Fr. August Thompson-the Black Catholic priest that inspired Thomas Merton

Gloria speaks with Greg Hillis, Professor of Theology & Religious Studies at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky. In the last few years Prof. Hillis has turned his attention to the life and writings of Thomas Merton, the famous Trappist monk from Kentucky whose literary estate is housed at the Merton Center at Bellarmine University. In addition to his book on Thomas Merton - "Man of Dialogue": Thomas Merton's Catholic Vision - Prof. Hillis is currently working on a book-length biography of Fr. August Thompson, an oppressed Black Catholic priest who was friends with Merton, who shared his life experiences of personal and systemic racism, and who helped inform Merton’s later work “The Black Revolution: Letters to a White Liberal” on racial injustice.

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