Robert Drinan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMassachusetts | |
| In office January 3, 1971 – January 3, 1981 | |
| Preceded by | Philip J. Philbin |
| Succeeded by | Barney Frank |
| Constituency | 3rd district (1971–73) 4th district (1973–81) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Robert Frederick Drinan (1920-11-15)November 15, 1920 Boston,Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | January 28, 2007(2007-01-28) (aged 86) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | Boston College (BA,MA) Georgetown University (LLB,LLM) Pontifical Gregorian University (STD) |
| Profession | Priest,legislator,professor |
Robert Frederick DrinanSJ (November 15, 1920 – January 28, 2007) was an AmericanJesuit priest, lawyer, activist, andDemocratic U.S. Representative fromMassachusetts. He left office in 1981 to obeyPope John Paul II's prohibition on priests holding political office. Drinan was later a professor atGeorgetown University Law Center for the last 26 years of his life.
Drinan grew up inHyde Park, Massachusetts, the son of Ann Mary (Flanagan) and James John Drinan.[1] He graduated fromHyde Park High School in 1938. He received aB.A. and anM.A. fromBoston College finishing in 1942, and joined the Society of Jesus the same year; he was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1953. He received anLL.B. andLL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1950, and a doctorate intheology fromGregorian University inRome in 1954.
Drinan studied inFlorence for two years before returning to Boston, where he was admitted to the bar in 1956. He served as dean of theBoston College Law School from 1956 until 1970, during which time he also taught as a professor offamily law andchurch-state relations. During this period he was a visiting professor at other schools including theUniversity of Texas School of Law. He served on severalMassachusetts state commissions convened to study legal issues such as judicial salaries and lawyerconflicts of interest.
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In 1970, Drinan sought a seat inCongress on ananti-Vietnam War platform, narrowly defeating longtime RepresentativePhilip J. Philbin, who was serving on theHouse Armed Services Committee, in the Democraticprimary. Drinan went on to win election to the House of Representatives, and was re-elected four times, serving from 1971 until 1981. He was the first of two Catholic priests (the other beingRobert John Cornell ofWisconsin) to serve as a voting member of Congress.[2][note 1] Drinan sat on various House committees, and served as the chair of the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice of theHouse Judiciary Committee. He was also a delegate to the1972 Democratic National Convention.
Drinan introduced a resolution in July 1973 calling for theimpeachment ofPresidentRichard Nixon, though not for theWatergate Scandal that ultimately ended Nixon's presidency. Drinan believed that Nixon'ssecret bombing of Cambodia was illegal, and as such, constituted a "high crime and misdemeanor." House Majority LeaderTip O'Neill ultimately convinced Drinan not to press the articles of impeachment further because it would have made theimpeachment process against Richard Nixon emerging from theSenate Watergate Committee's findings much more politically difficult. O'Neill subsequently assigned the house whipsJohn J. McFall andJohn Brademas to tabling any vote on the resolution and reached an agreement with House Minority LeaderGerald Ford not to bring the motion to a vote.[5] One year later, the Judiciary Committee voted 21 to 12 against including that charge among the articles ofimpeachment that were eventually approved and reported out to the full House of Representatives.
Throughout Drinan's political career, his overt support ofabortion rights drew significant opposition from Church leaders. They had repeatedly requested that he not hold political office.[2][6] Drinan attempted to reconcile his position with official Church doctrine by stating that while he was personally opposed to abortion, considering it "virtual infanticide,"[7] its legality was a separate issue from its morality. This argument failed to satisfy his critics. According toThe Wall Street Journal, Drinan played a key role in thepro-choice platform's becoming a common stance of politicians from theKennedy family.[8]
In 1980,Pope John Paul II unequivocally demanded that all priests withdraw from electoral politics. Drinan complied and did not seek reelection.[2][9]The Boston Globe quoted Drinan's explanation of why he did not renounce thepriesthood to stay in office:
It is just unthinkable. ... 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.[10]
Following his death, members of Congress honored Drinan's memory with a moment of silence on the House floor on January 29, 2007.[11]
Drinan taught at theGeorgetown University Law Center inWashington, D.C., from 1981 to 2007, where his academic work and classes focused onlegal ethics andinternational human rights. He privately sponsored human rights missions to countries such asChile, thePhilippines,El Salvador, andVietnam. In 1987 he founded the Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics. He regularly contributed tolaw reviews and journals, and authored several books includingThe Mobilization of Shame: A World View of Human Rights, published byYale University Press in 2001.
After leaving Congress, in June 1981, Drinan succeededPatsy Mink as the president ofAmericans for Democratic Action.[12] He served in the position until June of 1984, when he was succeeded by the man who succeeded him in Congress;Barney Frank.[13]
Drinan continued to be a vocal supporter of abortion rights, much to the ire of some of the Catholic hierarchy, and notably spoke out in support of PresidentBill Clinton'sveto of thePartial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in 1996.[14] In his weekly column for theCatholic New York,[15] CardinalJohn O'Connor sharply denounced Drinan. "You could have raised your voice for life; you raised it for death," the cardinal wrote, "Hardly the role of a lawyer. Surely not the role of a priest."
Drinan died ofpneumonia andcongestive heart failure on January 28, 2007, in Washington, D.C.[16]
Upon Drinan's death, the Georgetown University Law Center Dean,T. Alexander Aleinikoff, made the following statement: "Few have accomplished as much as Father Drinan and fewer still have done so much to make the world a better place. His passing is a terrible loss for the community, the country and the world."[16]
John H. Garvey, Dean of the Boston College Law School, said, "It is difficult to say in a few words what Father Drinan means to this institution. It is safe to say that his efforts as Dean forever changed how the Law School does business, taking us from a regional school to a nationally recognized leader in legal education. He did this without diminishing the essential core of what makes BC Law special, maintaining our commitment to educating the whole person—mind, body and spirit—while nourishing a community of learners intent on supporting one another in reaching their common goal. When we say that Boston College Law School educates 'lawyers who lead good lives,' we need look no further than Father Drinan to understand what those words mean. We are forever in his debt."[17]
Following his death, many Georgetown Law School students and faculty shared their reminiscences of Father Drinan, and wrote of his influence on their lives, on Georgetown University's website.[16] Georgetown Law Magazine published a special tribute supplement in Spring 2007.[18]
In 2012, five years after Drinan's death,Slate writerEmily Yoffe said that he hadsexually assaulted her when she was "a teenager of 18 or 19."[19] Drinan's niece responded to the allegations by calling it "odd that anyone would come forward with this allegation decades later when our uncle is in no position to defend himself."[20]
Drinan served as a member of theAmerican Bar Association House of Delegates until his death and was chair of the ABA Section on Individual Rights and Responsibilities. In 2004, Drinan received theABA Medal, the organization's highest honor for distinguished service in law. On May 10, 2006, Drinan was presented the Distinguished Service Award by then SpeakerDennis Hastert and then Minority LeaderNancy Pelosi on behalf of the House of Representatives. He received 21 honorary doctorates during his life.
Drinan served on the Board of Directors ofPeople for the American Way, theInternational League for Human Rights, theLawyers Committee for Human Rights, theInternational Labor Rights Fund,Americans for Democratic Action, and theNAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. He was elected to theCommon Cause National Governing Board in 1981 and 1997. For many years he was Chairman of PeacePAC, a division ofCouncil for a Livable World, and a Director of theCenter for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.
The College Democrats of Boston College annually present an award in honor of Drinan to prominentCatholic Democratic figures. Past awardees includeJohn Kerry,Donna Brazile, and Massachusetts Lt. Gov.Tim Murray.[21]
Georgetown University Law Center awards the Robert F. Drinan, S.J., Public Service Award to alumni "whose careers, like Fr. Drinan's, enhance human dignity and advance justice."[22]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMassachusetts's 3rd congressional district January 3, 1971 – January 3, 1973 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMassachusetts's 4th congressional district January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1981 | Succeeded by |
