The Rev. Robert F. Drinan, a Roman Catholic Priest who in the 1970s served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, died today. For many Americans he was a visible symbol of peace in a world torn apart by war.
Father Drinan ran for Congress to serve as an advocate for peace and reconciliation – the same causes that drew him to the priesthood. He was the first member of Congress to file papers calling for the impeachment of Richard Nixon (not for Watergate but in response to Nixon’s secret bombing of Cambodia). He ran afoul of Rome after supporting federal funding for abortion. In the best sense of the word he was a liberal deeply committed to building a just society.
Father Drinan was one of the most liberal members of the House of Representatives when he served. His strong anti-administration stands earned him a place on the Nixon "enemies list." His upset victory over US Representative Philip J. Philbin, a 14-term incumbent who was vice chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, in the 1970 Democratic primary in Massachusetts 3d Congressional District, was a high-water mark in the New Politics, which brought the antiwar movement to the ballot box.
Father Drinan's election was also a landmark in US church-state relations. A Catholic priest, Rev. Gabriel Richard, had served in Congress, in 1822, as a nonvoting delegate from Michigan Territory, but he had been appointed. And many Protestant clergymen had served as US representatives. Yet the sight of Father Drinan in the halls of Congress in his Roman collar was startling. Some even questioned the propriety of his wearing a cleric's collar and black suit on the floor of the House. Father Drinan had a standard response. "It's the only suit I own," he'd quip.
Father Drinan, a Jesuit, had long served as dean at Boston College Law School. Supporters saw his entering Congress as a logical union of his legal and spiritual vocations. "Our father, who art in Congress" became a popular, if unofficial, campaign slogan.
Praise be to God for the life of this modern day prophet.
