Richard McSorley (October 2, 1914-October 17, 2002) was a

Jesuit priest , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

and

peace studies Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

Professor at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

. In 1964 he was unofficially assigned by

Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...

to give counsel to his sister-in-law,

Jacqueline Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A po ...

at Georgetown University. Five years later

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

asked him to say a prayer for peace at St. Mark's Church. McSorley founded the Center for Peace Studies at Georgetown. He had a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

from

Ottawa University Ottawa University (OU) is a private Baptist university with its main campus in Ottawa, Kansas, a second residential campus in Surprise, Arizona, and adult campuses in the Kansas City, Phoenix and Milwaukee metropolitan areas. It was founded in ...

and he taught philosophy at Scranton University attracting crowds to his courses. He is the author of the following books: * It's a Sin to Build a Nuclear Weapon * New Testament Basis of Peacemaking * Peace Prospects for Three Worlds * Kill? For Peace? * The More the Merrier. McSorley received the Distinguished Teacher Award in 1985 from Georgetown's alumni. The McSorley Award was established by Georgetown University's Program of Justice and Peace. He marched with

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

He was awarded the title ''Ambassador of Peace'' by

Pax Christi Pax Christi International is an international Catholic peace movement. The Pax Christi International website declares its mission is "to transform a world shaken by violence, terrorism, deepening inequalities, and global insecurity." History ...

. Bill Clinton sent a condolence letter on his death describing him as a “man of great character who always stood by his abiding commitment to promoting and expanding his belief in the cause of peace, fearless in the face of harshest criticism, unwavering in his search for moral reason while inspiring many to do the same." He founded The Dorothy Day Catholic Worker House in Washington, DC. According to

Philip Berrigan Philip Francis Berrigan, SSJ (October 5, 1923 – December 6, 2002) was an American peace activist and Catholic priest with the Josephites. He engaged in nonviolent, civil disobedience in the cause of peace and nuclear disarmament and was ...

, McSorley gave him the homemade napalm recipe that the Catonsville 9 used to burn draft records. McSorley found in a Special Forces handbook in the

Georgetown University Law Center The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and ...

library. On and off for years he stood in the middle of the

campus, protesting its

ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

program, by holding a sign saying "Should we teach life + love or death + hate?"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McSorley, Richard 1914 births 2002 deaths Georgetown University faculty Ottawa University alumni University of Scranton faculty 20th-century American philosophers 20th-century American Jesuits 21st-century American Jesuits American Christian socialists American pacifists American Christian pacifists American anti-poverty advocates Catholic socialists Christian radicals Roman Catholic activists Catholic Workers