Over the past few weeks, we have studied two plays that have spoken quite extensively about how people expressed their displeasure at issues that affected them. For this blog post though I want to focus on my favorite of the two plays to read, that being ‘The Trial of the Catonsville Nine’. This play was written by Father Daniel Berrigan who based it on a partial transcript of the trial. Fr. Berrigan was an avid anti-war protester associated with and supported the Catholic protestors who had burned draft documents resulting in the trial. For me, the most interesting aspect of this play and the events which created it is the fact that it is based so heavily on religion and especially Catholicism. As we are at a Catholic university, I find at least for myself that we are in a unique position to discuss this play as well as the anti-war protests by Catholics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As we discussed this play, I noticed that the general Catholic theme of unity without division and ‘toeing the line’ simply wasn’t present in this situation. Those members of the nine had clear and defined convictions, they felt that the sending of young American men around the world in order to fight and potentially die in war was abhorrent and should be stopped. It is so interesting to me that in such a time of division and disruption in the United States these men and especially Fr. Phillip Berrigan were so determined and bolstered by their beliefs that they were willing to risk their freedom in order to potentially save lives. Of course, it is impossible to tell whether their actions did in fact save lives, and yet I have a sense of admiration for what they did (both the Baltimore four and the Catonsville nine). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
These men addressed a problem that they saw both in their Church and their state, they did not dither, rather they acted and it seems that this later becomes very very common. People are bolstered by these actions and what they perceive to be other issues within their society. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Over the past few weeks, we have studied two plays that have spoken quite extensively about how people expressed their displeasure at issues that affected them. For this blog post though I want to focus on my favorite of the two plays to read, that being ‘The Trial of the Catonsville Nine’. This play was … <\/p>\n