Thomas C. Cornell (April 11, 1934 – August 1, 2022) was an American journalist and a peace activist against the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
and the
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
. He was an associate editor of the ''
Catholic Worker
''Catholic Worker'' is a newspaper published seven times a year by the flagship Catholic Worker community in New York City. The newspaper was started by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin to make people aware of church teaching on social justice.
Hist ...
'' and a
deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...
in the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
.
Early life and education
Cornell was born on April 11, 1934, in
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the List of cities by population in New England, fifth-most populous ...
.
He went to
Fairfield University
Fairfield University is a private Jesuit university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1942. In 2017, the university had about 4,100 full-time undergraduate students and 1,100 graduate students, including full-time ...
, then Fairfield College. While at Fairfield, he read ''
The Long Loneliness'', the autobiography of Dorothy Day, which inspired him to join the Catholic Worker movement.
Catholic Worker
In 1953 when Cornell was 19, he joined the Catholic Worker community in New York, where he served those in need at Maryhouse and St. Joseph House, two Catholic Worker locations in the East Village of Manhattan. He became a writer and editor for the Catholic Worker newspaper. He was the managing editor of the newspaper from 1962 to 1964.
Dorothy Day gave him the job just as she was leaving on a trip to Cuba, telling him "You'll figure it out."
Activism
The Vietnam War
Cornell led the first
protest against the Vietnam War, which started with only two people from the ''Catholic Worker'', himself and Chris Kearns, on July 16, 1963, in Union Square in New York City. In ten days their protest grew to 250 and was the first nationally televised Vietnam War protest.
As US military engagement was intensifying in Vietnam, Cornell founded the
Catholic Peace Fellowship
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
with
Jim Forest in which they worked counseling Catholic conscientious objectors to the Vietnam War, before going on to counsel anyone with draft issues with the aid of
Center on Conscience & War, an organization dedicated to defending and extending the rights of
conscientious objectors
A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...
, claiming a "very high" success rate.
He also called the first corporate act of resistance to the Vietnam draft, when he and five others, including
David McReynolds
David Ernest McReynolds (October 25, 1929 – August 17, 2018) was an American politician and social activist who was a prominent democratic socialist and pacifist activist. He described himself as "a peace movement bureaucrat" during his 40-yea ...
,
burned their draft cards, November 6, 1965, in
Union Square
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
In 1967, Cornell signed a public statement declaring his intention to
refuse to pay income taxes in protest against the U.S. war against Vietnam. Later, he became a sponsor of the War Tax Resistance project, which practiced and advocated tax refusal as a form of protest against the war.
["A Call to War Tax Resistance" ''The Cycle'' May 14, 1970, p. 7]
In 1972, Cornell took part in a meeting which led to the establishment of
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
...
.
During his years of activism, Cornell was a member of the executive staff of
Fellowship of Reconciliation
The Fellowship of Reconciliation (FoR or FOR) is the name used by a number of religious nonviolent organizations, particularly in English-speaking countries. They are linked by affiliation to the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR).
...
, the executive committee of Pax Christi USA, the
War Resisters League
The War Resisters League (WRL) is the oldest secular pacifist organization in the United States.
History
Founded in 1923 by men and women who had opposed World War I, it is a section of the London-based War Resisters' International. It continues ...
, and the
Workers' Defense League The Workers' Defense League is an American socialist organization devoted to promoting labor rights. The group was founded on August 29, 1936 with the endorsement of Norman Thomas, six-time presidential candidate of the Socialist Party of America. T ...
.
The Iraq War
He continued in his opposition to the Iraq War, having visited that country before the invasion in December–January 2003 and again after in 2004. His reports were published in ''The Catholic Worker''. He urged that military
chaplain
A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...
s be trained in the law regarding
conscientious objection
A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to objecti ...
and give positive support to claimants.
Deacon
In 1988, Cornell was ordained a deacon in the
Archdiocese of Hartford.
At the
Fourth World Congress in 2000, he served as Pope John Paul II's deacon at a Mass of Christ the King in
St. Peter's Square
Saint Peter's Square ( la, Forum Sancti Petri, it, Piazza San Pietro ,) is a large plaza located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the pope, papal enclave and exclave, enclave inside Rome, directly west of the neighbor ...
.
Later life
In his retirement, he lived with his wife Monica at the
Peter Maurin
Peter Maurin (; May 9, 1877 – May 15, 1949) was a French Catholic social activist, theologian, and De La Salle Brother who founded the Catholic Worker Movement in 1933 with Dorothy Day.
Maurin expressed his philosophy through short pieces of ...
Farm in
Marlboro, New York
Marlboro is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 3,669 at the 2010 census. Marlboro is in the southeastern part of the town of Marlborough, located in the southeastern corner of the c ...
.
He died at the age of 88 on August 1, 2022,
at a nearby hospital in
Poughkeepsie, New York
Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...
.
Works
*
*
* Cornell,Tom
In Defence of Catholic Worker Anarchism, the May 2010 issue of ''The Catholic Worker''.
* Revised from an earlier version in the December 2017 issue of ''The Catholic Worker''
See also
*
Christian anarchism
Christian anarchism is a Christian movement in political theology that claims anarchism is inherent in Christianity and the Gospels. It is grounded in the belief that there is only one source of authority to which Christians are ultimately answ ...
*
Dorothy Day
Dorothy Day (November 8, 1897 – November 29, 1980) was an American journalist, social activist and anarchist who, after a bohemian youth, became a Catholic without abandoning her social and anarchist activism. She was perhaps the best-known ...
*
List of peace activists
This list of peace activists includes people who have proactively advocated diplomatic, philosophical, and non-military resolution of major territorial or ideological disputes through nonviolent means and methods. Peace activists usually work ...
Citations
General and cited sources
* Revised by the same with Robert Ellsberg, Orbis, 1995
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Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornell, Tom
1934 births
2022 deaths
American anarchists
American anti-war activists
American anti–Vietnam War activists
American Christian pacifists
American tax resisters
Catholic anarchists
Catholic pacifists
Catholic Workers
Catholics from Connecticut
Catholics from New York (state)
Nonviolence advocates
Writers from Bridgeport, Connecticut
People from Marlboro, New York
Roman Catholic deacons
Fairfield University alumni