The Pope Votes Out Drinan

But how far does the ban on priest-politicians extend?

Few congressional seats seemed safer than the one held by Democrat Robert F. Drinan. His toothy grin and liberal views were popular enough in Boston's western suburbs to win him five terms by growing margins; in 1978 the Republicans did not even put up a candidate against him. Campaign Manager Jerome Grossman expected that Drinan would have no significant opposition this year either. Grossman learned last week that he could not have been more wrong. From Drinan came a shocking phone call: "I'm not running for reelection. I've been forbidden to do so by the Pope."

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."

So ended the congressional career of Robert Frederick Drinan, who was dean of the Boston College Law School in 1970 when he ran for the House because of his revulsion against the Viet Nam War. He served with single-minded devotion to liberal causes. He was a leader of the successful battle to abolish the House Internal Security Committee (formerly the Un-American Activities Committee). He advocated strong support for Israel, and he was the first Congressman to introduce a resolution to impeach Richard Nixon. The citation from his 1977 honorary doctorate from Villanova University, which hangs on his office wall, reads, now with some irony: "Your life's work has proved that service to God and country are not inimical."

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.

There was confusion among Catholic leaders about the scope of the Pope's policy on priests and politics. Most of the doubt stemmed from the fact that the Pontiffs decision apparently was given orally to Pedro Arrupe, superior general of the Jesuit order; presumably only those two know exactly what John Paul II said. Jesuit headquarters in Rome communicated he decision to Drinan's superior, Edward M. O'Flaherty, Jesuit provincial in New England. O'Flaherty phoned the Congressman with this message: "Bob, I have some bad news for you. I received word rom the general [Arrupe] that the Holy Father himself asked that you withdraw rom this year's general election."

O'Flaherty said afterward that he tried to appeal the decision, "stressing with the Roman authorities the fact that such an order would almost certainly seem, in the eyes of many people, to be an improper intrusion by the church into American political affairs." This was reminiscent of the controversy that raged in 1960, when John F. Kennedy was running for President, about whether his loyalty to the church could conceivably conflict with his duty to the country. Priests, of course, are bound by vows of obedience to church authorities.

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 does not want Catholic priests to hold elective offices anywhere."

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 sources emphatically denied any such motivation. The Pope's decision, they said, stemmed from his general views on the separation of church and state. John Paul has repeatedly said the church and its clergy must stay aloof from party strife. In Mexico in January 1979 he said: "The church wishes to stay free with regard to the competing [political] systems, in order to opt only for man." These views presumably reflect the fact that one reason the church in John Paul's native Poland has been able to thrive is that it has kept strictly apart from the country's Communist rulers.

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.

But does the Drinan decision apply to nuns, several of whom hold state elective office? The nuns point out that the church does not consider them "clergy"--they cannot say Mass, or perform any other priestly functions--and so they contend that they are not subject to the Pope's order on political involvement. Both the Vatican and the apostolic delegate in Washington say that the "spirit" of the ban against Drinan does apply to nuns. But several of the nuns say they will stay in office unless the Pope specifically orders them to quit. These nuns appreciate the irony of their position. Said Elizabeth Morancy, a member of the Sisters of Mercy and a state representative in Rhode Island: "We are excluded from the priesthood and that makes us different." Sums up Carolyn Farrell, a member of the Sisters of Charity who is mayor of Dubuque Iowa: "Isn't it delightful?"

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