Yesterday was the official pub date for Fr. Ray Schroth's new biography of Robert F. Drinan, S.J.--the controversial Jesuit priest and congressmen--and NCR has already weighed in with a positive review. As the review notes, the most intriguing question raised by the book is whether Drinan, who served in Congress from 1970 until 1980, had official permission to run for office:

Schroth masterfully lays out the many internal maneuvers that cleared the way for Drinan’s candidacy in the first instance. These involved his immediate Jesuit superior in New England, his two local bishops in Boston and Worcester, Mass., and the Jesuit superior general in Rome. Each successive candidacy seemed to involve more intricate negotiations than the one preceding. To say that the approval for Drinan to run was a gray area seriously understates the case. In fact, whether or not Drinan had the proper authorization became an issue in a number of his re-election campaigns.

Fr. Ray sat down with me last week to discuss Fr. Drinan's legacy. Listen to our podcast here.

Tim Reidy