Bernardine Dohrn writes of her memories of Father Berrigan, from a time when both of them were wanted by the FBI.
Dan Berrigan refused to report to prison, and during his time “underground” he repeatedly appeared publically to conduct church sermons or to give anti-war speeches, further infuriating FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. His was both a playful “underground” and a passionately moral one. He wrote, of the Catonsville action: “Our apologies, good friends, for the fracture of good order, the burning of paper instead of children…”
The Weather Underground responded with a much less eloquent “communiqué” to “Brother Dan,” just after he was arrested in 1970. “We watched you, Dan, on TV when they took you to jail, smiling and with hands raised, handcuffed, giving the sign of peace. You have refused the corruption of your generation.”
I ran across these links today. Rest in power, Father.
The Priest Who Practiced Radical Direct Action: Father Daniel J. Berrigan | Beacon Broadside
Imagining The New Creation | Religious Socialism Blog
Bearing The Cross | Chris Hedges at Truthdig
The photo of Father Berrigan is by Jim Forest.
