John F. Harvey

John Francis Harvey OSFS (April 14, 1918 - December 27, 2010) was a Catholic priest, a moral theologian, an educator and the founder of the DeSales School Theology in Washington, DC.

John Francis Harvey
BornApril 14, 1918
DiedDecember 27, 2010
OccupationPriest

Harvey founded the Courage Apostolate, an official Catholic organization that counsels gay or same-sex attracted Catholics to help them remain abstinent from gay/same-sex sexual activities.[1][2]

His opinions and ideas were expressed in written works in his effort to help the long-time problem of homosexuality in the Church conflicting with moral, Catholic teaching.[3]

Early life and ordination

Harvey was born on April 14, 1918, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the third of four children of Patrick J. and Margaret (née Harkins) Harvey. Patrick Harvey, a devout Catholic, was a native of Ireland. Margaret died when John Francis was three years old.[4]

He attended St. Columba Parish School, and after graduating from Northeast Catholic High School for Boys in 1936, he entered the Oblate Novitiate in Childs, MD. He made first profession of vows on September 8, 1937, and his perpetual vows on September 8, 1940.[5] After earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy in 1941 from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, he continued his studies at that institution, earning a masters in psychology and philosophy, a licentiate in theology, and, ten years later, a doctorate in moral theology.[6]

He was ordained to the priesthood of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales on June 3, 1944, at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia by Hugh L. Lamb, Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia.

Harvey was a lifelong fan of the Philadelphia Eagles and Phillies.[7]

Priestly ministries

Educational and ministerial career

After ordination, Harvey worked as an English teacher at Northeast Catholic High School from 1945 to 1947. He became a professor of moral theology at Dunbarton College of the Holy Cross and worked there from 1948 to 1973. He also acted as a professor of moral theology at DeSales Hall School of Theology, Washington, DC from the somewhat overlapping period of 1949 to 1987. He served as that school's president from 1965 to 1977.

He was a professor of moral theology, and president, of Cluster of Independent Theological Schools in Washington, DC (DeSales Hall School of Theology, Dominican House of Studies and Oblate College) from 1980 to 1983.[8] During this time he also served as a visiting professor at several institutions, including Catholic Theological Union in Sydney, Australia, the St. Joseph Seminary of the Archdiocese of New York, and Seton Hall University in New Jersey.[9]

From 1990 to 2010 he was a professor of medical and sexual ethics at the Allentown College of St. Francis de Sales (since 2001, DeSales University).[10] He took on teaching duties at the Oblate House of Studies at The Catholic University of America, in Washington, D.C. until it was closed in 1997 due to a lack of candidates for the priesthood.[7]

Courage Apostolate
Main article: Courage International

Harvey is best known for urging the Catholics he called "same-sex attracted" to be chaste. The term "same-sex attracted" is often preferred by Catholics like him because they feel "gay" or "lesbian" is defining a person by their orientation inadvisably.[11]

In November 1978, Fr. Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R, recommended him to Terence Cardinal Cooke, Archbishop of New York, to start a new ministry for this purpose.[12] Harvey started Courage Apostolate, a support group with five members. It had its first meeting on September 26, 1980, at the Church of St. Joseph in New York.[13]

Harvey retired as executive director of Courage in 2008.[14]

Publications and reception

In his writings, Harvey defended the traditional Catholic position on sexuality, while strongly contending that same sex attracted or LGBT Catholics deserve compassionate pastoral care.[15] In 1987, he published his best-known book, The Homosexual Person: New Thinking in Pastoral Care. In it, he critiqued the views of those theologians who argue that the Church's longstanding prohibition of same-sex acts is wrong. Among others, he also wrote two other books on the subject, The Truth about Homosexuality, and Homosexuality and the Catholic Church.

Harvey's position on same-sex attraction has been praised by both Catholic commentators [16] and high-ranking officials in the Catholic Church: in a foreword to Homosexuality and the Catholic Church, Archbishop Raymond Burke expressed approval of Courage support groups, stating that "Father Harvey helps us all to think more clearly and to act more rightly and lovingly in responding to our brothers and sisters with same-sex attraction."[17]

He has also faced criticism for his statements about the Catholic Church's sexual abuse scandal. In 2018, the Catholic newspaper Crux reported Harvey advocated for the return of abusive priests to ministry in the 1990s because these priests should be treated with the same compassion and forgiveness deserving of all same-sex attracted individuals.[18] In 1992, Crisis Magazine interviewed Harvey about remarks he made at a U.S. Bishops' Workshop in 1990, where he argued that "most [priests who sexually abuse minors] should be rehabilitated and returned to ministry".[18][19]

Retirement and death

Harvey retired to Annecy Hall, a retirement community for the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales in Childs, Maryland, in January 2010. He died on December 27, 2010, at Union Hospital in Elkton, Maryland, and was survived by his sister, Margaret Smith, and an extended family. He was buried on December 31, 2010, at the Oblates of Saint Francis de Sales Cemetery, in Childs, Cecil County, Maryland.[20]

Legacy

Harvey's approach won the endorsement of the Pontifical Council for the Family.[21] Pope John Paul II said of this ministry, "Courage is doing the work of God!".[22]

In 2011, at the 31st Annual Courage Conference, Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke, then the Cardinal Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, gave a tribute to the work of Harvey.[23]

Honorary degrees

Other recognition
  • Harvey was the Lineacre Quarterly writer of the year in 1984.[24]
  • A chair in moral theology at DeSales University is named after Harvey.[25]
  • A residential building for juniors and seniors at DeSales University was named for Harvey.[26]

Selected works
  • Harvey, John F. (2009) [1951]. Moral Theology of 'The Confessions' of Saint Augustine (Doctoral thesis). Washington D.C.: Catholic University of America Press. ISBN 978-1606084236.
  • Harvey, John F. (1977), John R. Cavannagh (ed.), Counselling the Homosexual, Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor, ISBN 978-0879737610
  • Harvey, John F.; May, William E. (1978), On Understanding Human Sexuality, Cincinnati, OH: Franciscan Press, ISBN 978-0819907202
  • Harvey, John F. (1979), A Spiritual Plan to Redirect One's Life: For Today's Homosexual, Boston, MA: Pauline Books & Media, ISBN 978-0819869326{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Harvey, John F., ed. (1987), The Homosexual Person: New Thinking in Pastoral Care, San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press, ISBN 978-0898701692
  • Harvey, John F.; DiIenno, Joseph A.; Smith, Herbert F. (1989), Homosexuality: The Questions; Scriptural, Church & Psychiatric Answers, Boston, MA: Daughters of St. Paul, an imprint of Pauline Books and Media, ISBN 978-0819833327{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Harvey, John F. (1996), The Truth about Homosexuality: The Cry of the Faithful, San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press, ISBN 978-0898705836
  • Harvey, John F.; Bradley, Gerard V., eds. (2003), Same Sex Attraction: A Parents' Guide, South Bend, IN: St. Augustine Press, ISBN 978-1587317514
  • Harvey, John F. (2007), Homosexuality & the Catholic Church: Clear Answers to Difficult Questions, West Chester, PA: Ascension Press, ISBN 978-1932927627
  • Harvey, John F. (2007), Fr. Gabriel B. O'Donnell, O.P. (ed.), Same Sex Attraction: Catholic Teaching and Pastoral Practice (PDF), New Haven, CT: Knights of Columbus Supreme Council, ISBN 978-2-35389-402-4

See also

References
  1. About Courage http://couragerc.org/courage/about/. Retrieved 2015-06-29. See also USCCB documents on "Abstinence and Chastity."
  2. Rev. Msgr. Robert J. Batule, "In Memoriam: Rev. John F. Harvey, O.S.F.S. (1918-2010)," The Catholic Social Science Review, 16 (2011), pp. 365-366. Archived 2015-09-23 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2015-06-29
  3. Eamonn Keane, "Difficult questions on homosexuality and gay 'marriage' answered by Fr John Harvey, OSFS," Renew America, June 20, 2010. Retrieved 2015-06-30
  4. Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke, "The Memory of Fr. John Harvey, OSFS and the Future of Courage and EnCourage," keynote address at the 31st Annual Courage and EnCourage Conference, held at the University of St Mary of the Lake in the Archdiocese of Chicago, July 29 - August 1, 2011.
  5. Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, DeSales World, Vol. 23, No. 2, Fall 2010/Winter 2011, p. 2 Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2015-06-30
  6. Obituary, Reverend John F. Harvey, The Morning Call, Dec. 29, 2010. Retrieved 2015-06-29
  7. William E. May, "In Memory of Father John F. Harvey, OSFS," Fellowship of Catholic Scholars Quarterly, Vol 34. No. 1, (Spring 2011), pp. 12-14. Retrieved 2015-06-30
  8. "The Church and Father Curran," Fellowship of Catholic Scholars Newsletter, Vol. 9, No. 4 (September 1986), p. 8.
  9. Wipf and Stock Publishers, "John F. Harvey," 2014
  10. Jamie Rankis and Jenna Turner, "Retired from DeSales, Rev. Harvey was 'A Blessing for us All'," The Minstrel, Vol. 44, No. 6, 2010. "Retired from DeSales, Rev. Harvey was "A Blessing for us All."". Archived from the original on 2015-07-02. Retrieved 2015-07-02.
  11. "'Gays,' 'Queers,' Homosexuals and Same-Sex Attracted By Their Labels Shall You Know Them?" by Janet Smith at National Catholic Register
  12. Steve Weatherbe, "Remembering Father John Harvey," National Catholic Register, January 5, 2011. Retrieved 2015-06-29
  13. Courage International, "Twenty-Eighth Annual COURAGE Conference, July 30-August 2, 2015." The official Courage website, however, states that the meeting took place at the Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Lower Manhattan. (Courage International, "About")
  14. Matthew A.Rarey, "Courage Continues Mission of Its Founder, Father Harvey," National Catholic Register, October 17, 2011. Retrieved 2015-06-29
  15. "Batule, op. cit." (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2015-06-29.
  16. Scalia, Idem.
  17. Most Rev. Raymond L. Burke, quoted in Matt C. Abbott, "Homosexuality and the Catholic Church", RenewAmerica, December 4, 2009. Retrieved 2015-07-16
  18. cruxnow.com https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2018/10/08/courage-founder-pushed-bishops-to-resist-zero-tolerance-on-abuse. Retrieved 2022-09-11. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  19. Dreher, Rod (2018-10-08). "An Awful Truth About Courage Founder". The American Conservative. Retrieved 2022-09-11.
  20. Obituary, op. cit. Retrieved 2015-06-29
  21. Batule, op. cit.. See also, EWTN, op. cit., citing the statement made by Cardinal Alfonso López Trujillo of the Pontifical Council for the Family, speaking on behalf of the Holy See. Retrieved 2015-06-29
  22. Catholic Social Teachings, Diocese of Sioux Falls. Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2015-06-29
  23. Burke, op. cit.
  24. https://www.epublications.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3322&context=lnq
  25. "Dr. Brian Kane". DeSales University. Archived from the original on March 12, 2013. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  26. "Letter from the President" (PDF), DeSales University Magazine, p. 2, Fall 2014, retrieved July 1, 2015
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