Richard A. McCormick (1922 – February 12, 2000) was a leading liberal Catholic moral theologian who reshaped Catholic thought in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He wrote many journal articles on Catholic social teachings and moral theory. He was an expert in Catholic

medical ethics Medical ethics is an applied branch of ethics which analyzes the practice of clinical medicine and related scientific research. Medical ethics is based on a set of values that professionals can refer to in the case of any confusion or conflict. T ...

and for many years wrote the "Notes on Moral Theology" column in ''Theological Studies.'' He was "particularly articulate" among the five moral theologians who in 1964 at the

Kennedy Compound The Kennedy Compound consists of three houses on of waterfront property in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. It was once the home of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., an American businessman, investor, and diplomat; his wife, Rose; and their nine ...

crafted a political position for the

Kennedy clan The O'Kennedy family ( Irish: ''Ó Cinnéide''), sometimes Kennedy, were an Irish royal dynasty, a sept of the Dál gCais, founded in the Middle Ages who were Kings of Ormond. Their founder was the nephew of High King Brian Boru (1002–1014). ...

that would permit

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

in law. Joining the Jesuits in 1940, he was ordained a priest in 1953. During his career, he served as a professor of Christian ethics at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

and Georgetown. In an article in ''America'' magazine (July 17, 1993), McCormick wrote that the prohibition of any serious discussion of ''

Humanae Vitae (Latin, meaning 'Of Human Life') is an encyclical written by Pope Paul VI and dated 25 July 1968. The text was issued at a Vatican press conference on 29 July. Subtitled ''On the Regulation of Birth'', it re-affirmed the teaching of the Catho ...

'' had led to "a debilitating malaise that has undermined the credibility of the magisterium in other areas."Humanae Vitae: After 40 years
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Bibliography

* ''How brave a new world: Dilemmas in bioethics'' (1980) * Odozor, Paulinus. ''Richard A. McCormick and the Renewal of Moral Theology.'' University of Notre Dame Press, 1994 * The Critical Calling: Reflections on Moral Dilemmas since Vatican II. Washington, Georgetown University Press, 1989.

References

1922 births 2000 deaths 20th-century American Jesuits 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American Roman Catholic theologians American male non-fiction writers American religious writers American Roman Catholic writers Christian ethicists Georgetown University faculty Presidents of the Catholic Theological Society of America University of Notre Dame faculty {{Christian-philosopher-stub