J
josemandez
Guest
I’ve looked through a few (mostly old) posts about Brennan Manning, asking for an opinion of him. As a former fan, I wanted to offer a brief Catholic response.
For those who don’t know, Brennan Manning was a Franciscan priest & friar who is well-known in Evangelical Protestant circles for his association with the late singer & songwriter Rich Mullins. Brennan had a preaching/book-writing gig that encompassed largely evangelical Protestants and extended from roughly the 1970s or 1980s to the 2000s. Although he was a Franciscan priest & friar, he struggled with alcoholism in the 70s (and throughout most of the rest of his life, apparently). He met a woman & married outside of the Church in 1982; Brennan refused to be laicized, and thus became persona non-grata in the Church.
While even sometimes writing things that sound very “Protestant” (such as speaking in glowing terms of the Reformation, for example), Brennan never repudiated Catholicism.
Brennan divorced in 2000. It’s not clear to me that he ever formally denounced his attempt at marriage and reconciled with the Church. By the late 2000s & early 2010s, Brennan was suffering from the debilitating effects of his alcoholism, Wernicke-Korsackoff syndrome or “wet-brain.” He was suffering from this when he wrote his memoir All is Grace. He died in 2013.
In his memoir All is Grace, he (apparently favorably) quotes James Kavanaugh, a dissident priest who resignedin the 1960s and who openly criticized Church teaching on contraception, and on divorce and remarriage. Brennan briefly touches on his own thinking process, basically concluding by 1981 that even though his “earlier vows deemed it a sin to marry,” he decided that “the priesthood no longer fit” and that “the greater sin would be not to marry.” He also notes that he refused laicization, which would have kept him in good standing with the Church.
One finds Brennan’s logic hard to follow in the case of his apparent desire for married priesthood. Even James Kavanaugh’s call for allowing priests to marry wouldn’t have helped Brennan, who–in addition to being under the basic requirement of all unmarried priests to remain in that state–also should have been under permanent vows as a Franciscan for poverty, chastity, and obedience.
Also interesting are some open admissions he gives in his memoirs about his lack of humility, failure to help those in need, etc. He is quite candid about a lot of his sins/faults.
Though I used to give away copies of one of his books, I would no longer recommend his writings. I think he says many things that are good and true (e.g. some parts of his memoir All is Grace can almost serve as practical examples of the Examination of Conscience). Unfortunately there is also falsehood mixed in (e.g. praising the Reformation, and at least implying that solemn vows can be dispensed of just between the individual and God, apart from the Church), & I think that one will find better spiritual nourishment by reading just about anything written by just about any saint. There’s just better stuff out there: Story of a Soul by St. Therese beats The Ragamuffin Gospel any day. Please pray for the repose of Brennan’s soul.
For those who don’t know, Brennan Manning was a Franciscan priest & friar who is well-known in Evangelical Protestant circles for his association with the late singer & songwriter Rich Mullins. Brennan had a preaching/book-writing gig that encompassed largely evangelical Protestants and extended from roughly the 1970s or 1980s to the 2000s. Although he was a Franciscan priest & friar, he struggled with alcoholism in the 70s (and throughout most of the rest of his life, apparently). He met a woman & married outside of the Church in 1982; Brennan refused to be laicized, and thus became persona non-grata in the Church.
While even sometimes writing things that sound very “Protestant” (such as speaking in glowing terms of the Reformation, for example), Brennan never repudiated Catholicism.
Brennan divorced in 2000. It’s not clear to me that he ever formally denounced his attempt at marriage and reconciled with the Church. By the late 2000s & early 2010s, Brennan was suffering from the debilitating effects of his alcoholism, Wernicke-Korsackoff syndrome or “wet-brain.” He was suffering from this when he wrote his memoir All is Grace. He died in 2013.
In his memoir All is Grace, he (apparently favorably) quotes James Kavanaugh, a dissident priest who resignedin the 1960s and who openly criticized Church teaching on contraception, and on divorce and remarriage. Brennan briefly touches on his own thinking process, basically concluding by 1981 that even though his “earlier vows deemed it a sin to marry,” he decided that “the priesthood no longer fit” and that “the greater sin would be not to marry.” He also notes that he refused laicization, which would have kept him in good standing with the Church.
One finds Brennan’s logic hard to follow in the case of his apparent desire for married priesthood. Even James Kavanaugh’s call for allowing priests to marry wouldn’t have helped Brennan, who–in addition to being under the basic requirement of all unmarried priests to remain in that state–also should have been under permanent vows as a Franciscan for poverty, chastity, and obedience.
Also interesting are some open admissions he gives in his memoirs about his lack of humility, failure to help those in need, etc. He is quite candid about a lot of his sins/faults.
Though I used to give away copies of one of his books, I would no longer recommend his writings. I think he says many things that are good and true (e.g. some parts of his memoir All is Grace can almost serve as practical examples of the Examination of Conscience). Unfortunately there is also falsehood mixed in (e.g. praising the Reformation, and at least implying that solemn vows can be dispensed of just between the individual and God, apart from the Church), & I think that one will find better spiritual nourishment by reading just about anything written by just about any saint. There’s just better stuff out there: Story of a Soul by St. Therese beats The Ragamuffin Gospel any day. Please pray for the repose of Brennan’s soul.
ray:t2: