Bishops condemn
work of tolerant theologian

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has taken the unusual step of declaring pamphlets by a Marquette University theologian incompatible with church teaching.

Daniel Maguire last year distributed pamphlets to all the U.S. bishops titled ''The Moderate Roman Catholic Position on Contraception and Abortion'' and ''A Catholic Defense of Same-Sex Marriage.''

The bishops' doctrine committee said in a statement that Maguire gave his views wide distribution ''as if they were a valid alternative to the teaching of the Catholic Church,'' so the prelates felt it was important to publicly denounce his arguments.

Maguire, a graduate of Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, teaches religious ethics at Marquette, a Jesuit school in Milwaukee. He has been challenging the church's views on sexuality for years.

In a March 23 response to the bishops, Maguire called church leaders ''arrogant,'' saying they ignored the central message of his pamphlets and letter last year. He said he told the bishops they were overly fixated on contraception, abortion, and same-sex marriage and neglected justice issues including poverty, racism, and environmental degradation.

Marquette University said in a statement that it agrees with the bishops that Maguire's pamphlets are not in accord with Catholic teaching but that Maguire has a right to express his views and, ''as a tenured professor, he also has rights related to his academic discipline.'' (AP)