Testimony

Overview

Daniel Berrigan--priest, poet, peacemaker--spent a long lifetime offering testimony to the truth of gospel nonviolence. In word and deed, whether in courts, jail cells, classrooms, or chapels, he has proclaimed the Word of God: "Blessed are the peacemakers."

That testimony rings loud and clear in this collection of recent writings on peace, faith, and the imperative of hope--what Berrigan calls "that Intransitive Being". From courtroom testimony, to homilies, poems, and poignant profiles of such friends as Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton, and his late brother Philip, these writings reflect the essential spirit of a modern prophet and "witness to the resurrection."

Daniel Berrigan (1921-2016) was a Jesuit priest, an award-winning poet, and one of the most well-known peacemakers of the twentieth century. His words and actions over more than 50 years offered a powerful witness to the God of life. Fr. Berrigan, along with his brother Philip, was one of the Catonsville 9, arrested and imprisoned in 1968 for destroying draft files in a nonviolent protest against the Vietnam War. But this was only one step in a long journey of witnessing, which included writings, teaching at colleges from New York to Calfornia, and ministering to HIV/AIDs patients in New York City. Among his many works is (with Thich Nhat Hanh) The Raft Is Not the Shore.