Profile: William Sloane Coffin

Reverend William Sloane Coffin, a former Yale University chaplain known for his peace activism during the Vietnam War and his continuing work for social justice, died last April at the age of 81. The well-known Presbyterian preacher, who had retired to the small town of Stafford, Vermont, had already suffered two strokes and was receiving hospice care for congestive heart failure.

In an August 2004 interview with Bob Abernethy, the late vigorous activist spoke about his views on faith, civil rights, U.S. policies in Iraq and his lifelong commitment to world peace. "Joy in this world comes from self-fulfillment," Rev. Coffin explained. "Joy is a more profound experience than mere happiness. When you feel a sense of undeserved integrity because you think youre in the right fight -- against segregation, against the war in Vietnam, against the stupid and cruel discrimination against gays and lesbians -- these are the right fights, I feel very deeply. And the sense of fulfillment -- self-fulfillment -- which comes from being in the right fight is a wonderful thing." (Rebroadcast from August 27, 2004)

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