March 30: A Portrait of Dissent

Welcome to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Today is March 30th, and our story is A Portrait of Dissent. Can a Catholic university fire a tenured professor of theology who flagrantly dissents from church teaching? That was the question in 1989, when Father Charles Curran filed suit against the Catholic University of America, CUA, in Washington, D.C., for what he believed was wrongful dismissal.

Born on March 30, 1934, Curran grew up in Rochester, New York, was ordained a priest for the diocese in 1958, and then traveled to Rome, where he earned a licentiate and doctorate in sacred theology. Upon returning to America, Curran taught briefly at his diocesan seminary, before joining the theological faculty at Catholic University in 1965.

Just two years later, however, with Curran's support for artificial contraception common knowledge, Catholic University made the decision to let his tenure-line position lapse. Outraged, faculty and students went on strike, demanding the university reverse course, which it did. In 1968, the professor joined 600 other theologians who penned a letter dissenting from Humanae Vitae, Pope Paul VI's encyclical on artificial contraception. After that, he parted ways with the Church on other key teachings, both in the classroom and in his writing, claiming that homosexual acts, masturbation, premarital sex, and divorce could all be moral goods.

Along the way, Curran served as president of the Catholic Theological Society of America and earned its highest honor, the John Courtney Murray Award. By 1986, the Catholic Church had heard enough. That year, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith forbade Curran from teaching Catholic theology at Catholic institutions. Catholic University complied with the decision and fired Curran. Curran, in turn, filed suit.

In the end, the court sided with the university. If a person is going to teach Catholic theology at a Catholic institution, the court said, it's not unreasonable to expect that they actually teach what their employer believes and professes. Accepting defeat, Curran went on to enjoy a successful publishing career and become a lauded professor of human values at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He has yet to recant from his descent.

Current story shows the importance of fidelity in teaching faith. Academic freedom is valuable, but when representing Catholic theology, alignment with church teaching is essential. It reminds us that responsibility accompanies privilege and authority. Reflect on your responsibilities in sharing knowledge or influence. How can you ensure fidelity to truth while exercising freedom?

Thank you for listening to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Join us tomorrow, March 31st, for another story of faith and courage in America.