Theologian’s Trial on Right to Teach Begins

WASHINGTON — A Roman Catholic priest’s suit to regain his theology chair at Catholic University went to trial Wednesday--pitting claims of academic freedom against the church’s right to discipline its clergy.

Father Charles E. Curran claims the university breached his contract by removing him from a tenured theology professorship because of his dissent from church teaching.

The university contends that it was merely enforcing the highest authority of the Vatican, which had revoked Curran’s right to teach Roman Catholic theology.

As an ordained priest, the university contends, Curran has an obligation to obey the revocation of his “canonical mission” to teach Catholic theology.

The first witness to take the stand in the non-jury trial in Superior Court was Cardinal James A. Hickey, the archbishop of Washington and chancellor of Catholic University.

Hickey testified that revoking Curran’s status on the theology faculty was justified because “the case of Father Curran had become a widely known matter.”

“It has caused, in my opinion, a great deal of harm to the church,” the archbishop testified.

It was particularly important that Curran be disciplined because of the university’s “unique relationship both with the Holy See and the Catholic Church in this country.”

Won’t Join in Defiance

“It seems inconceivable to the Board of Trustees of the university that we could simply join in defiance on the part of Father Curran,” Hickey testified.

Curran’s disagreement with church teachings on homosexuality and birth control and other positions he took in his book, “Faithful Dissent,” prompted Vatican authorities to declare him unqualified to teach Catholic theology.

Since his suspension from Catholic University in 1987, Curran, 54, was a visiting professor at Cornell University. He currently has a one-year appointment at the University of Southern California.