Life in Paradox

No issue divides the Christian community more than homosexuality. Father Paul Murray's story provides an intimate look at life on both sides of the liberal/conservative divide that crosses through church and society alike. Ordained a priest by Pope Paul VI in 1975, Murray was first drawn to Roman Catholicism as a young man through association with prominent, traditionalist Catholic writers. His personal odyssey and eventual self-acceptance of his homosexuality chart a radical transformation in his understandings of God, church, and society.Murray's coming out engages and challenges several presumed dualities: between spirituality and sexuality, Catholicism and homosexuality, priesthood and freedom. His quest, as much interior journey as worldly exploration, finds its point of resolution where seeming opposites meet. The more deeply he accepts his gayness, Murray finds, the more does he realize the truth of life in Christ. This parable of freedom challenges deeply held assumptions about the boundaries between the sacred and the secular.