NATION : Dissident Theologian Loses Ruling

A District of Columbia judge rejected dissenting theologian Charles Curran’s suit against Catholic University of America today, ruling that the school was within its rights in barring him from teaching theology there.

Judge Frederick Weisberg said that in a struggle between academic freedom and obedience to Pope John Paul II, “the university may choose for itself on which side of that conflict it wants to come down.” Curran, a priest strongly criticized by Vatican officials for his positions on abortion, homosexuality and other matters of sexual ethics, had argued in court that the school breached his contract by removing him from the moral theology courses he had taught for years.