What do you think?
Rate this book
Struggle, Condemnation, Vindication: John Courtney Murray's Journey toward Vatican II
No American Catholic has had greater impact on the doctrinal beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church than Fr. John Courtney Murray, SJ. With almost no power to wield and not much more fame, Murray influenced Catholic doctrine on religious freedom in a dramatic and almost unparalleled way. He did this through his careful scholarship, courage in the face of powerful opposition, and a delicate balance of faithfulness to tradition with theological creativity.
In Struggle, Condemnation, Vindication Barry Hudock tells a true-life theological adventure story, from Murray's silencing by church authorities to his ultimate vindication at the Second Vatican Council.
In Struggle, Condemnation, Vindication Barry Hudock tells a true-life theological adventure story, from Murray's silencing by church authorities to his ultimate vindication at the Second Vatican Council.
218 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 6, 2015
8 people want to read
About the author
Barry Hudock
18 booksI am the author of Faith Meets World: The Gift and Challenge of Catholic Social Teaching (Liguori Publications, 2013) and The Eucharistic Prayer: A User's Guide (Liturgical Press, 2010).
I'm also in the initial stages of work on a book to follow that, tentatively titled John Courtney Murray: What Every Catholic Should Know about the Most Influential American at Vatican II and His Struggle for the Truth about Religious Freedom.
I earned my STL in sacramental theology from The Catholic University of America. In my day job, I'm an associate publisher at Liturgical Press, which means I get to spend my days preparing some great books for publication. Prior to coming to Lit Press, I worked as executive director of two nonprofit agencies which serve people living in poverty in Mingo County, West Virginia.
My wife and I live, with our seven kids (except the one who's away at college), in central Minnesota.
I'm also in the initial stages of work on a book to follow that, tentatively titled John Courtney Murray: What Every Catholic Should Know about the Most Influential American at Vatican II and His Struggle for the Truth about Religious Freedom.
I earned my STL in sacramental theology from The Catholic University of America. In my day job, I'm an associate publisher at Liturgical Press, which means I get to spend my days preparing some great books for publication. Prior to coming to Lit Press, I worked as executive director of two nonprofit agencies which serve people living in poverty in Mingo County, West Virginia.
My wife and I live, with our seven kids (except the one who's away at college), in central Minnesota.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 30, 2025
A FINE SURVEY OF THE LIFE, WRITINGS, AND INFLUENCE OF THIS THEOLOGIAN
Drew Christianson wrote in the Foreword to this 2015 book, “One irony of the history of ideas is that, among today’s Catholic sectarians and proponents of Radical Orthodoxy, Murray’s political theology is mischaracterized as a Catholic sellout to liberal American culture. In Murray’s own day, however, he defended the Catholic tradition against secular liberalism, what we today call ‘libertarianism.’ At the same time, he endeavored to persuade his fellow Catholics and Americans at large of the congruence between the ideas of limited government in medieval Catholic political thought and the American constitutional principle of separation of church and state. Contrary to his critics, on many issues Murray was a political and social conservative… Present-day readers should bear in mind that Murray was a 20th century natural law thinker, educated before the biblical revival and ecumenism that followed Vatican II.” (Pg. x)
He continues, “Murray was a Catholic churchman in the Jesuit tradition. He believed that the Catholic Church had a role to play in public life… in the modern American context it meant contributing to national debate. Murray helped build the intellectual platform from which the US bishops in the 1980s would teach their fellow Americans to think ethically about war, nuclear deterrence, and economic justice.” (Pg. xi)
Author Barry Hudock wrote in the Introduction, “There have certainly been American Catholics more famous than John Courtney Murray; Dorothy Day and Archbishop Fulton Sheen come to mind. There have been more powerful ones, too, on both the ecclesial and secular landscapes; Cardinal Francis Spellman and President John F. Kennedy are good examples. But consider this: No American Catholic has… had greater impact on the doctrinal beliefs of the global Roman Catholic Church than Fr. John Courtney Murray, S.J.” (Pg. xix)
He argues, “we SHOULD know him. For several important reasons… Here are six: 1. ‘John Courtney Murray was the most significant Catholic theologian the church in the United States has ever produced.’… 2. … Murray prompted, through his theological work, a historical rethinking of Catholic doctrine, expressed most notably in an important conciliar document…. 3. … Murray brought about, despite powerful opposition, the first significant contribution of the unique experience of [America’s] people to the doctrinal life of the Catholic Church… 4. The theological-doctrinal drama in which Murray was engaged teaches us that the meaning of God’s revelation is not always clear… 5. Religious liberty is currently a controversial and unquestionably important topic in the United States… 6. To our deeply divided church, Murray’s story offers a unifying bridge…
“Murray’s story is one that ‘conservatives’ (or traditionalists) can cheer for. He was self-consciously faithful to Catholic tradition, willing to affirm without hesitation that the Catholic Church is the one true church founded by Christ… and he labored under the assumption that Catholic teaching as it is mediated by the church’s magisterium is normative.” (Pg. xx-xxi)
He adds, “But his story is also one by which ‘liberals’ (or progressives, or whatever) can be inspired. Murray was a champion of personal conscience and freedom. He rejected the formulation of Catholic doctrine as it was offered and defended by those entrusted with its protection. He challenged the most powerful forces of the Vatican at a time when these forces wielded their power heavy handedly and, as it turned out in his case, wrongly. He was not content to simply repeat the same formulation of Catholic theology that had been passed down and defended by theologians and church teachers for many decades, even centuries.” (Pg. xxi-xxii)
He states, “Though Murray is today best known for his 1960 book ‘We Hold These Truths’… it is neither his best nor his most significant book. His finest and most consequential work falls specifically in the area of religious freedom. He did this through a large body of scholarly articles on the topic published largely in theological journals and through his work at the Second Vatican Council… Murray made enormous contributions to the topic by bringing to light new insights and new understandings of the historical context of the Catholic Church’s previous teaching on the topic, and he did it in spite of opposition from some of the most powerful and influential figures within the church of his day.” (Pg. 8)
He notes, “in the spring of 1945, at the age of 40, Murray’s thinking on religious freedom reflected … the commonly accepted Catholic approach to the topic. It was an approach he would very shortly move beyond, and in doing so, he would meet great opposition…” (Pg. 31)
He states, “Murray granted that in terms of God’s law individuals and groups outside the Catholic Church do not have the right to preach the Gospel and that the Church rejects their beliefs. But it is not the role of the state today to enforce this by the coercive power of law on those who choose not to accept it.” (Pg. 36)
He reports that, “During [1950-1952] the conflict over Murray’s take on Catholic doctrine began to reach considerably beyond the pages of theological journals… [In 1960] Francis Connell sent a letter about Murray to Cardinal Pizzardo… He insisted that Murray’s work was contrary to the teaching of Pope Leo XIII and Pius XII and pointed out that Murray was getting positive coverage in the American press…” (Pg. 52-53)
He recounts, “The conclusion to be drawn from [Alfredo Ottaviani’s] papal address, Murray said, was that ‘appeal to Ottaviani’ on the question of church and state ought henceforth to be ‘cautious and discriminating.’” (Pg. 86)
In 1954, “Murray’s superior general… received a letter from Cardinal …Pizzardo… demanding that the errors proposed by Murray be corrected in an insert... ‘There are people after my head,’ Murray wrote in a September 13, 1954 letter.” (Pg. 95)
He says of the book, ‘We Hold These Truths,’ that “At a time when ghetto Catholicism was still the norm, Murray made the case that it was precisely the thinking preserved by the Catholic tradition that made American great from the start and that could preserve America’s greatness in the present day, when the dangerous philosophical and cultural currents of secularism threatened its future.” (Pg. 103-104)
He recounts, “The December 12, 1960 issue of Time magazine featured Murray’s face on the cover. At the time, Time was … the most popular and highly regarded among American newsmagazines… The long accompanying article … was largely a skillful presentation of the main ideas of ‘We Hold These Truths’… It also included reference to Murray’s conflicts… There was no mention of the Vatican’s formal condemnation of four doctrinal errors in his work, as these had not been made public.” (Pg. 107)
He states that “As the [Second Vatican] council opened, many of Murray’s peers in the theological academy… were called…. Murray, however, was not.” (Pg. 112)
He concludes, “Murray brought about, against powerful opposition, the first significant contribution of the unique experience of the American people to the doctrinal life of the Catholic Church. The ‘Declaration on Religious Freedom’ clearly represents what may be called… ‘the American contribution to the Council.’” (Pg. 169-170)
This book will be of great interest to those wanting to know more about this now-often-overlooked Catholic theologian.
Drew Christianson wrote in the Foreword to this 2015 book, “One irony of the history of ideas is that, among today’s Catholic sectarians and proponents of Radical Orthodoxy, Murray’s political theology is mischaracterized as a Catholic sellout to liberal American culture. In Murray’s own day, however, he defended the Catholic tradition against secular liberalism, what we today call ‘libertarianism.’ At the same time, he endeavored to persuade his fellow Catholics and Americans at large of the congruence between the ideas of limited government in medieval Catholic political thought and the American constitutional principle of separation of church and state. Contrary to his critics, on many issues Murray was a political and social conservative… Present-day readers should bear in mind that Murray was a 20th century natural law thinker, educated before the biblical revival and ecumenism that followed Vatican II.” (Pg. x)
He continues, “Murray was a Catholic churchman in the Jesuit tradition. He believed that the Catholic Church had a role to play in public life… in the modern American context it meant contributing to national debate. Murray helped build the intellectual platform from which the US bishops in the 1980s would teach their fellow Americans to think ethically about war, nuclear deterrence, and economic justice.” (Pg. xi)
Author Barry Hudock wrote in the Introduction, “There have certainly been American Catholics more famous than John Courtney Murray; Dorothy Day and Archbishop Fulton Sheen come to mind. There have been more powerful ones, too, on both the ecclesial and secular landscapes; Cardinal Francis Spellman and President John F. Kennedy are good examples. But consider this: No American Catholic has… had greater impact on the doctrinal beliefs of the global Roman Catholic Church than Fr. John Courtney Murray, S.J.” (Pg. xix)
He argues, “we SHOULD know him. For several important reasons… Here are six: 1. ‘John Courtney Murray was the most significant Catholic theologian the church in the United States has ever produced.’… 2. … Murray prompted, through his theological work, a historical rethinking of Catholic doctrine, expressed most notably in an important conciliar document…. 3. … Murray brought about, despite powerful opposition, the first significant contribution of the unique experience of [America’s] people to the doctrinal life of the Catholic Church… 4. The theological-doctrinal drama in which Murray was engaged teaches us that the meaning of God’s revelation is not always clear… 5. Religious liberty is currently a controversial and unquestionably important topic in the United States… 6. To our deeply divided church, Murray’s story offers a unifying bridge…
“Murray’s story is one that ‘conservatives’ (or traditionalists) can cheer for. He was self-consciously faithful to Catholic tradition, willing to affirm without hesitation that the Catholic Church is the one true church founded by Christ… and he labored under the assumption that Catholic teaching as it is mediated by the church’s magisterium is normative.” (Pg. xx-xxi)
He adds, “But his story is also one by which ‘liberals’ (or progressives, or whatever) can be inspired. Murray was a champion of personal conscience and freedom. He rejected the formulation of Catholic doctrine as it was offered and defended by those entrusted with its protection. He challenged the most powerful forces of the Vatican at a time when these forces wielded their power heavy handedly and, as it turned out in his case, wrongly. He was not content to simply repeat the same formulation of Catholic theology that had been passed down and defended by theologians and church teachers for many decades, even centuries.” (Pg. xxi-xxii)
He states, “Though Murray is today best known for his 1960 book ‘We Hold These Truths’… it is neither his best nor his most significant book. His finest and most consequential work falls specifically in the area of religious freedom. He did this through a large body of scholarly articles on the topic published largely in theological journals and through his work at the Second Vatican Council… Murray made enormous contributions to the topic by bringing to light new insights and new understandings of the historical context of the Catholic Church’s previous teaching on the topic, and he did it in spite of opposition from some of the most powerful and influential figures within the church of his day.” (Pg. 8)
He notes, “in the spring of 1945, at the age of 40, Murray’s thinking on religious freedom reflected … the commonly accepted Catholic approach to the topic. It was an approach he would very shortly move beyond, and in doing so, he would meet great opposition…” (Pg. 31)
He states, “Murray granted that in terms of God’s law individuals and groups outside the Catholic Church do not have the right to preach the Gospel and that the Church rejects their beliefs. But it is not the role of the state today to enforce this by the coercive power of law on those who choose not to accept it.” (Pg. 36)
He reports that, “During [1950-1952] the conflict over Murray’s take on Catholic doctrine began to reach considerably beyond the pages of theological journals… [In 1960] Francis Connell sent a letter about Murray to Cardinal Pizzardo… He insisted that Murray’s work was contrary to the teaching of Pope Leo XIII and Pius XII and pointed out that Murray was getting positive coverage in the American press…” (Pg. 52-53)
He recounts, “The conclusion to be drawn from [Alfredo Ottaviani’s] papal address, Murray said, was that ‘appeal to Ottaviani’ on the question of church and state ought henceforth to be ‘cautious and discriminating.’” (Pg. 86)
In 1954, “Murray’s superior general… received a letter from Cardinal …Pizzardo… demanding that the errors proposed by Murray be corrected in an insert... ‘There are people after my head,’ Murray wrote in a September 13, 1954 letter.” (Pg. 95)
He says of the book, ‘We Hold These Truths,’ that “At a time when ghetto Catholicism was still the norm, Murray made the case that it was precisely the thinking preserved by the Catholic tradition that made American great from the start and that could preserve America’s greatness in the present day, when the dangerous philosophical and cultural currents of secularism threatened its future.” (Pg. 103-104)
He recounts, “The December 12, 1960 issue of Time magazine featured Murray’s face on the cover. At the time, Time was … the most popular and highly regarded among American newsmagazines… The long accompanying article … was largely a skillful presentation of the main ideas of ‘We Hold These Truths’… It also included reference to Murray’s conflicts… There was no mention of the Vatican’s formal condemnation of four doctrinal errors in his work, as these had not been made public.” (Pg. 107)
He states that “As the [Second Vatican] council opened, many of Murray’s peers in the theological academy… were called…. Murray, however, was not.” (Pg. 112)
He concludes, “Murray brought about, against powerful opposition, the first significant contribution of the unique experience of the American people to the doctrinal life of the Catholic Church. The ‘Declaration on Religious Freedom’ clearly represents what may be called… ‘the American contribution to the Council.’” (Pg. 169-170)
This book will be of great interest to those wanting to know more about this now-often-overlooked Catholic theologian.
Displaying 1 of 1 review