Description
Our project was born following the proposal of the publishing house Première Partie to write a book for young adults on the portrait of this woman on trial for beatification. Mathilde Montovert has accepted this mission. The book is currently being written and we have decided to make a film-documentary about her life, too. The project is to make a 30-minute documentary film Net For God about the life of Dorothy Day, which will be translated into 17 languages.
We will travel to New York to meet Dorothy Day's relatives, interview them and film the places where she lived. We will meet with her granddaughter (Marthe Hennessy) at the mother house of the movement founded by Dorothy Day and with several members of the Dorothy Day Guild.
Why New York ?
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Why the USA ?Dorothy Day is one of the most influential American Catholic figures of the 20th century. Her beatification process was opened in 2000 by the Archbishop of New York - she was named Servant of God, which is the first step to canonisation in the Catholic Church. She is very well known in the United States, but less so in Europe and in France. We believe that she can bring a lot to us, that she can challenge young people and adults today on many of the issues that marked her life (crisis of faith, despair, abortion, prison, suicide...) and can help us to come closer to Christ.
Who is Dorothy Day ? [Please click on the picture]
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Who is she ?A mother, writer and journalist, she is a true example of charity in the footsteps of Mother Teresa. In the midst of the 1929 crisis in the United States, she founded the "Catholic Worker Movement" to welcome and serve the most destitute in the poor neighbourhoods of New York marked by unemployment and misery. Through her writings, she raised awareness of poverty, anti-Semitism, social and racial injustices, integral ecology and the place of women. She was also involved in a lifelong struggle for pacifism at a time when the world was going through many global conflicts (Spanish Civil War, First World War, Second World War, Cold War, Vietnam War). She was awarded the Pacem in Terris prize in 1971 for her efforts to work for peace and social justice. She was named as a figure of reference for the American people in 2015 in Pope Francis' address to the US Congress, alongside Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Merton and Martin Luther King.
The Chemin Neuf Community
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Who are we ?The Chemin Neuf Community is a Catholic community with an ecumenical vocation, with nearly 2,200 permanent members in 26 countries and 12,000 people serving the community's missions. Its main founder, and leader from 1973 to 2016, is the Jesuit Father Laurent Fabre. Since 2016, Father François Michon has been in charge of the community. Chemin Neuf takes its name from the first meeting place located at 49, montée du Chemin-Neuf in Lyon. Stemming from the Charismatic Renewal, the community is also very inspired by Ignatian spirituality. It brings together priests, lay people committed to celibacy (men and women) as well as uncommitted singles and couples with or without children. The community orients its action around the principle of unity: unity of Christians (ecumenism), unity of men, unity of couples and families and unity of the person himself.
Net For God
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Who are we ?Net For God is a worldwide network of prayer for unity and peace between countries, cultures and Christian confessions, supported by the Chemin Neuf Community. This network is nourished each month by a film that testifies to the love of God at work in the world. We suggest that one of the films in this network is about the life of the Servant of God, Dorothy Day.
Thank you for your support, your generosity and your prayers for this project which can help us to change the world!
