Father John Harvey, founder of Courage, dead at 92
December 28, 2010
Father John Harvey, the founder of the Courage apostolate, died on December 27 in Maryland at the age of 92.
Born in Philadelphia, John Harvey made his first vows as an Oblate of St. Frances de Sales in 1938, and was ordained in 1944. Following graduate work at Catholic University, he taught moral theology at several different institutions before finally retiring early in 2010.
In 1980, with encouragement from Cardinal Terence Cooke of New York, Father Harvey founded Courage, a group dedicated to helping loyal Catholics cope with a same-sex attraction, living chastely in accordance with Church teachings. Under his leadership Courage grew to include more than 100 chapters around the world. Father Harvey is the author of The Homosexual Person. He remained active as director of Courage until 2008, when at the age of 90 he handed over leadership responsibilities to Father Paul Check.
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Posted by: Mike in Toronto -
Dec. 28, 2010 8:10 PM ET USA
Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace. Amen.
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Posted by: TheJournalist64 -
Dec. 28, 2010 6:32 PM ET USA
This was one of the heroes of the battle to treat persons with homosexual inclinations as persons with infinite God-given dignity, rather than animals enslaved to their passions. He suffered much from those who have no clue. Requiescat in pace. Santo subito.
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Posted by: pcgondreau8983 -
Dec. 28, 2010 6:27 PM ET USA
May this good priest meed his eternal reward for the great good he provided the Church in its proper pastoral care of homosexual persons. And may he now intercede for his successor, Fr. Check, and for those countless Catholic colleges and universities that either outright flaunt the Church's moral teaching on homosexuality (most of which have gladly established themselves as LGBQ-active friendly) or which fail to offer genuine help to their students who struggle with homosexual desires.
