The Pope Did It?

[L Verge]

Just had a chance to see what Terry Alford finally came up with in discussing Booth's conversion to Catholicism in Fortune's Fool. Answer: Nothing that we didn't already know. He quotes a friend in the early years section as describing Booth as a free thinker (like his father) and not tied to one denomination of Christianity. The friend also states that Booth got more of an education on morals from Shakespeare and that he despised the Bible-thumping preachers of his day.

In regards to Asia's claim of conversion, Terry offers no further proof that her contention that he converted is accurate. He does mention the Catholic medal, but clarifies that it was said to be an Agnus Dei medal which was also widely used by Protestants (I used to have several of them that were distributed at certain occasions by the Episcopal church). His chapter notes cite a newspaper article from the late-1800s or early-1900s as well as reference to James O. Hall finding an auction catalog mentioning the medal. We all know that descriptions given in such catalogs are not infallible.

Finally, I may have mentioned this earlier, but upon her demise, Constance Head had arranged for only two people to receive her research papers - Terry Alford and Jeannine Clarke Dodels. Mr. Hall had previously worked with Constance on her research and was privy to what she had accumulated. He was of the opinion that she had not gotten far enough along to have solid ground on which to base her subject. Personally, I suspect that Terry (at least) would have given a strong position on the Catholic angle if his research and Constance's both gave solid credence to the "Booth became a Catholic" theory.