“From Blackmoor Lane to Capitol Hill” is a breakthrough new book by Brian J. Cudahy, ’60, that explores linkages between Irish and American Catholicism.
This story began in 18th century Ireland when Capuchin friar Arthur O’Leary opened a chapel on the quiet Cork City backstreet of Blackmoor Lane. Through his writings, O’Leary called for justice and tolerance amid the turmoil and confusion of Ireland’s Penal Era. His message later informed the world view of another priest, John England. It was England who took O’Leary’s vision across the Atlantic, where, in 1820, he became the bishop of a new diocese in Charleston, South Carolina.
Ironically, England preached for justice and tolerance in a community that was to become the epicenter of America’s defining moral quandary, slavery. But England’s transcendent message somehow took hold and he ultimately found himself on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives sharing O’Leary’s wisdom with members of Congress. The themes he shared that day remain relevant in today’s world, addressing critical issues facing both Catholicism and the nation.
His book was published by Franciscan Institute Press.
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