The first edition of Father John J. McNeill’s now-classic The Church and the Homosexual, published in 1976, convincingly established that the Bible does not condemn homosexuality. In the provocative new preface to this fourth edition, McNeill calls on the Vatical to make a public act of repentance for its homophobia.

John J. McNeill, an ordained priest and practicing psychotherapist, was expelled from the Society of Jesus in 1987 for refusing to cease his ministry to gay men and lesbians. He received a doctorate in philosophy from Louvain University in Belgium and has taught philosophy and theology at Fordham University, Union Theological Seminary, and other institutions. McNeill is the author of Taking a Chance on God and Freedom, Glorious Freedom, also published by Beacon Press.

Information from the back cover of the book.

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While this text is dated, the arguments laid out by McNeill are convincing and still apply today. This also serves as a good insight into historical perspectives around homosexuality, especially as they developed through the mid-twentieth century.