Fr. Daniel Berrigan: The Pacifist Priest, Teacher and Prophet
In the 1990’s, I had the opportunity to come to know Father Dan, in one of the meetings of the Kairos Community in New York. My friend Nancy, invited me and I attended the meeting. Dan is one of the founders of Kairos. He impressed me with his humility, his simplicity, and his commitment to action for peace. I had heard and read about his activities denouncing the war in Vietnam, his opposition to the drafting of poor young men which his country was sending to kill young people in other countries. In the meetings of Kairos he participated like just another member of the group. That’s one of the reason why I decided to join Kairos; because everyone treated one another like equals, without any distinction of titles or religion, based on the commitment to work for peace, trying to make a difference, not just praying but acting in a peaceful manner.
Dan was a professor in a number of universities but he didn’t confine his teaching to the classroom. He also taught through his actions the need to denounce the abuses of power which his country justified under the pretext of fighting communism.
I call him a prophet because he denounced not only his government and the rich but also denounced the Catholic Church and other denominations for their silence and failure to act. They did not give sufficient attention to the situation in which the country was living, or to the consequences and sorrows that war left in its wake in other countries. For him, civil disobedience was a form of commitment and solidarity. For this reason he was imprisoned and treated like a criminal because of his attempts to educate his fellow citizens about the realities he witnessed in Vietnam. Young people enlisted in the army to escape poverty and returned home traumatized and without access to medical help.
He is a prophet and his work for peace lives on in all those who knew him.
