Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Title
Date(s)
- 1961-1982 (Creation)
Extent
4 folders, 94 items, 150 pages
Name of creator
Biographical history
Daniel Berrigan was a Catholic priest, social activist, and poet who entered the Society of Jesus (1939), was ordained (1952), and after studying in France (where he was influenced by the worker-priest movement), he taught at Catholic schools until becoming associate professor of theology at LeMoyne College (Syracuse, NY) (1957-1962). After serving as assistant editor of Jesuit Missions in New York (1963-1965), he became associate director of United Religious Work (1966-1969). Active in opposing the Vietnam War, he went with professor Howard Zinn to Hanoi, North Vietnam, to assist in obtaining the release of three American pilots (1968); the diary he kept during this mission, along with 11 poems, became «Night Flight to Hanoi» (1968). With his brother, Philip Berrigan, he gained national attention for destroying draft registration files in Catonsville, Md. (1968); in 1970 he was sentenced to three years in prison for this, but he went underground for several months until federal authorities arrested him on Block Island (off Rhode Island). After 18 months in prison, he was paroled in 1972 and participated with his brother in the first Plowshares Action (1980), a protest at the General Electric Plant at King of Prussia, Pa. Living among Jesuits, writing and conducting retreats, he was arrested regularly for his protest actions at weapons manufacturers and other sites (1980-1992). He wrote over 50 books, including «The Trial of the Catonsville 9» (1970), an autobiography (1987), and at least four films. (Source: Biography from April 16th, 2004, lecture write-up by Paul Pearson.)
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
This collection contains original letters from Daniel Berrigan and copies of Merton's letters to Berrigan. They discussed the peace movement and the involvement of clergy of different faiths, the nuclear arms race, Cold War politics, Vietnam, the future of Latin America, racial inequities and Civil Rights, non-violence and the justification of violence against property, the role of religious orders in the peace movement, aggiornamento in religious life, and the question of obedience to religious superiors and the Church hierarchy. Merton and Berrigan both struggled with issues of censorship of their writings on peace and nuclear war. Later, Berrigan had conflicts with both religious and secular authorities because of his acts of civil disobedience.
System of arrangement
Records are arranged chronologically. Records are not divided into Series.
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Regulations governing use of the collection can be found here: (‹https://bellarmine.libraryhost.com/index.php/rules›). Records with Source listed as "Cornell University Department of Rare Books" may not be published or reproduced without written permission from the Rare Books Department at Cornell.
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Languages of the material
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
See published letters from Merton to Daniel Berrigan in «The Hidden Ground of Love» (‹https://bellarmine.on.worldcat.org/search?queryString=no%3A26858207›), pp. 70-101; see also an unabridged version of the 10 October 1967 letter published in «Signs of Hope» (‹https://bellarmine.on.worldcat.org/search?queryString=no%3A1246675112›), pp. 111-3; and see also the "Walsh, Tony" file.
Related descriptions
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Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
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Rules or conventions
Sources used
Caption of headline photo: Daniel Berrigan is pictured in a blue plaid shirt in center with Merton seated on the photo's left and Phillip Berrigan on the far right (Tony Walsh with back to the camera).