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Farewell to a Prophetic Voice
By Msgr. George G. Higgins
July 24, 1998
Jesuit Father George H. Dunne, an impassioned critic of racial segregation and prominent in ecumenical efforts to combat poverty and foster peace, died June 30 in Los Gatos, Calif. He was 92.In 1990, though in failing health in his 85th year and confined to a Jesuit infirmary in Los Angeles not far from his boyhood home, he published his memoirs under the title "King's Pawn" (Loyola University Press, Chicago). It is one of the most impressive memoirs I have read in recent years -- a minor classic in America Catholic historiography.
Because Father Dunne was a born controversialist strongly addicted to calling a spade a spade, he made his share of enemies, including prominent figures in both church and state. Thus, while I recommend his book enthusiastically, I must stipulate that I am not competent to adjudicate all of the many personal conflicts, whether in or out of the Society of Jesus, in which Father Dunne was involved during his long and multifaceted career.
All I can say, as a sympathetic outside observer and long-time friend and admirer of Father Dunne, is that it would be unfair to him to interpret his frankness and outspokenness as a peevish attempt to even scores, so to speak, or to do his critics in.
To be sure, he wrote pointedly, but to his credit he did so as a man of solid faith, with a wry sense of humor and no trace of personal rancor or vindictiveness.
I have been around long enough to suspect that, had his book been written 25 years ago, it might not have been cleared for publication by his in-house Jesuit censors and probably would not have been issued under the imprint of a Jesuit-sponsored publisher. The fact that both his censors and his publisher were comfortable with the book is good news -- a sign that we have become a more tolerant and open-minded people, and a more mature church. I do not wish to leave the mistaken impression, of course, that Father Dunne's book deals only or even mainly with his conflicts with ecclesiastical authority. The book covers an extraordinary mix of diverse assignments and ministries in many different climes and cultures from California to China, from St. Louis, Chicago and Washington to Rome, Switzerland and Brazil, and finally back to China again on two occasions. It is a fascinating, inspiring story. Father Dunne himself, looking back at the age of 85 on the highlights of his busy life, modestly concluded that he could see "little of lasting accomplishment." His story, he said, "is largely a record of failure and frustration, which contrasts sharply with the achievements of most of my contemporaries." I am sure I am not the only reader of his absorbing memoirs who strongly disagrees with him in this regard. Few American priests of this century can match his combination of talents.
He excelled as teacher and lecturer, journalist and essayist, successful playwright, pioneer civil rights activist, champion of democratic trade unionism in the movie industry, director of Peace Corps training projects in Ethiopia and Brazil, first director of an innovative Geneva-based ecumenical project concerned with international economic development and world peace, parish priest, overseas director of American university students living in Switzerland, etc.
In all, a most impressive record!
The New York Times obituary did him full justice, describing him as "basically a prophetic voice for social justice." I fully agree with this assessment. He was one of a kind. May he rest in peace.
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