"American Catholics and the Intellectual Life"

This article comments on the "American Catholics and the Intellectual Life," an article by John Tracy Ellis, published in the Autumn 1955 issue of the "Thought." It is safe to predict that Father Ellis will find that he has opened an area of real controversy in his analysis of the intellectual failings of American Catholicism. His article is both an indictment and explanation of the situation that obtains. It is particularly in connection with the reasons he offers for the unsatisfactory product and position of the Catholic intellectual that the sociologist will find many useful hypotheses for empirical research. The great value of the article is the fact that it has organized them into a consistent whole. A special note of criticism is offered regarding the Catholic graduate school. Ellis sees, first, a betrayal of the great intellectual traditions in the humanities and liberal arts. Secondly, he bemoans the multiplication of graduate schools beyond available facilities; he sees this as a betrayal of one another in that the intense competition among these graduate schools tends to result in a perpetuation of mediocrity. His analysis of the status of Catholic schools and their graduate draws upon materials with which Catholic sociologists are familiar. This is truly a significant article.