Still the Anti-War Priest : Father Daniel Berrigan to Join Protest in Costa Mesa

Most Vietnam War protesters have left the 1960s behind and moved on to pursue careers in the American mainstream, but for Father Daniel Berrigan, the anti-war struggle continues with more determination than ever.

Today, the battle for Berrigan, who gained nationwide attention in 1968 when he was convicted of destroying files at a draft board in Maryland, centers on fighting President Reagan’s buildup of the U.S. nuclear arsenal.

Berrigan, 64, arrived in Orange County Monday afternoon to address an open forum of the Religious Studies Group at Cal State Fullerton before participating today in a vigil in Costa Mesa protesting the 26th annual Winter Convention on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, a conference on future plans for building up American weaponry.

Brushes With the Law

The Jesuit priest burst into the public consciousness when he and his brother, Philip, were convicted of destroying draft board records in Catonsville, Md. He served two years in a federal prison, and Philip served 3 1/2 years. They were the first Roman Catholic priests to serve time in a federal penitentiary.

But, if anything, prison and his continued brushes with the law have only made Berrigan more committed to continue his crusade against war and the U.S. buildup of nuclear warheads, as evidenced by another court conviction that could result in a sentence of three to 10 years for destroying property at a military plant in Norristown, Pa. Former U.S. Atty. Gen. Ramsey Clark is defending Berrigan in his appeal on that 1981 conviction, and he said a decision is expected soon.

“Nothing has happened to us (since the 1968 conviction),” Berrigan said in an interview. “The events under Nixon through to President Reagan have only made us more determined to continue. The buildup of nuclear arms has only shown us that we can’t give up.”

Berrigan has been arrested countless times since his 1968 conviction and subsequent prison term, for leading anti-nuclear demonstrations throughout the country. Just last month, on the Jan. 15 anniversary of Martin Luther King’s birth, the priest and 25 followers were arrested outside a research laboratory in New York after the group tossed small bottles of their own blood at the front door of the lab.

Focus on Plight of the Poor

He said the New York demonstration was deliberately staged on King’s birthday to highlight the plight of the poor in that city.

“I feel very close to the horror of that (situation). We were trying to stress that the poor of New York City will be the ones to suffer because of the horrible buildup of new (nuclear) weaponry,” the priest said.

Berrigan, who now lives in a Jesuit community in New York, also said his continuous battle to protest war and nuclear weapons does not defy the teachings of Roman Catholicism, as critics have contended for the past 20 years. He said he would “have great difficulty justifying it as a priest” if he did not participate in protests such as the one scheduled today outside the Westin South Coast Plaza Hotel in Costa Mesa.

“I am a card-carrying Jesuit priest. I consider myself a priest regardless of what I do. I don’t look at these as two separate projects at all,” Berrigan said. “It seems to me that I am required to do this.”

The Alliance for Survival, the Orange County anti-nuclear protest group, will give Berrigan a reception this afternoon before the priest joins in the vigil protesting the WINCON conference, the annual convention that brings Department of Defense, NASA and military-industrial contractors together to discuss and plan weapons development.

The conference, open only to participants with security clearance, is being held behind guarded gates this week at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, but the participants are being lodged at the Costa Mesa hotel. The protest will repeat similar demonstrations last year by the Alliance for Survival, in which 29 protesters were arrested by Costa Mesa police. There was no violence associated with last year’s demonstrations.

The anti-nuclear group also plans demonstrations at the hotel early each morning until Friday, but Berrigan will only join tonight’s vigil before he departs Wednesday for another anti-nuclear protest in Omaha, the priest said.

Symbol of War Protest

Tim Carpenter, a spokesman for the Alliance, said Berrigan’s presence in Orange County would help the protest against the WINCON conference.

“It is our hope that Father Berrigan’s reception will serve as a positive meeting place for WINCON delegates and the public to discuss how we will move this world beyond war and toward a nuclear-free future,” Carpenter said.

Arturo Jacques, the county chairman of the conservative American Independent Party, said he would direct a group of about 50 persons in a counter-demonstration to the Alliance protest. But Jacques said he would caution his group to keep away from the Alliance protesters and not engage in any confrontation.

“This is to show that there are some people who are in support of the Constitution. The Constitution provides for national defense,” Jacques said. “We want to show that there are citizens who do not support this kind of garbage.”

Costa Mesa Police Sgt. Richard de Francisco, the officer in charge of keeping an eye on the weeklong protest activities at the hotel, said he did not envision any trouble during the demonstrations.

“That’s up to them,” de Francisco said. “But I really do not look for any problems.”

De Francisco said he would station 10 to 12 police officers at the hotel tonight and would increase the force to 20 for the early-morning demonstrations Wednesday through Friday. He also said he would assign “three or four arrest teams” to book protesters who get out of line.