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Carol Jackson Robinson (5 May 1911 - 23 August 2002) was a Catholic writer, editor, and public speaker. She often published under the pseudonym Peter Michaels.

Childhood and Education

She was born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and grew up in West Redding, Connecticut. Her father had been general counsel to the American Gas Association. Carol Jackson attended Wellesley College, became an atheist, and interrupted her studies for a few years before graduating in 1937. After attending a lecture on Catholic Action by Paul McGuire in New York City, she converted to Roman Catholicism in 1941.

She married Maurie Leigh Robinson, one-time writer for NBC, in 1956. She and her husband had no children of their own. Ten years later, she returned to school and received an MA in Theology in 1967 from St. John's University in Queens, NY. In 1975, she won the "Wanderer Award" for her work in promoting the work of St. Thomas Aquinas. Later in life, she attended services at a Society of St. Pius X chapel in Connecticut, beginning around 1990.

Speaker and Writer

Carol Jackson wrote for The Torch, where she met fellow author Ed Willock. Together, they founded Integrity magazine in October, 1946. Over the course of the next ten years, the magazine was a forum for young Catholic writers. Jackson worked for the magazine until 1952. Thomas Merton, later a widely-read Trappist monk, published several articles in Integrity. The Dominican friar James Mark Egan served as Integrity's theological consultant and vetted articles to insure their conformity to Catholic teaching. He was later appointed head of the theology department at St. Mary's, Notre Dame. A visitor to the Integrity offices described Jackson in detail: "Then I was asked to lunch with editors, staff, and visitors, the community. There was Carol Jackson, slim, young, immaculately groomed and well, "spiritual looking". The conversation was serious but not dour. Carol seemed to be the dominant personality at table.

As a writer, she used the pseudonym Peter Michaels. After her death, some books were re-issued using her real name. In his review of This Perverse Generation, which was a critique of tepid Catholicism in American culture, J.F.T. Prince claimed the book was just as apt as a critique of British culture. The advertisement for the book in The Tablet claimed: "Peter Michaels' book will give you a shock."

From 1971 to 1987 she wrote over 60 articles for The Wanderer including a six-part critique of Karl Rahner.

Jackson traveled widely to hold public speeches, often about Thomas Aquinas and his relevance for contemporary culture. She coined the term nunk, using it to criticize laypeople who thought that the only form of holiness was to imitate nuns and monks "for want of a clear idea of the lay role."

Quotes

● "Sooner or later (probably much too late) the world is going to come to the realization that its power of accomplishment must rest on love, not avarice." "Must we wait until the world learns its lessons too late? Or shall we switch to a Christian economy right now?" (Integrity, 1948)

● "I see the practice of simplicity as the habit of choosing what is opposed to the complexity and confusion of the world. For instance, walk instead of ride wherever possible — not because walking is hard, but because it’s slow. Cook instead of opening cans, or bake bread at home, because this culinary effort represents the return to an older and more wholesome atmosphere. And so it goes — make music rather than turning it on, play games instead of watching them." ("Suggestions for Lent," The Lone Star Catholic, February 8, 1959)

● "Those who desire the things of this world are not made happy by possessing them; only unhappy by their absence. It is God who makes men happy, but even if God is present in our souls we cannot enjoy Him while we are attached to a thousand material and physical goods. So the process of detachment brings with it not only freedom but also joy, the true light-heartedness that made St. Francis sing as he walked barefoot in the snow. This is the kingdom of heaven within us." ("The Poor in Spirit," Ave Maria Magazine, March 1962)

Publications

• Breaking the Chains of Mediocrity: Carol Robinson's Marianist Articles
• Designs for Christian Living
• This Perverse Generation
• Thy Faith Hath Made Thee Whole: The Integrity Years (1946-1956)
• The Salt of the Earth
• The Eightfold Kingdom Within: Essays on the Beatitudes & The Gifts of the Holy Ghost
• An Embattled Mind, In Defense of St. Thomas: The Post-Conciliar Years (The Collected Wanderer Articles: 1971–1987)
• My Life with Thomas Aquinas