Pro-Abortion Politics On Display At Boston College, "Killing Children Is OK, As Long As You Are For Social Justice"

Kerry first to receive award
April 28, 2008
By Joseph Zaleski

Nearly the entire city is visible from the Boston College Club, located on the 36th floor of the America building in the middle of the financial district. This was the site of the first annual Father Drinan Award Dinner, hosted on Friday by the College Democrats of BC. The award celebrates those who have maintained "a lifelong history of working for the goals of the Democratic Party, especially with a focus on social justice," said John Wheatley, president of the College Democrats and A&S '08.

This is what both Rev. Robert Drinan, S.J., and Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, the first recipient of the award, lived for, Wheatley said. Drinan graduated from BC in 1942 before he went on to enter the Society of Jesus. Drinan also acted as the dean of Boston College Law School from 1956 to 1970, until he was elected to the House of Representatives, becoming the first Catholic priest to serve in Congress.

In 1980, Pope John Paul II called for all Catholic priests to relinquish their posts as elected officials, and Drinan abided. After his time in the legislature, Drinan maintained a relatively active public life while teaching at the Georgetown University Law School. John Wheatley first learned of Drinan during his sophomore year when the priest spoke at the University. While the College Democrats had been hoping to start an annual alumni dinner for many years, the club decided to combine this with an award commemorating Drinan after his death in January 2007. While the evening was intended to honor Kerry, the night's speeches and guests, many of whom attended BC Law during Drinan's tenure as dean, really memorialized Fr. Drinan and his myriad accomplishments.

Kerry and Drinan were good friends, and the two worked together in many capacities. Kerry managed Drinan's 1970 campaign for the House of Representatives, and Drinan convinced Kerry to attend BC Law School, where he graduated with a Juris Doctor in 1976.

Throughout all the years Kerry knew Bob, as he called Drinan, he was continually impressed by Drinan's ability to maintain "dignity and honor with the interest of the American people." Kerry focused on Drinan's social activism in Congress, especially his opposition to the war in Vietnam. "He brought to Congress a moral opposition to the war and his testimony against the war became that much more powerful," he said. Drinan was also the first congressman to call for President Richard Nixon's impeachment.

However, these early protests were in response to the secret bombings in Cambodia, not the more popularly maligned Watergate scandal, Kerry said. This action showcased the "boldness and uniqueness of this priest in a critical moment in American history."

All of this social activism stemmed from his two loves: the Catholic Church and politics, and despite the forced exodus from Congress, Drinan never really left public life. "There was no separation between his political life and his life," Kerry said. BC Law School Dean John Garvey, also spoke about the legacy of Drinan. "He influenced the law school with an ethic that's still palpable," Garvey said. Garvey praised Drinan's foresight in surrounding the law school with such successful and talented lawyers, a feat that helped make it the nationally prominent institution that it is today. Garvey also said that his admiration for Drinan only grows as he continually performs his own functions as dean. "When I'm 86, I want to be Bob Drinan." Although the predominant focus of the evening was the sharing of stories about Drinan, Kerry did not leave without speaking directly to the many students in attendance, something that encouraged the senator. "You must take the great education at BC and connect that with everything you do from now on," he said.

Kerry used his own experience as an anti-Vietnam activist to speak about the frustration that can grow among college students, especially when they see national situations very clearly and no one in power seems to be taking any action. "This can be demoralizing," he said.

He said students should never allow cynicism and apathy to grow. "If people are really Christians, they are involved in life," he said. He also sees Drinan as a model for how students should approach life and politics. "He is the antithesis of cynicism because he got things done," Kerry said.

He said that despite these excuses for not taking responsibility, students must see what is really happening in the world because "the best antidote for cynicism is the facts." "Young people put themselves on the line in a very immediate way," and this is why it is so important for students to be involved in politics, especially in a grassroots capacity, Kerry said. He sees this happening right now, especially around the Barack Obama campaign.

While the current student generation is much different than Kerry's generation, he believes that there are still many problems to be solved. America must be put "back on track," he said. Kerry recalls the common complaint against the anti-Vietnam movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s: "your country, right or wrong." Kerry said that his response was always that when America is on the right track, it should be kept there, but when it is wrong, it must be fixed. "Now, we need you more than ever to make it right, and that is what Bob Drinan stood for."

Link (here)

More on Fr. Robert Drinan, S.J. and his pro-abortion views (here) , (here) , (here) and (here)

More on John Kerry, abortion and receiving the Sacraments not in a state grace (here)

BC Law and US Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey (here)

Sen. John Kerry speech at the NARAL Pro-Choice America Dinner Washington, DC January 21, 2003 (here)