Document Type
Response or Comment
Publication Date
1990
Publication Information
2 Ius Ecclesiae 193 (1990).
Abstract
From the Introduction
America's most celebrated recent episode of ecclesiastical « dissent » reached its legal conclusion in Curran v. Catholic University of America. Fr. Curran says he will not pursue appellate review. Consequently, Judge Weisberg's ruling in favor of CUA, plus Fr. Curran's refusal to teach anything but Catholic theology, mean that the « dissenter » will pursue his academic career elsewhere. But, while conclusive, the ruling is hardly the « landmark decision » one Catholic editor termed it.
How could a theological and ecclesiological controversy of such magnitude be emptied of its sacred content? How could Judge Weisberg so completely put aside constitutional issues of religious liberty, particularly those grounded in the First Amendment to the United States Constitutions? This commentary suggests that he did so consonant with prevailing, legally authoritative principles, and that those principles defeated « dissent » in this battle but actually work to secure its victory in the war.
Recommended Citation
Gerard V. Bradley,
Curran Versus Catholic University of America,
2 Ius Ecclesiae 193 (1990)..
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/law_faculty_scholarship/1741