The Making of a Moral Theologian
The following article by Fr. Thomas F. Dailey, O.S.F.S. was originally published as the Introduction to With Mind & Heart Renewed…Essays in Honour of Rev. John F. Harvey, O.S.F.S. (University Press of America 2001) and is reprinted below with the publisher’s permission.
It all began when he was about ten years old, as he stole through a hole in the fence of old Shibe Park to watch the Philadelphia Athletics play baseball. Now, some seventy-five years later, his fanatical appreciation for and recollection of the sport has not at all changed … only his morality!
No doubt, he could offer an erudite apologia to justify his youthful misadventure. Without hesitation he would unabashedly embrace the role of the moralist and gleefully profess what he learned from a former teacher (Francis Connell, C.SS.R.): rare affirmer, numquam negare, temper distinguere (rarely affirm, never negate, and always distinguish)!
Not long after his sandlot days, young John Harvey attended Northeast Catholic High School. After being graduated with the highest grade average, he then entered the noviciate of the religious congregation of priests who taught him in high school. Later, following his own ordination to the priesthood in 1944 and the completion of graduate studies, he would, in turn, become the teacher of numerous future priests in that same congregation … and beyond.
His formal theological education took place at the Catholic University of America. There, too, his athletic interests never waned. Following a degree in psychology in 1946, he pondered the possibility of writing a dissertation on the morality of professional boxing. Some recall this as a clever ploy to deem his watching the Friday night fights as “research”! Everyone now recognizes there the beginning of that distinguere that would come to characterize his life-long approach to, and application of, moral theology. He would eventually complete his degree in 1951 with an analysis of Augustine’s Confessions.
Fr. Harvey’s career in moral education developed for the most part at the De Sales School of Theology (in Washington DC), the seminary of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, where he taught for forty years and later served as its President. During his tenure there, he is credited with completing the school’s formal accreditation by the Association of Theological Schools and with the creation of the Cluster of Independent Theological Schools. Ever the teacher, he still found time to pursue his exploits in the classroom at Dunbarton College of the Holy Cross, where he instructed young ladies for some twenty-five years.
In these various educational posts, the composite of a beloved moralist begins to emerge. On the one had, there stood before students an orthodox theologian, one who taught with clarity and refused to yield to error. (Rumor has it he even flew to Ireland to correct the repeated misrepresentation of his teaching on a radio program there!) On the other hand, there sat with believers a caring pastor, one who embodies true Salesian humility and gentleness as he provided comfort and counsel to persons struggling to live a moral life.
The blend of prelate and mentor, of teacher and grandfather - we might say, of athlete in the game of life and loyal fan through both wins and losses - would lead him to his present labor in the field of moral and pastoral theology. In 1980 he founded the association now called “Courage” - a spiritual support group to help men and women live chaste lives, in accordance with the Church’s teaching on homosexuality. The group has grown to number some eighty-four chapters, with organizations in twenty-nine dioceses in the United States, five dioceses in Canada, and other locations in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines. [Please note: this essay was originally published in 2001; as of June 2023, Courage has 177 Courage chapters and 115 EnCourage chapters worldwide.]
Even today, while he lives at DeSales University in northeast Pennsylvania, Fr. Harvey commutes to New York City each week to direct the world-wide efforts of “Courage” and to minister to its members. From there, he returns to his beloved Philadelphia on Sundays to assist with the sacraments in a suburban parish. This routine - of teaching, guiding, and celebrating - is interrupted now and again by radio and television appearances, as well as by more global pursuits, including stints as a visiting professor in Australia and New Zealand. But each time Fr. Harvey somehow manages to find his way back home … usually just in time to catch the end of a Phillies game on the radio!
Fr. Harvey as he appears in A Profile in Courage
There is no Hall of Fame specifically designated for faithful moral theologians. If there were, you would probably find there Fr. Harvey’s familiar likeness - with the jovial features of a smiling Irishman, whose head of a few white hairs reflects not only the sun but the crown of an intellect still sharp and most well-read. There, too, you would hear a slew of anecdotal stories, too many to be recounted in these few pages, about one who could easily pinch-hit for the absent-minded professor!
But his stats would easily justify his inclusion there … just ask any of the countless persons of every age and state-in-life who have benefitted from the wit and wisdom of his moral and spiritual guidance. His pastoral work has been noted by the conferral of two honorary doctoral degrees, his distinguished writings on morality garnered the Linacre Quarterly award, and his outstanding service in the Church led to his being granted the prestigious Cardinal Wright Award from the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars.
In the pages that follow, a handful of fellow scholars pay tribute to Fr. John Harvey on the occasion of his 80th birthday and the 55th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. They do so in a way befitting the educator that Fr. Harvey is - with works of sound scholarship and pastoral application that continue to bring moral theology to life in the minds and hearts and souls of the faithful.
The first half of the book begins with articles that provide a commentary on the theological context within which moral theology is done. In the lead-off chapter, Jude Dougherty, long-time dean of Philosophy at the Catholic University of America, repeats his previously published thoughts on the authority and responsibility incumbent upon any professional. In every respect, Fr. John Harvey is a professional theologian, one whose work fulfills what Prof. Dougherty calls “the professional’s first obligation,” namely, the duty “to excellence in his calling.”
This calling is exercised, necessarily, within the Church and in light of its mission. Msgr. Michael Wrenn, in a previously published work, highlights the interaction of “doctrinal” and “pastoral” approaches that surrounded the Synod on Marriage and the Family and the subsequent publication of the Apostolic Exhortation on this topic. As a loyal son of the Church, Fr. Harvey has long sought to integrate the orthodox teaching of the Church and the real-life experiences of those for whom he has such great pastoral solicitude.
With Mind and Heart Renewed . . . Essays in Honor of Rev. John F. Harvey, O.S.F.S.
This integration of theological approaches also issues from the particular spirituality to which Fr. Harvey’s religious life has been dedicated. Fr. John Crossin, a confrere of Fr. Harvey and his successor as president of the De Sales School of Theology, shares his reflections on the human person, particularly as this is understood in the spiritual tradition of St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal. To quote from his introduction: “For over fifty years, Father Harvey has engaged in effective pastoral relationships with others. He has manifested the virtue of love in serving others. A reflection on human identity and relationally seems very appropriate in the context of honouring him.” No doubt, all would agree!
Finally, Fr. Harvey’s longtime colleague in Washington, Dr. William May, offers a contemporary viewpoint on the moral life, as this concerns the mutual relation between one’s own conscience and the teaching authority of the Church. Evangelizing others to “know who we are and what we are to do if we are to be fully the beings we are meant to be” has been Fr. Harvey’s life-long task, both in and out of academia.
The second half of the book treats a variety of topics in moral and pastoral theology that touch upon the life’s work of Fr. Harvey. To begin, Msgr. George A. Kelly offers a far-reaching overview of the development of homosexuality as a social question and gives a critical commentary on the moral status of overt homosexual conduct. This chapter situates Fr. Harvey’s ongoing work in its historical context and upholds his pastoral efforts as exemplary in terms of how to “build a road to virtue graced with authentic Catholic structure.”
Fr. John Harvey OSFS with Fr. Benedict Groeschel CFR
Pastoral care is also the subject taken up by Fr. Benedict Groeschel, a popular and well-known spiritual director in the Archdiocese of New York. His contribution addresses a question that goes to the heart of Fr. Harvey’s ministry: What can be done for people in need of pastoral care without inadvertently enabling them to continue in their state of sin? In a “tolerant” society such as ours, the question demands consideration, and the method which Fr. Harvey has employed in his ministries deserves attention as a model for all those engaged in pastoral work.
A growing area of concern in pastoral theology has to do with research on human beings, the subject of an exposé by Dr. Diane Irving. In a piece originally prepared for publication in a law journal, she offers an analysis of proposed legislation concerning handicapped persons and therein reveals the moralist’s constant attention to terminology and to the implications that follow from the confused or distorted terms in legal or research documents. This study shows that the acuity of the ”teacher” in Fr. Harvey has now been passed on to a new generation of thinkers!
The last chapter takes up an important theme in the teacher’s published work - namely, the relation between spiritual and psychological values. Here Fr. Jerome Bracken, CP seeks to facilitate the potentially beneficial communication between therapist and clergyman. It is a conversation that has emerged, is encouraged, and continues to be enfleshed in the life and work of Fr. John Harvey.
The collection ends with a postscript of recollections from one of Fr. Harvey’s former students at Dunbarton College (Dr. Rosalind Smith Edman). It is the last word, in terms of this book of essays, but certainly not the final word on our honouree. For the life and work of Fr. John Harvey continue to bear fruit in the Church today … and, hopefully, for many tomorrows.
While we might wish him the length of days needed to see the Phillies win another World Series, Fr. Harvey would rather welcome this blessing bestowed upon the faithful priest he has always been …
Ad multos annos!