The Reverend Mr. Tom Cornell
Born	(1934-04-11)April 11, 1934 Bridgeport, Connecticut
Died	August 1, 2022(2022-08-01) (aged 88) Poughkeepsie, New York
Education	Fairfield Univ AB 1956; Univ of Bridgeport, MS Sec Ed 1962; Fairfield DLH hc 1990
Occupations	Peace activist, poverty worker
Known for	Organizing the first demonstration against the war in Vietnam, July 16, 1963, and the first corporate act of resistance to the Vietnam draft, November 6, 1965, both in New York City.
Movement	Catholic Worker Movement
Spouse	Monica
Children	2

Thomas C. Cornell (April 11, 1934 – August 1, 2022) was an American journalist and a peace activist against theVietnam War and theIraq War. He was an associate editor of theCatholic Worker and adeacon in theCatholic Church.

Cornell was born on April 11, 1934, inBridgeport, Connecticut.^[1] He went toFairfield University, then Fairfield College. While at Fairfield, he readThe Long Loneliness, the autobiography of Dorothy Day, which inspired him to join the Catholic Worker movement.^[2]

In 1953 when Cornell was 19, he joined the Catholic Worker community in New York, where he served those in need at Maryhouse and St. Joseph House, two Catholic Worker locations in the East Village of Manhattan. He became a writer and editor for the Catholic Worker newspaper. He was the managing editor of the newspaper from 1962 to 1964.^[3] Dorothy Day gave him the job just as she was leaving on a trip to Cuba, telling him "You'll figure it out."^[4]

Cornell led the firstprotest against the Vietnam War, which started with only two people from theCatholic Worker, himself and Chris Kearns, on July 16, 1963, in Union Square in New York City. In ten days their protest grew to 250 and was the first nationally televised Vietnam War protest.^[5]

As US military engagement was intensifying in Vietnam, Cornell founded theCatholic Peace Fellowship withJim Forest in which they worked counseling Catholic conscientious objectors to the Vietnam War, before going on to counsel anyone with draft issues with the aid ofCenter on Conscience & War, an organization dedicated to defending and extending the rights ofconscientious objectors, claiming a "very high" success rate.^[6] He also called the first corporate act of resistance to the Vietnam draft, when he and five others, includingDavid McReynolds,burned their draft cards, November 6, 1965, inUnion Square,New York City.^[7]

In 1967, Cornell signed a public statement declaring his intention torefuse to pay income taxes in protest against the U.S. war against Vietnam.^[8] Later, he became a sponsor of the War Tax Resistance project, which practiced and advocated tax refusal as a form of protest against the war.^[9]

In 1972, Cornell took part in a meeting which led to the establishment ofPax Christi.^[4]

During his years of activism, Cornell was a member of the executive staff ofFellowship of Reconciliation, the executive committee of Pax Christi USA, theWar Resisters League, and theWorkers' Defense League.^[10]

He continued in his opposition to the Iraq War, having visited that country before the invasion in December–January 2003 and again after in 2004. His reports were published inThe Catholic Worker. He urged that militarychaplains be trained in the law regardingconscientious objection and give positive support to claimants.^[6]

In 1988, Cornell was ordained a deacon in theArchdiocese of Hartford.^[4] At theFourth World Congress in 2000, he served as Pope John Paul II's deacon at a Mass of Christ the King inSt. Peter's Square.^[10]

In his retirement, he lived with his wife Monica at thePeter Maurin Farm inMarlboro, New York.^[3][11] He died at the age of 88 on August 1, 2022,^[1][3] at a nearby hospital inPoughkeepsie, New York.^[2]

• Cornell, Tom;Ellsberg, Robert;Forest, Jim, eds. (1995).A Penny a Copy: Writings from The Catholic Worker. Maryknoll, NY:Orbis Books.^[4]
• Cornell, Tom (September 11, 2005)."A Brief Introduction to the Catholic Worker Movement". Archived from the original on April 2, 2018. RetrievedJanuary 26, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
• Cornell,Tom "In Defence of Catholic Worker Anarchism", the May 2010 issue ofThe Catholic Worker.
• Cornell, Tom (December 22, 2017)."Christian Nonviolence: Theory and Practice".Los Angeles Catholic Worker. Archived from the original on January 27, 2018. RetrievedJanuary 26, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) Revised from an earlier version in the December 2017 issue ofThe Catholic Worker

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