Book Review: “From the White House to the White Cross”

“From the White House to the White Cross” is written by Peggy Stanton, the first female correspondent for ABC Television in Washington, D.C., in 1966. Stanton is also the author of “The Daniel Dilemma,” and has had several articles published in The Washington Post, The News Leader and Medjugorje Magazine. Her love for storytelling led her to become a “compulsive journal keeper,” and it is through reading many of her journal entries that we are able to follow her conversion “from cultural Catholic to committed Catholic” in this book.

The content of the book is divided into three parts, with each part providing interesting stories for a particular phase of Stanton’s conversion journey. 
In part one, we learn about Stanton’s life as a young girl growing up Catholic in Evanston, Ill., about the start of her news correspondent career with Metromedia, a regional radio broadcast network in our nation’s capital, and about her “ideal job” as news correspondent for ABC in Washington, and her experiences working at the White House. 

Part two sheds light on the beginning of Stanton’s journey toward committed Catholicism. One day she makes a “spontaneous stop” in Epiphany Catholic Church, the church where she and her husband, Bill, were married. Standing in the aisle, she hears a voice that says, “I did not put you on this earth to make money,x” (or to gain fame or status). She is convinced that this message is from God, and the call is to move from simply participating in Mass and other church activities as a sense of duty and becoming a more committed Catholic by following Christ and serving others through love. 

Responding to the message from God, Stanton travels on pilgrimage to Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina. 

On June 24, 1981, two young girls were walking in Medjugorje when Our Lady Mary appeared to them. They and four other children returned to the spot the next day, and Mary prayed with them.

There are reports that Mary appears or speaks regularly at various locations in the area. Stanton shares several interesting journal entries about how the local people and foreign pilgrims were impacted by the apparitions, and she begins to gain clarity on how she might best serve God through “fasting and prayer for peace in the world.” She joins with other pilgrims and develops the habit of daily prayers, praying the Hail Mary, singing praise to God and “storytelling” with people from various backgrounds on experiences enjoyed while at Medjugorje.

In part three is where we find out about the “White Cross.” The “White Cross was built on a mount above Medjugorje and is one of the primary locations many pilgrims spend time in prayer, often praying the ‘Way of the Cross.’”

This is where we also read about the progress Stanton seems to be making on her journey to becoming a more committed Catholic. She prays about the apparitions of Mary, which tell the world that the only way peace will come is through “fasting and prayer,” and makes that request her true calling. 

Her first response to this calling was to create the Mary Anne Foundation (named after the Mother and Grandmother of the Prince of Peace) with the mission to foster world peace through spiritual means, with a motto of “Peace Through Love.” 

Peggy continues along her journey today by being active in several endeavors, including serving on the Order of Malta Dental Medical Clinic board (the clinic provides free dental, medical and eye care to the uninsured of metro Detroit, regardless of age, race, gender, religion or ethnicity).

I really enjoyed reading this book and I highly recommend it to all adult Catholics ready to journey toward also becoming a more committed Catholic. 

John H. Dolezal is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.