Daniel Berrigan: To Grieve or Celebrate His Life

Someplace in my head, I know I'm supposed to celebrate the life of Daniel Berrigan and I do. But I really grieve his loss, for me, the country and the world he tried so hard to change. Some of my grief is very selfish and some is guilt. I thought many times over the past few years about visiting Dan, to say hello, to share history and to say thank you. But I didn't. I wrote a number of times, sent cards after searching for addresses. I eventually found where Dan was residing at Fordham and had planned trips a couple of times. Dan, 94, died on the morning of April 30, 2016.

My relationship with Dan goes back to my days at the Catholic Worker in the mid 60's in NYC. A young kid working with the poor and for peace and a more mature Jesuit priest in his late 30's or early 40's trying to find his own answers. For awhile, we journeyed together. Weddings, liturgies and celebrations, shared and enjoyed with songs and hugs.

A small group gathered after Roger LaPorte's death from self immolation protesting the war in Vietnam. We celebrated a liturgy with Dan Berrigan. We broke bread and drank wine. We talked about Roger, his life, his action. Dan was part of that liturgy and for that, supposedly, he was silenced on the war and exiled to South America by the Jesuits.

Dan visited me when I ended up in prison for my own war protest. He welcomed me home and baptized my first born. We lost touch at some point but reconnected when he was in Ithaca at Cornell. He went underground during this period, giving the FBI a good run.

Dan wrote and wrote and wrote. He was a prolific writer and poet. He was a quiet and complicated man. He didn't have every answer and he'd let you know that was the case. Dan truly was a prophet. He taught priests and bishops and he pissed them off as well.

So there is a lot to celebrate about Dan Berrigan and I'm sure he'd be the first to say, "celebrate". But I can't right now. I really do grieve. Besides my guilt, we need people like Dan with us. I'm sure there are many out there but we need so many more. People who really get the theology of peace and justice. People who really understand mentoring and why it's important. I grieve  because the church doesn't know what they got wrong with Dan and Phil Berrigan and Dorothy Day and so many others.

Another fighter is gone, another rebel rouser and trouble maker. RIP Dan. You're missed.