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In Memoriam: Jesuit Father Richard McCormick By Msgr. George G. Higgins The Yardstick February 28, 2000 Jesuit Father Richard McCormick, a noted moral theologian, died Feb. 12. His death was not completely unexpected, for he had suffered a severe stroke some months ago and remained almost completely paralyzed on his left side until double pneumonia claimed his life. Father McCormick probably was known best for his annual "Moral Notes," published in Theological Studies, the Jesuit quarterly, from 1965 to 1984. We are fortunate that these notes, surveying year by year, all the most important literature on moral theology in all modern languages, are available in two carefully indexed volumes published respectively in 1981 and 1984 by University Press of America, Lanham, Md. Thanks to a generous subsidy from the Jesuits' Detroit Province, the publisher priced these volumes low enough to make them readily available to a wide reading audience, including seminarians and university students. Father McCormick exemplified the kind of dialogue called for by Pope Paul VI in his first encyclical, "Ecclesiam Suam." The pope singled out dialogue as the preferred -- indeed indispensable -- form of relationship between church and society. This type of relationship, Pope Paul VI said, is characterized by "courteous esteem, understanding and goodness on the part of the one who inaugurates the dialogue; it excludes the a priori condemnation, the offensive and time-worn polemic and emptiness of useless conversation." There is a striking parallel between Pope Paul VI's eloquent espousal of dialogue and that of Dr. Rebel L. Howe, an American Protestant theologian whose excellent little book, "The Miracle of Dialogue," was published a few months before the encyclical appeared. Dialogue, according to Howe, is essential in every human relationship, but especially in the search for truth. Unfortunately, he said, religious people are prone to speak the truth they profess monologically -- with predictably negative results. "The monological thinker," he pointed out, "runs the danger of being prejudiced, intolerant, bigoted and a persecutor of those who differ from him, while the dialogical thinker is willing to speak out of his convictions to the holders of other convictions with genuine interest in them and with the sense of the possibilities of agreement between them." In my judgment, Father McCormick ranked at the top of the list in the American theological fraternity in his mastery of the art of scholarly dialogue. Father McCormick's scholarly irenicism did not inhibit him from stating his own reasoned convictions on controversial issues with fearless but responsible candor, even or especially when he felt constrained to disagree with the magisterium on matters properly open to dissent. He was genuinely respectful of legitimate ecclesiastical authority, but he was not a respecter of persons in the word's pejorative or demeaning sense. I must leave it to Father McCormick's academic peers to assess the pros and cons of his carefully stated views in areas of moral theology clearly beyond my personal competence. But because of my own training and background, I feel confident in saying that on all matters of social ethics and social morality he was consistently on target. Father McCormick's acknowledged theological competence was happily combined with a finely tuned pastoral instinct and deep sense of pastoral compassion and concern. The best of company, Father McCormick has left behind a host of dedicated friends and admirers in all walks of life, including the sports world. It is said that during his many years on the University of Notre Dame faculty he was an ebullient fan of the Fighting Irish and that after every game, win or lose, he hosted a festive gathering at his residence. May God reward him for his dedicated theological and pastoral service for so many years.   Papal Social Encyclicals   Other Catholic Social Teachings General Articles of Interest  Catholic Worker Connection Msgr. George Higgins  Home Page E-Mail: Fr. Sinclair Oubre