David Tracy
Encyclopedia
David Tracy is an American
Roman Catholic theologian. Tracy has spent the majority of his career teaching at the Divinity School
of the University of Chicago
. In 1963, he was ordained a priest
in the diocese
of Bridgeport
, Connecticut
.
Feeling an intense call to the Attached topriesthood as an adolescent, Tracy started attending the Cathedral School in 1952. It served as the minor seminary for the Archdiocese of New York. In 1960, he left New York for Rome to study at the Gregorianum
. His vocation to study theology was profoundly encouraged by the Second Vatican Council taking place at that time. He was ordained in the diocese of Bridgeport, CT in 1963. Tracy received his Licentiate of Sacred Theology
from the Gregorianum in 1964, after which he spent one year working at a parish in Stamford, CT. Tracy has said that he had always wanted to work in a parish, but during his one year of doing so, he felt a strong call to the academic life. He returned to Rome and received his doctorate from the Gregorian in 1969.
, where he began in 1967. In 1968, Tracy joined with Bernard McGinn
and twenty other professors at CUA in rejecting Pope
Paul VI's encyclical Humanae Vitae
. He and the others were tried by CUA's faculty senate and summarily fired. They sued the university, were represented by ACLU lawyers, and ultimately won their case.
In the midst of this trial, Jerald Brauer, then Dean of the University of Chicago Divinity School
, convinced Tracy (as well as McGinn) to come to the University of Chicago. In 1985, Tracy was named a Distinguished Service Professor there, and in 1987, a Distinguished Service Professor of Roman Catholic Studies. Tracy also held the Andrew Thomas Greeley and Grace McNichols Greeley Professorship in Roman Catholic Studies, which was established in 1984 by sociologist and novelist Andrew Greeley
. He also served on Chicago's Committee on the Analysis of Ideas and Methods and the Committee on Social Thought
. Tracy remained at the Divinity School until his retirement in late 2006.
Tracy served as President of the Catholic Theological Society of America
from 1976-1977. In 1980, that organization awarded him the John Courtney Murray Award
, the highest award of the society. In 1982, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
In 1999-2000, Tracy gave the Gifford Lectures
at the University of Edinburgh
. The title of his lectures was This Side of God. The Gifford Lectures are widely considered to be the highest honor for those working in theology and religious studies.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Roman Catholic theologian. Tracy has spent the majority of his career teaching at the Divinity School
University of Chicago Divinity School
The University of Chicago Divinity School is a graduate institution at the University of Chicago dedicated to the training of academics and clergy across religious boundaries...
of the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
. In 1963, he was ordained a priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
in the diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
of Bridgeport
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, the city had an estimated population of 144,229 at the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
.
Early Life and Education
Tracy was born in 1939 to John Charles Tracy and Eileen Marie Tracy (nee Rossell) in Yonkers, NY. He had two brothers, John Jr. and Arthur. His father was a union organizer who loved to read Henry Adams to his children.Feeling an intense call to the Attached topriesthood as an adolescent, Tracy started attending the Cathedral School in 1952. It served as the minor seminary for the Archdiocese of New York. In 1960, he left New York for Rome to study at the Gregorianum
Pontifical Gregorian University
The Pontifical Gregorian University is a pontifical university located in Rome, Italy.Heir of the Roman College founded by Saint Ignatius of Loyola over 460 years ago, the Gregorian University was the first university founded by the Jesuits...
. His vocation to study theology was profoundly encouraged by the Second Vatican Council taking place at that time. He was ordained in the diocese of Bridgeport, CT in 1963. Tracy received his Licentiate of Sacred Theology
Licentiate of Sacred Theology
Licentiate of Sacred Theology is the title of the second cycle of studies of a Faculty of Theology offered by a pontifical universities or ecclesiastical faculties of sacred theology. An Ecclesiastical Faculty offers three cycles of study: Baccalaureate or fundamentals, Licentiate or specialized,...
from the Gregorianum in 1964, after which he spent one year working at a parish in Stamford, CT. Tracy has said that he had always wanted to work in a parish, but during his one year of doing so, he felt a strong call to the academic life. He returned to Rome and received his doctorate from the Gregorian in 1969.
Career
Tracy's first academic teaching appointment was a lectureship at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, where he began in 1967. In 1968, Tracy joined with Bernard McGinn
Bernard McGinn (theologian)
Bernard McGinn is a theologian, historian, and scholar of spirituality, affiliated with the University of Chicago, where he is Naomi Shenstone Donnelley Professor Emeritus of Historical Theology and of the History of Christianity in the Divinity School and the Committees on Medieval Studies and on...
and twenty other professors at CUA in rejecting Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
Paul VI's encyclical Humanae Vitae
Humanae Vitae
Humanae Vitae is an encyclical written by Pope Paul VI and issued on 25 July 1968. Subtitled On the Regulation of Birth, it re-affirms the traditional teaching of the Catholic Church regarding married love, responsible parenthood, and the continuing proscription of most forms of birth...
. He and the others were tried by CUA's faculty senate and summarily fired. They sued the university, were represented by ACLU lawyers, and ultimately won their case.
In the midst of this trial, Jerald Brauer, then Dean of the University of Chicago Divinity School
University of Chicago Divinity School
The University of Chicago Divinity School is a graduate institution at the University of Chicago dedicated to the training of academics and clergy across religious boundaries...
, convinced Tracy (as well as McGinn) to come to the University of Chicago. In 1985, Tracy was named a Distinguished Service Professor there, and in 1987, a Distinguished Service Professor of Roman Catholic Studies. Tracy also held the Andrew Thomas Greeley and Grace McNichols Greeley Professorship in Roman Catholic Studies, which was established in 1984 by sociologist and novelist Andrew Greeley
Andrew Greeley
Father Andrew M. Greeley is an Irish-American Roman Catholic priest, sociologist, journalist and fiction writer....
. He also served on Chicago's Committee on the Analysis of Ideas and Methods and the Committee on Social Thought
Committee on Social Thought
The Committee on Social Thought is one of several PhD-granting committees at the University of Chicago. It was started in 1941 by historian John Ulric Nef along with economist Frank Knight, anthropologist Robert Redfield, and University President Robert Maynard Hutchins.The committee is...
. Tracy remained at the Divinity School until his retirement in late 2006.
Tracy served as President of the Catholic Theological Society of America
Catholic Theological Society of America
The Catholic Theological Society of America is a professional association mostly in the United States and Canada. It is a "Catholic" organization that was founded in 1946 to promote studies and research in theology within the Catholic tradition...
from 1976-1977. In 1980, that organization awarded him the John Courtney Murray Award
John Courtney Murray Award
The John Courtney Murray Award is the highest honor bestowed by the Catholic Theological Society of America, named after John Courtney Murray, the great American theologian known for his work on religious liberty.-Winners of the John Courtney Murray Award :...
, the highest award of the society. In 1982, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
In 1999-2000, Tracy gave the Gifford Lectures
Gifford Lectures
The Gifford Lectures were established by the will of Adam Lord Gifford . They were established to "promote and diffuse the study of Natural Theology in the widest sense of the term — in other words, the knowledge of God." The term natural theology as used by Gifford means theology supported...
at the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
. The title of his lectures was This Side of God. The Gifford Lectures are widely considered to be the highest honor for those working in theology and religious studies.
Writings
- The Achievement of Bernard Lonergan (1970)
- Blessed Rage for Order: The New Pluralism in Theology (1975)
- Toward Vatican III: The Work that Needs To Be Done, with Hans KüngHans KüngHans Küng is a Swiss Catholic priest, theologian, and prolific author. Since 1995 he has been President of the Foundation for a Global Ethic . Küng is "a Catholic priest in good standing", but the Vatican has rescinded his authority to teach Catholic theology...
and Johann Baptist MetzJohann Baptist MetzJohann Baptist Metz is a Catholic theologian. He is Ordinary Professor of Fundamental Theology, Emeritus, at Westphalian Wilhelms University in Münster, Germany....
(1978) - The Analogical Imagination: Christian Theology and the Culture of Pluralism (1981)
- Talking About God: Doing Theology in the Context of Modern Pluralism, with John CobbJohn B. CobbJohn B. Cobb, Jr. is an American United Methodist theologian who played a crucial role in the development of process theology. He integrated Alfred North Whitehead's metaphysics into Christianity, and applied it to issues of social justice.-Biography:John Cobb was born in Kobe, Japan in 1925 to...
(1983) - Short History of the Interpretation of the Bible, with Robert Grant (1984)
- A Catholic Vision, with Stephen Happel (1984)
- Plurality and Ambiguity (1987)
- Dialogue with the Other: The Inter-Religious Dialogue (1990)
- On Naming the Present: God, Hermeneutics, and Church (1994)