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Article: Journal relates 'affair' of famous Trappist monk and author Thomas Merton.(Originated from Knight-Ridder Newspapers)
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- October 15, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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It is often said that the world-renowned Trappist monk and author Thomas Merton was a man of paradox.
Merton, who lived at the Abbey of Gethsemani near Bardstown, Ky., from 1941 until his death in 1968, was a hermit who had countless friends. He was rooted in Christianity, yet he sought the wisdom of other religions. He believed in the contemplative life, yet he wrote passionately about social activism.
Now, the latest volume of the official edition of Merton's journals adds greater detail to another, and perhaps his most surprising, paradox: that this monk and Roman Catholic priest had what he called an ``affair'' with a student nurse in ...