In this edition of Living Questions, our monthly series on the role of religion in the public sphere, a conversation about the non-violence movement with one of the founders of Jonah House, a community whose pillars are non-violence, resistance and community. Jonah House was founded in 1973 by Elizabeth McAlister, a former Catholic Nun, and her husband, Philip Berrigan, a former Catholic Priest, who was a member of the Baltimore Four and the Catonsville Nine.
In 1968, the Catonsville Nine burned draft records as a protest against the Vietnam War, setting off a series of draft board protests around the country. Tom Hall talks with Elizabeth McAlister at Jonah House, which is located at St. Peter’s Cemetery in West Baltimore.
One of Liz McAlister’s three children, Frida Berrigan, has written a book about growing up in a family of activists: "It Runs in the Family: On Being Raised By Radicals And Growing Into Rebellious Motherhood". More information here.
