RIP, Father Drinan
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Father Drinan was one of the most liberal members of the House of Representatives when he served. His strong anti-administration stands earned him a place on the Nixon "enemies list." His upset victory over US Representative Philip J. Philbin, a 14-term incumbent who was vice chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, in the 1970 Democratic primary in Massachusetts 3d Congressional District, was a high-water mark in the New Politics, which brought the antiwar movement to the ballot box.

Father Drinan's election was also a landmark in US church-state relations. A Catholic priest, Rev. Gabriel Richard, had served in Congress, in 1822, as a nonvoting delegate from Michigan Territory, but he had been appointed. And many Protestant clergymen had served as US representatives. Yet the sight of Father Drinan in the halls of Congress in his Roman collar was startling. Some even questioned the propriety of his wearing a cleric's collar and black suit on the floor of the House. Father Drinan had a standard response. "It's the only suit I own," he'd quip.