American Papist has two mp3 files of a debate between Dr. Janet Smith and Charles Curran on contraception. This debate occurred in 1994, but it is timeless. Dr. Janet Smith just plain rocks and is one of the best teachers when it comes to explain why contraception is sinful. Also great is her talk Contraception: Why Not? which is available by tape or text.
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Chucky, to my knowledge, is still a priest. (I call him Chucky because he reminds me of the evil doll from the Child’s Play movies.) He just doesnt dress, act, speak, or think like one. He is, however, an ex-professor from Catholic U.
Yes he is still a priest, but he’s had his teaching faculties revoked (for official Catholic institutions). He currently teaches at southern methodist university, which is fitting because he basically is a methodist.
Thanks for the link, Jeff! Dr. Smith does indeed rock the house. 😉
Janet Smith v. Charles Curran is like Muhammad Ali v. Barney Frank
Tim is right: Janet Smith v. Charles Curran is practically shooting fish in a barrel. She is wonderful.
Fr. Curran once presided at a Mass I attended. I was prepared to walk out, or sit out communion, but although he “innovated” in a dozen annoying ways, he was letter-perfect on the consecration.
IMHO, he knows whence the authority he flouts has come. He just can’t bring himself to admit it.
I also loved Janet Smith’s talke “Contraception, why not?”.
I’ve only listened to the first half so far, but my favorite part is where “Fr.” Curran says that we should honor the gift that God gave us, because “she” wanted us to have it and it pleases “her” when we use it.
Classy. A priest spewing outright heresy in a debate. Nice.
So I decided to look into it a bit and see what there was to see:
[Snip]
After twenty years of investigation into Curran’s writings, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the congregation, informed Curran in 1986 that “one who dissents from the magisterium asyou do is not suitable nor eligible to teach Catholic theology” or to “exercise the function of a professor of Catholic theology.” As a result, Washington’s Archbishop James Hickey, the chancellor of the university, announced that he had initiated the withdrawal of Curran’s canonical mission and that he had suspended Curran from teaching in any ecclesiastical faculty at the university.
[/Snip]
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1252/is_8_127/ai_61795233
What did Curran do in response?
[Snip]”Curran sued for breach of contract.”[/Snip]
Ahh…the American way…
And what was the result?
[Snip]”On February 28, 1989, Judge Frederick Weisberg ofthe District of Columbia Superior Court ruled that the university’s actions in preventing Curran from teaching theology did not breach his contract.”[/Snip]
So what does “Fr.” Curran do? He goes to a school that doesn’t care what the Church says – SMU, where this spring he’s teaching Moral Theology.
Finally, according to his Bio, he’s still a priest of the Diocese of Rochester, NY.
http://www.smu.edu/theology/people/curran.html
God Bless,
RyanL
That was food for the mind- thanks
I listened over the weekend. I almost could not finish listening because every time Curran spoke it gave me feeling like I was being soiled. His “humor” had some rather ugly overtones. I was somewhat creeped-out. When he refered to the Holy Spirit as being female it pretty much spoke volumes about him.
Dissent from the authoritative,though non-infallible teachings of the Church Magisterium obviously remains divisive.
Many Catholic theologians feel the potential for licit dissent is implicit in the documents of Vatican II. Furthermore, the norms for licit dissent were stated by the National Conference of Bishops in 1968.
The ability to dissent applies to all the faithful, not only theologians.
As Fr Curran has stated,this touches both the liberal and conservative factions of our Church.
Fr Curran has never been accused of being a heretic. Referring to the Holy Spirit as “she”, focuses on the fact that God and the Holy Spirit are without gender, race,socio-economic class, etc.This is perhaps a gesture to the many women in our Church who feel alienated.
This does not deny that Jesus, as incarnate God, did have gender.
Fr Curran is a brilliant theologian who unfortunately has “locked horns” with the Magisterium over issues of sexual morality. As directed by the National Conf of Bishops, he has admitted he may be wrong in his dissent but feels compelled to dissent due his conscience.(Read Gaudium et Spes)
If one would read his larger body of work, one would discover Fr Curran has much to offer us in the comprehensive field of Catholic theology.
Fr Curran remains a faithful Catholic.
We should treat him with respect and dignity.