We can’t judge the man. His soul is known to God, who knows the full extent of his public ministry, and no doubt his private ministries. That said, based on only incomplete information on his public ministry, I would make some observations.
He received enormous prominence for his views in the secular society, especially, from the secular media, whose views he almost always agreed with. Granted, he had gifts, and hard work, in writing, speaking, and teaching. But there were other writers, speakers and teachers in his time who may have had the same level of gifts and hard work. Their views did not agree with the secular culture, specifically the media. They were largely ignored, did not become “prominent”, though they may have had the same measure of wisdom as Fr. McBrien.
One may argue that a theologian has a responsibility to challenge, sometimes to dissent. I am not aware that Fr. McBrien dissented much from any other institution besides the Church. There are some theologians able to dissent from the secular media. Fr. McBrien couldn’t do that.
There are atheists, Protestants, Jews, and others willing to go on record in disagreeing with the Catholic Church. The Media does not contact them for a quote; and does not contact theologians likely to agree with the Church. Rather the media contacts a short list of Catholic theologians described as prominent and , who they know will give them the dissenting quote they are looking for. In our media culture, when someone is described as “prominent” all that means is that they coincide with the media often.
I don’t mean his views should have been ignored. I simply point out the spiritual danger in becoming “prominent”. After he became “prominent” he got invites to speak at many conferences because he was now famous. Other potential speakers, who may have given talks more valuable to the listeners because they could bring up unfamiliar ideas, did not get invited. When a priest is a religious, he ideally should be getting direction, guidance toward obedience, and reminder of humility. I don’t know if that still happens when someone becomes “prominent”. I never met Fr. McBrien, don’t know what happened in his religious community. I can say if he had agreed with the Catholic Faith, and disagreed with the secular media, probably a much smaller number of people would have heard of him.
Again, I only comment on his public ministry, cannot in any way judge the man. RIP.
"If I admonish a judger … have I judged too … or merely offered counsel?