Robert Drinan

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Fr. Robert Drinan, S.J.
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 3rd district
In office 1971 - 1981
Preceded by	Philip J. Philbin
Succeeded by	Barney Frank
Born	November 15, 1920 Boston, Massachusetts
Died	January 28, 2007 Washington, D.C.
Political party	Democratic
Profession	Priest, legislator, professor
Religion	Roman Catholic

Father Robert Frederick Drinan, S.J. (November 15, 1920 – January 28, 2007) was a Roman Catholic Jesuit priest, lawyer, human rights activist, and Democratic U.S. Representative from Massachusetts. He was also a law professor at Georgetown University Law Center for the last twenty-six years of his life.

Contents 1 Education and legal career 2 Membership in the U.S. House of Representatives 3 Teaching, writing, and later life 4 Associations and awards 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Education and legal career

Drinan grew up in Hyde Park, Massachusetts and graduated from Hyde Park High School in 1938. He received a B.A. and an M.A. from Boston College in 1942 and joined the Jesuit Order the same year; he was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1953. He received an LL.M. and LL.B. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1950, and a doctorate in theology from Gregorian University in Rome in 1954, in addition to receiving 21 honorary degrees throughout his life. He studied in Florence for two years before returning to Boston, where he was admitted to the bar in 1956. He served as dean of the Boston College Law School from 1956 until 1970, during which time he also taught as a professor of family law and church-state relations. During this period he was also a visiting professor at other schools including the University of Texas School of Law, and served on several Massachusetts state commissions convened to study legal issues such as judicial salaries and lawyer conflicts of interest.

[edit] Membership in the U.S. House of Representatives

In 1970, Drinan sought a seat in Congress on an anti-Vietnam War platform, narrowly defeating longtime Representative Philip J. Philbin, who was chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, in the Democratic primary. Drinan won election to the House of Representatives and was re-elected four times, serving from 1971 until 1981. He was the first Roman Catholic priest to serve as a voting member of Congress. ^{[1] [2]} Drinan sat on various House committees and was the chair of the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice of the House Judiciary Committee. Drinan was the first to introduce a resolution in Congress calling for the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, though not for the Watergate Scandal that would end Nixon's presidency; Drinan believed Nixon's bombing of Cambodia was illegal. As part of the Judiciary Committee, Drinan played an integral role in the subsequent Congressional investigation. He was also a delegate to the 1972 Democratic National Convention.

Drinan's consistent support of abortion rights drew significant opposition from Church leaders throughout his political career, who had also repeatedly requested that he not hold political office in the first place. ^{[3] [1]}Drinan attempted to reconcile his position with official Church doctrine by stating that while he was personally opposed to abortion, considering it "virtual infanticide,"^[4] its legality was a separate issue from its morality. This argument failed to satisfy his critics.

In 1980, Pope John Paul II unequivocally demanded that all priests withdraw from electoral politics. Drinan complied and did not seek reelection. ^[1] "'It is just unthinkable,' he said of the idea of renouncing the priesthood to stay in office. 'I am proud and honored to be a priest and a Jesuit. As a person of faith I must believe that there is work for me to do which somehow will be more important than the work I am required to leave.'"^[5]

He continued to be a vocal supporter of abortion rights, much to the ire of the Church, and notably spoke out in support of President Bill Clinton's veto of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in 1996.^[6]

Following his death, members of Congress honored Drinan's memory with a moment of silence on the House floor on January 29, 2007.

[edit] Teaching, writing, and later life

Drinan taught at the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. from 1981 - 2007, where his academic work and classes focused on legal ethics and international human rights. Drinan also privately sponsored human rights missions to countries such as Chile, the Philippines, El Salvador, and Vietnam. He regularly contributed to law reviews and journals, and authored several books, including The Mobilization of Shame: A World View of Human Rights, published by Yale University Press in 2001.

Drinan died of pneumonia and congestive heart failure on January 28, 2007 in Washington D.C. ^[7]

[edit] Associations and awards

Drinan served as a member of the American Bar Association House of Delegates until his death and was chair of the ABA Section on Individual Rights and Responsibilities. In 2004, Drinan received the ABA Medal, the organization's highest honor for distinguished service in law. On May 10, 2006, Drinan was presented the Distinguished Service Award by then Speaker Dennis Hastert and then Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on behalf of the House of Representatives.

Drinan served on the Board of Directors of People for the American Way, the International League for Human Rights, the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, the International Labor Rights Fund, Americans for Democratic Action, and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. For many years he was chairman on PeacePAC, a division of Council for a Livable World, and a Director of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• The Strange Political Career of Father Drinan - by James Hitchcock, Catholic World News, 9 January 2002
• Robert Drinan discusses his book, The Mobilization of Shame, at the Carnegie Council
• Congressman-priest Drinan dies -- The Boston Globe, January 29, 2007

Preceded by Philip J. Philbin	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 3rd congressional district January 3, 1971 - January 3, 1973	Succeeded by Harold Donohue
Preceded by Harold Donohue	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 4th congressional district January 3, 1973 - January 3, 1981	Succeeded by Barney Frank