Anti-War Priest who served in Congress dies at 86

international | anti-war / imperialism | other press

Monday January 29, 2007 11:40

by pat c

Robert Drinan SJ, who was elected to the US Congress on an Anti-War ticket has died. Drinan was elected in 1970, after he beat longtime Democratic Rep. Philip J. Philbin. He became the first member of Congress to call for the impeachment of Richard Nixon for what Drinan viewed as the administration's undeclared war against Cambodia. Drinan was forced to step down from Congress due to pressure from the Vatican.

Full text at link.

pat c

The Rev. Robert Drinan, a Jesuit who - over the objections of his superiors - was the first Roman Catholic priest elected as a voting member of Congress, died Sunday.

Drinan, 86, had suffered from pneumonia and congestive heart failure during the previous 10 days, according to a statement by Georgetown University which said he died at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington.

"His death was peaceful, and he was surrounded by his family," said the Rev. John Langan, rector of the Georgetown University Jesuit Community where Drinan lived.

An internationally known human-rights advocate, Drinan was elected on an anti-war platform and represented Massachusetts in the U.S. House for 10 years during the turbulent 1970s. He stepped down only after a worldwide directive from Pope John Paul II barring priests from holding public office.During his Congressional tenure, Drinan continued to dress in the robes of his clerical order and lived in a simple room in the Jesuit community at Georgetown.

But he wore his liberal views more prominently. He opposed the draft, worked to abolish mandatory retirement and raised eyebrows with his more moderate views on abortion and birth control.

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In Memory of Professor Robert F. Drinan, S.J.

Wed Feb 14, 2007 12:20

Remembrances of and eulogies for Professor Robert F. Drinan, S.J. are at the url below.

Father Drinan, lawmaker who defied Rome, dead at 86

Tue Jan 30, 2007 12:02

More info on Robert Drinan. Full text at the link.

Father Robert Drinan, a Jesuit priest and lawyer who defied directives from Rome to serve for a decade in the US Congress, died on Sunday, January 28, at the age of 86.

The combative Jesuit had been a lightning-rod for controversy throughout his political career. He came to Washington as an outspoken opponent of the war in Vietnam; later he became one of the most reliable votes in Congress in favor of unrestricted legal abortion.

His advocacy of legal abortion continued long after his tenure in Congress. In 1996 the priest-politician shocked many Catholics by praising President Bill Clinton for his veto of legislation banning partial-birth abortion.

A partisan Democratic legislator, Father Drinan filed the bill to impeach President Richard Nixon in 1973. Years later he would argue strenuously against the impeachment of President Clinton. After leaving Congress he became the president of the liberal political bloc, Americans for Democratic Action.

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Anti-War Priest who served in Congress dies at 86

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