsung Genius"; http://www.benson-unabridged.com/).
• Robert H. Bork (1927- ): American jurist, Yale law professor, U.S. Solicitor General (1973-77), judge for federal Circuit Court of Appeals for D.C. (1982-88), Supreme Court nominee, resident scholar at American Enterprise Institute; converted in 2003 from Protestant background.
• Roman Brandstaetter (1906-1987): Jewish writer, biblical translator, and moral philosopher; convert from Polish Jewish background.
• Black Elk (1863-1950): native American, Lakotan; convert (in 1904) from native American religion.
• Fr. Louis Bouyer (1913-2004): theologian, liturgist, priest; former French Lutheran pastor.
• Ronda de Sola Chervin (1939- ): philosopher & apologist; convert from Jewish & atheist background (Book link).
• Wesley Kanne Clark (1944- ): Four Star General (retired), former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO in the Serbia-Kosovo conflict of 1999, Democratic primary candidate for president in 2003/4; converted while in Vietnam (ca. 1970); born half-Jewish, raised Baptist
• Gary Cooper (1901-1961): actor; converted in 1959 from unknown religious background (link: Robert Brennan, "Biblical Beginnings and Hollywood Endings").
• David B. Currie (living): Catholic apologist & philosopher; convert from Fundamentalist background (author of Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic).
• Dorothy Day (1897-1980): social activist, founder of Catholic Worker; convert from Communist background.
• Michael Davies (1936-2004): Catholic traditionalist & author; convert from Anglicanism (link).
• Christopher Derrick (living): Catholic apologist, author & critic ; convert from Anglicanism.
• Annie Dillard (1945- ): writer; convert from agnostic background, though difficult to still classify as practicing Catholic.
• Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J. (1918- ): Jesuit theologian; convert from Presbyterianism (link).
• Shusaku Endo (1923-1996): novelist; convert from agnosticism.
• William Reuben Farmer (?-2001): biblical scholar, renowned defender of synoptic priority of Matthew; convert from Methodism (link).
• Douglas Farrow: professor of religious studies at McGill University; converted in 2005 from Anglican background.
• Hamish Fraser (early twentieth-century): writer, prominent Scottish Catholic; converted in 1947 from Communist background; originally Presbyterian until becoming a communist in 1933 (Link: 1978 letter to the General of the Society of Jesus).
• Graham Greene (1904-1991): novelist; convert from secularized Anglican background.
• Paul J. Griffiths (1955- ): philosopher and theologian, also scholar of Buddhism; taught at Notre Dame, currently at University of Chicago; converted in 1996 with his family, from Anglican background.
• Marcus Grodi (1958?- ): apologist, president of The Coming Home Network, and host of EWTN's "Journey Home" program; originally a Presbyterian pastor (Conversion story, and his novel, How Firm a Foundation).
• Sir Alec Guiness (1914-2000): Academy Award winning actor (67 films); converted on March 24, 1956, from atheist background (links: obituary; "A Conversation with Piers Paul Read, Biographer of Sir Alec Guinness").
• Scott Hahn (1958- ): biblical theologian, popular writer & speaker; convert from Presbyterianism.
• Barbara Hall (1961- ): writer and executive producer of hit television shows Judging Amy and Joan of Arcadia; converted after events of September 11, 2001 from agnostic and childhood Methodist background. (Link: Barbara Hall: Writer & Producer).
• Bob Hope (Leslie Towns Hope) (1903-2003); actor, entertainer, comedian; converted in 1996 from agnostic background, becoming active member of North Hollywood's St. Charles Catholic Church parish.
• Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889): Jesuit priest & poet; convert (in 1917) from Anglicanism.
• Thomas Howard (living, retired): English professor & writer; convert from Evangelicalism (ch. 9 in O'Neill book below).
• Kenneth J. Howell (1952- ): theologian and philosopher of science; convert from Presbyterianism, former pastor.
• Arthur Klyber (living): apologist, evangelist, priest, founder of Remnant of Israel: convert from Jewish background.
• Msgr. Ronald Knox (1888-1957): theologian; convert from Anglicanism.
• Peter Kreeft (living): philosopher, apologist & popular writer; convert from Dutch Reformed tradition.
• Gregory Krehbiel (living): Catholic critic & author; convert from Presbyterian background.
• Arnold Lunn (Henry Moore) (1888-1974): writer, apologist, and father of modern slalom skiing; converted from Methodist background, and was received into the Church in 1933 by Mgsr. Ronald Knox.
• Jean-Marie Lustiger (1927- ): Bishop of Paris; convert from Jewish background.
• Alasdair MacIntyre (1929- ): philosopher; convert from Marxism and agnosticism.
• Jacques Maritain (1882-1973): philosopher; convert from background of agnosticism.
• Raissa Maritain (1883-?): philosopher, poet & mystic, wife of Jacques Maritain; converted from Jewish and agnostic background.
• Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980); literary, cultural & media critic; conversion from agnostic background.
• Thomas Merton (1915-1968): Trappist monk, priest, spiritual writer & social critic; convert from agnostic background.
• Rosalind Moss (living): Catholic apologist; convert from Jewish background via evangelical Protestantism.
• Malcolm Muggeridge (1903-1990) Editor of Punch magazine; convert from Anglicanism and agnostic. background.
• Bernard Nathanson: ex-abortionist, one of the seven founding members of NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League) converted to Catholicism and was baptized in 1996; from a Jewish and atheist background (See Nathanson's book, The Hand of God: A Journey from Death to Life by the Abortion Doctor Who Changed His Mind).
• Fr. Richard John Neuhaus (1939- ); Priest, editor of First Things, writer, cultural critic; convert from Lutheranism.
• Fr. Jay Scott Newman (living): priest, canon lawyer, ecumenist; convert from Anglicanism.
• Dan O'Neill (living): writer and editor, founder of Mercy Corps, son-in-law of Pat Boone; convert from evangelical background; editor of The New Catholics: Contemporary Converts Tell Their Stories: diverse converts.
• Peggy Noonan (1950- ): journalist, author; converted from agnostic background and attends Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church in Washington, DC (see "Meeting Peggy Noonan")
• Walker Percy (1916-1990): novelist; convert from Presbyterianism.
• Fr. John Putnam (living): priest & canon lawyer; convert from Baptist tradition.
• Stephen K. Ray (living): Catholic apologist; convert from Baptist tradition.
• Charlie Rich (1899-1998): member of Jesuit community in New York City; convert from devout Hasidic Jewish background in Hungary (Friends of Charles Rich).
• Fr. George Rutler: priest and rector of Holy Name Catholic Church in New York City, where he celebrates the Traditional (Tridentine) Latin Mass; a regular columnist for Crisis magazine, he convert from Anglican background, in which he had been ordained as a priest of the Episcopal Church. He was ordained by Terence Cardinal Cooke on Sept. 8, 1891.
• Fr. Ray Ryland (1920?- ): priest, professor of theology (Univ. of San Diego & Franciscan Univ. of Steubenville) & apologist on staff of Catholic Answers; formerly a priest of the Episcopal Church, converted in 1963 with his wife, Ruth, and ordained with a dispensation from the rule of celibacy (Conversion story).
• Mark P. Shea (living): Catholic apologist; convert from non-denominational tradition.
• Donegan Smith (living): actor, acting professor; convert from Baptist tradition.
• Muriel Spark (1918- ): Scottish novelist, made a Dame of the British Empire in 1993; converted in 1954 from Jewish and Presbyterian parentage (link: infoplease).
• Edith Stein (St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross) (1891-1942): philosopher, student of Edmund Husserl, Carmelite nun, martyr at Auschwitz; convert from Judaism.
• Robert A. Sungenis (1960?- ); apologist and founder of Catholic Apologetics International; Westminster Theological Seminary graduate, and convert from evangelical background and inactive Catholic past.
• John Michael Talbot (1954- ); musician, secular Franciscan; convert from lapsed Methodist background (ch. 8 in O'Neill book above) (link: The Story of John Michael Talbot by Dan O'Neill)
• J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973): novelist; convert from Protestant tradition in his eighth year, with his widowed mother (see also this excellent J.R.R. Tolkien link)
• Sigrid Undset (1882-1949): novelist; convert from Scandinavian Protestantism
• Sheldon Vanauken (?-1996): historian and writer; convert from Episcopalianism & agnosticism (ch. 12 in O'Neill book above)
• Dietrich von Hildebrand (1889-1977): philosopher, declared a "Doctor of the Church" by Pope Pius XII; converted in 1914; converted in 1914 from an agnostic background, under the influence of Max Scheler.
• Dale Vree (1944- ): Editor of The New Oxford Review; convert from Dutch Reformed background (ch. 5 in O'Neill book above) (link)
• Evelyn Waugh (1903-1966): novelist and social critic; convert from secularized Anglicanism and skepticism
• John Wayne (Marion Robert Morrison) (1907-1979): actor; converted before his death from Presbyterian background (not through the influence of Robert Schuller's daughter, as the urban legend has it; the story, however, is both alleged and denied by Alan Dumas)
• Israel (Eugenio) Zolli (1881-1956): Chief Rabbi of Rome an scholar of biblical and semitic literature; converted from Judaism in 1945, and out of respect for Pope Pius XII, took his first name, "Eugenio," as his own Christian name.

19th century

• James Burns (1808-1871): publisher and author, founder of the Burns and Oates publishing firm; converted in 1847 from Anglicanism under the influence of Newman in the Oxford Movement (1833-1845)
• Edward Caswall (1814-1878); priest of the Birmingham Oratory (founded by Cardinal Newman), poet, translator and hymn-writer; converted in 1847 from tradition of Anglicanism in which he had been an ordained a priest.
• Hermann Cohen (1821-1870): world class pianist & protege of Franz Liszt; convert from Judaism, joined Carmelite order.
• Frederick William Faber (1814-1863); Oratorian priest, devotional author and hymn writer, appointed by Cardinal Newman to found the London Oratory; converted in 1845 (a month after Newman) from Anglican and Calvinist background.
• Henry Edward Cardinal Manning (1808-1892): Archbishop of Westminster; convert from Anglicanism.
• John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890): theologian, Oratorian, founder of Oxford Movement; convert (in 1845) from Anglicanism, former Anglican rector of St. Mary the Virgin, in Oxford.
• Alphonse Ratisbonne (1814-1884): Jesuit priest & evangelist to the Jewish household of faith; convert from Jewish background.
• Max Scheler (1874-1928): philosopher, a phenomenologist associated with Dietrich von Hildebrand and Edith Stein; converted and baptized Catholic in 1899 from a Jewish background (his mother was Jewish, his father, Lutheran); around 1921 became increasingly non-commital. (For details, see John H. Nota, S.J., Max Scheler: The Man and His Work).

18th century

• St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821): founder of Sisters of Charity; convert from Protestantism

17th century

• Charles II (1630-1685): King of England, Scotland, and Ireland, when the monarchy was restored in 1660, following Oliver Cromwell's death; converted on his deathbed from Anglican background
• Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne (1611-1675): marshal of France, noted military leader in campaigns in France and Italy during the Thirty Years' War and for his victory in Battle of Dunes (1658); converted 1668 from Huguenot background in which he was educated
• James II (1633-1701): King of England and Ireland (as James II) and of Scotland (as James VII); converted in 1668 from Anglicanism
• Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680): native American convert from Mohawk tradition

16th century

• St. Edmund Campion, S.J. (1540-1581): priest and martyr; converted to Catholicism a short time after taking orders as an Anglican deacon, then joined the Jesuits in Rome.
• St. Margaret Clitherow (ca. 1556-1586): martyr, "Pearl of York"; converted ca. 1574; executed by being pressed to death under heavy weights for harboring priests and hearing Mass.
• St. John Ogilvie, S.J. (1579-1615): priest & martyr; converted from a Scottish Presbyterian (Calvinist) background, canonized by Pope Paul VI on October 17, 1976 (links: Catholic Encyclopedia; Saints Alive; Scottish Festivals).

2. RELIGIOUS BACKGROUNDS:

Agnostic

• Jay Budziszewski (1960?- ): philosopher, Univ. of Texas; converted on Easter of 2004 from Anglican, lapsed Baptist and agnostic, nihilistic background; author of Written on the Heart: The Case for Natural Law (1997) How to Stay Christian in College (1999); The Revenge of Conscience: Politics and the Fall of Man (2004); What We Can't Not Know: A Guide (2004); (conversion story).
• Sir Alec Guiness (1914-2000): Academy Award winning actor (67 films); converted on March 24, 1956, from atheist background (links: obituary; "A Conversation with Piers Paul Read, Biographer of Sir Alec Guinness")
• Jacques Maritain: philosopher; convert from background of agnosticism
• Raissa Maritain: philosopher, poet & mystic, wife of Jacques Maritain; converted from Jewish and agnostic background
• Marshall McLuhan; literary, cultural & media critic; conversion from agnostic background
• Thomas Merton: Trappist monk, priest, spiritual writer & social critic; convert from agnostic background
• Malcolm Muggeridge; Editor of Punch magazine; convert from Anglicanism and agnostic background
• Bernard Nathanson: ex-abortionist, one of the seven founding members of NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League) converted to Catholicism and was baptized in 1996; from a Jewish and atheist background (See Nathanson's book, The Hand of God: A Journey from Death to Life by the Abortion Doctor Who Changed His Mind).
• Dietrich von Hildebrand (1889-1977): philosopher, declared a "Doctor of the Church" by Pope Pius XII; converted in 1914; converted in 1914 from an agnostic background, under the influence of Max Scheler.
• Peggy Noonan (1950- ): journalist, author; converted from agnostic background and attends Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church in Washington, DC (see "Meeting Peggy Noonan")

Anglican

• Mortimer J. Adler (1902-2001): philosopher & founder of Great Books program; convert from secular Judaism & then from Anglicanism
• Mgsr. Robert Hugh Benson (1871-1914): novelist, priest, apologist, son of E. W. Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury; coverted in 1903 from Anglican tradition (link: Joseph Pearce, "R.H. Benson: Unsung Genius"; http://www.benson-unabridged.com/)
• Jay Budziszewski (1960?- ): philosopher, Univ. of Texas; converted on Easter of 2004 from Anglican, lapsed Baptist and nihilistic background; author of Written on the Heart: The Case for Natural Law (1997) How to Stay Christian in College (1999); The Revenge of Conscience: Politics and the Fall of Man (2004); What We Can't Not Know: A Guide (2004); (conversion story).
• James Burns (1808-1871): publisher and author, founder of the Burns and Oates publishing firm; converted in 1847 from Anglicanism under the influence of Newman in the Oxford Movement (1833-1845)
• St. Edmund Campion, S.J. (1540-1581): priest and martyr; converted to Catholicism a short time after taking orders as an Anglican deacon, then joined the Jesuits in Rome.
• Edward Caswall (1814-1878); priest of the Birmingham Oratory (founded by Cardinal Newman), poet, translator and hymn-writer; converted in 1847 from tradition of Anglicanism in which he had been an ordained a priest
• Charles II (1630-1685): King of England, Scotland, and Ireland, when the monarchy was restored in 1660, following Oliver Cromwell's death; converted on his deathbed from Anglican background
• G.K. Chesterton: journalist, cultural critic and writer; convert from secular Anglicanism (see also his Conversion Story)
• St. Margaret Clitherow (ca. 1556-1586): martyr, "Pearl of York"; converted ca. 1574; executed by being pressed to death under heavy weights for harboring priests and hearing Mass.
• Michael Davies (1936-2004): Catholic traditionalist & author; convert from Anglicanism (link)
• Christopher Derrick (living): Catholic apologist, author & critic ; convert from Anglicanism
• Frederick William Faber (1814-1863); Oratorian priest, devotional author and hymn writer, appointed by Cardinal Newman to found the London Oratory; converted in 1845 (a month after Newman) from Anglican and Calvinist background.
• Douglas Farrow: professor of religious studies at McGill University; converted in 2005 from Anglican background.
• Graham Greene (1904-1991): novelist; convert from secularized Anglican background
• Paul J. Griffiths (1955- ): philosopher and theologian, also scholar of Buddhism; taught at Notre Dame, currently at University of Chicago; converted in 1996 with his family, from Anglican background.
• Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889): Jesuit priest & poet; convert (in 1917) from Anglicanism
• Thomas Howard (living, retired): English professor & writer; convert from Evangelicalism (ch. 9 in O'Neill book below??)
• James II (1633-1701): King of England and Ireland (as James II) and of Scotland (as James VII); converted in 1668 from Anglicanism
• Msgr. Ronald Knox (1888-1957): theologian; convert from Anglicanism
• Henry Edward Cardinal Manning (1808-1892): Archbishop of Westminster; convert from Anglicanism
• Malcolm Muggeridge (1903-1990) Editor of Punch magazine; convert from Anglicanism and agnostic background
• John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890): theologian, Oratorian, founder of Oxford Movement; convert (in 1845) from Anglicanism
• Fr. Jay Scott Newman (living): priest, canon lawyer, ecumenist; convert from Anglicanism
• Canon Edward Norman: church historian, chancellor of York Minster; convert from Anglicanism
• Fr. George Rutler: priest and rector of Holy Name Catholic Church in New York City, where he celebrates the Traditional (Tridentine) Latin Mass; a regular columnist for Crisis magazine, he convert from Anglican background, in which he had been ordained as a priest of the Episcopal Church. He was ordained by Terence Cardinal Cooke on Sept. 8, 1891.
• Fr. Ray Ryland (1920?- ): priest, professor of theology (Univ. of San Diego & Franciscan Univ. of Steubenville) & apologist on staff of Catholic Answers; formerly a priest of the Episcopal Church, converted in 1963 with his wife, Ruth, and ordained with a dispensation from the rule of celibacy (Conversion story).
• St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821): founder of Sisters of Charity; convert from Episcopalian (Anglican) tradition
• J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973): novelist; convert from Protestant tradition in his eighth year, with his widowed mother (see also this excellent J.R.R. Tolkien link)
• Sheldon Vanauken (?-1996): historian and writer; convert from Episcopalianism & agnosticism (ch. 12 in O'Neill book above??)
• Dale Vree (1944- ): Editor of The New Oxford Review; convert from Dutch Reformed background (ch. 5 in O'Neill book above??) (link)
• Evelyn Waugh (1903-1966): novelist and social critic; convert from secularized Anglicanism and skepticism

Baptist

• Jay Budziszewski (1960?- ): philosopher, Univ. of Texas; converted on Easter of 2004 from Anglican, lapsed Baptist and nihilistic background; author of Written on the Heart: The Case for Natural Law (1997) How to Stay Christian in College (1999); The Revenge of Conscience: Politics and the Fall of Man (2004); What We Can't Not Know: A Guide (2004); (conversion story).
• Wesley Kanne Clark (1944- ): Four Star General (retired), former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO in the Serbia-Kosovo conflict of 1999, Democratic primary candidate for president in 2003/4; converted while in Vietnam (ca. 1970); born half-Jewish, raised Baptist
• David B. Currie (living): Catholic apologist & philosopher; convert from Fundamentalist background (author of Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic).
• Fr. John Putnam; priest & canon lawyer; convert from Baptist tradition
• Stephen K. Ray: Catholic apologist; convert from Baptist tradition
• Donegan Smith: actor, acting professor; convert from Baptist tradition

Calvinist

• Avery Cardinal Dulles: theologian; convert from Presbyterianism
• Hamish Fraser (early twentieth-century): writer, prominent Scottish Catholic; converted in 1947 from Communist background; originally Presbyterian until becoming a communist in 1933 (Link: 1978 letter to the General of the Society of Jesus).
• Marcus Grodi (1958?- ): apologist, president of The Coming Home Network, and host of EWTN's "Journey Home" program; originally a Presbyterian pastor (Conversion story, and his novel, How Firm a Foundation).
• Scott Hahn: biblical theologian, popular writer & speaker; convert from Presbyterianism
• Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne (1611-1675): marshal of France, noted military leader in campaigns in France and Italy during the Thirty Years' War and for his victory in Battle of Dunes (1658); converted 1668 from Huguenot background in which he was educated
• Kenneth J. Howell (1952- ): theologian and philosopher of science; convert from Presbyterianism, former pastor.
• Peter Kreeft: philosopher, apologist & popular writer; convert from Dutch Reformed tradition
• Gregory Krehbiel: Catholic critic & author; convert from Presbyterian background
• St. John Ogilvie, S.J. (1579-1615): priest & martyr; converted from a Scottish Presbyterian (Calvinist) background, canonized by Pope Paul VI on October 17, 1976 (links: Catholic Encyclopedia; Saints Alive; Scottish Festivals).
• Walker Percy: novelist; convert from Presbyterianism
• Muriel Spark (1918- ): Scottish novelist, made a Dame of the British Empire in 1993; converted in 1954 from Jewish and Presbyterian parentage (link: infoplease).
• Dale Vree (1944- ): Editor of The New Oxford Review; convert from Dutch Reformed background (ch. 5 in O'Neill book above) (link)
• John Wayne (Marion Robert Morrison) (1907-1979): actor; converted before his death from Presbyterian background (not through the influence of Robert Schuller's daughter, as the urban legend has it; the story, however, is both alleged and denied by Alan Dumas)

Evangelical

• David B. Currie (living): Catholic apologist & philosopher; convert from Fundamentalist background (author of Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic).
• Jayson Franklin: teacher, father; convert from evangelical Protestantism
• Scott Hahn: biblical theologian, popular writer & speaker; convert from evangelical Presbyterianism
• Thomas Howard: English professor & writer; convert from Evangelicalism (ch. 9 in O'Neill book below??)
• Kenneth J. Howell (1952- ): theologian and philosopher of science; convert from evangelical Presbyterianism, former pastor.
• Gregory Krehbiel: Catholic critic & author; convert from Presbyterian background
• Rosalind Moss: Catholic apologist; convert from Jewish background via evangelical Protestantism
• Fr. John Putnam; priest & canon lawyer; convert from evangelical Baptist tradition
• Stephen K. Ray: Catholic apologist; convert from Baptist tradition
• Mark P. Shea: Catholic apologist; convert from non-denominational tradition
• Robert A. Sungenis (1960?- ); apologist and founder of Catholic Apologetics International; Westminster Theological Seminary graduate, and convert from evangelical background and inactive Catholic past.
• John Michael Talbot (1954- ); musician, secular Franciscan; convert from lapsed Methodist background (ch. 8 in O'Neill book above) (link: The Story of John Michael Talbot by Dan O'Neill)

Jewish

• Mortimer J. Adler: philosopher & founder of Great Books program; convert from secular Judaism, before converting to Anglicanism, and then to Catholicism
• Roman Brandstaetter (1906-1987): Jewish writer, biblical translator, and moral philosopher; convert from Polish Jewish background
• Ronda de Sola Chervin: philosopher & apologist; convert from Jewish & atheist background
• Wesley Kanne Clark (1944- ): Four Star General (retired), former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO in the Serbia-Kosovo conflict of 1999, Democratic primary candidate for president in 2003/4; converted while in Vietnam (ca. 1970); born half-Jewish, raised Baptist
• Hermann Cohen (1821-1870): world class pianist & protege of Franz Liszt; convert from Judaism, joined Carmelite order
• Arthur Klyber (living): apologist, evangelist, priest, founder of Remnant of Israel: convert from Jewish background
• Jean-Marie Lustiger: Bishop of Paris; convert from Jewish background
• Raissa Maritain: philosopher, poet & mystic, wife of Jacques Maritain; converted from Jewish and agnostic background
• Rosalind Moss: Catholic apologist; convert from Jewish background via evangelical Protestantism
• Bernard Nathanson: ex-abortionist, one of the seven founding members of NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League) converted to Catholicism and was baptized in 1996; from a Jewish and atheist background (See Nathanson's book, The Hand of God: A Journey from Death to Life by the Abortion Doctor Who Changed His Mind).
• Alphonse Ratisbonne (1814-1884): Jesuit priest & evangelist to the Jewish household of faith; convert from Jewish background
• Charlie Rich (1899-1998): member of Jesuit community in New York City; convert from devout Hasidic Jewish background in Hungary (Friends of Charles Rich).
• Max Scheler (1874-1928): philosopher, a phenomenologist associated with Dietrich von Hildebrand and Edith Stein; converted and baptized Catholic in 1899 from a Jewish background (his mother was Jewish, his father, Lutheran); around 1921 became increasingly non-commital. (For details, see John H. Nota, S.J., Max Scheler: The Man and His Work).
• Muriel Spark (1918- ): Scottish novelist, made a Dame of the British Empire in 1993; converted in 1954 from Jewish and Presbyterian parentage (link: infoplease).
• St. Edith Stein (St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross): philosopher, student of Edmund Husserl, Carmelite nun, martyr; convert from Judaism
• Israel (Eugenio) Zolli (1881-1956): Chief Rabbi of Rome an scholar of biblical and semitic literature; converted from Judaism in 1945, and out of respect for Pope Pius XII, took his first name, "Eugenio," as his own Christian name.

Lutheran

• Fr. Louis Bouyer: theologian, liturgist; former French Lutheran pastor
• Reinhard Huetter: theologian, professor at Duke Divinity School; converted in 2004 from Lutheran (ELCA) background (he was received into full communion, together with his wife, on the feast day of Holly Innocents, Dec. 28, 2004)
• Leonard Klein: priest; former editor of the Lutheran Forum and Lutheran minister; converted in 2003 from Lutheran background; ordained a Catholic priest in Wilmington, Delaware, in 2006.
• Fr. Richard John Neuhaus; Priest, editor of First Things, writer, cultural critic; convert from Lutheranism

Marxist

• Dorothy Day: social activist, founder of Catholic Worker; convert from Communist background
• Hamish Fraser (early twentieth-century): writer, prominent Scottish Catholic; converted in 1947 from Communist background; originally Presbyterian until becoming a communist in 1933 (Link: 1978 letter to the General of the Society of Jesus).
• Alasdair MacIntyre; philosopher; convert from Marxism and agnosticism
• Malcolm Muggeridge; Editor of Punch magazine; convert from agnostic, then Marxist, then Anglican background

Methodist

• William R. Farmer: theologian; convert from Methodism
• Barbara Hall (1961- ): writer and executive producer of hit television shows Judging Amy and Joan of Arcadia; converted after events of September 11, 2001 from agnostic and childhood Methodist background (Link: Barbara Hall: Writer & Producer).
• Arnold Lunn (Henry Moore) (1888-1974): writer, apologist, and father of modern slalom skiing; converted from Methodist background, and was received into the Church in 1933 by Mgsr. Ronald Knox.
• John Michael Talbot (1954- ); musician, secular Franciscan; convert from lapsed Methodist background (ch. 8 in O'Neill book above) (link: The Story of John Michael Talbot by Dan O'Neill)

Native American

• Black Elk (1863-1950): native American, Lakotan; convert (in 1904) from native American religion
• Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680): native American convert from Mohawk tradition

3. PROFESSIONS:

Actors

• Gary Cooper (1901-1961): actor; converted in 1959 (link: Robert Brennan, "Biblical Beginnings and Hollywood Endings")
• Sir Alec Guiness (1914-2000): Academy Award winning actor (67 films); converted on March 24, 1956, from atheist background (links: obituary; "A Conversation with Piers Paul Read, Biographer of Sir Alec Guinness")
• Bob Hope (Leslie Towns Hope) (1903-2003); actor, entertainer, comedian; converted in 1996 from agnostic background, becoming active member of North Hollywood's St. Charles Catholic Church parish.
• Donegan Smith (living): actor, acting professor; convert from Baptist tradition
• John Wayne (Marion Robert Morrison) (1907-1979): actor; converted before his death from Presbyterian background (not through the influence of Robert Schuller's daughter, as the urban legend has it; the story, however, is both alleged and denied by Alan Dumas)
  Athletes
• Arnold Lunn (Henry Moore) (1888-1974): writer, apologist, and father of modern slalom skiing; converted from Methodist background, and was received into the Church in 1933 by Mgsr. Ronald Knox.

Clergy (Catholic)

• Francis Cardinal Arinze (1932- ): highly placed Vatican official; converted in youth from Nigerian animist tradition.
• Mgsr. Robert Hugh Benson (1871-1914): novelist, priest, apologist, son of E. W. Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury; coverted in 1903 from Anglican tradition (link: Joseph Pearce, "R.H. Benson: Unsung Genius"; http://www.benson-unabridged.com/).
• Fr. Louis Bouyer (1913-2004): theologian, liturgist, priest; former French Lutheran pastor.
• St. Edmund Campion, S.J. (1540-1581): priest and martyr; converted to Catholicism a short time after taking orders as an Anglican deacon, then joined the Jesuits in Rome.
• Edward Caswall (1814-1878); priest of the Birmingham Oratory (founded by Cardinal Newman), poet, translator and hymn-writer; converted in 1847 from tradition of Anglicanism in which he had been an ordained a priest.
• Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J. (1918- ): Jesuit theologian; convert from Presbyterianism (link).
• Frederick William Faber (1814-1863); Oratorian priest, devotional author and hymn writer, appointed by Cardinal Newman to found the London Oratory; converted in 1845 (a month after Newman) from Anglican and Calvinist background.
• Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889): Jesuit priest & poet; convert (in 1917) from Anglicanism.
• Leonard Klein: priest; former editor of the Lutheran Forum and Lutheran minister; converted in 2003 from Lutheran background; ordained a Catholic priest in Wilmington, Delaware, in 2006.
• Arthur Klyber (living): apologist, evangelist, priest, founder of Remnant of Israel: convert from Jewish background.
• Msgr. Ronald Knox (1888-1957): theologian; convert from Anglicanism.
• Jean-Marie Lustiger (1927- ): Bishop of Paris; convert from Jewish background.
• Henry Edward Cardinal Manning (1808-1892): Archbishop of Westminster; convert from Anglicanism.
• Thomas Merton (1915-1968): Trappist monk, priest, spiritual writer & social critic; convert from agnostic background.
• Fr. Richard John Neuhaus (1939- ); Priest, editor of First Things, writer, cultural critic; convert from Lutheranism.
• John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890): theologian, Oratorian, founder of Oxford Movement; convert (in 1845) from Anglicanism, former Anglican rector of St. Mary the Virgin, in Oxford.
• Canon Edward Norman: church historian, chancellor of York Minster; convert from Anglicanism.
• St. John Ogilvie, S.J. (1579-1615): priest & martyr; converted from a Scottish Presbyterian (Calvinist) background, canonized by Pope Paul VI on October 17, 1976 (links: Catholic Encyclopedia; Saints Alive; Scottish Festivals).
• Fr. John Putnam (living): priest & canon lawyer; convert from Baptist tradition.
• Alphonse Ratisbonne (1814-1884): Jesuit priest & evangelist to the Jewish household of faith; convert from Jewish background.
• Fr. George Rutler: priest and rector of Holy Name Catholic Church in New York City, where he celebrates the Traditional (Tridentine) Latin Mass; a regular columnist for Crisis magazine, he convert from Anglican background, in which he had been ordained as a priest of the Episcopal Church. He was ordained by Terence Cardinal Cooke on Sept. 8, 1891.
• Fr. Ray Ryland (1920?- ): priest, professor of theology (Univ. of San Diego & Franciscan Univ. of Steubenville) & apologist on staff of Catholic Answers; formerly a priest of the Episcopal Church, converted in 1963 with his wife, Ruth, and ordained with a dispensation from the rule of celibacy (Conversion story).

Clergy (former Protestant clergy)

• Fr. Louis Bouyer (1913-2004): theologian, liturgist, priest; former French Lutheran pastor.
• Edward Caswall (1814-1878); priest of the Birmingham Oratory (founded by Cardinal Newman), poet, translator and hymn-writer; converted in 1847 from tradition of Anglicanism in which he had been an ordained a priest.
• St. Edmund Campion, S.J. (1540-1581): priest and martyr; converted to Catholicism a short time after taking orders as an Anglican deacon, then joined the Jesuits in Rome.
• Marcus Grodi (1958?- ): apologist, president of The Coming Home Network, and host of EWTN's "Journey Home" program; originally a Presbyterian pastor (Conversion story, and his novel, How Firm a Foundation).
• Scott Hahn (1958- ): biblical theologian, popular writer & speaker; convert from Presbyterianism.
• Kenneth J. Howell (1952- ): theologian and philosopher of science; convert from Presbyterianism, former pastor.
• Leonard Klein: priest; former editor of the Lutheran Forum and Lutheran minister; converted in 2003 from Lutheran background; ordained a Catholic priest in Wilmington, Delaware, in 2006.
• Msgr. Ronald Knox (1888-1957): theologian; convert from Anglicanism, former Anglican minister.
• Fr. Richard John Neuhaus (1939- ); Priest, editor of First Things, writer, cultural critic; convert from Lutheranism, former Lutheran pastor.
• Fr. Jay Scott Newman (living): priest, canon lawyer, ecumenist; convert from Anglicanism.
• John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890): theologian, Oratorian, founder of Oxford Movement; convert (in 1845) from Anglicanism, former Anglican rector of St. Mary the Virgin, in Oxford.
• Canon Edward Norman: church historian, chancellor of York Minster; convert from Anglicanism.
• Fr. George Rutler: priest and rector of Holy Name Catholic Church in New York City, where he celebrates the Traditional (Tridentine) Latin Mass; a regular columnist for Crisis magazine, he convert from Anglican background, in which he had been ordained as a priest of the Episcopal Church. He was ordained by Terence Cardinal Cooke on Sept. 8, 1891.
• Fr. Ray Ryland (1920?- ): priest, professor of theology (Univ. of San Diego & Franciscan Univ. of Steubenville) & apologist on staff of Catholic Answers; formerly a priest of the Episcopal Church, converted in 1963 with his wife, Ruth, and ordained with a dispensation from the rule of celibacy (Conversion story).

Jesuits

• St. Edmund Campion, S.J. (1540-1581): priest and martyr; converted to Catholicism a short time after taking orders as an Anglican deacon, then joined the Jesuits in Rome.
• Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J. (1918- ): theologian; convert from Presbyterianism (link)
• Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889): Jesuit priest & poet; convert (in 1917) from Anglicanism
• St. John Ogilvie, S.J. (1579-1615): priest & martyr; converted from a Scottish Presbyterian (Calvinist) background, canonized by Pope Paul VI on October 17, 1976 (links: Catholic Encyclopedia; Saints Alive; Scottish Festivals).
• Alphonse Ratisbonne (1814-1884): Jesuit evangelist to the Jewish household of faith; convert from Jewish background
• Charlie Rich (1899-1998): member of Jesuit community in New York City; convert from devout Hasidic Jewish background in Hungary (Friends of Charles Rich)

Lawyers

• Robert H. Bork (1927- ): American jurist, Yale law professor, U.S. Solicitor General (1973-77), judge for federal Circuit Court of Appeals for D.C. (1982-88), Supreme Court nominee, resident scholar at American Enterprise Institute; converted in 2003 from Protestant background.

Military

• Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne (1611-1675): marshal of France, noted military leader in campaigns in France and Italy during the Thirty Years' War and for his victory in Battle of Dunes (1658); converted 1668 from Huguenot background in which he was educated
• Wesley Kanne Clark (1944- ): Four Star General (retired), former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO in the Serbia-Kosovo conflict of 1999, Democratic primary candidate for president in 2003/4; converted while in Vietnam (ca. 1970); born half-Jewish, raised Baptist

Musicians & composers

• Edward Caswall (1814-1878); priest of the Birmingham Oratory (founded by Cardinal Newman), poet, translator and hymn-writer; converted in 1847 from tradition of Anglicanism in which he had been an ordained a priest.
• Hermann Cohen (1821-1870): world class pianist & protege of Franz Liszt; convert from Judaism, joined Carmelite order.
• Frederick William Faber (1814-1863); Oratorian priest, devotional author and hymn writer, appointed by Cardinal Newman to found the London Oratory; converted in 1845 (a month after Newman) from Anglican and Calvinist background.
• John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890): violinist, theologian, Oratorian, founder of Oxford Movement; convert (in 1845) from Anglicanism, former Anglican rector of St. Mary the Virgin, in Oxford.
• John Michael Talbot (1954- ); musician, secular Franciscan; convert from lapsed Methodist background (ch. 8 in O'Neill book above) (link: The Story of John Michael Talbot by Dan O'Neill)

Philosophers

• Mortimer J. Adler (1902-2001): philosopher & founder of Great Books program; convert from secular Judaism & Anglicanism.
• Jimmy (James) Akin: Catholic apologist, philosopher and blogger at Karl Keating's Catholic Answers apologetics organization in San Diego, California; converted from evangelical Presbyterian background (read the story of his conversion in Surprised by Truth: 11 Converts Give the Biblical and Historical Reasons for Becoming Catholic; and "A Triumph and a Tragedy").
• Roman Brandstaetter (1906-1987): Jewish writer, biblical translator, and moral philosopher; convert from Polish Jewish background.
• Jay Budziszewski (1960?- ): philosopher, Univ. of Texas; converted on Easter of 2004 from Anglican, lapsed Baptist and nihilistic background; author of Written on the Heart: The Case for Natural Law (1997) How to Stay Christian in College (1999); The Revenge of Conscience: Politics and the Fall of Man (2004); What We Can't Not Know: A Guide (2004); (conversion story).
• Ronda de Sola Chervin (1939- ): philosopher & apologist; convert from Jewish & atheist background (Book link).
• David B. Currie (living): Catholic apologist & philosopher; convert from Fundamentalist background (author of Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic).
• Paul J. Griffiths (1955- ): philosopher and theologian, also scholar of Buddhism; taught at Notre Dame, currently at University of Chicago; converted in 1996 with his family, from Anglican background.
• Kenneth J. Howell (1952- ): theologian and philosopher of science; convert from Presbyterianism, former pastor.
• Peter Kreeft (living): philosopher, apologist & popular writer; convert from Dutch Reformed tradition.
• Alasdair MacIntyre (1929- ): philosopher; convert from Marxism and agnosticism.
• Jacques Maritain (1882-1973): philosopher; convert from background of agnosticism.
• Raissa Maritain (1883-?): philosopher, poet & mystic, wife of Jacques Maritain; converted from Jewish and agnostic background.
• John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890): theologian, philosopher, Oratorian, founder of Oxford Movement; convert (in 1845) from Anglicanism, former Anglican rector of St. Mary the Virgin, in Oxford.
• Max Scheler (1874-1928): philosopher, a phenomenologist associated with Dietrich von Hildebrand and Edith Stein; converted and baptized Catholic in 1899 from a Jewish background (his mother was Jewish, his father, Lutheran); around 1921 became increasingly non-commital. (For details, see John H. Nota, S.J., Max Scheler: The Man and His Work).
• Edith Stein (St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross) (1891-1942): philosopher, student of Edmund Husserl, Carmelite nun, martyr at Auschwitz; convert from Judaism
• Dietrich von Hildebrand (1889-1977): philosopher, declared a "Doctor of the Church" by Pope Pius XII; converted in 1914; converted in 1914 from an agnostic background, under the influence of Max Scheler.

Royalty

• Charles II (1630-1685): King of England, Scotland, and Ireland, when the monarchy was restored in 1660, following Oliver Cromwell's death; converted on his deathbed from Anglican background
• James II (1633-1701): King of England and Ireland (as James II) and of Scotland (as James VII); converted in 1668 from Anglicanism

Scientists

• Bernard Nathanson: ex-abortionist, one of the seven founding members of NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League) converted to Catholicism and was baptized in 1996; from a Jewish and atheist background (See Nathanson's book, The Hand of God: A Journey from Death to Life by the Abortion Doctor Who Changed His Mind).

Theologians

• Fr. Louis Bouyer (1913-2004): theologian, liturgist, priest; former French Lutheran pastor.
• Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J. (1918- ): Jesuit theologian; convert from Presbyterianism (link).
• William R. Farmer: theologian; convert from Methodism
• Douglas Farrow: professor of religious studies at McGill University; converted in 2005 from Anglican background.
• Scott Hahn (1958- ): biblical theologian, popular writer & speaker; convert from Presbyterianism.
• Paul J. Griffiths (1955- ): philosopher and theologian, also scholar of Buddhism; taught at Notre Dame, currently at University of Chicago; converted in 1996 with his family, from Anglican background.
• Kenneth J. Howell (1952- ): theologian and philosopher of science; convert from Presbyterianism, former pastor.
• Reinhard Huetter: theologian, professor at Duke Divinity School; converted in 2004 from Lutheran (ELCA) background (he was received into full communion, together with his wife, on the feast day of Holly Innocents, Dec. 28, 2004)
• Leonard Klein: priest; former editor of the Lutheran Forum and Lutheran minister; converted in 2003 from Lutheran background; ordained a Catholic priest in Wilmington, Delaware, in 2006.
• Msgr. Ronald Knox (1888-1957): theologian; convert from Anglicanism.
• Fr. Richard John Neuhaus (1939- ); Priest, editor of First Things, writer, cultural critic; convert from Lutheranism.
• John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890): theologian, Oratorian, founder of Oxford Movement; convert (in 1845) from Anglicanism, former Anglican rector of St. Mary the Virgin, in Oxford.
• Fr. Ray Ryland (1920?- ): priest, professor of theology (Univ. of San Diego & Franciscan Univ. of Steubenville) & apologist on staff of Catholic Answers; formerly a priest of the Episcopal Church, converted in 1963 with his wife, Ruth, and ordained with a dispensation from the rule of celibacy (Conversion story).

Writers, Novelists & Poets

• Roman Brandstaetter (1906-1987): Jewish writer, biblical translator, and moral philosopher; convert from Polish Jewish background.
• Mgsr. Robert Hugh Benson (1871-1914): novelist, priest, apologist, son of E. W. Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury; coverted in 1903 from Anglican tradition (link: Joseph Pearce, "R.H. Benson: Unsung Genius"; http://www.benson-unabridged.com/).
• Christopher Derrick (living): Catholic apologist, author & critic ; convert from Anglicanism.
• Shusaku Endo (1923-1996): novelist; convert from agnosticism.
• Scott Hahn (1958- ): biblical theologian, popular writer & speaker; convert from Presbyterianism.
• Thomas Howard (living, retired): English professor & writer; convert from Evangelicalism (ch. 9 in O'Neill book below).
• Hamish Fraser (early twentieth-century): writer, prominent Scottish Catholic; converted in 1947 from Communist background; originally Presbyterian until becoming a communist in 1933 (Link: 1978 letter to the General of the Society of Jesus).
• Graham Greene (1904-1991): novelist; convert from secularized Anglican background.
• Barbara Hall (1961- ): writer and executive producer of hit television shows Judging Amy and Joan of Arcadia; converted after events of September 11, 2001 from agnostic and childhood Methodist background (Link: Barbara Hall: Writer & Producer).
• Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889): Jesuit priest & poet; convert (in 1917) from Anglicanism.
• Msgr. Ronald Knox (1888-1957): theologian & apologist; convert from Anglicanism.
• Peter Kreeft (living): philosopher, apologist & popular writer; convert from Dutch Reformed tradition.
• Arnold Lunn (Henry Moore) (1888-1974): writer, apologist, and father of modern slalom skiing; converted from Methodist background, and was received into the Church in 1933 by Mgsr. Ronald Knox.
• Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980); literary, cultural & media critic; conversion from agnostic background.
• Raissa Maritain (1883-?): philosopher, poet & mystic, wife of Jacques Maritain; converted from Jewish and agnostic background.
• Thomas Merton (1915-1968): Trappist monk, priest, spiritual writer & social critic; convert from agnostic background.
• Malcolm Muggeridge (1903-1990) Editor of Punch magazine; convert from Anglicanism and agnostic. background.
• Fr. Richard John Neuhaus (1939- ); Priest, editor of First Things, writer, cultural critic; convert from Lutheranism.
• Peggy Noonan (1950- ): journalist, author; converted from agnostic background and attends Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church in Washington, DC (see "Meeting Peggy Noonan")
• Walker Percy (1916-1990): novelist; convert from Presbyterianism.
• Muriel Spark (1918- ): Scottish novelist, made a Dame of the British Empire in 1993; converted in 1954 from Jewish and Presbyterian parentage (link: infoplease).
• J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973): novelist; convert from Protestant tradition in his eighth year, with his widowed mother (see also this excellent J.R.R. Tolkien link)
• Sigrid Undset (1882-1949): novelist; convert from Scandinavian Protestantism.
• Sheldon Vanauken (?-1996): historian and writer; convert from Episcopalianism & agnosticism (ch. 12 in O'Neill book above)
• Evelyn Waugh (1903-1966): novelist and social critic; convert from secularized Anglicanism and skepticism

ALL SAINTS (Fanfare for the Common Man)

• Anne, stay-at-home mom (an attorney long, long ago), who followed a winding path from Congregationalist, to Presbyterian, to Missouri Synod Lutheran, to my true home in Rome.
• Benjamin (Jamie) Blosser, patrologist, blogger at Ad Limina Apostolorum; convert from evangelical Reformed background.
• Christopher Blosser, apologist, blogger at Christopher's Web, and at director of Cardinal Ratzinger Fan Club website, convert from evangelical Reformed background.
• Nathaniel Blosser, Navy radiologist, apologist; convert from evangelical Reformed background.
• Philip Blosser, philosopher, apologist, convert from Anglican, Reformed, and Anabaptist background.
• Sean Fagan: philosophy student; convert from Baptist background via Lutheranism.
• Thomas L. Casey, attorney, once a Baptist
• Joseph Cody: electrical engineer; convert from Baptist tradition.
• William J. Cork, apologist, author of Tischreden ("A Catholic Blog with a Lutheran Accent"), Director of Young Adult & Campus Ministry in the Archdiocese of Glaveston - Houston; formerly a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; from Adventist background (see his conversion story, "Why I am a Catholic")
• Jayson Franklin (living): teacher, father; convert from evangelical Protestantism.
• Alicia Huntley (correspondence: 2005): mom, midwife, occasional writer, blogger (Fructus Ventris); convert from the Anglican tradition after a short flirtation with the idea of Orthodox Judaism.
• Jared L. Olar (correspondence: 2005): journalist, husband, father; born and raised in Armstrongism, converted to the Apostolic Faith almost five years ago (link: online article by Olar).
• Benjamin Naasko, frustrated office worker, convert from atheism/secular leftism.
• Susan Peterson, mother, registered nurse, disability analyst, convert from atheism via Anglicanism.
• Benjamin Adam Roberts (1976- ): candidate for priesthood in the Diocese of Charlotte, NC; converted October, 30, 1999 from a Lutheran background (educated by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate)
• Stephen Starr: master trumpet player, singer, humorist, gastronome, connoiseur of firearms and history buff; convert from a Lutheran background. (Link to Stephen's Place: The Trumpeter's Pulpit blog)
• Dave Walker, teacher, attorney, raconteur, blogger; convert from Baptist tradition and agnosticism.
• David Warren: Canadian journalist, columnist for Crisis magazine; converted from Anglican background in 2003 (see DavidWarrenOnline, and his essay on "Apostate Catholics").
• Matthew Yoder: graduate student in biblical studies; convert from Lutheran tradition.