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u r March 14, 1972
CABRINI COLLEGE, RADNOR, PA.
Vol. XVIII, No. 4
Harrisburg Seven:PeaceCriminals? · by Bob Colameco "We have chosen to be as branded peace criminals by war criminals. "-Daniel Berrigan, S.J. What has been . called by many as one of the "most important political cases of the century" began in Harrisburg two weeks ago. Indicted for conspiring to sabotage government installations and kidnap Presidential aide, Henry Kissinger, the Harrisburg Seven include: Rev. Philip Berrigan, Eqbal Ahmad, Sister Elizabeth McAllister, AnFather "Neil McLaughlin, thony Scoblick, Father Joseph Wenderoth, and Mary Cain Scoblick. Their story goes back several years when (in consort with others) they peacefully walked into a Draft Board office in Catonsville, Maryland, and poured blood on draft records in protest of draft laws and the war. Besides pouring blood, they aiso used Napa lm made by following directions from an Army handbook called "Home-made Napalm." For this "crime" each received two years in prison. During November, 1970, FBI Cief J. Edgar Hoover, in a private briefing with Congressmen, charged that members of the Catholic anti-war community of resistance were plotting to sabotage government installations
Prism The weeks of hard work were over, the interviewing, the auditioning, the hours of planning and most of all, the publicity. There remained only the concert itself. The first performance of "Prism," Cabrini's coffee house, or should I say, the student's 'coffee house, was set at Saturday, February 26, 8:00 PM, in the smoker in Grace Hall. For the first time the concert was completely in the hands of the students (namely, Sue White, Kathy Ramos, Patti Berry, and Rita DiRenzo), and for the first time it was a smashing
and to kidnap a high official. Hoover repeated these charges several weeks later at a Senate committee meeting where he was testifying in favor of a supplemental $14.5 million appropriation for the FBI to hire an additional 1,000 agents and 702 clerks. This meeting was not open to the public but Hoover made sure that his testimony would receive publicity by depositing 75 copies of his finding on a press desk before the closed meeting began. He charged, "The principal leaders . . . are Philip Berrigan and Daniel Berrigan . . . This groµp plans to blow up underground electrical conduits and steam pipes serving the Washington, D.C. area and to kidnap a highly-placed government official . . . If successful, the plotters would demand an end to the United States bombing operations in Southeast Asia and the release of all political prisoners as ransom." Sen. Edmund Muskie and Hale Boggs were among the many to quickly rise in protest to Hoover's charges. Many suggested that Hoover's charges · were based on a personal vendetta against the Berrigans. Regardles of his motives, however, it was obvious that to save face, the government had to come up
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with some evidence. During January, 1971, the government via a grand jury sitting in Harrisburg charged Philip Berrigan and five others (the other being added a few months later) with conspiring to kidnap Presidential Assistant Henry Kissinger and to blow up the heating systems of federal buildings in Washington . The charges carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The base for the indictment was the testimony of FBI informer Boyd Douglas, who was serving a federal sentence at the Lewisburg Penitenitary where he met Philip Berrigan. Douglas was a student at Bucknell University (while serving his sentence) and became a courier for letters taken in and out of prison between Berrigan and Sr. McAllister. Shortly after testifying before the grand jury, Douglas vanished , presumably into fe de r al custodianship. Statements against the indictment came from many quarters . The New York Times said that the indictment itself was "a conspiracy against sober reason." Douglas's father said that his son "had told so many lies all his life that I can't believe anything he says." On February 8, all the defendents entered pleas of not
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no further plans were made and no further steps were taken to execute the alleged plan. Even people who were not especially sympathetic, the defendent responded, "We have grown accustomed to our government disguising changes in the Vietnam war with lies, euphemisms and diversionary side shows . Public attention has too often been diverted from reality by false explanations and antiseptic language. The American people are told half truths --or half lies-about the Tonkin Gulf incident, about explaining the air war into North Vietnam, about the so-called secret w·ar in Laos , about "protective reaction ," about captured pilots, and about winding down the w~r. At each stage, reality is disguised and distorted. As we have understood all along, the case aga inst us is a domestic incident in the Indochina Wa r, a matter of importing the mentalit y of counterinsurgency and an expression of official needs to escalate the repression against the anti-war movement. Nothing confirms this analysis more than the superceding indictment. The United States government has lost the Indochina war many times, and each loss has brought forth denials and escalations to a new war . So too, (Continued on Page 4)
Prism
success. (Imagine that!) The lovely voice, played an excelhard work of these students and lent guitar. Her name is Sue others was obvious, and was reMcDermott and while I was warded by the tremendous turnwatching her I couldn't help out, despite the competition of but see in her, her style, her Villanova-LaSalle basketball voice, and her songs, visions of game on television in the next Joni Mitchell in her early "2nd room. • Fret" days. She is definitely a However, or better yet, forvery talented girl and I would audience tunately, the lrrge not be one bit surprised to see that did turn out was also a her again someday at the Main very receptive audience. They Point or the Academy. seemed, and rightly so, to be The second act had a very very pleased with what they · difficult job, that being to folwere hearing. The first performlow up Sue's performance. They er was a girl from Merion ca 11 e d themselves "Spare Mercy Academy, who aside Change" and were comprised of from having an exceptionally three guys who all played guitars and a girl who did most 'of the s.inging. They were from Ambler, Pa. and their music was mostly folk. Perhaps the only striking thing about this group is that they were fine musicians but very poor comedians, and they were tryin <r to be both.
Spare Change
guilty. On April 30, the grand jury handed a new "superceding" indictment along with naming two additional conspirators, John Glick (later dropped), and Mary Cain Scoblick. The new indictment was a broader one but carried lesser penalties. ThEJ alleged conspiracy to bombing and kidnapping were now included in a much broader charge of conspiracy, "to commit offenses against the United States," Also included in the new indic tment were charges of "planning to raid and destroy draft records in several places named by the court ." The penalties for these charges are five years imprisonment . The most importal\t part of the new indictment , however , were the two counts charging Berrigan, Ahmad, and Sr . McAllister w it h letters alleged?y sent to and from Berrigan in which a plot to kidnap Kiss inger- "in our terminology make a citizen's arrest of"-and bomb utilities is discussed. An explanation of this new evidence was given by Lee Lockwood in an article in Life in which he stated that the letter referred to a hypothetical case which arose during a dinner attended by Berrigan, Ahmad, Sr . McAllister and others. Lockwood goes on to say that
The third and final group doesn't really need much recognition around Cabrini, or at least they shouldn't, but if you're an avid Villanova basketball fan, please allow me to introduce to you two of your very own fellow students, Sue White and Kathy Jo Ramos. Maybe someday they'll sing the Star
Sue McDermott Spangled Banner over at the voices forms something which Field House but please don't can only be described as "natwait to hear them there when ural." It was an excellent endyou can hear them right here on ing to an excellent show. your own campus. Singing songs All in all, the show was more of their own and songs by other than a success, it was the happy composers, all being excellent, ' and ' well-deserved ending to Sue and Kathy, together with months of hard work, and the two guys, Denny Ryan on bass tremendous beginning of and Rob Sukol, who plucked a "Prism," so named because it guitar faster than you-knowseeks to be the instrument who dribbles a basketball, sang through which the creative talsome very fine songs beautifulents of anyone may be exly, and also belted out blues the pressed and performed. way they should be. Their enIf you missed the first tire performance, from begin"Prism," don't worry - Villaning to end, was one cohesive nova doesn't win every gameand gentle show .. The fine melthere'll be more. Check them ody of their guitars together out every other Saturday night, with the freshness of their shows at eight and ten.-B.C.