The Spiritual Brilliance of Thomas Merton Parts 1 & 2

These episodes, from 2008, are conversations with Morgan Atkinson. He wrote the book & TV special "Soul Searching," an in-depth discovery of Thomas Merton and his pioneering spiritual work.

Sometimes for the heck of it, I tune into EWTN, the hardcore conservative Catholic radio network. Recently on a call-in show someone asked a priest about Fr. Merton. One might guess that his take on Merton was less than favorable. While he is often regarded as a "patron saint" of the Catholic contemplative movement, there are many in the Church who would wish him to be excommunicated posthumously. But as you'll hear here, this was a flawed, but deeply spiritual giant.