c. 2007 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) The Rev. Robert F. Drinan, who died on Sunday (Jan. 28) in Washington, was a Righteous Christian of our time.

His obituaries accurately describe the 86-year-old Jesuit priest as a Democratic congressman from Massachusetts who pressed for President Richard Nixon’s impeachment, as well as an outstanding lawyer, gifted teacher, prolific author and superb law school dean.

But the obituaries omitted some important elements of Drinan’s illustrious career: He was a cherished ally of the Jewish people, a relentless foe of anti-Semitism, a courageous leader of the difficult campaign to free Soviet Jewry from communist repression, and a fervent lifelong supporter of Israel, deeply committed to its survival and security.

Drinan’s book, “Honor the Promise: America’s Commitment to Israel,” remains a classic exposition of our nation’s historic moral obligation to a democratic independent Jewish state.

I had the joy of working closely with Drinan for many years. He was a founder of the National Interreligious Task Force on Soviet Jewry and an international leader in behalf of human rights. Drinan passionately believed in the historic promise of the Second Vatican Council and its call for positive Catholic-Jewish relations.

He was a member of Congress from 1971 to 1981 and surely would have remained there for many more years had not Pope John Paul II ruled that no priest could serve in a legislature.

Leaving Congress was painful for Drinan. He told me, “I loved being in the House, but ultimately I am a faithful son of my church, and I must move on to something else.” The “something else” was teaching at the Georgetown University Law Center until his death. Rep. Barney Frank, now a senior member of the House, succeeded Drinan.

Drinan was a perpetual bundle of highly charged energy, his piercing eyes gleaming with excitement whenever and wherever he took one of his issues: ending the Vietnam War, impeaching a law-breaking president, building human bridges of mutual respect and understanding between Catholics and Jews, pressing for religious liberty and building Christian support for the Jewish state. But there was always a warm smile and a sense of humor behind Drinan’s burning intellect and fierce dedication to his ideals.

One of Drinan’s greatest achievements came in 1975 when the U.S., Canada, the Soviet Union and 32 other nations signed the Helsinki Accords in the Finnish capital. Most of the initial attention focused on the Accords’ provisions about making permanent the post-World War II borders in Europe and the need for nations to refrain from the threat or use of force to settle disputes.

Almost lost in the early analysis of the Helsinki Accords was the demand for all signatory countries to respect the human rights of citizens, including freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief.

As a skilled professor of international law, Drinan immediately turned his laser-like intelligence on that overlooked provision. He was one of the first American political leaders to demand that the USSR live up to its human rights commitment, especially as it applied to Soviet Jews and other oppressed religious groups within that country.

Thanks to Drinan’s leadership, the Helsinki Accords in time became a powerful boomerang that was used against the Soviet Union’s harsh policies towards its own citizens.

In the late 1970s, Drinan asked me to join him on a mission to the USSR to offer personal support to Soviet Jews. Because of his congressional status, the Kremlin was compelled to issue an entry visa to the Boston-born priest. However, I waited in vain for mine, and the day before we were scheduled to leave, the Russian embassy in Washington informed me my visa “was still being processed.” It was the usual tactic of that time to refuse entry to known Soviet Jewry activists.

Drinan was livid with anger at the Soviets’ obvious policy of barring me and other members of the delegation. As an act of solidarity, he wanted to suspend his trip, but finally he did travel to the USSR, where he brought his unique combination of hope and optimism to Soviet Jews.

Respected Jesuit priest, brilliant legal scholar and teacher, effective political leader, and beloved friend of the Jewish people and Israel _ that was the Rev. Robert Drinan, a true original. He will be deeply missed.

(Rabbi Rudin, the American Jewish Committee’s senior interreligious adviser, is the author of the recently published book “The Baptizing of America: The Religious Right’s Plans for the Rest of Us.”)

KRE END RUDIN

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