Monday, January 29th, 2007...5:46 am
Rep. Robert Drinian, SJ
Former Massachusetts Rep. Robert Drinan, the only Jeebie to serve in the United States Congress, has died.
Drinan initially ran as an anti-war candidate, defeating a pro-war Democrat in the primary. He quickly became an articulate spokesman for what we now term the progressive wing of the party. He served on the House Judiciary Committee that investigated the Richard Nixon administration (he was also a lawyer and dean of the Boston College Law Shcool). Drinan introduced the first impeachment resolution against Nixon, but it was not the one that later passed. He managed to serve five terms before a Papal order forced him out of the running in 1980.
After he left congress, Drinan continued to be outspoken. I became familiar with him through his colums for the National Catholic Reporter. He would write on subjects ranging from corporate greed to international affairs.
“Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphans plea, defend the widow.” - Isaiah 1:17
1 Comment
January 29th, 2007 at 7:52 am
This makes me very sad. I wrote my college application essay on Father Drinan, and I was always a great admierer of his work.
He was a good man, sometimes serving as a point of light in a sea of dogmatic darkness in the Catholic Church. I am very, very sorry to see him pass.
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