ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, April 13, 1996 TAG: 9604150094
SECTION: RELIGION PAGE: B-9 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW YORK
SOURCE: DAVID BRIGGS ASSOCIATED PRESS
Fearful it could inspire dissent, Catholic Church officials turned book reviewers to publicly challenge the latest edition of a popular introduction to the religion by a prominent moral theologian.
The Secretariat for Doctrine and Pastoral Practices said Tuesday the latest edition of ``Catholicism'' by the Rev. Richard McBrien of the University of Notre Dame is inaccurate or misleading in describing church positions on the virgin birth, the ordination of women and other issues.
Church officials claimed the book maintains it is possible for Catholics to believe Jesus Christ could have sinned, casts doubt on the virgin birth of Jesus, and holds that homosexuality, contraception and women's ordination are open questions, with the official church teaching merely being one option.
The bishops generally are ``loathe'' to criticize books, said the Rev. J. Augustine DiNoia, executive director of the secretariat that wrote the book review.
But in this case, they thought it was important to act publicly, he said, because the book is used as an introductory text for Catholics and they thought McBrien in his preface had incorrectly indicated the official church generally approved of the work. ``It's like a book review, only it's a book review authorized by the bishops,'' said DiNoia.
McBrien could not be reached by telephone, but in the preface to the latest edition of the HarperCollins book - which has sold more than 150,000 copies since it was first published in 1980 - McBrien said the Committee on Doctrine of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops ``engaged in a careful and essentially sympathetic review of the text.''
Church officials said no further action was planned against McBrien, who has been a liberal critic on such issues as the role of women in the church.
In the book's preface, McBrien said the 1,286-page book attempts to mediate between different approaches in the church, and that he is convinced healing and reconciliation are possible between traditional and contemporary voices in the church. ``I still intend this book, therefore, as a bridge between the church of yesterday and the church of today,'' McBrien wrote.
But the secretariat said on a number of issues that the ``the reader will see without difficulty'' that the book considers the official church teaching to be in error.
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