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{{Short description|American priest}}
'''Joseph Clifford Fenton''' (January 16, 1906 - July 7, 1969) was a Catholic priest who promoted conservative theology.  He was a professor of fundamental dogmatic theology at the [[Catholic University of America]] and editor of the ''[[American Ecclesiastical Review]]'' (1943–1963).<ref>Komonchak, Joseph A. "Fenton, Joseph (1906-69)." ''Encyclopedia of American Catholic History'' (Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 1997), 505-506.</ref>  A strong opponent of liberal beliefs, he was a significant American Catholic theologian of the 20th century. He served as a ''[[peritus]]'' for [[Cardinal Ottaviani]] at the [[Second Vatican Council]], where his position was overruled. He was also secretary of the [[Catholic Theological Society of America]].<ref name="Hoehn">Hoehn, Matthew, ed. "Reverend Joseph C. Fenton 1906-[1969]", ''Catholic Authors: Contemporary Biographical Sketches, 1930-1947'' (Newark, New Jersey: St. Mary's Abbey, 1948), 244.</ref>
==Early life==
Fenton was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, on January 16, 1906. He was the eldest son of Michael Francis and Elizabeth (Clifford) Fenton.
==Formation==
Fenton received a B.A. degree from [[College of the Holy Cross]] in [[Worcester, Massachusetts]], in 1926.
He studied for the priesthood at the [[Grand Seminary in Montreal]], Canada, until 1930 and received an S.T.L. and J.C.B. from the University of Montreal.
On June 14, 1930, Bishop Thomas Michael O'Leary ordained Fenton at St. Michael's Cathedral in Springfield.
He obtained a doctorate in sacred theology (S.T.D.) from the [[Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas|Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, ''Angelicum'']] in Rome in 1931 under the direction of Fr. [[Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange]], O.P.<ref name="Hoehn"/>
==Career==
Fenton was a curate at Immaculate Conception Church in Easthampton, Massachusetts, from 1931 to 1933 and at St. Joseph's Church, Leicester, Massachusetts, from 1933 to 1934. He taught philosophy at [[St. Ambrose University|Saint Ambrose College]] in Davenport, Iowa, from 1934 to 1935).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/article-1G2-3407704040/fenton-joseph-clifford.html |title=Fenton, Joseph Clifford |website=encyclopedia.com |access-date=October 10, 2012}}</ref>
At the formation of the Catholic Theological Society of America in 1946, the then-Father Fenton was one of its first officers in the position of secretary.<ref>Burke, Eugene. "A Personal Memoir on the Origins of the CTSA", in ''Proceedings of the Thirty-Fifth Annual Convention of the Catholic Theological Society of America'' 35 (1980): 337-347.</ref>
Fenton was a familiar figure with his cassock and biretta on the campus of [[The Catholic University of America]] for 25 years. His students remember him as an imposing person who lectured dramatically and often challenged them with unexpected questions.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} Fenton's colorful expressions and trenchant observations became legendary.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}
During his career, Fenton received many ecclesiastical honors from Rome. The Holy See named him a [[papal chamberlain]] (1951), a [[domestic prelate]] (1954) and a [[protonotary apostolic]] (1963). A recipient of the papal medal, [[Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice]] (1954), he belonged to the Pontifical Roman Theological Academy and was a counselor to the Sacred Congregation of Seminaries and Universities (1950–67).
Fenton died in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts, on July 7, 1969.
[[File:First CTSA Officers (1946).jpg|thumb|First officers of the Catholic Theological Society of America, ''left to right'': Fr. James E. Rea, Fr. Gerard Yelle, Fr. Joseph Clifford Fenton, Fr. Francis J. Connell (seated)]]
==Works==
Throughout his life, Fenton wrote an abundance of articles, especially on ecclesiology and church-state relations.  He vigorously attacked the ideas of religious liberty promoted by Jesuit theologian [[John Courtney Murray]]. Thomas T. Love  states, "Essentially by 'conservative' we mean...Catholic University of America in 1949; and Joseph Clifford Fenton."<ref>Thomas T. Love, "Contemporary Conservative Roman Catholic Church-State Thought." ''Journal of Church and State'' 7 (1965): 18+.  [https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/jchs7&div=10&id=&page= online]</ref>
Most of his hundreds of articles were published in the ''American Ecclesiastical Review'', though he also contributed to ''Columbia'', ''America'', ''Fortnightly Review'', ''Catholic Educational Review'' and ''Le Seminaire''. His writing career also encompasses six books:
*''The Theology of Prayer'' (1939)
*''The Concept of Sacred Theology'' (1941)
*''We Stand with Christ'' (1943)
*''The Calling of a Diocesan Priest'' (1944)
*''The Concept of the Diocesan Priesthood'' (1951)
*''The Catholic Church and Salvation'' (1958). There is a [https://www.amazon.com/dp/9878897575 Spanish translation].
The 21st century has seen something of a revival of interest in Fenton's books by traditionalist Catholics.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Carey |first=Patrick |date=April 2018 |title=Fenton Returns |url=https://www.firstthings.com/article/2018/04/fenton-returns |journal=First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion & Public Life |issue=282 |pages=54–58}}</ref> In 2006, ''The Catholic Church and Salvation'', a scholarly in-depth explanation of the Catholic dogma "No Salvation Outside the Church", was republished by the [[Society of St. Pius V]]'s Seminary Press in Round Top, New York. In 2016, ''We Stand with Christ'' was republished by Emmaus Road Publishing under the title ''Laying the Foundation: A Handbook of Catholic Apologetics and Fundamental Theology''. Also in 2016, Christian D. Washburn (Associate Professor of Dogmatic Theology, at the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity, in St. Paul, MN) edited a collection of Fenton's essays from ''American Ecclesiastical Review'' under the title ''The Church of'' ''Christ'': ''A Collection of Essays by Monsignor Joseph C. Fenton'', published by Cluny Media, which has overseen the bulk of the revival in Fenton's works, releasing new editions of ''The Theology of Prayer'' and ''The Concept of Diocesan Priesthood'', under the title ''The Diocesan Priest in the Church of Christ'', and including Fenton's dissertation, "The Concept of Sacred Theology", in its Thomist Tradition Series, under the title ''What Is Sacred Theology?''.
During the first years of the [[Second Vatican Council]], Fenton was a member of the preparatory Theological Commission, the Doctrinal Commission, the Commission on Faith and Morals and also a ''peritus''. As a controversialist, he is best remembered for his aggressive opposition to [[John Courtney Murray]], S.J., on religious freedom and on the relationship between church and State.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|author=Granfield, P.|title=Fenton, Joseph Clifford|encyclopedia=New Catholic Encyclopedia|volume=5|edition=2nd |location= Detroit|publisher=Gale|year=2003|pages=684–685|series=Gale Virtual Reference Library}}</ref>  However the Council endorsed Murray's position and rejected Fenton.  Defeated and despondent, he resigned his academic roles and became a local parish priest.  In December 1963, Fenton resigned as editor of the ''American Ecclesiastical Review'' "because of poor health" and became pastor of St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts.<ref>''American Ecclesiastical Review'' 150 (January 1964), 1.</ref> "He spent the remaining years of his life attacking from the pulpit the liberal reforms within the American church".<ref>Carey, Patrick W. "Fenton, Joseph Clifford". ''Biographical Dictionary of Christian Theologians'' (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2000), 192.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-04-01 |title=Fenton Returns {{!}} Patrick Carey |url=https://www.firstthings.com/article/2018/04/fenton-returns |access-date=2023-12-20 |website=First Things |language=en}}</ref>
Fenton died of an acute heart attack, apparently in his sleep, on July 7, 1969.<ref>Obituary, ''Springfield Union'' (July 8, 1969), 27.</ref> He is buried at St. Thomas Cemetery in Palmer, Massachusetts.
Joseph Clifford Fenton is sometimes confused with Fr. Francis E. Fenton (no relation), founder of the [[Orthodox Roman Catholic Movement]].
== References ==
{{reflist|32em}}
==Further reading==
* Appleby, R. Scott, and John H. Haas. "The Last Supernaturalists: Fenton, Connell, and the Threat of Catholic Indifferentism." ''U.S. Catholic Historian'' 13.2 (1995): 23-48, emphasizes his attacks against liberal Catholics..
* Carey, Patrick. "Fenton Returns" ''First Things'' (April 2018) [https://www.firstthings.com/article/2018/04/fenton-returns online]
* Love, Thomas T.  "Contemporary Conservative Roman Catholic Church-State Thought." ''Journal of Church and State'' 7 (1965): 18+.  [https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/jchs7&div=10&id=&page= online]
==External links==
* [http://www.strobertbellarmine.net/aer/fentonc.jpg Photograph of Fenton's tombstone]
* [http://www.strobertbellarmine.net/aer/fentona.jpg Photograph of Fenton's tombstone]
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[[Category:1906 births]]
[[Category:1969 deaths]]
[[Category:College of the Holy Cross alumni]]
[[Category:Catholic University of America School of Theology and Religious Studies faculty]]
[[Category:Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century American Roman Catholic priests]]