Word: priestly
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Drinan, 59, a Jesuit priest for 27 years, obeyed the Pope's decision without question. "I am proud and honored to be a priest and a Jesuit," he said by way of explanation. Later that day he was greeted by his staff in Washington with a large banner that read: WE TOO ARE PROUD AND HONORED. Then he quoted the Jesuit motto: Ad majorem Dei gloriam (for the greater glory of God). Said Grossman: "The church is his life, his heart. He never once considered defiance...
Drinan was one of only two Roman Catholic clergymen ever to serve as voting members of Congress. The other, liberal Democrat Robert J. Cornell, 61, a Norbertine priest from West De Pere, Wis., also dropped out of politics last week in response to the Pope's order. He had been elected to the House in 1974 and 1976, and was preparing a campaign to win his old seat back. But then the apostolic delegate in Washington, who represents the Pontiff the U.S., informed Cornell's superior that the Wisconsin priest also was subject to the decision against Drinan...
Vatican sources pointed out that Article 139 of the church's canon law forbids priests to hold elective office, though the provision does allow local church authorities to make exceptions if they decide a priest's involvement in politics would be for the good of the community. The Pope formally revoked only the exemption given to Drinan in 1970. Nonetheless, the Catholic hierarchy interpreted the Pope's act as a signal that John Paul will apply Article 139 much more strictly than his predecessors did. Said a church spokesman in Washington: "It is clear that the Pope...
Some Drinan supporters in Massachusetts believed that the Pope ruled against the priest-politician primarily because of his support of federal funding of abortions for the poor. Drinan does not personally favor abortion, but argues that Because the operation is legal in the U.S., it would be unjust for the Government to deny abortions to women who cannot afford to pay for them. Said David J. O'Brien, who teaches modern Catholic history at Holy Cross College: "I can't help but think that Drinan was done in by the right-to-life people...
Vatican prelates said that John Paul's order on Drinan does not apply to priests who have appointive positions in government. In Nicaragua, for example, seven priests hold high posts in the leftist revolutionary government. Among them are Jesuit Ernesto Cardenal, the Minister of Culture, and Maryknoll Priest Miguel D'Escoto, the Foreign Minister. In the U.S., Geno Baroni, 49, a diocesan priest, is Assistant Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development...