James A. Coriden receives John Courtney Murray Award

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Fr. James A. Coriden, canon lawyer and a professor at the Washington Theological Union, is the recipient of the 2011 Catholic Theology Society of America’s John Courtney Murray Award, the highest honor bestowed by the society on a theologian. It is named after John Courtney Murray, the great American theologian known for his work on religious liberty.

The award was announced at a CTSA banquet here June 11. Read the CTSA Courtney Murray Award citation. He is a popular figure among the theologians. At an informal gathering following the award ceremony he was greeted with a rousing "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow."

Coriden was ordained a Presbyter of the Diocese of Gary Indiana in 1957. He joined the faculty of the Washington Theological Union in 1975 and currently teaches canon law. Prior to joining the Washington Theological Union, he served on the tribunal and in the chancery in Gary and then taught canon law at Catholic University of America.

Coriden has published many articles in various journals, including Jurist, Studia Canonica, Theological Studies and New Theology Review. He was one of the editors and authors of The Code of Canon Law: A Text and Commentary (1985) and of the New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law (2000). Recently, Coriden has been exploring the question of the pastoral care of the divorced and remarried Catholics.

He is the author of several books on canon law, church history and parish life. His latest book, published in 2007, "The Rights of Catholics in the Church," attempts to lay out for Catholics their basic rights in the church.

Previous John Courtney Murray award recipients:

Peter Phan 2010
David Bakewell Burrell 2009
Lisa Sowle Cahill 2008
Virgilio Elizondo 2007
Sandra M. Schneiders 2006
Robert Schreiter 2005
Elizabeth A. Johnson 2004
Michael Fahey 2003
Kenan Osborne 2002
Agnes Cunningham 2001
Michael J. Buckley 2000
Ladislas Orsy 1999
David Hollenbach 1998
Anne E. Carr 1997
David N. Power 1996
John T. & Denise Carmody 1995
Francis A. Sullivan 1994
Kilian P. McDonnell 1993
Margaret A. Farley 1992
Thomas F. O’Meara 1991
Frederick R. McManus 1990
Patrick Granfield 1989
The Most Rev. Richard J. Sklba 1988
Walter H. Principe 1987
Gregory Baum 1986
Zachary J. Hayes 1985
Monika K. Hellwig 1984
William J. Hill 1983
George J. Dyer 1982
Gerard S. Sloyan 1981
David W. Tracy 1980
Bernard Cooke 1979
Edward Kilmartin 1978
Frederick E. Crowe 1977
Richard. P. McBrien 1976
Carl J. Peter 1975
George H. Tavard 1974
Bernard J.F. Lonergan 1973
Charles E. Curran 1972