[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 98 (Tuesday, July 19, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8483-S8485]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO CONGRESSMAN PETER W. RODINO, JR.
Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, on May 7, former Congressman Peter W.
Rodino, Jr. died at his home in West Orange, NJ, at the age of 95. At
the time of his death he was professor emeritus at the Seton Hall
University School of Law, where he had continued to lecture until just
a few months ago. He was first elected to the U.S. House of
Representatives from New Jersey's 10th congressional district in 1948
and went on to serve 20 terms, retiring in 1989. Throughout his long
career he faithfully served the people of his district, and our Nation.
It was my great privilege to serve on the House Committee on the
Judiciary under his chairmanship, and I shall remember him always as
``Chairman.''
In the Congress, Peter Rodino served on the House Committee on the
Judiciary for 24 years before becoming its chairman, quite
unexpectedly, in 1973. At just that time it fell to the Judiciary
Committee to determine whether the President had acted in violation of
fundamental principles of our Constitution and, if so, to undertake the
first step in the impeachment procedures that the Constitution sets
out. No one understood better than Peter Rodino the magnitude of the
challenge. It was, he often said, an ``awesome responsibility.''
As a very junior Member of the House of Representatives, just
beginning my second term, it was my great responsibility to serve on
the Judiciary Committee under Chairman Rodino during the impeachment
inquiry. In a speech on the floor of the House in February, 1974, he
set the tone for the
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work the committee was about to undertake: ``Whatever the result,
whatever we learn or conclude, let us now proceed with such care and
decency and thoroughness and honor that the vast majority of American
people, and their children after them, will say: `That was the right
course. There was no other way.' ''
Chairman Rodino held the committee to those standards. As Michael T.
Kaufman wrote in the New York Times on May 9, he proceeded with ``great
patience, caution, enormous energy, and fairness above all.'' In his
role as chairman, Peter Rodino saw himself as ``teacher, negotiator,
leader and symbol,'' striving to achieve ``a spirit of fairness and
bipartisanship.'' In this he was successful: members of the committee
drew together over the course of the inquiry, approving three articles
of impeachment on strong bipartisan votes and, ultimately, reaching
unanimity on the need to move the impeachment process forward.
Of his service during the impeachment inquiry, Chairman Rodino told
his biographer, Gerald Pomper, ``I was just the same Peter Rodino I've
been all the time from the very first day I came to the Congress.''
Indeed he was. Throughout his years in the Congress he worked hard, and
he brought to his work both a bright and hopeful vision for our country
and great skill as a legislator. His legislative achievements were
remarkable: major contributions to the great Civil Rights Acts of the
1960s--he served as floor manager of the Civil Rights Act of 1966;
passage of landmark fair housing and fair-employment practices
legislation; immigration reform that overturned the decades-old system
of rigid, country-based quotas. Later he wrote the Voting Rights
Extension Act of 1982, and he played a leading role in establishing a
national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
It can be said of Peter Rodino that in his life he embraced the
American experience in the 20th century. The child of Italian
immigrants, born and raised in the Little Italy neighborhood in Newark,
NJ, he earned his law degree over a period of 10 years by working days
and taking classes at night. Well before Pearl Harbor and the U.S.
entry into World War II, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, served in the
North African and Italian campaigns, received one of the first
battlefield commissions, was awarded the Bronze Star, and retired with
the rank of captain. Upon leaving the Army, he entered the Congress;
upon retiring from the Congress, he joined the faculty of the Seton
Hall Law School. There he remained until his death, attentive to the
end to his students and colleagues. He believed in our democratic
institutions and their capacity to improve the lives of our people.
``There was not a single day of his professional life,'' according to
the Dean of Seton Hall Law School, ``when he didn't carry a copy of the
Constitution in his pocket.'' The country will forever be grateful to
him.
Chairman Rodino was remembered by his family, friends, colleagues at
Seton Hall Law School and former colleagues in the U.S. House of
Representative in a very moving ceremony at St. Lucy Church, Newark NJ,
on May 16, 2005. I ask unanimous consent that the homily of the
Reverend Nicholas S. Gengaro, Chaplain of the Seton Hall Law School,
and the eulogy delivered by Paula A. Franzese, Peter W. Rodino at the
Seton Hall Law School, be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Homily of the Reverend Nicholas S. Gengaro
FUNERAL MASS, THE HONORABLE PETER W. RODINO, JR., ST. LUCY CHURCH,
MONDAY, MAY 16, 2005, 11:00 AM
Readings: Wisdom--3:1-9; Romans--8:14-23; Matthew--5:1-12a.
The NBC television network will be pleased to hear me claim
a place among the fans of its award-winning weekly drama
series, The West Wing. I confess that I am drawn in by the
promise of a walk down the corridors of power, an ear inside
decision-making at the highest level, a look at how things
get done in our country, our world. Of course, the show is
fiction, but the writers purposely dramatize current events
and issues.
In an episode this spring, one of the characters running
for election to the presidency rebelled against pressure from
religious groups to disclose his religious beliefs and
practices. ``If the American people begin to insist on
knowing where and how often their leaders worship God,'' he
declares, ``then, they are begging to be lied to.'' Religion
and politics are a volatile mix. Since 1998, when I became
chaplain at Seton Hall School of Law, I have had the
privilege of knowing the Honorable Peter W. Rodino, Jr.
The first time I attended the annual Rodino Law Society
Dinner, I spotted the Congressman in the crowd and
wrestled down my shyness to walk over and introduce
myself. Not only was I aware of the heroic role he had
played in our nation's history, but I remembered hearing
about him from my childhood, his name spoken by proud
Italian American relatives who had been helped personally
by him. To me he was a national icon, but also a bit of a
``household god,'' patron of the good name and self-
respect of the vast number of Americans whose surnames end
in a vowel.
That initial conversation lasted nearly an hour.
Congressman Rodino remembered my great uncle who ran a
business right outside St. Lucy's Church, here at 7th Avenue
and Cutler Street. I was to discover over the years that
Peter Rodino remembered everything. Young in his nineties,
the Congressman could quote statesmen, historians, poets,
even song lyrics--sometimes in another language. But most of
all he remembered people.
In 1977, at the unveiling of the portrait of Congressman
Rodino that hangs in the chamber of the House Judiciary
Committee, Vice President Walter Mondale suggested that Peter
Rodino's ``life has stood and stands for `the love of country
and the love of freedom kept pure by the tenderest humanity
for all mankind' '' (Proceedings Before the Committee on the
Judiciary, May 12, 1977, 95th Congress, 1st Session, House
Document 95-307, p.8).
In other words, Congressman Rodino regarded his career in
public service as a labor of love. He often quoted Thomas
Paine's axiom ``for those who would enjoy the fruits of
liberty, they must first undergo the fatigue of supporting
it'' (Address to the Trial Lawyers Association of New Jersey,
2002). As a little boy the Congressman once stood next to his
mother listening to the music of the band at a religious
festival. He began to wave his hands as if to conduct the
band, and continued to do so with glee for song after song.
``Someday you will be a leader of men!'' his mother told him.
Peter Rodino, Sr., would remind his son of these words many
years later.
Fr. Timothy Healy, President of Georgetown University,
shortly after the events of Watergate had run their course,
arrived at the heart of the matter when he said of
Congressman Rodino, ``It took our time of trouble to show us
what he really is. As this nation rocked in shame, all of us
watched Chairman Rodino manage our destiny. We came to know
his calmness, his strength, his sense of order. We grew to
trust his honesty. We watched the citizen-politician at work,
and as we watched, we rediscovered in him the best of
ourselves and of this Nation. Through long and bitter hours,
to millions of Americans, Peter Rodino was America.'' Fr.
Healy concluded, ``We have seen a just man doing justice''
(Proceedings Before the Committee on the Judiciary, May 12,
1977, 95th Congress, 1st Session, House Document 95-307, pp.
1-2).
Is Peter W. Rodino, Jr., a saint? To the countless marks of
distinction awarded him in this life--honorary degrees,
orders of knighthood, eponymous institutes and chairs of
learning--can we suppose him now to be also one of the elect
in heaven? Of course, to God alone belongs such a judgment.
Yet the Scripture proclaimed in this Mass of Resurrection
clearly indicates, ``The souls of the just are in the hand of
God.'' The Book of Wisdom explains, ``As gold in the furnace,
he proved them.'' The Letter of Paul to the Romans echoes,
``The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are
children of God, and if children then heirs, heirs of God and
joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him, so that
we may also be glorified with him.''
Congressman Rodino told me that he kept two texts next to
his bed: the Bible and the Constitution of the United States
of America. In a speech just this past October, he called the
52 words of the Preamble his ``guiding light'' (Rodino Law
Society Dinner, October 27, 2004). He was passionate about
the imperative found there ``to secure the Blessings of
Liberty.'' ``The Blessings of Liberty'' was a favorite theme
of his. The word ``blessing'' was as important to him as the
word ``liberty.'' He firmly believed that the great nation of
the United States of America would lose its way if it ceased
to be aware that every good thing, and especially freedom, is
bestowed according to the providence of a higher power.
For this reason, in 1954, he was a sponsor of the
legislation which added the words ``under God'' to the Pledge
of Allegiance. ``We deliberately left the phrase short and
vague so as to offend no creed and embrace all possible
concepts of the higher power. The point is to preserve us
from arrogance,'' he explained to me.
Every day of his life, Congressman Rodino prayed the Prayer
of St. Francis of Assisi.
``Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow your love.
Where there is injury, pardon; doubt, faith; despair, hope;
darkness, light; sadness, joy.''
This prayer of the 13th century saint, co-patron of Italy,
is itself a reflection on Matthew's so-called ``Beatitudes''
from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. We heard the proclamation:
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``Blessed are the poor in spirit . . .
they who mourn . . .
the meek . . .
they who hunger and thirst for righteous-
ness . . .
the merciful . . .
the clean of heart . . .
the peacemakers . . .
they who are persecuted for righteousness' sake. . . .''
Can we not see how the Honorable Peter Rodino implemented
these texts in his life? Is it an accident that countless
immigrants were given hope and a new start in a land of
opportunity because of legislation he sponsored to remove
unfair quotas? Is it a coincidence that this man of integrity
evolved to serve a new constituency in his district in the
1960s, that he became a champion of civil rights and voting
rights for all citizens regardless of race, color or creed,
identifying himself with the persecuted and those hungering
and thirsting for righteousness? Was he reciting St. Francis
to himself and remembering the Beatitudes when he took part
in disarmament conferences and the stability and security
efforts of the parliamentary arm of NATO? ``Make me an
instrument of your peace. . . .''
In his recent volume, Ordinary Heroes and American
Democracy, Gerald M. Pomper, in the chapter ``Peter Rodino: A
hero of the House,'' writes, ``Our concept of the democratic
hero looks for heroism among ordinary people doing their
customary work in the moments of crisis.'' He dubs Peter
Rodino a ``workhorse'' of the U.S. House of Representatives,
and reminds us of the messiness with which the work of
democracy proceeds in that body, by compromise, consensus-
building, careful and dexterous application of the rules.
I would like to suggest that Peter Rodino is also an
ordinary hero of his faith. Like the character in The West
Wing, he eschewed a flamboyant, pretentious, self-conscious
politician's instrumentalization of religious practice, which
threatens democracy with theocracy. Instead, to paraphrase
the prophet Micah, he knew the right, he did the right and he
walked humbly with his God.
The Catholic funeral liturgy is a celebration of hope. Four
days before his death, Congressman Rodino sat in his recliner
chair when I visited him. His breathing was labored and he
struggled to stay awake. At one point he forced his eyes wide
open and asked, ``What's the world situation?'' Sure I had
heard wrong, I began naming a number of comfort items I
supposed he was wanting: Water? Juice? Another blanket? ``Do
you want me to get Joy?'' I asked. ``The world!'' he
reiterated, certainly annoyed with my narrow focus on
conveniences. ``Tell me about the world. What's happening?''
This man was not leaving this life, this world that had held
him in endless fascination, one moment sooner than he
absolutely had to.
Nor is he absent from us now. The Honorable Peter W.
Rodino, Jr., is heir to the promise made to all who are
baptized into Christ, of life unending with his Creator. May
his be the blessings of a liberty far greater than we now
know how to ask for or imagine. With St. Francis we conclude,
``For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning
that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to
eternal life.''
By Rev. Nicholas S. Gengaro
Chaplain, Seton Hall School of Law.
____
Keep That Good Heart: The Life and Legacy of Congressman Peter W.
Rodino
(By Paula A. Franzese, Peter W. Rodino Professor of Law, Seton Hall Law
School; Prof. Franzese Delivered the Eulogy at Cong. Rodino's Funeral
on May 16, 2005)
The last words spoken to me by my beloved mentor and
friend, Cong. Peter W. Rodino, just days before his passing,
were: ``Keep that good heart.'' In those four words we find
the measure of the man and the magnitude of his legacy. Keep
that good heart, mindful that there will be many temptations
to do otherwise. This life can be a vessel of sadness, but
even in the face of all disenchantment and cynicism and
disappointment, still, keep that good heart.
Peter asked us to be relentless in our capacity to anchor
ourselves in love, in compassion, in humility, in virtue, no
matter the adversity, no matter the turmoil, no matter the
naysayers. We live in a world that finds itself preoccupied
with glamour and status and fortune and fame. Yet, here is
this iconic public figure, who walked with kings and held the
hand of a nation as he navigated the way out of a
constitutional crisis of unparalleled dimension, this
luminary and dignitary, this man of the House, who valued,
above all else, goodness of heart. He respected intelligence,
and he was brilliant, but he respected kindness even more.
And so it was, with great love, that this humble boy from
Newark, the son of a carpenter and the child of Italian
immigrants, moved mountains. His illustrious career in the
House of Representatives began in 1948, and spanned four
decades. Always, he ran on his own terms, never beholden to
anyone or anything. He sought public office as a politician
in the highest and best sense of the word. He was a champion
of the underdog, a spokesman for those without a voice. It
has been said that the principal cause of human suffering is
forgetfulness. Peter never forgot who he was, what he stood
for or where he came from.
John Henry Newman wrote, ``I sought to hear the voice of
God, and climbed the topmost steeple. But God declared, `Go
down again. I dwell among the people.' '' Peter Rodino heard
the voice of God in the voices of the people. And there, he
found the courage to do what needed to be done. He came to
the House to accomplish civil rights reform, to redress the
inequities of the nation's immigration laws and to promote
equal access to justice for all. And so he did.
Quietly, during a time when such an agenda for reform was
fiercely unpopular, he worked relentlessly, securing a seat
on the House Judiciary Committee and serving as a key
lieutenant whose work in the trenches, on the floor of the
House, helped to secure the passage of virtually every major
civil rights bill, including the watershed Civil Rights Act
of 1964. The Civil Rights Museum in Birmingham, Alabama
contains the historic photograph of President Lyndon B.
Johnson signing that landmark legislation into law, flanked
by the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. to his left and
Congressman Peter Rodino to his right.
Peter Rodino was a champion for the cause of civil rights
and civil liberties because he chose to be a man for all
people, irrespective of race, class, gender or ethnic origin.
It is no accident that, until his last days on Earth, he
carried in his pocket a tattered copy of the Preamble to the
U.S. Constitution. The Preamble begins with the words, ``We
the people.'' It holds out the promise that the blessings of
liberty belong not just to some of us, but to all of us.
And so it was that this great patriot had a date with
destiny. In 1974, as a country on the brink of a
constitutional impasse waited, and this fourteen year old sat
transfixed in front of the TV set, the Watergate hearings
began, and we found a hero. In Peter Rodino, humility met
preparation, and that boy from Barringer High School, who had
dedicated a lifetime to the cause of fundamental fairness and
equal justice under law, accepted the challenge.
We watched as the gentleman from Newark, carrying the
weight of a nation's suffering on his shoulders, stood firm
and dignified and tall, never wavering from his reverence for
the office of the presidency and never departing from his
conviction that our great democracy would withstand, indeed,
transcend, this greatest test.
Because of him, it did. And because of him, we did. In the
process, Peter Rodino gave us all something that we so
desperately needed. He gave us hope. Timothy White wrote,
``Historically, certain figures emerge from despairing
cultures to reinterpret old symbols and beliefs and invest
them with new meaning. An individual's decision to play such
a role may be purely unconscious, but it can sometimes evolve
into an acute awareness that he or she may indeed have the
gift, as well as the burden, of prophecy.'' Peter Rodino was
such a figure. Sen. Ted Kennedy, in sending his condolences,
said: ``Many of us felt as we watched the Watergate hearings
that we were seeing a founding father in action, living the
highest ideals of the Constitution. I'm sure my brother would
have called him a profile in courage. I feel the same way,
and I'll never forget him.''
When all is said and done, none of us will ever forget
Peter Rodino, because of the way that he made us feel. His
life bears living witness to the greatness of our nation. His
story reminds us that we live in a world of infinite
possibilities, and that there is a force that meets good with
good. We watched, and we knew. Here was a gifted leader who
was, first and foremost, a good person. It is a testament to
the man that, when the vote to impeach was rendered, rather
than grandstand or resort to petty partisanship, he retreated
to his private chambers and he wept. Always, he kept that
good heart.
Peter spoke to our community just months ago, at Seton Hall
Law School's Rodino Dinner, where he urged us all to live a
life that matters. What will matter, he said, is not your
success, but your significance; not what you bought but what
you built. Implicit in all that he stood for is the premise
that people can be mean and cruel and irresponsible, but it
is up to us to love them anyway. If you commit to goodness
and to compassionate honesty in a world fraught with too much
brutal honesty, you may be accused of insincerity or of
building pies in the sky. But commit to the virtuous path
anyway. And if you dare to believe in the majesty of your
dreams, so that you do what you can with what you have, your
heart may sometimes break. But a broken heart has more room.
Peter, today we bask in the glow of your magnificent heart.
And although our own hearts ache because your days on Earth
have come to an end, we know that the angels rejoiced as they
welcomed you home. We know that you must have received the
most extraordinary standing ovation of all time, amidst the
resounding cheers and the tears of joy, all proclaiming:
``Well done, Mr. Chairman, well done.''
____________________