Disarmed and Dangerous: The Radical Lives and Times of Daniel and Philip Berrigan

Father Daniel Berrigan and Philip Berrigan were two Jesuit priests who cursed the U.S. Government with that ultimate seal of disapproval: wearing the Roman collar and holding the office of Christ, they sternly condemned the war in Vietnam in a time when the Church was mostly neutral. Though this is more of an "insiders' look" at the lives of these two remarkable men in and out of prison (mostly in) an undue portion of the book is devoted to the already very well known "Catonsville Nine" event in which Daniel Berrigan, his brother Philip and nine other Catholic activists burned 378 draft files with homemade napalm on the lawn of a Maryland draft board. Both of the Berrigans came from a very impoverished, Irish Catholic background and never forgot where they came from; when not engaging in public protest, most of their activites consisted of serving the poor in some of the worst areas of the country. Daniel Berrigan's conflicted feelings about his alcoholic, would-be writer father is given painful illustration. As boys they wanted one thing: to leave home. Both had a strange zeal for the Bible from a young age, and Daniel would often tell teachers that his favorite book was "Isaiah". Given the rest of his life, this is not surprising. What comes across most strikingly is the unbelievably tough nature of the two. Long prison stretches that often crushed those who followed them had very little effect and once out, they were ready for more. Both had spent time with historian Howard Zinn in Southeast Asia and had watched bombs fall on Vietnamese civilians. A sense of almost cosmic Catholic responbility and guilt had engulfed them, and to the devil with authority if it prevented them from letting the world know about the crimes the government was committing. Harassed by the FBI, Cointelpro, and every other institutional agency known to man, they would not be moved. Some of their adventures and misadventures in prison are amazing. Philip Berrigan was told by none other than Jimmy Hoffa that he had a "snitch" in his uniform of nonviolent protestors. Apparently somewhat sympathetic to the cause though disagreeing with the Berrigans about Vietnam, he looked out for their legal welfare in jail. And he was right: a young man named Hoyt, who had come to Philip for spiritual counseling in prison was indeed an FBI informant and later turned on both. How two people can be so inhumanly committed to the most vulnerable kind of cause--peace--and not blink in the eye of prison or a lifetime of "being watched" still escapes me. Both men were flames for Christ and I would recommend this book for anyone interested in the complicated business of getting people to stop killing each other.

Politicians who have never known war make much of our alleged constitutional right to bear arms, and thus urge us on to their imperialist and profitable war-mongering and to fight with one another. We however must make much of our Faith-based right NOT to bear arms, following as we do in the footsteps of Our Lord Jesus Christ who ordered Saint Peter to put up his sword raised in defense as He was unjustly arrested on Olivet, reminding us all that who lives by the sword dies by the sword, commanding us directly to love our enemies. The brave and ordained Brothers Berrigan, pacifist priests, remind us of this as well with a lifetime of true and courageous Christian witness. This book adequately presents their pilgrimage with the Prince of Peace. We may also of course read their own original works. The late lamented and Reverend Father Phillip Berrigan, may he rest in peace, first wrote Prison Journals of a Priest Revolutionary, inscribed book by the Ameri and many other books abound admiring his courageous witness for peace in nonviolent and Christian action. The Reverend Father Daniel Berrigan continues to produce profound and challenging Biblical exegesis, in particular of those courageous Old Testament prophets who share his courageous proclamation of the peace of God and who share his rejection and the despising of his own fellow believers. Such essential works include the eponymous Daniel: Under the Siege of the Divine, the agonized Ezekiel: Vision in the Dust, the noble, undaunted yet rejected prophet Isaiah: Spirit of Courage, Gift of Tears, the poignant Jeremiah: The World, the Wound of God, and the lesson for endurance and perseverance in our Faith found through the persecuted patriarch Job: And Death No Dominion, each of these fine and fortifying works for our lectio divina. Please here in this highly recommended biography we find a portal to know and understand the brothers Berrigan, courageous prophets in our Faith. Nevertheless they may certainly be the first to say: read their books, read the book, and most urgently to get out and act powerfully for peace.

Disarmed and Dangerous is an empowering work for all conscientious persons who find themselves alarmed by the wide range of injustices abounding in our world. The core of the book focuses on the Fathers Berrigans' courageous, faith-inspired, non-violent 'ultra-resistance' to the criminal war in/on Vietnam, and to the military-industrial-violence complex, racism and poverty in general. Authors Polner and O'Grady vividly recreate the world of Fr. Dan and Phil (now married), especially during that turbulent period of the late 1960s. The authors do a fine job of examining the inner psyches of these 'men of moral conscience who would suffer to confront the enormous power of the state.' We also hear the reactions from their many friends (e.g., Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day, et al.) and, yes, their detractors and opponents, many of whom nevertheless greatly admired the two men. Those of us persuaded by Mahatma Gandhi that non-violent civil disobedience should never engage in destruction of property (e.g., burning draft files) will be challenged by the Berrigans' undoubtedly correct belief that 'some property had no right to exist.' The controversial issue is still with us today as certain Earth First!ers occasionally destroy logging equipment used to kill irreplaceably-precious old growth forests. Wouldn't a mother do the same for her children if they were threatened by violence?With hindsight, it is clear that the 'domino theory' concerning Communism was a fallacy. Moreover, Sec. of Defense McNamara has admitted that American involvement in and escalation of the Vietnam War was a mistake. Surely, then, the Berrigans and their countless colleagues throughout the land who suffered immensely in rising up to protest the war stood on the side of good and justice. Vilified by many at the time for their civil obedience, these men and women deserve to be rightfully viewed by the media as great American heroes, and heroes of the Catholic Church. Authors Polner and O'Grady succeed in this task, while not shying away from pointing out the occasional quirks and flaws in the two subjects whom they have profiled.This book will be a special inspiration for those in Phil's Plowshares movement and groups like Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) tirelessly laboring on behalf of peace against nuclear weapons and war. The book will also inspire those of us outraged by crimes against humanity like the horrors of US sanctions against the innocent people of Iraq. (Circa 1.5 million--mostly small children, women, the infirm and elderly--have died from lack of clean water, medicine, healthcare, adequate food, and poisoning from our depleted uranium [DU]-tipped bombs and tank shells.) As Phil and his colleagues wrote in their statement of purpose to the press and public upon pouring blood on the draft files in Baltimore, 1967: 'We invite friends in the peace and freedom movements to continue moving with us from dissent to resistance. We ask Go