Loyal Dissent: A Memoir, Tom Fox interviews Fr. Charles Curran
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Fr. Charles E. Curran, one of America’s most distinguished -- and controversial -- Catholic theologian, talks with interviewer Tom Fox about his book, Loyal Dissent: Memoir of a Catholic Theologian. | |||||
Episode 1: Curran's road: From Rochester, N.Y., to Rome (18 min.) "There is no doubt that in my first years in Rome I was the quintessence of the uncritical and unquestioning pre-Vatican II mentality ... but soon [I] was being influenced by the notions of historical development and teachings of Bernard Haring. ... Sexuality has to be seen in the context of the commitment of two persons." | |||||
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Episode 2: Curran's role in the Humanae Vitae critique (23 min.) "We thought it was necessary to get the statement out as quickly as possible because no Catholic had ever heard of this dissent business. … We thought it was important for Catholics to know that you could disagree and still be a loyal Roman Catholic." | |||||
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Episode 3: Vatican finds Curran no longer 'suitable' (22 min.) In 1986, the Vatican ruled that Curran was no longer "suitable or eligible" to remain a Catholic theologian, and he was booted from Catholic University of America. "I see myself as both a loyalist and a dissenter. ... In 1968, and probably today, you had to use the word -- dissent -- in order to give the proper role of presumption of truth in the official church teaching. So I see the word 'dissent' in a positive light." | |||||
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Episode 4: Curran at home in the Catholic theological tradition (14 min.) "What I have always liked about the Catholic tradition is the 'both/and' ... faith and reason, Jesus and the church, faith and works. We are Catholic with a small and a big 'C.' The Catholic tradition is a living tradition. It develops in light of ongoing circumstances of time and place. Take the issue of women today. I have such admiration for Catholic women who are struggling to change the church. ... Vatican II changed a lot of ideas, but did not change the structure of the church. We definitely have to change structures, though it won't solve all our problems." | |||||
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Reviewed by TOM FOX A hint Charles Curran had set out on a troubled path came at age 6 when the future theologian asked his first grade teacher, Sr. Agnes Cecilia, why, if Communion is so important, was it not part of the funeral service of their deceased principal, Sr. Aquinas. In some circles an inquiring mind is an asset; in others, a liability. For Fr. Curran, it was both. This book is Fr. Curran’s effort to explain his intentions and actions in a career that widely branded him, in a negative light, as a Catholic dissenter. But as he sees it, dissent has played an important role in nurturing Catholic theology and faith over the centuries. | |||||
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This was a very interesting
This was a very interesting series of interviews. Tom Fox speaks with Fr. Charles Curran as he reviews the events of his live, but most centrally, the event of having his credentials to teach as a Catholic theologian rescinded. As readers will know, this was done in response primarily to his theological response to Humanae Vitae.
This is a very interesting glimpse into a time that may be shrouded in time and unawareness for many, certainly myself.
The interview takes me in two directions.
First, I would like to see the book, perhaps to read it. I would like to take that walk through the past so vitally linked to our present. I think Fox does a great job of pointing out what a conventional theologian Curran is, by and far. But he studied and dared to support dissent in this most prominent arena. No doubt, he's been made an ominous symbol of the price of disagreeing with the Vatican. His evident love and acceptance of his faith is true testimony.
On the other hand, I keep seeing the convoluted path taken by the church's embracing of this quirky perspective on life. (By this I mean _equating_ egg, sperm, zygote, embryo, fetus, child.) It wounds us when we're talking about AIDS/HIV. It wounds us when we try to talk about stewardship of the earth and the real gathering dangers of over-population. It wounds the institutional church who seems willfully blind to so many issues--domestic violence, families overburdened by children they cannot clothe and nurture, male-female power imbalances. The institutional church looks backward, naive and gives up the ability to help families cope with poverty, nations to cope with the issues of poor world stewardship, mal-appropriation of resources.
It is a very fateful bend in our church history.