Tom Oddo’s Contemporaries: Catholic Clergy for Social Justice

The post below was originally published on August 25, 2025 on this site.

Catholic Social Justice and Liberation Theology

Father Tom Oddo became a leader for gay Catholics at a time when liberation was a new term spoken among the community’s activist set and those already fighting for queer social justice. But the ideas of liberation and social justice had long been central aspects of Catholic theology, and indeed remain a critical part of the church. The Francis papacy largely derives its moral center from liberation theology, a tradition on which the former Jesuit Cardinal Jose Bergoglio was raised, and a commitment to social justice worldwide. 

Throughout the modern history of the church, there have been many activist priests from all corners of Catholicism who also spoke out in the 1960s and 70s for the liberation of their parishioners and social justice for all. Some of them were Tom’s peers. These included:

Father Daniel Berrigan: The Jesuit Activist Against War

Father Daniel Berrigan (1921-2016): A Jesuit priest who spoke out against the Vietnam War, and one of two subjects in Tom’s doctoral dissertation The Monk and the Activist (1979)—Berrigan being the activist. His burning of draft documents and subsequent flight from prosecution made him the first priest on the FBI’s Most Wanted List. He co-founded the anti-nuclear Plowshares movement, and wrote over 50 books in his lifetime. In his later years, he was a vocal supporter of pastoral care for AIDS patients and Occupy Wall Street, while an avid opponent of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. 

Father Robert Drinan: A Priest in Congress

Father Robert Drinan (1920-2007): A Jesuit priest who ran for, and won, a seat in Congress on an anti-Vietnam War platform. He served in the House of Representatives from 1971-1981 as a Democrat. In July 1973, he introduced a resolution calling for the impeachment of President Richard Nixon over the US bombing of Cambodia, which Drinan characterized as a “high crime or misdemeanor.” He was also an outspoken advocate for abortion rights, despite being personally opposed to the procedure. His legacy has been reconsidered following sexual assault allegations reported in 2012.

Father Gustavo Gutiérrez: Architect of Liberation Theology 

Father Gustavo Gutierrez (1928-2024): A Dominican priest whose 1971 book A Theology of Liberation contributed to the development of liberation theology, a liberation of the oppressed. His work with the poor of Latin and South America inspired legions of other clergy serving communities in the developing world, including Pope Francis.

Father Robert John Cornell: From the Pulpit to Public Policy

Father Robert John Cornell (1919-2009): A Norbertine priest who served alongside Father Drinan in the House of Representatives from 1975 to 1979 as a Democrat. He believed that teaching and speaking out about social justice were insufficient to meet the desired outcomes, and “that only by advocating public policy was there a hope of making needed changes.”

Father John J. McNeill: Gay Priest and Advocate for LGBTQ Catholics

Father John J. MacNeil (1925-2015): A gay Jesuit priest who joined Tom and others in the early days of DignityUSA, and who was eventually investigated and censured by the Vatican for his teachings after the publication of his 1976 book The Church and the Homosexual. He was ultimately expelled from the Jesuits, but remained a priest and married his longtime partner in 2008. 

Father Maurice Ouellet: Selma’s Priest for Civil Rights

Father Maurice Ouellet (1926-2011): An Edmundite priest who served as pastor of St. Elizabeth’s Mission in Selma, Alabama, from 1961 to 1965. While in Selma, he spoke out against police brutality and cared for protestors wounded in the 1965 march over the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The Edmundite’s hospital was the only facility in Selma admitting Black patients, and it became a gathering point in the aftermath of the incident, now known as Bloody Sunday. 

Saint Oscar Romero: Martyr for the Poor

Saint Oscar Romero (1917-1980): A Roman Catholic priest who served as Archbishop of San Salvador from 1977-1980, whose career had focused largely on the promulgation of liberation theology and the empowerment of El Salvador’s poor. He was assassinated in 1980 by agents of the government, and later canonized by Pope Francis in 2018.

Cardinal Jaime Sin: Champion of Filipino Democracy

Father Jaime Cardinal Sin (1928-2005): A Roman Catholic priest who served as Archbishop of Manila, capital of The Philippines, from 1974-2003. His support for protestors and Filipino democracy during the 1986 People Power Revolution helped topple the autocratic regime of President Ferdinand Marcos. He was later invited to give the keynote address at the University of Portland’s 1987 Commencement ceremony, a guest of Tom’s. Returning to the fight for democracy at 72 years old, he joined the Second People Power Revolution of 2001, which saw the overthrow of President Joseph Estrada in the wake of a corruption scandal. 

Sisters on the Frontlines of Liberation

Beside the priests, but often relegated to supporting roles, stood innumerable activist nuns who also championed the calls for liberation and social justice. 

Sister Jeannine Gramick: Voice for LGBTQ Catholics