Public Statement on Dr. Margaret Farley’s Contribution to the Field of Christian Moral Theology and the Role of the Theologian Today
on 30 June 2012.
The Board of Directors of the College Theology Society expresses its deep gratitude to Dr. Margaret Farley for her many contributions to the field of Christian moral theology. In a distinguished career at the Yale Divinity School spanning over four decades, Dr. Farley has written many books, articles, and lectures articulating her commitment to ethical behavior in a world scarred by injustices against the poor, against those suffering from illness, and against women. As a recipient of the Catholic Theological Society of America’s John Courtney Murray Award, a U.S. Department of State Foreign Service Institute Award, and the Grawemeyer Award in Religion, Dr. Farley has received commendations for her work from theologians, from diplomats, and from her fellow Religious Sisters of Mercy. As a past president of the Society of Christian Ethics and the Catholic Theological Society of America, she has reached out to diverse audiences including theologians from various religious traditions, medical professionals, and Christians across the world in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America.
As Dr. Farley herself has clearly noted, certain theological positions in her 2006 book, Just Love: A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics, are different from those currently taught by the magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church. Whether or not individual Roman Catholics agree with Dr. Farley’s conclusions in Just Love, most Catholics recognize that Catholic theologians communicate their findings not only to members within the Church but also to many others seeking to live justly in the pluralistic societies in which they live. In committing themselves to the theological task of faith seeking understanding, theologians frequently pose difficult questions in light of the lived experiences of the people of God. Among the most challenging aspects of exploring such questions in our current cultural context are the deep divisions which plague not only our society but also our Church. To heal the divisions in our polarized Church, we urgently encourage Catholic bishops and theologians to improve the ways in which they communicate with each other, and to collaborate in developing better structures and more transparent procedures to discuss theological differences in a more just and respectful manner. We, the Board Members of the CTS, have identified this important task as a priority in the coming year and look forward to discerning constructive ways forward.
Sandra Yocum, Ph.D.
University of Dayton
Dayton, OH
President
Maureen H. O’Connell, Ph.D.
Fordham University
New York, NY
Vice President
Bradford Hinze, Ph.D.
Fordham University
New York, NY
Past-President
William Collinge, Ph.D.
Mount Saint Mary’sUniversity
Emmitsburg, MD
Chairperson & Editor of Research & Publications
Brian Flanagan, Ph.D.
Marymount University
Arlington, VA
Treasurer
Nicholas Rademacher, Ph.D.
Cabrini College
Radnor, PA
Secretary
Mark J. Allman, Ph.D.
Merrimack College
North Andover, MA
Board Member
Colleen Carpenter, Ph.D.
St. Catherine University
St. Paul, MN
Board Member
Christopher Denny, Ph.D.
Saint John’s University
Queens, NY
Board Member
Patrick J. Lynch, Ph.D.
Canisius College
Buffalo, NY
Board Member
Margaret Pfeil, Ph.D.
University of Notre Dame
South Bend, IN
Board Member
Tobias Winright, Ph.D.
Saint Louis University
Saint Louis, MO
Board Member