Abstract:
Studying theology at Belgium’s Louvain University, then working as a priest in Oklahoma in the 1960s profoundly changed the views of one who grew up Catholic in rural Ireland. Interaction with students from Asian and African cultures while pursuing doctoral studies at Germany’s Tubingen University created uncertainty, then a growing realization that Catholicism has no more claim on truth than any world religion, culture, or society. Resigning as a priest exposed the ugly side of the Catholic Church: the inhumanity of some Catholic bishops, who confirmed that their church is less fair than most secular businesses and organizations.