Philip Berrigan

Philip Francis “Phil” Berrigan Template:Post-nominals (October 5, 1923 – December 6, 2002) was an American peace activist and Catholic priest<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> with the Josephites.<ref name="obit" /><ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref> He engaged in nonviolent, civil disobedience in the cause of peace and nuclear disarmament and was often arrested.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=":1" />

In 1973, he married a former nun, Elizabeth McAlister. Both were subsequently excommunicated by the Catholic Church before being reinstated. For 11 years of their 29-year marriage they were separated by one or both serving time in prison.<ref name=":3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":2" />

Biography

Early life and education

Berrigan was born in Two Harbors, Minnesota, a Midwestern, working-class town. He had five brothers, including the Jesuit fellow-activist and poet, Daniel Berrigan. His mother, Frieda (née Fromhart), was of German descent and deeply religious. His father, Tom Berrigan, was a second-generation Irish-Catholic, trade union member, socialist, and railway engineer.<ref Name=obit/><ref name=":2" />

Philip Berrigan graduated from high school in Syracuse, New York, and was then employed cleaning trains for the New York Central Railroad. He played with a semi-professional baseball team. In 1943, after a semester of schooling at St. Michael's College, Toronto, Berrigan was drafted into combat duty in Template:Nowrap. He served in the artillery during the Battle of the Bulge (1945) and later became a Second Lieutenant in the infantry.<ref Name=obit/> He was deeply affected by racial segregation and racism during boot camp in the American South.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Berrigan graduated with an English degree from the College of the Holy Cross, a Jesuit college in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Josephites and early priesthood

In 1950, he joined the Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart, better known as the Josephites, a religious society of priests and lay brothers dedicated to serving African-Americans (who were still dealing with the repercussions of slavery and daily segregation in the United States). After studying at the theological school of the Society, St. Joseph's Seminary in Washington, D.C., he was ordained a priest in 1955.

He went on to gain a degree in Secondary Education at Loyola University of the South (1957) and then a Master of Arts degree at Xavier University of Louisiana in 1960, during which time he began to teach at [[St. Augustine High School (New Orleans)|Template:Nowrap High]].<ref name="obit" />

In addition to his academic responsibilities, Berrigan became active in the Civil Rights Movement. He marched for desegregation and participated in sit-ins and bus boycotts. His brother Daniel wrote of him:

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Berrigan was first imprisoned in 1962/1963. During his many prison sentences, he would often hold Bible study class and offer legal educational support to other inmates. As a priest, his activism and arrests met with deep disapproval from the leadership of the Catholic Church and Berrigan was moved to Epiphany Apostolic College, the Josephite minor seminary in Newburgh, New York, but he continued his protests. Working with Jim Forest, in 1964 he founded the Catholic Peace Fellowship in New York City. He was moved again to St. Peter Claver Parish in West Baltimore, Maryland, from where he started the Baltimore Interfaith Peace Mission, leading lobbies and demonstrations.<ref Name=obit/>

Protests

Baltimore Four

Berrigan and others took increasingly radical steps to bring attention to the anti-war movement. The group, later known as the Baltimore Four occupied the Selective Service Board in the Customs House, Baltimore, on October 27, 1967.<ref Name=Four>Template:Cite book</ref> 'The Four' were Berrigan, artist Tom Lewis, writer David Eberhardt, and the Rev. James L. Mengel III. Mengel was a United States Air Force veteran and a United Church of Christ pastor. Performing a sacrificial, blood-pouring protest, they used their own blood and that from poultry and poured it over selective service (draft) records.<ref Name=Four/><ref name="wstrabala2002">Template:Cite book</ref> During their trial Mengel stated that U.S. military forces had killed and maimed not only humans, but also animals and vegetation. Mengel agreed to the action and donated blood, but decided not to actually pour blood. Instead he distributed the paperback book version of the New Testament to draft board workers, newsmen, and police.<ref name=":0" /><ref Name=Four/> Berrigan, in a written statement, noted that his sacrificial and constructive act was meant to protest "the pitiful waste of American and Vietnamese blood in Indochina".<ref Name=obit/>

The trial of the four defendants was postponed due to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and the subsequent riots in Baltimore and other U.S. cities. Eberhardt and Lewis served jail time and Berrigan was sentenced to six years in federal prisons.<ref>Template:Cite court</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" />

Catonsville Nine

In 1968, six months after the Baltimore draft records protest, while out on bail, Berrigan decided to repeat the protest in a modified form. A high school physics teacher, Dean Pappas, helped to concoct homemade napalm. Nine activists, including Berrigan's Jesuit brother Daniel, later became known as the Catonsville Nine when they walked into the offices of the local draft board in Catonsville, Maryland, removed 600 draft records, doused them in napalm and burnt them in a lot outside of the building.<ref Name=Four/><ref name="nine">Template:Cite book</ref> The Catonsville Nine, who were all Catholics, issued a statement:

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Berrigan was convicted of conspiracy and destruction of government property on November 8, 1968, but was bailed for 16 months while the case went to the U.S. Supreme Court. The court rejected the appeal and Berrigan and three others went into hiding. For a time, Liz McAlister, the nun who would later become his wife, helped hide Berrigan in New Jersey.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Twelve days later Berrigan was arrested by the FBI and jailed in Lewisburg.<ref Name=obit/><ref name=":2" /> All nine were sentenced to three years in prison.<ref Name=Four/><ref Name=nine/><ref>Template:Cite court</ref>

File:LizMcalisterArrest2001.jpg

Elizabeth McAlister's arrest in 2001

The Harrisburg Seven

Berrigan attracted the notice of federal authorities again when he and six other anti-war activists were caught trading letters alluding to kidnapping Henry Kissinger and bombing steam tunnels.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> They were charged with 23 counts of conspiracy including plans for kidnap and blowing up heating tunnels in Washington.<ref Name=obit/> The government spent $2 million on the 1972 Harrisburg Seven trial but did not win a conviction.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> This was one of the reversals suffered by the U.S. government in such cases, another being The Camden 28 in 1973.

Other actions

Berrigan organized or inspired many additional operations. The D.C. Nine, in March 1969, consisted of mostly priests and nuns disrupting the Washington Dow Chemical offices by scattering their files.Template:R The group protested Dow's production of napalm for use in the Vietnam War. The D.C. Nine were later tried in Washington, D.C., but an appeal was won in their favor. Some jail time was served.<ref>The Catonsville Nine: A Story of Faith and Resistance in the Vietnam Era (2012) Shawn Francis Peters, Oxford University Press, p. 246 Template:ISBN</ref> Later in May 1969, the Chicago 15 Catholics protested napalm and burned 40,000 draft cards.Template:R

He helped the Milwaukee 14 in a protest against the Milwaukee Draft Boards on September 24, 1968. The Fourteen men burned 10,000 1-A draft files. After being arrested, they spent a month in prison, unable to raise bail set at $415,000. Father James Groppi came to their aid, co-chairing the Milwaukee 14 Defense Committee. Members were later placed on trial and many did considerable jail time.<ref>The Catonsville Nine: A Story of Faith and Resistance in the Vietnam Era (2012) Shawn Francis Peters, Oxford University Press, p. 157 Template:ISBN</ref>

He supported the Citizens' Commission to Investigate the FBI, the burglary of an FBI field office in Media, Penn., to expose the methods of J. Edgar Hoover against war protesters.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

He was also involved with the Camden 28, who took action against the Camden, New Jersey, draft board. The group was arrested and the trial resulted in acquittal on all charges. A book has been written about this action by Ed McGowan and a documentary made by Giacchino, which appeared on PBS TV.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Berrigan likewise supported the Harrisburg Seven, whose plan was to put people in the government like Henry Kissinger under citizens arrest for the waging of an illegal war. Philip Berrigan and others were arrested for conspiracy. They had only gathered together to discuss the idea.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1968, Berrigan signed the Writers and Editors War Tax Protest pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War.<ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Marriage

Berrigan, while still a priest, married former nun Elizabeth McAlister in 1969 by mutual consent.<ref name=":2" /> In 1973, they legalized their marriage, and were subsequently excommunicated by the Catholic Church, though their excommunication was later lifted.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Together they founded Jonah House in Baltimore, a community to support resistance to war.

Plowshares Movement

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} On September 9, 1980, Berrigan, his brother Daniel, with Sister Anne Montgomery RSCJ, Elmer H. Maas, Rev. Carl Kabat, O.M.I., John Schuchardt, Dean Hammer and Molly Rush<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> known as the Plowshares Eight entered the General Electric Re-entry Division<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, where Mark 12A reentry vehicles<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> for the Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic missiles (ICBMs) were made. They hammered on two reentry vehicles, poured blood on documents, and offered prayers for peace. This is considered the beginning of the Plowshares Movement. They were arrested and charged with ten different felony and misdemeanor counts.<ref>Template:Cite court</ref> On April 10, 1990, after nearly ten years of trials and appeals, the Plowshares Eight were re-sentenced and paroled for up to 23 months in consideration of time already served in prison. Berrigan helped set up Jonah House as the community headquarters of the organisation, a terraced house in Reservoir Hill, Baltimore. The headquarters later was moved to St. Peter the Apostle Cemetery in West Baltimore.<ref name=":2" /><ref name="Four" /> The story is partly told in the book ARISE AND WITNESS: Poems by Anne Montgomery, RSCJ, About Faith, Prison, War Zones and Nonviolent Resistance, published in 2024.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Berrigan's last Plowshares action occurred in December 1999, when a group of protesters hammered on A-10 Warthog warplanes held at the Warfield Air National Guard Base. He was indicted for malicious destruction of property and sentenced to 30 months in prison.<ref Name=obit/><ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref> He was released on December 14, 2001. In his lifetime he had spent about 11 years in jails and prisons for civil disobedience.<ref Name=obit/><ref name="Peacework">Template:Cite journal</ref>

In one of his last public statements, Berrigan said,

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Death

On December 6, 2002, Philip Berrigan died of liver and kidney cancer at the age of 79 at Jonah House in Baltimore.<ref Name=obit>Template:Cite news</ref> In a last statement, he said

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Howard Zinn, professor emeritus at Boston University, paid this tribute to Berrigan saying: "Mr. Berrigan was one of the great Americans of our time. He believed war didn't solve anything. He went to prison again and again and again for his beliefs. I admired him for the sacrifices he made. He was an inspiration to a large number of people."<ref Name=obit/>

The funeral was held at St. Peter Claver Church in West Baltimore and he was buried in West Baltimore cemetery. Berrigan's widow, Elizabeth McAlister, and others still maintain Jonah House in Baltimore and a website that details all Plowshares activities.<ref Name=obit/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His four brothers, Daniel, John, Jim, and Jerome; his wife, Elizabeth McAlister; and their three children, Frida, Jerry, and Kate, are or were all also activists in the peace movement.<ref Name=obit/>

Personal life

With his wife Liz he had three children: Frida (b. 1974), Jerry (b. 1975), and Kate (b. 1981).<ref name="obit" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" />

Works

• No More Strangers, Punishment for Peace Template:ISBN
• Prison Journals of a Priest Revolutionary Template:ISBN
• Punishment for Peace Template:ISBN
• Disciples and Dissidents, 2000 Haley's, edited by Fred Wilcox, authors Steven Baggarly, Philip Berrigan, Mark Coville, Susan Crane, Steve Kelly, S.J.. Tom Lewis-Borbely<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Widen the Prison Gates Template:ISBN
• Fighting the Lamb's War, 1996 (autobiography) Template:ISBN
• The Times' Discipline, written with his wife about Jonah House
• A Ministry of Risk: Writings on Peace and Nonviolence, 2024 edited by Brad Wolf Template:ISBN

See also

• Christian anarchism
• Christian pacifism
• List of peace activists
• Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart (Josephites)

Further reading

• The Berrigan brothers: the story of Daniel and Philip Berrigan (1974) the University of Michigan
• Murray Polner and Jim O'Grady Disarmed and Dangerous: The Radical Lives & Times of Daniel & Philip Berrigan (Basic Books, 1997; Westvew Press, 1998)
• Jerry Elmer, Felon for Peace Vanderbilt University Press, 2005 Template:ISBN
• Francine du Plessix Gray, Divine Disobedience: Profiles in Catholic Radicalism (Knopf, 1970)
• Daniel Cosacchi and Eric Martin, eds., The Berrigan Letters: Personal Correspondence between Daniel and Philip Berrigan (Orbis Books, 2016)

External links

• Philip Berrigan and Elizabeth McAlister papers, DePaul University Special Collections and Archives
• Murry Polner Papers, DePaul University Special Collections and Archives (notes and documents from writing Disarmed and Dangerous: The Radical Lives & Times of Daniel & Philip Berrigan)
• Archive of Philip Berrigan on Democracy Now!
• Jonah House website
• DVD on Philip & Daniel Berrigan and the story of the Catonsville Nine.
• Berrigan Brothers And The Harrisburg Seven Trial, 1970–1989 at the Internet Archive