Your gift counts double until 5/31: $25,254 to go in our Easter Campaign. Please help now!

Sister Johnson rips USCCB critique of her work

CWN - June 09, 2011

Fordham University theologian Sister Elizabeth Johnson has written a 38-page letter defending her 2007 book Quest for the Living God against a recent critique by the Committee on Doctrine of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“Ideas are taken out of context and twisted to mean what they patently do not mean,” she writes. “Sentences are run to a conclusion far from what I think or the text says. False dilemmas are composed. Numerous omissions, distortions, and outright misstatements of fact riddle the reading. As a work of theology, Quest for the Living God was thoroughly misunderstood and consistently misrepresented in the committee’s Statement. As a result, the Statement’s judgment that Quest does not cohere with Catholic teaching is less than compelling. It hangs in the air, untethered by the text of the book itself.”

Additional sources for this story
Some links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

An appeal from our founder, Dr. Jeffrey Mirus:

Dear reader: If you found the information on this page helpful in your pursuit of a better Catholic life, please support our work with a donation. Your donation will help us reach five million Truth-seeking readers worldwide this year. Thank you!

Easter Campaign:
Progress toward our Spring 2013 goal ($25,254 to go):
$80,000.00 $54,745.55
32% 68%
Sound Off! CatholicCulture.org supporters weigh in.

All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!

Show 6 Comments? (Hidden)Hide Comments
  • Posted by: GabrielAustin9013 - Jun. 10, 2011 11:23 AM ET USA

    Does Sister Johnson have a mandatum? You know, the requirement for teaching theology at a Catholic college?

  • Posted by: pauljworthington637024 - Jun. 10, 2011 9:43 AM ET USA

    This is what you get with loose canons and bad habits.

  • Posted by: samuel.doucette1787 - Jun. 10, 2011 8:22 AM ET USA

    What if we all just ignored her? She's a graying relic of the 60s. Her time is long past.

  • Posted by: Anselm - Jun. 09, 2011 11:37 PM ET USA

    And the maximum effective range of an excuse is?

  • Posted by: Gil125 - Jun. 09, 2011 2:15 PM ET USA

    And the bishops would deliberately distort what she said because...?

  • Posted by: Gaby - Jun. 09, 2011 11:27 AM ET USA

    She's wearing a turquoise blazer instead of a habit- Nuf said.

Catholic World News Email Newsletter
Donate to Support this Site: Your contribution will be put to good work.
Tour the CatholicCulture.org Site
Shop Amazon to Raise Money for Catholic Culture

Recent Catholic Commentary

The sad decline of self-government 7 hours ago
That impromptu exorcism again 11 hours ago
The Mystery of the Spirit May 21
Against a Facile Assurance of Salvation, the Need for Mystery May 21
Making Sense of Society: The Ebook May 21

Top Catholic News

Most Important Stories of the Last 30 Days
Pope strongly supports call for reform in religious life CWN - May 8