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“Death Shall Have No Dominion!”

Mark S. Massa

in The American Catholic Revolution: How the Sixties Changed the Church Forever

This chapter examines what might be the single most famous event of the Catholic sixties: the protest action undertaken by Daniel Berrigan, S.J., and other members of a group called the “Catonsville ... More

This chapter examines what might be the single most famous event of the Catholic sixties: the protest action undertaken by Daniel Berrigan, S.J., and other members of a group called the “Catonsville Nine Against American involvement in the Vietnam War.” This group showed up at a Selective Service office in Catonsville, Maryland, emptied draft files into baskets, and burned more than two hundred files in the parking lot of the building. This event received national attention and led to a much publicized series of trials in Baltimore. Thousands of protesters crowded the streets of Baltimore during the trials and helped to shape what is considered the most famous Catholic event of the 1960s.Less

“Crazy Like Jesus”

Shawn Francis Peters

in The Catonsville Nine: An American Story

While the Catonsville Nine began to grapple with the next phase of their witness—the legal proceedings that would provide them with a public platform to voice further their opposition to war, ... More

While the Catonsville Nine began to grapple with the next phase of their witness—the legal proceedings that would provide them with a public platform to voice further their opposition to war, imperialism, and injustice—their contemporaries tried to come to terms with what had happened at Local Board 33 on the afternoon of May 17. For some, the Catonsville protest merited high praise. Dan Finnerty, a dedicated student activist at the University of Pennsylvania, characterized the Nine as fanatical—but, in his book, that wasn't necessarily an epithet, given the times. “These people are crazy,” he wrote. “Crazy like Jesus. Crazy like Che Guevara. Crazy like all of us said we would be had we lived in Germany under Hitler.” Not everyone, though, was quite as enthusiastic about what the Catonsville Nine had done. In Catonsville itself, there was a mixed reaction to the protest at the draft office on Frederick Road.Less

The Trial of the Catonsville Nine

Shawn Francis Peters

in The Catonsville Nine: An American Story

The witnessing of the Catonsville Nine has been evoked in a diverse array of cultural forms that have kept the memory of their protest alive for the last forty years. But the most important and ... More

The witnessing of the Catonsville Nine has been evoked in a diverse array of cultural forms that have kept the memory of their protest alive for the last forty years. But the most important and enduring cultural depiction of the Catonsville Nine essentially was rendered by the activists themselves. Midway through 1969, Dan Berrigan contacted all of his accomplices with the news that he had been negotiating with Boston's Beacon Press to publish “an edited version of the Catonsville Nine Court Record.” Before the book was published, a copy of the galleys of The Trial of the Catonsville Nine wound up in the hands of director Gordon Davidson, who was quickly earning a formidable reputation for directing plays addressing significant contemporary social and political issues. Essentially using Berrigan's text as a theatrical script, Davidson decided to stage The Trial of the Catonsville Nine as part of the “New Theater for Now” series at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. Over the last four decades, The Trial of the Catonsville Nine has been performed all over the world. Actor Gregory Peck also obtained the screen rights for The Trial of the Catonsville Nine which was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in the spring of 1972.Less

Introduction “Arguably the Single Most Powerful Antiwar Act in American History”

Shawn Francis Peters

in The Catonsville Nine: An American Story

This chapter begins with a description of the protest staged by the Catonsville Nine and its aftermath. It then sets out the purpose of the book, which is to explore both the triumphs and the ... More

This chapter begins with a description of the protest staged by the Catonsville Nine and its aftermath. It then sets out the purpose of the book, which is to explore both the triumphs and the tragedies of the Catonsville Nine. It does so by chronicling their lives both as individuals and as members of a group that engaged in a provocative and controversial iteration of social, religious, and political protest—one that still stands, for many Americans, as a signal act of civil disobedience. It also follows many of those whose paths intersected, if only briefly, with the Nine: the draft board clerk who attempted to stop their protest, the federal judge who struggled mightily to manage their trial, the firebrand attorneys who represented them in court, the supporters who aided their protest and organized the demonstrations that were staged in conjunction with their trial.Less

“They’re Proud of It”

Shawn Francis Peters

in The Catonsville Nine: An American Story

Assistant U.S. Attorney Arthur Murphy, delivering the opening statement for the prosecution, surprising absolutely no one as he laid out the federal government's workmanlike case against the ... More

Assistant U.S. Attorney Arthur Murphy, delivering the opening statement for the prosecution, surprising absolutely no one as he laid out the federal government's workmanlike case against the Catonsville Nine. He told jurors that he would be able to introduce irrefutable evidence showing that the nine defendants had willfully destroyed government records and had interfered with the operation of the Selective Service System. There was no getting around it: the federal government had an airtight case. The tenor and scope of the trial changed completely when it came time for the defense to put on its case. In his opening statement, William Kunstler offered almost a total inversion of Murphy's argument for the prosecution. Unlike the government's attorneys, he wanted jurors to take into account the full context of the defendants' actions. What they had done was indisputable; the Nine freely admitted that they had seized and burned the Selective Service files in Catonsville. “So far as the facts in this case go, we agree with the government. No defendant is going to dispute that the facts occurred as the government says they have occurred,” Kunstler said. “The defendants are not going to deny doing what the evidence shows they did. They're proud of it, and they think it is one of the shining moments of their own personal lives.” But why they had done it? That, the defense attorney argued, was the central issue of the case.Less

“Come to Agnew Country”

Shawn Francis Peters

in The Catonsville Nine: An American Story

While the Catonsville Nine readied for their trial, a group of dedicated supporters pieced together plans to make the proceedings—slated to begin early in October 1968—a galvanizing event for antiwar ... More

While the Catonsville Nine readied for their trial, a group of dedicated supporters pieced together plans to make the proceedings—slated to begin early in October 1968—a galvanizing event for antiwar and social justice activists. Over the summer and early fall of that year they formulated a wide-ranging effort that would complement the courtroom activity in Baltimore with a variety of marches, rallies, and speeches. These events were designed to energize opponents of the war and draw public and media attention to their cause. As the trial date drew closer, the FBI kept tabs on antiwar activists living as far away from Baltimore as Southern California. While the FBI kept tabs on their activities, backers of the Nine stepped up their efforts to augment the defense fund and organize protests. A few weeks before the trial was slated to begin, the Baltimore Defense Committee (BDC) was organized as a successor organization to the Interfaith Peace Mission in Baltimore, which had brought together many peace activists in the area. The BDC's primary goal was to underscore the message of the Catonsville Nine and foster an activist community that would build upon the momentum generated by the trial. But its call made clear that it had broader aims as well. One of these was to embarrass the Republican presidential ticket, which featured Maryland's combative governor, Spiro Agnew, in the vice presidential slot.Less

“I Am Trying to Speak as a Human Being to the Jury”

Shawn Francis Peters

in The Catonsville Nine: An American Story

Listening to the trial testimony of the Nine, Richard Shaull, a professor at Princeton Theological Seminary, was struck by the fact that “for several of them, the experience of living and working ... More

Listening to the trial testimony of the Nine, Richard Shaull, a professor at Princeton Theological Seminary, was struck by the fact that “for several of them, the experience of living and working in...Africa or Latin America had been the most important factor in shaping their decision” to participate in the raid on Local Board 33. Case in point: George Mische, who took the stand after Phil Berrigan. Mische explained why he had acted in Catonsville by relating to the jury his experiences organizing labor, land, and housing programs in Latin America and the Caribbean. The motives of the Catonsville Nine, he stressed, had to be viewed within an expansive historical, political, and socioeconomic context. Furthermore, the defendants had to be afforded the opportunity to address the jury as people. “I am trying to speak as a human being to the jury,” Mische said, “who I hope are human beings and can understand us.” For him, the case—and, in a broader sense, the fate of American society—boiled down to whether ordinary Americans could connect on this level and address the central problems facing the world.Less

“You Have Just Convicted Jesus Christ”

Shawn Francis Peters

in The Catonsville Nine: An American Story

The Catonsville Nine were found guilty by the jury. After the verdicts were announced, a voice rang out in the courtroom. “Members of the jury,” a man boomed, “you have just found Jesus Christ ... More

The Catonsville Nine were found guilty by the jury. After the verdicts were announced, a voice rang out in the courtroom. “Members of the jury,” a man boomed, “you have just found Jesus Christ guilty!” The outburst shocked everyone. Heads immediately turned toward the speaker. A few moments of wary silence passed before a murmur began to rise in the gallery. A few people voiced their approval of the exclamation, saying, “We second that.” The commotion outraged Judge Thomsen. His patience finally exhausted, he banged his gavel and announced, “Let the man be escorted from the courtroom. Clear the courtroom!” It turned out that the culprit was Art Melville, defendant Tom Melville's brother. With the spectators now gone, Thomsen and the attorneys wrapped up the trial. There was discussion of when the Nine would be sentenced and what would become of some of the items that had been entered into evidence.Less

The Day of the Facts of the Case

Daniel Berrigan

in The Trial of the Catonsville Nine

This chapter presents a script from the play, Trial of the Catonsville Nine, featuring the cross-examination of a witness who was present when the Catonsville Nine stormed the ... More

This chapter presents a script from the play, Trial of the Catonsville Nine, featuring the cross-examination of a witness who was present when the Catonsville Nine stormed the Selective Service office outside Baltimore.Less

A Conversation with Daniel Berrigan

Anna J. Brown and James L. Marsh

in Faith, Resistance, and the Future: Daniel Berrigan's Challenge to Catholic Social Thought

James Marsh and Anna Brown met with Daniel Berrigan during the summer of 2008 in his New York City apartment. The point of the meeting was to allow Berrigan to have the “final word” in this volume. A ... More

James Marsh and Anna Brown met with Daniel Berrigan during the summer of 2008 in his New York City apartment. The point of the meeting was to allow Berrigan to have the “final word” in this volume. A further point to the meeting was that since this conversation as published in this volume is the most recent we have a vantage point for reflecting back with Berrigan on the full trajectory of his life and work. Fifty years after Catonsville, how do things look? Topics covered in the conversation include the Catonsville Nine action, the influence of Thomas Merton and Dorothy Day, the challenge of Berrigan to the Catholic Church and Catholic universities, and the degree to which, in very difficult contemporary times, Christian hope is still possible.Less

The Day of a Jury of Peers

Daniel Berrigan

in The Trial of the Catonsville Nine

This chapter presents a script from the play, Trial of the Catonsville Nine, featuring conversations between the judge and potential jurors during jury selection.

The “Global War on Terror”: Who Wins? Who Loses?

G. Simon Harak

in Faith, Resistance, and the Future: Daniel Berrigan's Challenge to Catholic Social Thought

This chapter grounds itself in Berrigan’s political, economic, and moral reading of the American war-making state, and in the civil disobedience of Berrigan at a Catonsville draft board center. Harak ... More

This chapter grounds itself in Berrigan’s political, economic, and moral reading of the American war-making state, and in the civil disobedience of Berrigan at a Catonsville draft board center. Harak claims that Berrigan’s understanding of American’s “permanent war economy,” one in which anything or anyone may be up for sale or sacrificed, remains fundamentally true. He suggests, however, that there’s been a paradigm shift in the ways that America generates and produces its wars since the time of Catonsville. Namely, there’s been a movement from wars being a profitable venture to the making of war for the sake of profit. Harak’s reading of the “war question,” along with his acute sensitivity to the suffering of those ravaged by war, insists that we question the viability of Catholic just war theory, just as Berrigan did years earlier.Less

Trials and Tribulations

Bruce Dancis

in Resister: A Story of Protest and Prison during the Vietnam War

The author recounts his trial and imprisonment as a result of his resistance to the draft. He first talks about his one-day trial before the U.S. District Court in Syracuse, presided by Judge Edmund ... More

The author recounts his trial and imprisonment as a result of his resistance to the draft. He first talks about his one-day trial before the U.S. District Court in Syracuse, presided by Judge Edmund Port, along with his legal team’s defense strategy. He then discusses the growth of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) chapter at Cornell University; the trial of Dan Berrigan and the Catonsville Nine in Baltimore; the 1968 presidential election involving Republican Richard Nixon, Democrat Hubert Humphrey, and independent George Wallace; his incarceration at the Onondaga County Jail in Syracuse after he was sentenced with a felony conviction by Port; and his eventual release on bail with the help of James Perkins. He also recounts the fissures in the national SDS, the growth at Cornell, the impact of the Cuban Revolution on the SDS, and his dispute with animal control authorities over a dog named All Right.Less

The State of Resistance: On the Relevance of Daniel Berrigan's Work to Catholic Social Thought

Michael Baxter

in Faith, Resistance, and the Future: Daniel Berrigan's Challenge to Catholic Social Thought

Baxter writes, in his chapter, of being first introduced to Berrigan through his writings, in particular The Dark Night of Resistance. He then employs the insights of this book to set the frame for ... More

Baxter writes, in his chapter, of being first introduced to Berrigan through his writings, in particular The Dark Night of Resistance. He then employs the insights of this book to set the frame for his essay and to provide the essay’s final word on Berrigan’s contribution to Catholic social thought: Nada. Berrigan’s unique way of saying “No” is the means by which we are to “enter more dramatically and fully into the truth of things.” How and why American Catholic social thought, for the most part, stands on the sidelines of life is the question Baxter sets out to answer in his essay. Deftly moving through the historical development of Catholic social teaching in America, Baxter points to a concern held in common by Berrigan and leaders of the Church, as well as its theologians and philosophers: how do we move from a disordered political, economic, and social life into one that reflects a more “comprehensive peace”?Less