More Direct Action
Catholic Pro-life & Peace Movements (Berrigans)

Putting Church Teachings into Action

Non-violence

Merton-inspired

Public Responsibility

Experimentation

Vatican II call to be witnesses

Pro-Life Movement

A Brief History of Abortion

– Connecticut (1821)

– Comstock Act (1873)

– Birth Control League (1921)

– Planned Parenthood Conference (1955)

– Sherri Chessen Finkbine (1962)

– NOW & NARAL

– Colorado (1967)

– Roe vs. Wade (1973)

A Brief History of Church’s Stance

– Innocent XI (1679)

– Pius IX (1869)

– 1917

– Vatican II (1965)

– Kennedy Foundation Conference (1967)

– Humanae Vitae 1968

– Declaration on Procured Abortion (1974)

– 1st sit in Michael Schwartz (1970)

– National Right to Life Committee (1972)

– On Combatting Abortion and Euthanasia, (1991)

John Cavanaugh O’Keefe
“Father of Rescue”

• Brother’s death (1968)

• CCR (1968)

• Conscientious Objector (1970)

• New Mexico (1972)

• Rockville MD (1975)

• Marries Betsy Cavanaugh (1976)

• A Peaceful Prescence (1978)

• Roots of Racism and Abortion (2000)

• Emmanual Solidarity (2001)

Joe Sheidler
“Father of Militancy”

• St. Joseph’s College (1977)

• Sidewalk counseling

• Closed: 99 Ways to Stop Abortion (1985)

• Pro-life Action Network (1980s)

• Randall Terry (1986)

• Operation Rescue (1988)

Joan Andrews
“Prisoner of Conscience”

Pensacola (1986)

How did Pro-Life turn Ecumenical? (1988)

A Short Timeline

• 1945 Hiroshima & Nagasaki

• 1948 Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors, Selective Service Act of 1948

• 1950-1953 Korean War

• 1955 U.S. advisors train South Vietnamese army

• 1960 900 U.S. Toops in Vietnam

• 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis

• 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

23,000 U.S. Toops in Vietnam

• 1967 485,600 U.S. Toops in Vietnam

• 1969 Secret bombing raids in Cambodia and Laos

• 541,000 U.S. Toops in Vietnam

• 1970 Kent State, withdrawal of 40,000 U.S. troops

• 1971 invasion of Laos

• 1973 Peace Accord with North. Vietnam

• 1975 Rocky Flats nuclear testing

• 1979 3-mile island

• 1983 The Day After, "The Challenge of Peace: God’s Promise and Our Response,"

Church on War

Pacem et Terris (1963)

The US Bishop’s Pastoral Letter on War & Peace (1983) “The Challenge of Peace”

Just War

1. Just cause, to protect innocent life, preserve human rights, preserve peace

2. It must be declared by a competent authority

3. Comparative justice--can war be justified for certain rights or morals?

4. Right intention--we can only go to war for a just cause

5. Last resort--all peaceful alternatives must be exhausted

6. Probability of Success--outcome should not be futile

7. Proportionality--overall good should outweigh the damage inflicte

Nuclear Wars

1. Are not winnable, are not really limited

2. Should not be used on primarily civilian targets

3. Non-nuclear defenses should be developed to limit need for nukes

Reverence for life and Peace take precedence

Philip & Daniel Berrigan
The Catholic Left

• Dan 1921-

– Jesuits 1939

– Ordained 1952

– Worker Priests 1954

– Le Moyne 1957

– Latin America 1965

– Cornell College 1967

• Philip 1923-2002

– Drafted WWII 1943

– Josephites 1950

– Ordained 1955

– Selma, Montgomery

– NYC 1965

The Berrigan Brothers

• Spiritual Roots of Protest Retreat 1964

• Catholic Peace Fellowship

• Roger La Porte, David Miller

• Cardinal Spellman

• Protests

– Rationale

– Baltimore 4 1967

– Catonsville 9 1968

– Harrisburg 9

– J. Edgar Hoover Frame job

• Plowshares

• Jonah House

Fighting the Lamb’s War

• Catholic Left

• African-Americans

• Prison

• American Church

• War