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.

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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.