Loyal Dissent: Memoir of a Catholic Theologian »

Charles E. Curran, a Roman Catholic priest of the Diocese of Rochester, New York, is Elizabeth Scurlock University Professor of Human Values at Southern Methodist University. He was the first recipient of the John Courtney Murray Award for Theology and has served as president of the Catholic Theological Society of America, the Society of Christian Ethics, and the American Theological Society. In 2003, Curran received the Presidential Award of the College Theology Society for a lifetime of scholarly achievements in moral theology, and in 2005, Call to Action--a reform movement of 25,000 Catholics--presented him with its leadership award. He is the author of The Moral Theology of Pope John Paul II and Catholic Social Teaching, 1891-Present, both published by Georgetown University Press

Loyal Dissent is the candid and inspiring story of a Catholic priest and theologian who, despite being stripped of his right to teach as a Catholic theologian by the Vatican, remains committed to the Catholic Church. Over a nearly fifty-year career, Charles E. Curran has distinguished himself as the most well-known and the most controversial Catholic moral theologian in the United States. On occasion, he has disagreed with official church teachings on subjects such as contraception, homosexuality, divorce, abortion, moral norms, and the role played by the hierarchical teaching office in moral matters. Throughout, however, Curran has remained a committed Catholic, a priest working for the reform of a pilgrim church. His positions, he insists, are always in accord with the best understanding of Catholic theology and always dedicated to the good of the church.

In 1986, years of clashes with church authorities finally culminated in a decision by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, headed by then-Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, that Curran was neither suitable nor eligible to be a professor of Catholic theology. As a result of that Vatican condemnation, he was fired from his teaching position at Catholic University of America and, since then, no Catholic university has been willing to hire him. Yet Curran continues to defend the possibility of legitimate dissent from those teachings of the Catholic faith--not core or central to it--that are outside the realm of infallibility. In word and deed, he has worked in support of more academic freedom in Catholic higher education and for a structural change in the church that would increase the role of the Catholic community--from local churches and parishes to all the baptized people of God.

In this poignant and passionate memoir, Curran recounts his remarkable story from his early years as a compliant, pre-Vatican II Catholic through decades of teaching and writing and a transformation that has brought him today to be recognized as a leader of progressive Catholicism throughout the world.

Library Journal

This bluntly honest memoir is by one of the world's leading moral theologians who has continuously remained faithful to fundamental Catholic principles and priestly discipline despite "legitimate" dissent. Curran, a Roman Catholic priest and professor of human values at Southern Methodist University, has been a watchdog of Catholic moral theology for nearly 50 years. Unafraid to analyze critically the controversial moral issues of contraception, abortion, divorce, and homosexuality, he has frequently been at odds with the American hierarchy and the Vatican congregations. Readers here encounter both an autobiographical work and a reflective memoir chronicling Curran's evolving moral reasoning. He adroitly confronts established moral tenets with the brilliance of a scholar and the sensitivity of a seasoned pastor. Chapter by chapter, Curran articulates his tragic and liberating career in a style reminiscent of the Paschal Mystery. His book's title functions as a template for anyone daring enough to question critically and faithfully prevailing moral interpretations and address the issues of academic freedom in the Catholic academy. Recommended for academic and theological libraries.-John-Leonard Berg, Univ. of Wisconsin, Platteville Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.