Spring 2003 The publishing house of ICS got its start with the generous donation by Fr. Kieran Kavanaugh of his first published book, The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross. Originally issued by Doubleday in New York, that experienced publisher failed to see the need to reissue it after the press run sold out. At the time it went out of print the Institute of Carmelite Studies was looking for ways to finance some of its research projects, so the idea of publishing our own version of the Kavanaugh/Rodriguez translation--with Doubleday's kind accord, of course--appeared to be a plausible solution. A bulky green paperback volume was issued with a fair amount of trepidation in 1973. As the saying goes, we have "never looked back" since then and the format of the book has been improved in multiple ways. Father Kieran, assisted by Fr. Otilio Rodriguez until his advanced age made him retire, has not looked back either, but has moved steadily ahead to produce other readable, and demonstrably scholarly, translations of Carmelite authors. His latest tome is Volume One of The Collected Letters of St. Teresa of Avila. Soon we hope to see the second volume in print, thus completing her works as companions to the works of St. John of the Cross. Both taken together are now "classic" contemporary translations in the English-speaking world. Look for the next volume in our "Carmelite Studies" series--it is designed to celebrate the life and work of Fr. Kieran. We take satisfaction from the fact that the new translation of St. Edith Stein's The Science of the Cross by Sr. Josephine Koeppel, ocd, benefits from the editorial experience of Fr. Kieran Kavanaugh. He guided the final editing of her translation, and he also added in a twenty-seven page "ICS Introduction" that shows him at his best, linking the work of Saint Edith in the twentieth century to that of Saint John of the Cross, her beloved Mystical Master from the sixteenth century. Readers receive the guidance of a veteran American Sanjuanist scholar, as they approach the work and the insights of the woman the Pope declared co-patroness of Europe (along with Saints Bridgit of Sweden and Catherine of Siena). Our appreciation for the widely recognized contributions of Fr. Kieran is heightened this year in particular, as we celebrate with him his 75th birthday (see his photo on the "Staff" page of this website). We know you associate yourselves to our desire he goes on to contribute even more scholarly writings in the years ahead, and we are sure you will pray for him and that intention. Texts of high significance deserve widespread attention, so we are publishing on this website the full translation of a letter sent by Saint Edith Stein to Pope Pius XI in the first half of 1933 while she was still a laywoman. We give her text preceded by the press release devised by Fr. John Sullivan ocd soon after the original German text was unsealed by the Vatican earlier this year--almost a full seventy years after it was written. LETTER OF SAINT EDITH STEIN TO POPE PIUS XI in 1933 The attached text was sent by Dr. Edith Stein, then noted philosopher, writer, and educator in Germany in the Spring of 1933. She had not yet entered the Carmelite monastery of Cologne (being received there on October 14, 1933) and she saw her lectureship at the German Institute for Scientific Pedagogy terminated in the Spring, because of anti-Semitic Nazi laws. The date of April 12, 1933 probably indicates the delivery time since a cover letter of presentation to Vatican officials that was written for it by her spiritual director, Archabbot Raphael Walzer of Beuron Abbey, bore that date. For years the letter was kept in the Vatican's archives and not even released for inclusion in the published correspondence of Stein, who lately has been canonized as a saint of the Catholic Church (on October 11, 1998). It was released to the public on February 15, 2003 as part of the documentation dating from the pontificate of Pius XI now available for study. The current text was translated from the original German in a collaborative effort by Mrs. Suzanne Batzdorff, Jewish niece of Edith Stein and frequent author of both books [she translated for ICS Publications volume 7 in the "Carmelite Studies" series titled Never Forget] and articles increasing knowledge of her aunt; Sr. Josephine Koeppel, the Carmelite nun translator of Stein's autobiographical work Life in a Jewish Family and also her correspondence Self-Portrait in Letters, 1918-1942; and Rev. Dr. John Sullivan, publisher for the Discalced Carmelites of The Collected Works of Edith Stein. TEXT OF LETTER TO THE POPE FROM EDITH STEIN Holy Father! As a child of the Jewish people who, by the grace of God, for the past eleven years has also been a child of the Catholic Church, I dare to speak to the Father of Christianity about that which oppresses millions of Germans. For weeks we have seen deeds perpetrated in Germany which mock any sense of justice and humanity, not to mention love of neighbor. For years the leaders of National Socialism have been preaching hatred of the Jews. Now that they have seized the power of government and armed their followers, among them proven criminal elements, this seed of hatred has germinated. The government has only recently admitted that excesses have occurred. To what extent, we cannot tell, because public opinion is being gagged. However, judging by what I have learned from personal relations, it is in no way a matter of singular exceptional cases. Under pressure from reactions abroad, the government has turned to "milder" methods. It has issued the watchword "no Jew shall have even one hair on his head harmed." But through boycott measures--by robbing people of their livelihood, civic honor and fatherland--it drives many to desperation; within the last week, through private reports I was informed of five cases of suicide as a consequence of these hostilities. I am convinced that this is a general condition which will claim many more victims. One may regret that these unhappy people do not have greater inner strength to bear their misfortune. But the responsibility must fall, after all, on those who brought them to this point and it also falls on those who keep silent in the face of such happenings. Everything that happened and continues to happen on a daily basis originates with a government that calls itself "Christian." For weeks not only Jews but also thousands of faithful Catholics in Germany, and, I believe, all over the world, have been waiting and hoping for the Church of Christ to raise its voice to put a stop to this abuse of Christ's name. Is not this idolization of race and governmental power which is being pounded into the public consciousness by the radio open heresy? Isn't the effort to destroy Jewish blood an abuse of the holiest humanity of our Savior, of the most blessed Virgin and the apostles? Is not all this diametrically opposed to the conduct of our Lord and Savior, who, even on the cross, still prayed for his persecutors? And isn't this a black mark on the record of this Holy Year which was intended to be a year of peace and reconciliation? We all, who are faithful children of the Church and who see the conditions in Germany with open eyes, fear the worst for the prestige of the Church, if the silence continues any longer. We are convinced that this silence will not be able in the long run to purchase peace with the present German government. For the time being, the fight against Catholicism will be conducted quietly and less brutally than against Jewry, but no less systematically. It won't take long before no Catholic will be able to hold office in Germany unless he dedicates himself unconditionally to the new course of action. At the feet of your Holiness, requesting your apostolic blessing, (Signed) Dr. Edith Stein, Instructor at the German Institute for Scientific Pedagogy, Münster in Westphalia, Collegium Marianum. +++++++++++