John Courtney Murray, S.J. (1904-1967)

Today marks the death of Jesuit theologian John Courtney Murray. Born in New York City, Murray entered the Society of Jesus in 1920. He was ordained a priest in 1933 and received his doctorate in theology from the Gregorian University in Rome in 1937. Afterwards, he joined the faculty of the Jesuit theologate at Woodstock, Maryland, where he was a professor of theology until his death. Additionally, Murray wrote for the Jesuit magazine America and edited the journal Theological Studies. While Murray’s academic specialties were the theology of grace and the Trinity, his major contributions were in public theology, especially concerning church, state, and society. His prevailing theme was the compatibility of American constitutionalism and Roman Catholicism. Murray’s public theology troubled his ecclesiastical superiors, who restricted his freedom to write and lecture throughout the 1950s. His ideas gained a measure of vindication, however, upon his invitation to the Second Vatican Council, where he made crucial contributions to its statement on religious liberty, Dignitatis Humanae.
(Adapted from the Acton Institute)