Philip Berrigan

Philip Berrigan
Born	Phillip Francis Berrigan (1923-10-05)October 5, 1923 Two Harbors, Minnesota, United States
Died	December 6, 2002(2002-12-06) (aged 79) Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Cause of death	Cancer
Resting place	Jonah House
Nationality	United States
Alma mater	College of the Holy Cross
Spouse	Elizabeth McAlister
Relatives	Daniel Berrigan

Philip Francis Berrigan (October 5, 1923 – December 6, 2002) was an internationally renowned American peace activist, Christian anarchist and former Roman Catholic priest. Along with his brother Daniel Berrigan, he was for a time on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list for acts of vandalism including destruction of government property.

Early life

Philip Francis Berrigan was born in Two Harbors, Minnesota, a Midwestern working class town, the younger brother of the Jesuit fellow-activist and poet, Daniel Berrigan. His mother, Frieda (née Fromhart), was of German descent. His father, Tom Berrigan, was a second-generation Irish-Catholic and proud union member.

In 1943, after a single semester of schooling at Holy Cross, Berrigan was drafted into combat duty in World War II. He served in the artillery during the Battle of the Bulge (1945) and later became a Second Lieutenant in the infantry. He was deeply affected by his exposure to the violence of war and the racism of boot camp in the Deep South. Philip soon entered the seminary of the Josephite Fathers, a religious society of priests dedicated to serving those of African descent, who, in the United States, were still dealing with the repercussions of slavery and daily segregation. From this background, he became active in the Civil Rights movement. Berrigan marched for desegregation and participated in sit-ins and bus boycotts. He was ordained a priest in 1955, but left the priesthood 18 years later. He would marry later in life to Elizabeth McAlister of Jonah House in Baltimore, which they founded as a community to support resistance to war. Their three children, Frida, Jerry, and Kate, all grew up to be anti-war activists.

A life of protest

The Baltimore Four

In the 1960s, after activity in civil rights, the then-Reverend Philip Berrigan, S.S.J., and others, began taking more radical steps to bring attention to the anti-war movement. One of the early actions became known as "The Baltimore Four", (Berrigan, Eberhardt, Lewis and Mengel), a witness at the Selective Service Board in the Customs House, Baltimore, Md. on October 27, 1967. Jim Mengel, as a single, lay Christian missionary in The Gold Coast, West Africa (1952-54), lived near the Air Base used by U.S. planes being ferried in WWII to Burma. He observed the negative influences of the U.S. military presence on this little-known, so-called "Third-World" nation--on the women, the economy and the indigenous culture. He also noted a similarity between the pre-revolutionary Americans of the 1700s and the Africans of the early 1950s, with their common British-empire colonialists. Jim, his wife since 9-9-61, and their son (born 9-9-62 Wheeling, W.Va.) and their daughter (born 1-26-65 Dague, Korea) came back from Korea in 1966 to Koinonia Foundation, Greenspring Valley, Md. Members of the "Women's International League for Peace and Freedom" suggested that Jim get in touch with Berrigan. Jim then followed Phil Berrigan's Baltimore appearances (1966-67) in churches, synagogues and elsewhere and agreed with Phil as he spoke boldly, prophetically and critically about the U.S.-Vietnam incursion. The two were kindred spirits and critical thinkers. Phil and Jim and others winessed a number of times, including at the home of the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Arlington (Va.) Cemetery. The Mengel's experiences in Korea resonated with the observations of Berrigan on the ongoing Vietnam war. Mengel, as a missionary and Auxiliary Civilian Chaplain at the nearby Daegue (United States) Air Force Base, had asked his Keimyung Christian College students to pray that he'd be able to witness against the VN war on returning to the USA. Berrigan provided a match for his prayers. Mengel offered his "warm body" for any dramatic action. "The Baltimore Four" were: (Berrigan, artist Tom Lewis; poet, teacher and writer David Eberhardt and United Church of Christ missionary (5 years in Africa and Asia) and pastor, the Reverend James L. Mengel (See <facebook.com/rev.jamesL.mengel>, click on notes revealiing a chronology of events in the lives of both The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mengel, born literally 48 hours after King). Some of Mengel's missionary friends included Americans (one couple forced out of China), Scots, and Germans--even a former Nazi medical doctor, Doering, who was in Gen. Rommel's forces against the Scots and British in North Africa in WWII. In "The Baltimore Four" action, blood was used from several of the four, but additionally blood purchased from the Gay St. Market, according to the FBI--poultry blood,perhaps chicken or duck used by the Polish for soup) on Selective Service records in the Baltimore Customs House. In the trial of the "Four", Mengel noted that U.S. forces had killed and maimed, not only humans, but animals and vegetation. And in pouring blood on the draft files, the three had (biblically) "anointed" the records. "Therefore,...brothers and sisters...offer your bodies as a LIVING sacrifice...to God--this is your true and proper worship." (Ro. 12: l). Mengel agreed to the action and donated blood, but decided not to actually pour blood; instead he distributed the paperback book Good News for Modern Man (a version of the New Testament) to draft board workers, newsmen, and police. Mengel's rationale? His close maternal uncle, after about 8 years of marriage, and pregnant with their first child, was nevertheless drafted and killed in action in 1945. He had given ALL his blood and life in WWII on a French battlefield--a relatively poor Pennsylvania-German, sent to oppose his German "cousins". Thereafter, Mengel's mother gave blood donations regularly to the Red Cross. Mengel's own brother and 3 uncles served in the U.S. military in WWII (and thereafter), and Jim himself, his brother and 3 cousins, served in the Korean "War". Though Jim never saw battlefield action, his pilot-training classmates included crashes and deaths of Americans and Belgians, and his Dover, Delaware Base Operations service included the 148th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron's crashes and deaths in the wetlands of Maryland just east of Washington, D.C. Mengel chose as his only "weapons" in "The Baltimore Four" action, his blood and the WORD OF GOD (Eph. 6: 10-18)--incarnate agapeLOVE. As the "Four" waited for the police to arrive and arrest them, they passed out Scriptures and calmly explained to draft board employees the reasons for their actions. Berrigan, in their written statement, offered: "This sacrificial and constructive act is meant to protest the pitiful waste of American and Vietnamese blood in Indochina". Mengel's wife's close cousin was killed in action in Korea and she had also donated her blood (1961) to Mrs. Tai Akagi, the Japanese pastor's wife in the ethnically diverse Cleveland church (primarily European, African and Japanese) where the Mengels met--a witness to the fact that blood from ALL ethnic groups is interchangeable. This, and other life experiences, compelled Jim to non-violent, relatively non-intrusive action. He expected intervention by the Holy Spirit to prevent his imprisonment. Anti-war witnessing by the head of a young family was rare up until that time. Jim claims, certainly NOT to be heroic or courageous, but to be faithful to the agapeLOVE of the Holy Spirit of God, incarnate in Jesus Christ. The trial of the "Four" was postponed due to the assasination of Martin Luther King and the subsequent riots in Baltimore and other U.S. cities. Each of the Baltimore Four, two Catholics, two Protestants, felt strong calls to act, based on their life experiences, and were convicted and sentenced in federal court; Eberhardt and Lewis served jail time and Berrigan was sentenced to six years in federal prisons.

The Catonsville Nine

In 1968, after his release on bail, Berrigan decided to repeat the protest in a somewhat modified form. George Mische played the decisive role in organizing this action. A local high school physics teacher, Dean Pappas, helped to concoct homemade napalm. Nine activists, who later became known as the Catonsville Nine, walked into the draft board of Catonsville, Maryland, removed draft records and burned 378 draft files in a lot outside of the building. The Catonsville Nine, who were all Catholics, issued a statement:

"We confront the Roman Catholic Church, other Christian bodies, and the synagogues of America with their silence and cowardice in the face of our country's crimes. We are convinced that the religious bureaucracy in this country is racist, is an accomplice in this war, and is hostile to the poor."

While he was staying at the rectory, located on the fourth floor of the Church of St. Gregory the Great, on the Upper West Side in New York City, the FBI broke down the church's door to arrest him. He was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.

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. Although the government spent $2 million on the Harrisburg Seven trial in 1972, they could not win a conviction. This was one of the first reversals suffered by the U.S. government in such cases, another being The Camden 28 in 1973 that was covered in the 2007 PBS documentary The Camden 28 (film).

Other non-violent actions 1968 to 1975

Other non-violent actions against the Vietnam War and the government-military complex were organized by a group that referred to themselves as the Catholic Left. Phil Berrigan either helped to plan or inspired these actions, along with many other organisers such as Jerry Elmer (his book A Felon for Peace). The characteristic of these actions was that each action was stringently non-violent. Also, the action would be done by a small group of people willing to take responsibility whether or not it meant facing jail time. The planning for the actions was always a series of mini retreats in which those who finally acted worked to further their political and personal commitment to non-violence. The following are some of those actions:

The DC Nine

nine men and women, seven were priests and Religious Sisters (this was a daytime protest against the Dow Chemical Company and its production of napalm for use in the Vietnam conflict). The DC Nine were later tried in Washington, D.C., but an appeal was won in their favor. Some jail time was served.

The Milwaukee 14 against the Milwaukee Draft Boards, September 24, 1968

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.

The New York Action

included men who were Jesuit priests at the time. Against the New York City Draft Boards.

The Chicago 15

The Boston Eight

included other priests and Religious Sisters. These people stole files out of 4 Boston Draft Boards in order to prove that the State of Massachusetts was drafting mostly Puerto Ricans and poor whites to fill their quotas. No charges were ever brought, though the participants claimed responsibility the day after the action to the press in Boston, and again during the November Moratorium in Washington, DC.

The East Coast Conspiracy to Save Lives

an action against the Philadelphia Draft Boards and General Electric, which had contracts specifically to create incendiary weapons for use in Vietnam.

The Camden 28 Group

action against the Camden area FBI offices to expose the methods of J. Edgar Hoover against war protesters. The group was arrested and the trial resulted in a hung jury.

The Buffalo Five

an action coordinated with the Camden Action against Buffalo Draft Boards. Five of the group were put on trial and they were found guilty however Judge John Curtain handed out no jail sentences. His statement at sentencing indicated support for the action. A book has been written about this action by Ed Mcgowan and a documentary made by Giacchino, which appeared on PBS TV.

The Harrisburg Seven

the plan was to put people in the government like Henry Kissinger under Citizens Arrest for the waging of an illegal war. Phillip Berrigan and others were arrested for conspiracy. They had only gotten together to discuss the idea.

This is but a cursory and abbreviated summary of the draft actions, including actions where responsibility was claimed, and actions which may not have numbered in the 200s.

In 1968, Berrigan signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War.

The Plowshares Movement

Main article: Plowshares Movement

On September 9, 1980, Berrigan, his brother Daniel, and six others (the "Plowshares Eight") began the Plowshares Movement when they entered the General Electric Nuclear Missile Re-entry Division in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, where nose cones for the Mark 12A warheads were made. They hammered on two nose cones, poured blood on documents and offered prayers for peace. They were arrested and initially charged with over ten different felony and misdemeanor counts. On 10 April 1990, after nearly ten years of trials and appeals, the Plowshares Eight were re-sentenced and paroled for up to 23 and 1/2 months in consideration of time already served in prison. A documentary was made about this action called "In the King of Prussia" by Emile de Antonio.

Since this action, over seventy Plowshares actions have taken place around the world against weapons of war. Several of the initial ones involved Berrigan himself.

Berrigan's final Plowshares action was in December 1999, when he and others banged on A-10 Warthog warplanes in an anti-war protest at the Warfield Air National Guard Base. He was convicted of malicious destruction of property and sentenced to 30 months in prison. He was released on 14 December 2001. In his lifetime he had spent about 11 years in jails and prisons for civil disobedience. [5]

In one of his last public statements, Berrigan said,

The American people are, more and more, making their voices heard against Bush and his warrior clones. Bush and his minions slip out of control, determined to go to war, determined to go it alone, determined to endanger the Palestinians further, determined to control Iraqi oil, determined to ravage further a suffering people and their shattered society. The American people can stop Bush, can yank his feet closer to the fire, can banish the war makers from Washington D.C., can turn this society around and restore it to faith and sanity.

Death

On December 6, 2002, Philip Berrigan died of cancer at the age of 79 in Baltimore, Maryland. He was survived by his wife, Elizabeth McAlister, and their three children.

Howard Zinn, Professor Emeritus at Boston University, paid this tribute to Berrigan:

"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."

He was buried on the grounds of Jonah House. Berrigan's widow, Elizabeth McAlister, and others still maintain Jonah House in Baltimore and a website that details all Plowshares activities.

See also

• Christian anarchism
• Christian pacifism
• Daniel Berrigan
• James Groppi
• List of peace activists

Further reading

Berrigan was the author of several books, including No More Strangers, Punishment for Peace (ISBN 0-345-22430-2), Prison Journals of a Priest Revolutionary (ISBN 0-03-084513-0), Punishment for Peace (ISBN 0-345-02430-3), and Widen the Prison Gates (ISBN 0-671-21638-4). In 1996, he wrote his autobiography, Fighting the Lamb's War (ISBN 1-56751-101-5), and with his wife wrote The Times' Discipline.

Murray Polner and Jim O'Grady, "Disarmed and Dangerous: The Radical Lives & Times of Daniel & Philip Berrigan (Basic Books, 1997; Westvew Press, 1998) He also contributed to Disciples and Dissidents, published in 2000 by Haley's. Fred Wilcox edited the book.

Jerry Elmer Felon for Peace

Art Laffin-Plowshares Actions, a Chronology

External links

• Template:Worldcat id
• Archive of Philip Berrigan on Democracy Now!
• Jonah House website
• DVD on Philip & Daniel Berrigan and the story of the Catonsville Nine.
• Ploughshares Movement Chronology