'Peace on earth - Peace in Vietnam': The catholic peace fellowship and antiwar witness, 1964-1976

Journal of Social History

Volumn 36, Issue 4, 2003, Pages

  Moon, Penelope Adams ^a  

^a NONE

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EID: 30244572238     PISSN: 00224529     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1353/jsh.2003.0108     Document Type: Article

References (110)

1. Tom Cornell to Selective Service System Local Board #16, n.d. [ca. November 1965], Catholic Peace Fellowship Records (hereafter CPF) 19/1, University of Notre Dame Archives (hereafter UNDA).
2. "Church" here refers to both the institutional Roman Catholic Church and the body of people that identify themselves as followers of the Roman Catholic Church in Rome.
3. Andrew Hunt, "'When Did the Sixties Happen?' Searching for New Directions," Journal of Social History 33 (Fall 1999): 147-161.
4. Terry Andersen explains that he purposely uses the term "activist" because it is "a term free from race and gender," promising to mention protesters' race and gender "only when it is significant." Terry Anderson, The Movement and the Sixties: Protest in American from Greensboro to Wounded Knee (New York, 1995), xv-xvi.
5. The Catholic Worker Movement was crucial to the development of the CPF and to Catholic protest of the Vietnam War. The scholarship on the Catholic Worker is extensive. See Jim Forest, Love is the Measure: A Biography of Dorothy Day (New York, 1986); Mel Piehl, Breaking Bread: The Catholic Worker and the Origin of Catholic Radicalism in America (Philadelphia, 1982); Anne Klejment and Nancy Roberts, ed., American Catholic Pacifism: The Influence of Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement (Westport, Conn., 1996); William D. Miller, A Harsh and Dreadful Love: Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement (New York, 1973); Patrick Coy, A Revolution of the Heart: Essays on the Catholic Worker (Philadelphia, 1988).
6. The Catholic Worker Movement was crucial to the development of the CPF and to Catholic protest of the Vietnam War. The scholarship on the Catholic Worker is extensive. See Jim Forest, Love is the Measure: A Biography of Dorothy Day (New York, 1986); Mel Piehl, Breaking Bread: The Catholic Worker and the Origin of Catholic Radicalism in America (Philadelphia, 1982); Anne Klejment and Nancy Roberts, ed., American Catholic Pacifism: The Influence of Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement (Westport, Conn., 1996); William D. Miller, A Harsh and Dreadful Love: Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement (New York, 1973); Patrick Coy, A Revolution of the Heart: Essays on the Catholic Worker (Philadelphia, 1988).
7. The Catholic Worker Movement was crucial to the development of the CPF and to Catholic protest of the Vietnam War. The scholarship on the Catholic Worker is extensive. See Jim Forest, Love is the Measure: A Biography of Dorothy Day (New York, 1986); Mel Piehl, Breaking Bread: The Catholic Worker and the Origin of Catholic Radicalism in America (Philadelphia, 1982); Anne Klejment and Nancy Roberts, ed., American Catholic Pacifism: The Influence of Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement (Westport, Conn., 1996); William D. Miller, A Harsh and Dreadful Love: Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement (New York, 1973); Patrick Coy, A Revolution of the Heart: Essays on the Catholic Worker (Philadelphia, 1988).
8. The Catholic Worker Movement was crucial to the development of the CPF and to Catholic protest of the Vietnam War. The scholarship on the Catholic Worker is extensive. See Jim Forest, Love is the Measure: A Biography of Dorothy Day (New York, 1986); Mel Piehl, Breaking Bread: The Catholic Worker and the Origin of Catholic Radicalism in America (Philadelphia, 1982); Anne Klejment and Nancy Roberts, ed., American Catholic Pacifism: The Influence of Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement (Westport, Conn., 1996); William D. Miller, A Harsh and Dreadful Love: Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement (New York, 1973); Patrick Coy, A Revolution of the Heart: Essays on the Catholic Worker (Philadelphia, 1988).
9. The Catholic Worker Movement was crucial to the development of the CPF and to Catholic protest of the Vietnam War. The scholarship on the Catholic Worker is extensive. See Jim Forest, Love is the Measure: A Biography of Dorothy Day (New York, 1986); Mel Piehl, Breaking Bread: The Catholic Worker and the Origin of Catholic Radicalism in America (Philadelphia, 1982); Anne Klejment and Nancy Roberts, ed., American Catholic Pacifism: The Influence of Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement (Westport, Conn., 1996); William D. Miller, A Harsh and Dreadful Love: Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement (New York, 1973); Patrick Coy, A Revolution of the Heart: Essays on the Catholic Worker (Philadelphia, 1988).
10. Catholic Peace Fellowship brochure, in author's possession, n.d. The author thanks Tom Cornell for sharing CPF ephemera from his personal archives.
11. The issue of Catholic conscientious objection directly impacted and was particularly important to laypeople opposed to war and military service. Although many clergymen advocated Catholic conscientious objection, as clerics they were exempt from military service.
12. Tom Cornell, interview by author, email correspondence, 18 July 2000. Among the CPFers in Rome to push for conscientious objection and other peace initiatives were James Douglass, who helped draft revisions to the Council's Schema XIII and Dorothy Day, who staged public protests in Rome. See Jean Goss, "Report on Work in Rome During the Fourth Session of the Vatican Council," 15 September - 30 October 1965, CPF 7/8; UNDA; James Douglass, "Critique of Paragraphs on Modern Warfare and a Proposed Amendment," 1964, CPF 7/8, UNDA; James Douglass to Richard Cardinal Cushing, 20 August 1965, CPF 19/3, UNDA. Day reported that Douglass met "every day with bishops to discuss the paragraph in the schema on the Church in the Modern World that deals with the weapons of modern war." Dorothy Day, "On Pilgrimage," Catholic Worker, October 1965, 1, 8.
13. Tom Cornell, interview by author, email correspondence, 18 July 2000. Among the CPFers in Rome to push for conscientious objection and other peace initiatives were James Douglass, who helped draft revisions to the Council's Schema XIII and Dorothy Day, who staged public protests in Rome. See Jean Goss, "Report on Work in Rome During the Fourth Session of the Vatican Council," 15 September - 30 October 1965, CPF 7/8; UNDA; James Douglass, "Critique of Paragraphs on Modern Warfare and a Proposed Amendment," 1964, CPF 7/8, UNDA; James Douglass to Richard Cardinal Cushing, 20 August 1965, CPF 19/3, UNDA. Day reported that Douglass met "every day with bishops to discuss the paragraph in the schema on the Church in the Modern World that deals with the weapons of modern war." Dorothy Day, "On Pilgrimage," Catholic Worker, October 1965, 1, 8.
14. Tom Cornell, interview by author, email correspondence, 18 July 2000. Among the CPFers in Rome to push for conscientious objection and other peace initiatives were James Douglass, who helped draft revisions to the Council's Schema XIII and Dorothy Day, who staged public protests in Rome. See Jean Goss, "Report on Work in Rome During the Fourth Session of the Vatican Council," 15 September - 30 October 1965, CPF 7/8; UNDA; James Douglass, "Critique of Paragraphs on Modern Warfare and a Proposed Amendment," 1964, CPF 7/8, UNDA; James Douglass to Richard Cardinal Cushing, 20 August 1965, CPF 19/3, UNDA. Day reported that Douglass met "every day with bishops to discuss the paragraph in the schema on the Church in the Modern World that deals with the weapons of modern war." Dorothy Day, "On Pilgrimage," Catholic Worker, October 1965, 1, 8.
15. John Heidbrink, "Church Relations" Annual Report to the F.O.R. National Council, April 1965, CPF 11/6, UNDA.
16. "A Week for Peace," St. Vincent's College press release, 14 February 1966, CPF 18/4, UNDA. Commentary on the "Week for Peace" can be found in the Catholic Peace Fellowship Bulletin, June 1966, Catholic Peace Fellowship Printed Material Collection (hereafter PCPF)1/3, UNDA. That same month the CPF sponsored a conference at Fordham University. See "Peace on Earth: The War in Vietnam and the Constitution on the Church in the Modern World," flyer, February 1966, CPF 6/1, UNDA. CPFers were also part of the initial series of teach ins in 1965, participating in a teach in at Hunter College in May 1965. Tom Cornell to Dorothy Day, 19 May 1965, Dorothy Day-Catholic Worker Collection (hereafter DDCW), Series D-1.1/Box 2, Marquette University Special Collections and Archives (hereafter MUSC).
17. "A Week for Peace," St. Vincent's College press release, 14 February 1966, CPF 18/4, UNDA. Commentary on the "Week for Peace" can be found in the Catholic Peace Fellowship Bulletin, June 1966, Catholic Peace Fellowship Printed Material Collection (hereafter PCPF)1/3, UNDA. That same month the CPF sponsored a conference at Fordham University. See "Peace on Earth: The War in Vietnam and the Constitution on the Church in the Modern World," flyer, February 1966, CPF 6/1, UNDA. CPFers were also part of the initial series of teach ins in 1965, participating in a teach in at Hunter College in May 1965. Tom Cornell to Dorothy Day, 19 May 1965, Dorothy Day-Catholic Worker Collection (hereafter DDCW), Series D-1.1/Box 2, Marquette University Special Collections and Archives (hereafter MUSC).
18. "A Week for Peace," St. Vincent's College press release, 14 February 1966, CPF 18/4, UNDA. Commentary on the "Week for Peace" can be found in the Catholic Peace Fellowship Bulletin, June 1966, Catholic Peace Fellowship Printed Material Collection (hereafter PCPF)1/3, UNDA. That same month the CPF sponsored a conference at Fordham University. See "Peace on Earth: The War in Vietnam and the Constitution on the Church in the Modern World," flyer, February 1966, CPF 6/1, UNDA. CPFers were also part of the initial series of teach ins in 1965, participating in a teach in at Hunter College in May 1965. Tom Cornell to Dorothy Day, 19 May 1965, Dorothy Day-Catholic Worker Collection (hereafter DDCW), Series D-1.1/Box 2, Marquette University Special Collections and Archives (hereafter MUSC).
19. Thomas Merton to Jim Forest, 29 December 1965 in Thomas Merton, The Hidden Ground of Love: The Letters of Thomas Merton on Religious Experience and Social Concerns, ed. William Shannon (New York, 1985), 291.
20. Emphasis is mine. Thomas Merton to Jim Forest, 29 December 1965 in Merton, 291.
21. Pacem in Terris, paras. 146, 155, 157, promulgated 11 April 1963. All papal letters or documents from the Second Vatican Council are available at http://www.vatican.va; Internet; accessed 24 March 2000.
22. First quote is from the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, chapter V, para. 78, promulgated 7 December 1965; Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, chapter I, para. 3, promulgated 18 November 1965.
23. First quote is from the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, chapter V, para. 78, promulgated 7 December 1965; Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, chapter I, para. 3, promulgated 18 November 1965.
24. Cornell estimates that lay people constituted ninety percent of the CPF's membership. Tom Cornell, interview by author, email correspondence, 20 February 2002.
25. A brochure distributed by the Wooster, Massachusetts CPF highlights the extent to which lay people dominated the CPF, as well as the degree to which lay Catholics took it upon themselves to discuss theological issues with their co-religionists. The Wooster CPF sent Catholic groups a list of people willing to travel across the country to speak on issues related to war, peace, and Catholic nonviolence. Of the sixteen people listed, twelve were laypersons. "Speakers List," Wooster Catholic Peace Fellowship, n.d., in possession of the author, obtained 27 March 2002. The author thanks Mary Maffeo of Phoenix, Arizona for sharing CPF ephemera.
26. Jeffery Burns, Disturbing the Peace: A History of the Christian Family Movement, 1949-1974 (Notre Dame, Ind., 1999), 107-108. For information about American PAX, see Patricia McNeal, The American Catholic Peace Movement, 1928-1972 (New York, 1978), 83; Charles Thompson to John Heidbrink, 2 October 1961, CPF 5/16, UNDA.
27. Jeffery Burns, Disturbing the Peace: A History of the Christian Family Movement, 1949-1974 (Notre Dame, Ind., 1999), 107-108. For information about American PAX, see Patricia McNeal, The American Catholic Peace Movement, 1928-1972 (New York, 1978), 83; Charles Thompson to John Heidbrink, 2 October 1961, CPF 5/16, UNDA.
28. John Zaller, "Information, Values, and Opinion," American Political Science Review 85 (December 1991): 1215-1237; Jerold Starr, "Religious Preference, Religiosity, and Opposition to War," Sociological Analysis 36 (4): 323-34.
29. John Zaller, "Information, Values, and Opinion," American Political Science Review 85 (December 1991): 1215-1237; Jerold Starr, "Religious Preference, Religiosity, and Opposition to War," Sociological Analysis 36 (4): 323-34.
30. Roy Palmer Domenico, "America, the Holy See and the War in Vietnam," in Papal Diplomacy in the Modern Age, ed. Peter C. Kent and John F. Pollard (Westport, Conn., 1994): 203-219, quote from 204. For an example of papal statements condemning communism, see Pope Paul XI, Divini Redemptoris, March 1937.
31. Roy Palmer Domenico, "America, the Holy See and the War in Vietnam," in Papal Diplomacy in the Modern Age, ed. Peter C. Kent and John F. Pollard (Westport, Conn., 1994): 203-219, quote from 204. For an example of papal statements condemning communism, see Pope Paul XI, Divini Redemptoris, March 1937.
32. Domenico, 208. American bishops did not denounce the war until 1971. See Resolution on Southeast Asia (Washington D. C., 1971).
33. Support for war among minority groups is a common theme throughout American history. See for example Willard B. Gatewood, Jr. Black Americans and the White Man's Burden, 1898-1903 (Urbana, IL, 1975). Gatewood explains how the threat of racism and a desire for upward mobility generated support for the Cuban War for Independence among African Americans. See also Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones, Peace Now! American Society and the Ending of the Vietnam War (New Haven, CT, 1999). Jeffreys-Jones examines the evolution of war support and opposition among women, African Americans, and the working class, concluding that many supported the Vietnam War in hopes of collectively climbing "the greasy pole of social advancement." Jeffrey-Jones, Peace Now!, 225.
34. Support for war among minority groups is a common theme throughout American history. See for example Willard B. Gatewood, Jr. Black Americans and the White Man's Burden, 1898-1903 (Urbana, IL, 1975). Gatewood explains how the threat of racism and a desire for upward mobility generated support for the Cuban War for Independence among African Americans. See also Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones, Peace Now! American Society and the Ending of the Vietnam War (New Haven, CT, 1999). Jeffreys-Jones examines the evolution of war support and opposition among women, African Americans, and the working class, concluding that many supported the Vietnam War in hopes of collectively climbing "the greasy pole of social advancement." Jeffrey-Jones, Peace Now!, 225.
35. Support for war among minority groups is a common theme throughout American history. See for example Willard B. Gatewood, Jr. Black Americans and the White Man's Burden, 1898-1903 (Urbana, IL, 1975). Gatewood explains how the threat of racism and a desire for upward mobility generated support for the Cuban War for Independence among African Americans. See also Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones, Peace Now! American Society and the Ending of the Vietnam War (New Haven, CT, 1999). Jeffreys-Jones examines the evolution of war support and opposition among women, African Americans, and the working class, concluding that many supported the Vietnam War in hopes of collectively climbing "the greasy pole of social advancement." Jeffrey-Jones, Peace Now!, 225.
36. Gibbons quoted in David O'Brien, Public Catholicism (New York, 1989), 152.
37. CPFers received their share of anti-Catholic mail, reminding them that both their political and religious values made them targets for public ridicule. Horace Casselberry's letter to the CPF demonstrates how anti-Catholicism hinged on the belief that Catholics were unAmerican. "WHAT is a catholic, but a conditioned reflex of the idiotic bigotry of creed-crazy, god-bedeviled, bigot-begotten, idiot-infested old cabal of celibates whose religioneering racket is pest and plague of Democracy's own Education in this Land of the Free, Home of Democracy!!" Horace Casselberry to the Catholic Peace Fellowship, October 1965, CPF 24/6, UNDA. CPFers also suggest that subtle forms of anti-Catholicism existed within the FOR. Tom Cornell remembers the FOR's John Swomley as a "dyed-in-the-wool anti-Catholic of the J. Bromley Oxnam-Paul Blanchard school of thought." Jim Forest recalls that "within the FOR one could easily find people who regarded the Catholic Church with disgust." Tom Cornell, interview by author, email correspondence, 14 August 2000; Jim Forest, interview by author, email correspondence, 14 August 2000.
38. David O'Brien, The Renewal of American Catholicism (New York, 1972), 8.
39. O'Brien, Public Catholicism, 4, 16-17, 99. The major exception to this is of course the Catholic Worker Movement. Yet in the 1960s, the Catholic Worker was still a relatively recent phenomenon, having arisen in the 1930s.
40. Thomas Merton to Catherine de Hueck Doherty, 4 June 1962 in Merton, 18. For other examples of silencing, see Peter Riga to Jim Forest, 14 September 1964, CPF 7/3, UNDA; Bill Kennedy, "Albany's Father Bonaventure," National Catholic Reporter, 1 December 1965, 2.
41. McNeal, Harder Than War, 187; John Corry, "The Catholic Student Protest: Priest Calls Support of Liberal Clergy 'Argument Within the Family'," New York Times, 26 December 1965, 55. For the activities of the Berrigans, see Murray Polner and Jim O'Grady, Disarmed and Dangerous: The Radical Lives and Times of Daniel and Philip Berrigan (New York, 1997).
42. McNeal, Harder Than War, 187; John Corry, "The Catholic Student Protest: Priest Calls Support of Liberal Clergy 'Argument Within the Family'," New York Times, 26 December 1965, 55. For the activities of the Berrigans, see Murray Polner and Jim O'Grady, Disarmed and Dangerous: The Radical Lives and Times of Daniel and Philip Berrigan (New York, 1997).
43. McNeal, Harder Than War, 187; John Corry, "The Catholic Student Protest: Priest Calls Support of Liberal Clergy 'Argument Within the Family'," New York Times, 26 December 1965, 55. For the activities of the Berrigans, see Murray Polner and Jim O'Grady, Disarmed and Dangerous: The Radical Lives and Times of Daniel and Philip Berrigan (New York, 1997).
44. For the importance of hierarchy and authority in the American Catholic Church, see O'Brien, Public Catholicism; Wilson Miscamble, "Catholics and American Foreign Policy from McKinley to McCarthy: A Historiographical Survey," Diplomatic History 1980 4(3): 223-40; Dorothy Dohen, Nationalism and American Catholicism (New York, 1967); and Jay Dolan, The Immigrant Church: New York's Irish and German Catholics, 1815-1865 (Baltimore, 1975). See also Thomas McAvoy's discussion of Bishop John Ireland, who epitomized the nationalist strain of American Catholicism in The Americanist Heresy in Roman Catholicism, 1895-1900 (Notre Dame, Ind., 1963). For the impact of middle class status on American Catholics, see O'Brien, Renewal of American Catholicism, 8.
45. For the importance of hierarchy and authority in the American Catholic Church, see O'Brien, Public Catholicism; Wilson Miscamble, "Catholics and American Foreign Policy from McKinley to McCarthy: A Historiographical Survey," Diplomatic History 1980 4(3): 223-40; Dorothy Dohen, Nationalism and American Catholicism (New York, 1967); and Jay Dolan, The Immigrant Church: New York's Irish and German Catholics, 1815-1865 (Baltimore, 1975). See also Thomas McAvoy's discussion of Bishop John Ireland, who epitomized the nationalist strain of American Catholicism in The Americanist Heresy in Roman Catholicism, 1895-1900 (Notre Dame, Ind., 1963). For the impact of middle class status on American Catholics, see O'Brien, Renewal of American Catholicism, 8.
46. For the importance of hierarchy and authority in the American Catholic Church, see O'Brien, Public Catholicism; Wilson Miscamble, "Catholics and American Foreign Policy from McKinley to McCarthy: A Historiographical Survey," Diplomatic History 1980 4(3): 223-40; Dorothy Dohen, Nationalism and American Catholicism (New York, 1967); and Jay Dolan, The Immigrant Church: New York's Irish and German Catholics, 1815-1865 (Baltimore, 1975). See also Thomas McAvoy's discussion of Bishop John Ireland, who epitomized the nationalist strain of American Catholicism in The Americanist Heresy in Roman Catholicism, 1895-1900 (Notre Dame, Ind., 1963). For the impact of middle class status on American Catholics, see O'Brien, Renewal of American Catholicism, 8.
47. For the importance of hierarchy and authority in the American Catholic Church, see O'Brien, Public Catholicism; Wilson Miscamble, "Catholics and American Foreign Policy from McKinley to McCarthy: A Historiographical Survey," Diplomatic History 1980 4(3): 223-40; Dorothy Dohen, Nationalism and American Catholicism (New York, 1967); and Jay Dolan, The Immigrant Church: New York's Irish and German Catholics, 1815-1865 (Baltimore, 1975). See also Thomas McAvoy's discussion of Bishop John Ireland, who epitomized the nationalist strain of American Catholicism in The Americanist Heresy in Roman Catholicism, 1895-1900 (Notre Dame, Ind., 1963). For the impact of middle class status on American Catholics, see O'Brien, Renewal of American Catholicism, 8.
48. For the importance of hierarchy and authority in the American Catholic Church, see O'Brien, Public Catholicism; Wilson Miscamble, "Catholics and American Foreign Policy from McKinley to McCarthy: A Historiographical Survey," Diplomatic History 1980 4(3): 223-40; Dorothy Dohen, Nationalism and American Catholicism (New York, 1967); and Jay Dolan, The Immigrant Church: New York's Irish and German Catholics, 1815-1865 (Baltimore, 1975). See also Thomas McAvoy's discussion of Bishop John Ireland, who epitomized the nationalist strain of American Catholicism in The Americanist Heresy in Roman Catholicism, 1895-1900 (Notre Dame, Ind., 1963). For the impact of middle class status on American Catholics, see O'Brien, Renewal of American Catholicism, 8.
49. For the importance of hierarchy and authority in the American Catholic Church, see O'Brien, Public Catholicism; Wilson Miscamble, "Catholics and American Foreign Policy from McKinley to McCarthy: A Historiographical Survey," Diplomatic History 1980 4(3): 223-40; Dorothy Dohen, Nationalism and American Catholicism (New York, 1967); and Jay Dolan, The Immigrant Church: New York's Irish and German Catholics, 1815-1865 (Baltimore, 1975). See also Thomas McAvoy's discussion of Bishop John Ireland, who epitomized the nationalist strain of American Catholicism in The Americanist Heresy in Roman Catholicism, 1895-1900 (Notre Dame, Ind., 1963). For the impact of middle class status on American Catholics, see O'Brien, Renewal of American Catholicism, 8.
50. Emphasis is mine. Tom Cornell, interview by author, email correspondence, 18 July 2000; John Heidbrink, "Interfaith Relations" Annual Report to F.O.R. National Council, April 1966, CPF 11/6, UNDA.
51. For an in-depth study of the political and tactical development of the war in Vietnam, see Marilyn Young, The Vietnam Wars, 1945-1990 (New York, 1991).
52. Jim Forest, "Vietnam: The Basic Question," Catholic Peace Fellowship Bulletin, June 1965, CPF 11/1, UNDA.
53. Charles Chatfield, "World War I and the Liberal Pacifist in the United States," American Historical Review 75 (December 1970): 1920-37.
54. Larry Raciappo to Tom Cornell, 22 April 1970, CPF 21/6, UNDA.
55. Catholic Peace Fellowship, "Petition of American Citizens to Pope Paul VI for Further Leadership in the Work of World Peace," n.d. [ca. 1965], CPF 11/1, UNDA.
56. The author thanks Gerald P. Fogarty, S. J. of the University of Virginia and David J. O'Brien of the College of the Holy Cross for helping place the petition in context.
57. American PAX, unlike the CPF, admitted non-pacifists to membership. Egan, however, advocated Catholic pacifism and was essential to Catholic peacemaking until her death in October 2000. For Egan's activities, see Eileen Egan, Peace Be With You: Justified Warfare or the Way of Nonviolence (Maryknoll, N.Y., 1999).
58. See Jim Forest to Dorothy Day, 28 June 1965, CPF 13/3, UNDA; Jim Forest to Eileen Egan, 28 June 1965, CPF 25/4, UNDA.
59. Tom Cornell, "Report to the Catholic Worker on the 'Washington Summer Action,'" n.d. [ca. August 1965], CPF 19/1, UNDA; Tom Cornell, "We Declare Peace . . .," Catholic Worker, September 1965, 1, 6-7.
60. Tom Cornell, "Report to the Catholic Worker on the 'Washington Summer Action,'" n.d. [ca. August 1965], CPF 19/1, UNDA; Tom Cornell, "We Declare Peace . . .," Catholic Worker, September 1965, 1, 6-7.
61. Halstead writes that over 300 people were arrested during the Assembly. Fred Halstead, Out Now! A Participant's Account of the American Movement Against the Vietnam War (New York, 1978), 68. For a contemporary report on the protest, see Paul Valentine, "Civil Disobedience March on Capitol," Washington Post, 12 August 1965, E1-E2.
62. Halstead writes that over 300 people were arrested during the Assembly. Fred Halstead, Out Now! A Participant's Account of the American Movement Against the Vietnam War (New York, 1978), 68. For a contemporary report on the protest, see Paul Valentine, "Civil Disobedience March on Capitol," Washington Post, 12 August 1965, E1-E2.
63. Tom Cornell, interview by author, email correspondence, 2 October 2000; Tom Cornell, interview by author, email correspondence, 21 March 2001; "Protests on Principle and Some Practical Options," Life, 20 August 1965, 30-31; McNeal, American Catholic Peace Movement, 223. Halstead argues that the Assembly "marked the point at which SDS was bypassed on the antiwar issue." Halstead, 67-72.
64. Tom Cornell, interview by author, email correspondence, 2 October 2000; Tom Cornell, interview by author, email correspondence, 21 March 2001; "Protests on Principle and Some Practical Options," Life, 20 August 1965, 30-31; McNeal, American Catholic Peace Movement, 223. Halstead argues that the Assembly "marked the point at which SDS was bypassed on the antiwar issue." Halstead, 67-72.
65. Tom Cornell, "Washington Summer Action"; Cornell, "We Declare Peace . . .," 1, 6-7.
66. Tom Cornell, "Washington Summer Action"; Cornell, "We Declare Peace . . .," 1, 6-7.
67. Quote from Nancy Zaroulis and Gerald Sullivan, Who Spoke up?: American Protest Against the War in Vietnam, 1963-1975 (Garden City, N.Y., 1984), 58; Tom Cornell, interview by author, email correspondence, 2 October 2000.
68. See McNeal, American Catholic Peace Movement, 222. Miller would serve twenty-two months in prison. Anne Klejment and Nancy Roberts, "The Catholic Worker and the Vietnam War," in American Catholic Pacifism: The Influence of Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement, eds. Klejment and Roberts (Westport, Conn., 1996), 160; quote from Tom Cornell to Marguerite Tjader Harris, 27 October 1965, CPF 20/4, UNDA.
69. See McNeal, American Catholic Peace Movement, 222. Miller would serve twenty-two months in prison. Anne Klejment and Nancy Roberts, "The Catholic Worker and the Vietnam War," in American Catholic Pacifism: The Influence of Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement, eds. Klejment and Roberts (Westport, Conn., 1996), 160; quote from Tom Cornell to Marguerite Tjader Harris, 27 October 1965, CPF 20/4, UNDA.
70. November Draft Card Burning Committee, "Memo: Concerning a Proposed Draft Card Burning," n.d. [ca. October 1965], CPF 19/1, UNDA. For accounts of the protest, see "Four Pacifists are Indicted Here on Draft-Card Burning Charge," New York Times, 22 December 1965, 1, 3; "Burning Draft Cards," Commonweal, 19 November 1965, 203-205; captioned photograph, National Catholic Reporter, 17 November 1965, 1; Tom Cornell to Thomas Merton, 8 March 1967, CPF 21/4, UNDA. Cornell served six months in Danbury Federal Prison for his draft resistance. Tom Cornell, interview by author, email correspondence, 2 October 2000.
71. November Draft Card Burning Committee, "Memo: Concerning a Proposed Draft Card Burning," n.d. [ca. October 1965], CPF 19/1, UNDA. For accounts of the protest, see "Four Pacifists are Indicted Here on Draft-Card Burning Charge," New York Times, 22 December 1965, 1, 3; "Burning Draft Cards," Commonweal, 19 November 1965, 203-205; captioned photograph, National Catholic Reporter, 17 November 1965, 1; Tom Cornell to Thomas Merton, 8 March 1967, CPF 21/4, UNDA. Cornell served six months in Danbury Federal Prison for his draft resistance. Tom Cornell, interview by author, email correspondence, 2 October 2000.
72. November Draft Card Burning Committee, "Memo: Concerning a Proposed Draft Card Burning," n.d. [ca. October 1965], CPF 19/1, UNDA. For accounts of the protest, see "Four Pacifists are Indicted Here on Draft-Card Burning Charge," New York Times, 22 December 1965, 1, 3; "Burning Draft Cards," Commonweal, 19 November 1965, 203-205; captioned photograph, National Catholic Reporter, 17 November 1965, 1; Tom Cornell to Thomas Merton, 8 March 1967, CPF 21/4, UNDA. Cornell served six months in Danbury Federal Prison for his draft resistance. Tom Cornell, interview by author, email correspondence, 2 October 2000.
73. Although historians of the Catholic Left have not previously characterized non-violent resistance as prophetic witness, many Catholic activists used the word when describing the direct action protests of the Catholic Left and the acts of conscientious objectors who chose prison over military service. See, for example, Joe Mulligan, S.J., "Reflections on Resistance Against the War in Vietnam," St. Luke's Journal of Theology 28 (September 1985): 277-294.
74. For example, the pledge distributed by the Committee for Draft Resistance, a secular organization based in San Francisco, stated that signers understood that "the fundamental immorality and increasing brutality of our nation's course in Vietnam" compelled them to "commit our lives to changing that course." Stephen Kohn, Jailed for Peace: The History of American Draft Law Violators, 1658-1985 (Westport, Conn., 1986), 77-78. For the many reasons draft-age men burned their draft cards, see Sherry Gershon Gottlieb, Hell No, We Won't Go! Resisting the Draft During the Vietnam War (New York, 1991).
75. For example, the pledge distributed by the Committee for Draft Resistance, a secular organization based in San Francisco, stated that signers understood that "the fundamental immorality and increasing brutality of our nation's course in Vietnam" compelled them to "commit our lives to changing that course." Stephen Kohn, Jailed for Peace: The History of American Draft Law Violators, 1658-1985 (Westport, Conn., 1986), 77-78. For the many reasons draft-age men burned their draft cards, see Sherry Gershon Gottlieb, Hell No, We Won't Go! Resisting the Draft During the Vietnam War (New York, 1991).
76. Historian Patricia McNeal calls the civil disobedience of Catholic Workers in the 1950s "symbolic actions of non-violent resistance." McNeal, American Catholic Peace Movement, 124. I would argue instead that the Catholic Worker protests were examples of traditional nonviolence and had not yet moved into nonviolent resistance.
77. Jim Forest quoted in "In Time of War," in Catonsville Milwaukee Defense Committee, Delivered into Resistance (New Haven, Conn., 1969), 3. Todd Gitlin claims that draft resistance "started in earnest in 1967" and that the "ultraresistance" (a nickname for Catholics engaged in direct action) was primarily organized by "radical priests and nuns". Yet, draft resistance began with draft card destruction, something Catholic activists were doing well before 1967 and was an activity specifically planned and executed by laypeople. Todd Gitlin, The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage (New York, 1987), 291-92.
78. Jim Forest quoted in "In Time of War," in Catonsville Milwaukee Defense Committee, Delivered into Resistance (New Haven, Conn., 1969), 3. Todd Gitlin claims that draft resistance "started in earnest in 1967" and that the "ultraresistance" (a nickname for Catholics engaged in direct action) was primarily organized by "radical priests and nuns". Yet, draft resistance began with draft card destruction, something Catholic activists were doing well before 1967 and was an activity specifically planned and executed by laypeople. Todd Gitlin, The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage (New York, 1987), 291-92.
79. James Farrell, The Spirit of the Sixties; Making Postwar Radicalism (New York, 1997), 195.
80. Catholic Peace Fellowship, "Peace on Earth - Peace in Vietnam," 1965, CPF 9/8, UNDA, reprinted in Commonweal, 10 December 1965, 11-12.
81. Scholars generally credit Saint Augustine with developing the just war doctrine. For a discussion of the doctrine and Augustine's views on war, see William R. Stevenson, Christian Love and Just War: Moral Paradox and Political Life in St. Augustine and His Modern Interpreters (Macon, Ga, 1987); Augustine, The City of God, trans. Marcus Dods in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, vol. 2, St. Augustine's City of God and Christian Doctrine, ed. Philip Schaff (Grand Rapids, Mich.), bk. 1, chap. 21 and bk. 19, chap. 12, available online from Christian Classics Ethereal Library, http://www.ccel.org; Internet; accessed 1 January 2001.
82. Scholars generally credit Saint Augustine with developing the just war doctrine. For a discussion of the doctrine and Augustine's views on war, see William R. Stevenson, Christian Love and Just War: Moral Paradox and Political Life in St. Augustine and His Modern Interpreters (Macon, Ga, 1987); Augustine, The City of God, trans. Marcus Dods in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, vol. 2, St. Augustine's City of God and Christian Doctrine, ed. Philip Schaff (Grand Rapids, Mich.), bk. 1, chap. 21 and bk. 19, chap. 12, available online from Christian Classics Ethereal Library, http://www.ccel.org; Internet; accessed 1 January 2001.
83. For examples of frustration with traditional nonviolence in the civil rights and antiwar movements see Anne Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi, (New York, 1968), 318-19; William Van Deburg, New Day in Babylon; The Black Power Movement in American Culture, 1965-1975 (Chicago, 1992; Kirkpatrick Sale, SDS (New York, 1973), 226; Alan Adelson, SDS (New York, 1972), 191-200, Anderson, The Movement, 146-47; and Halstead, 143-44.
84. For examples of frustration with traditional nonviolence in the civil rights and antiwar movements see Anne Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi, (New York, 1968), 318-19; William Van Deburg, New Day in Babylon; The Black Power Movement in American Culture, 1965-1975 (Chicago, 1992; Kirkpatrick Sale, SDS (New York, 1973), 226; Alan Adelson, SDS (New York, 1972), 191-200, Anderson, The Movement, 146-47; and Halstead, 143-44.
85. For examples of frustration with traditional nonviolence in the civil rights and antiwar movements see Anne Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi, (New York, 1968), 318-19; William Van Deburg, New Day in Babylon; The Black Power Movement in American Culture, 1965-1975 (Chicago, 1992; Kirkpatrick Sale, SDS (New York, 1973), 226; Alan Adelson, SDS (New York, 1972), 191-200, Anderson, The Movement, 146-47; and Halstead, 143-44.
86. For examples of frustration with traditional nonviolence in the civil rights and antiwar movements see Anne Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi, (New York, 1968), 318-19; William Van Deburg, New Day in Babylon; The Black Power Movement in American Culture, 1965-1975 (Chicago, 1992; Kirkpatrick Sale, SDS (New York, 1973), 226; Alan Adelson, SDS (New York, 1972), 191-200, Anderson, The Movement, 146-47; and Halstead, 143-44.
87. "Burning Draft Cards," Commonweal, 19 November 1965, 203-205.
88. Thomas Merton to Tom Cornell, 5 December 1965, CPF 19/1, UNDA.
89. Edward Bennett, "Begin the Beg-In," Ave Maria, 8 July 1967, 16-17.
90. "Letters to the Editor," America, 27 November 1965, 656-57.
91. "Letters to the Editor," America, 10 September 1966, 114-115.
92. Both quotes are from "Letters to the Editor," America, 15 October 1966, 437.
93. Catholic COs represented only one one-hundredth of one percent (.0001) of the total American Catholic population during World War II. McNeal, American Catholic Peace Movement, 94.
94. The author thanks Alyce Burton, Public Affairs Specialist with the Selective Service System for providing statistics on Vietnam-era conscientious objection claimants.
95. Walter J. Fox, "The Peace Movement: 'Nun's Story' Changed Jim Forest's Life," National Catholic Reporter, 1 December 1965, 2; Jim Forest and Tom Cornell, Catholic Peace Fellowship Report to the National Council [of the FOR], 8 March 1966, CPF 11/6, UNDA; Jim Forest to Dorothy Day, 16 December 1965, DDCW Series D 1.1/Box 4, MUSC.
96. Patricia McNeal argues that the draft and the right of individual conscience, not the war itself, was American Catholic peace movement's raison d'être during the Vietnam era. Although the draft quickly became the focus of the antiwar movement, Catholic opposition to the war transcended the draft and concern over the right of individual conscience. The CPF arose from a part of the peace movement that focused on the abolition of nuclear weapons - an issue not directly related to either the draft or conscientious objection. Moreover, the Catholic Worker, as well as the CPF and American Pax, opposed the war in part because militarism is inherently violent toward the poor. If the poor escaped the draft (which they disproportionately did not), they faced starvation, which occurred both as a result of crop destruction and because wars diverted funds from social programs. McNeal, American Catholic Peace Movement, 216.
97. "New CPF Members, 1964-1965," Fellowship of Reconciliation-USA Manuscript Collection (hereafter FOR-USA), Section II, Series B, Box 4, Swarthmore College Peace Collection (hereafter SCPC); "New CPF Members, 1968," FOR-USA, Section II, Series B, Box 4, SCPC; "New CPF members, 1971-1975," FOR-USA, Section II, Series B, Box 4, SCPC. The author thanks Michelle Ciarlo-Hayes, Technical Services Specialist, Swarthmore College Peace Collection.
98. "New CPF Members, 1964-1965," Fellowship of Reconciliation-USA Manuscript Collection (hereafter FOR-USA), Section II, Series B, Box 4, Swarthmore College Peace Collection (hereafter SCPC); "New CPF Members, 1968," FOR-USA, Section II, Series B, Box 4, SCPC; "New CPF members, 1971-1975," FOR-USA, Section II, Series B, Box 4, SCPC. The author thanks Michelle Ciarlo-Hayes, Technical Services Specialist, Swarthmore College Peace Collection.
99. "New CPF Members, 1964-1965," Fellowship of Reconciliation-USA Manuscript Collection (hereafter FOR-USA), Section II, Series B, Box 4, Swarthmore College Peace Collection (hereafter SCPC); "New CPF Members, 1968," FOR-USA, Section II, Series B, Box 4, SCPC; "New CPF members, 1971-1975," FOR-USA, Section II, Series B, Box 4, SCPC. The author thanks Michelle Ciarlo-Hayes, Technical Services Specialist, Swarthmore College Peace Collection.
100. Without more specific membership information, the demographic characteristics of CPF members are purely impressionistic. CPF membership seems to have been predominantly white, although there were African American and Chicano/a members. If the bylines of the Catholic Peace Fellowship Bulletin are any indication of organizational importance, men and women shared leadership roles in the national office although men seem to have outnumbered women on organizational committees. Perhaps more so than other antiwar organizations, the CPF was very diverse in terms of the age of its members. When Mary Maffeo joined the local CPF chapter in Phoenix she was in her forties. Tom Cornell, a leader in the national office, was in his thirties during much of the Vietnam War while Jim Forest was in his twenties. Class status is more difficult to gauge. Since many CPFers voluntarily adopted poverty as a form of social activism, assessing class status is very difficult.
101. The Commissions for Justice and Peace grew out of the Pontifical Commission for Justice and Peace established by Pope Paul VI in 1967. The Commission's objective was to study problems of development and peace among the world's poor. For information on the Commission, see Arthur McCormack, "The Pontifical Commission on Justice and Peace," African Ecclesial Review 9 (October 1967): 332-40; Rodrigo Mejia, S.J., "Ecclesial Context for Establishing Justice and Peace Commissions," African Ecclesial Review 30 (August 1988): 226-32.
102. The Commissions for Justice and Peace grew out of the Pontifical Commission for Justice and Peace established by Pope Paul VI in 1967. The Commission's objective was to study problems of development and peace among the world's poor. For information on the Commission, see Arthur McCormack, "The Pontifical Commission on Justice and Peace," African Ecclesial Review 9 (October 1967): 332-40; Rodrigo Mejia, S.J., "Ecclesial Context for Establishing Justice and Peace Commissions," African Ecclesial Review 30 (August 1988): 226-32.
103. "Alternative lifestyles" referred to lifestyle changes Catholic activists hoped would result in a less violent world. War tax resistance and voluntary poverty were just two examples of how American Catholics might contribute to the development of a more peaceful and Christian world.
104. Sheehan and Gaumer, "On Tour for C.P.F." Catholic Peace Fellowship Bulletin, Supplement, May 1974, PCPF 1/10, UNDA; Long Island Catholic Peace Fellowship, Catholic Peace Fellowship Newsletter, October 1972, CPF 13/2, UNDA.
105. Sheehan and Gaumer, "On Tour for C.P.F." Catholic Peace Fellowship Bulletin, Supplement, May 1974, PCPF 1/10, UNDA; Long Island Catholic Peace Fellowship, Catholic Peace Fellowship Newsletter, October 1972, CPF 13/2, UNDA.
106. Tom Cornell to "Friends" of the Catholic Peace Fellowship, April 1974, CPF 13/2.
107. For information on the CPF's role in the NCCC, see Tom Cornell, "On Selective Conscientious Objection to War," Catholic Peace Fellowship proposal to the National Committee on Catholic Concerns, n.d. [ca. Spring 1968], CPF 17/2, UNDA.
108. Tom Cornell, interview by author, email correspondence, 20 February 2002. For information about the Call to Action see "Marking the 10th Anniversary: A Call To Action: An Unfinished Experiment," Commonweal, Special Supplement, 26 December 1986, 697-712.
109. John Carr, "Introduction," Commonweal, Special Supplement, 26 December 1986, 697.
110. Richard Carbray, "A New Form of Witness: Catholic Peace Marches Against the Vietnamese War," Continuum 3 (Summer 1965): 262-63.