In 1964 he was unofficially assigned by
Robert F. Kennedy to give counsel to his sister-in-law,
Jacqueline Kennedy at Georgetown University.[4] Five years later
Bill Clinton asked him to say a prayer for peace at St. Mark's Church.[5] McSorley founded the Center for Peace Studies at Georgetown.[6]
McSorley received the Distinguished Teacher Award in 1985 from Georgetown's alumni.[14] The McSorley Award was established by Georgetown University's Program of Justice and Peace.[15] He marched with
Martin Luther King Jr. He was awarded the title Ambassador of Peace by
Pax Christi.[16] Bill Clinton sent a condolence letter on his death[17] describing him as a “man of great character who always stood by his abiding commitment to promoting and expanding his belief in the cause of peace, fearless in the face of harshest criticism, unwavering in his search for moral reason while inspiring many to do the same."[18]
He founded The Dorothy Day Catholic Worker House in Washington, DC.[19]
On and off for years he stood in the middle of the
Georgetown University campus, protesting its
ROTC program, by holding a sign saying "Should we teach life + love or death + hate?" [21]