McBrien cleared of plagiarism complaint

A c o m p la in t of p la g ia r ism a g a in s t th eo lo g y p ro fe s s o r F a th e r R ichard McBrien was recently dismissed by theology d e p a r t m e n t c h a i r Jo h n C a v a d i n i , ac c o rd in g to an a r t ic le in the N ational C a t h o l i c R e p o r t e r p u b l i s h e d today. “Although I d id no t r e l e a s e the McBrien University investigator’s report to th e N a t io n a l C a tho lic Reporter, nor do I know who did, 1 can verify the accuracy of the story in this week’s issue,” McBrien told The Observer in an e-mail Thursday. T h o u g h C av ad in i spoke to NCR, he d id n o t r e t u r n Observer phone calls seeking comment Thursday. The complaint, which origi­ nated with the Catholic group the Cardinal Newman Society, was dismissed “on the grounds that the alleged copying consti­ tutes ‘carelessness’ ra ther than unethical behavior; that s ta te ­ ments of regret and apology for o vers ig h t have a l re a d y been issued; and that there is no pre­ vious instance to indicate a pat­ te rn requ ir ing investigation,” according to a letter obtained by th e NCR, from P ro fe s so r Cavadini to Jeffrey Kantor, vice president for graduate studies and research. T he C a rd in a l N ew m an S oc ie ty — an o r g a n iz a t io n C av ad in i c a l led “a m i l i t a n t r ig h t -w in g C atho lic i n te r e s t g roup” — requested in a Jan. 19 letter to University President F a t h e r Jo h n J e n k in s th e University investigate similari­ ties in structure and language between a column written by McBrien for the Jan. 6 issue of The Tidings of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and an op-ed piece by Eileen McNamara for the Dec. 11 Boston Globe. The two p u b l ica t ions c r i t i ­ c ized p r o t e s t s of a C atho lic Charities fundraiser benefiting Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, a supporter of abortion rights and gay marriage. McBrien cited M c N am ara ’s piece in his column, but sent letters of apology to McNamara and to the Globe for too closely p a ra p h ra s in g a sen tence . He a lso a g re e d to add a fo rm al s ta tem en t in a fu ture column “adm itting and regre tt ing the o v e r s ig h t ,” ac c o rd in g to the NCR. “I am pleased that the review process within the University is now officially over, and I am, com ple te ly sa t is f ied with its o u tc o m e ,” M cBrien told The Observer. McBrien said he would nei­ ther release the report to any­ one nor conduct further in ter­ views about the matter.