Forms part of the Legacy of Hope: Catholics and Social Justice Project.
Collection is open for research.
Richard Berg was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1936. During World War II, the family lived in Fort Ord, California, where his father worked as chief surgeon in a military hospital. They returned to Portland after the end of the war. He attended the seminary at Notre Dame University. In 1963, he was inducted into the Catholic priesthood at the Vatican. In 1969, he earned a doctorate in psychology from the University of Portland, then went on to become dean of the College of Arts at that university. Beginning in 1989, he also served as pastor for the St. Andre parish, also known as the Downtown Chapel. He founded the MacDonald Center, now the Maybelle Center for Community, an organization dedicated to building community for socially isolated people, and served as its executive director. Beginning in 2001, he served as a pastor at Mary's Woods, a retirement community founded by the Sisters of the Holy Names. In 2013, he published a book, "Scars," about soldiers and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Forms part of the Legacy of Hope: Catholics and Social Justice Project.
Oral history interview with Richard F. Berg, by Leigh Coffey, SR 2414, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
This oral history interview with Richard F. Berg was conducted by Leigh Coffey in August 1996. The interview was conducted as part of the Legacy of Hope: Catholics and Social Justice Project, which collected interviews with Catholic clergy members in Oregon about their work on social action in the Roman Catholic tradition. The interview was conducted in three sessions.
In this interview, Berg discusses his family background and his early life in Portland, Oregon, and in Ford Ord, California, during World War II. He talks about his service as pastor for the St. Andre Parish, also known as the Downtown Chapel, and speaks at length about his work with people with post-traumatic stress disorder. He also speaks about his work with the MacDonald Center, now the Maybelle Center for Community, an organization dedicated to building community for people who are socially isolated.
Copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society. Use is allowed according to the following statement: Creative Commons - BY-NC-SA,
Tape 1, Side 1, to partway through Tape 2, Side 1. In the first interview session, conducted on August 2, 1996, Berg discusses his family background and talks about how his family influenced his spirituality. He discusses his early life in Portland, Oregon, and speaks about his sisters, their families, and their careers. He also shares his childhood experiences during World War II while his father worked as chief surgeon at a military hospital at Fort Ord, California. He speaks about his decision to go to seminary and shares his experiences at the seminary at Notre Dame University. He also talks about fundraising for the March of Dimes as a teenager and about what the experience taught him about generosity. He then discusses a trip to Guatemala after he became a priest and talks about his work in Texas with youth struggling with drug addiction.
Partway through Tape 2, Side 1, through Tape 3, Side 2. In the second interview session, conducted on August 3, 1996, Berg further discusses his early life in Portland and talks about his relationship with Catholicism during his youth, including in his schooling and at home. He shares his thoughts about the inclusivity of the Catholic Church. He talks about his service as pastor for the St. Andre Parish, also known as the Downtown Chapel, and speaks at length about his work with people experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder, drug addiction, and homelessness. He talks about his involvement with the Northwest Neighborhood Association and about life in the neighborhood. He speaks about his experience during a trip to Japan in 1987.
In the third and final interview session, conducted in August 1996, Berg discusses his mentors in the Catholic Church and talks about their work. He shares his strategies for maintaining enthusiasm for new projects, and speaks about his work with the MacDonald Center, now the Maybelle Center for Community, an organization dedicated to building community for people who are socially isolated. He talks about counseling draftees during the Vietnam War in Texas, and speaks further about his work with people with post-traumatic stress disorder. He shares his thoughts on the Catholic Church's stance on homosexuality, talks about social justice issues that he believes the church should address, particularly poverty, and closes the interview by describing the concept of "social mercy."