Kevin T. Kelly
Encyclopedia
The Rev. Dr. Kevin Kelly is a British
Roman Catholic priest
and moral theologian.
Kelly was born in Crosby, just north of Liverpool, England on 27 June 1933, to Patrick and Winifred Kelly from Northern Ireland
. Kelly has been a pioneering priest and theologian, nurturing a compassionate approach to Catholic morality from the 1960s down to the present day. In his academic and pastoral work, he has tackled some of the most pressing issues facing the Church today - human conscience, HIV
-AIDS
, divorce
and second marriage
, bioethics
, sexual ethics
and pastoral theology in general.
After formative years at the Upholland Senior Seminary, Lancashire, where he would later return to work, Kelly was further educated at Fribourg University, Switzerland
and at the Gregorianum University, Rome. At Fribourg he completed a doctorate
in moral theology and in Rome he gained a licentiate in Canon Law
. The author of seven books and well over a hundred articles and chapters elsewhere, he has worked tirelessly in urban parishes and academic settings alike, from the very outset of his priestly calling.
He began his academic career at St Joseph's Seminary, Upholland, England (1965-75), during which time he also served as a visiting lecturer at the University of Manchester
, looking after the students of the late great Ronald Preston, no less, and further honing his ecumenical vision and commitment. Kevin embarked upon that tireless combination of being both an academic moral theologian at one and the same time as being a pastor at the ‘coal face’, when he was appointed to serve as Assistant Priest at St Clare's Parish in Liverpool from 1963-65.
In 1975 Kelly became the founding director of the Upholland Institute, a centre and professional team for adult Christian
education and in-service training for clergy. In this role he initiated pioneering educational and formational programs. Kelly would bring in visiting lecturers such as Bernard Häring and Charles E. Curran. Here Kelly worked tirelessly to involve the laity, women as well as men, in the Institute's many courses and activities. Thus putting into action the ecclesial vision of Vatican II.
In 1980 Kelly was a visiting fellow at St Edmund's College
, University of Cambridge
where pressing pastoral and ethical questions concerning divorce and second marriage preoccupied much of his research. During this time he also embarked on a tour of countries where major ethical challenges were being responded to through grass roots activism and the newly emerged liberation theology
. His travels took him to India
, the Philippines
and Peru
.
Kevin then played a leading role in the experimental "Team Ministry" that was in the new town of Skelmersdale, serving from 1981-85. The "Thatcher
Years" of government were pressing times for the northern regions of England in particular. The early optimism that followed the founding of this new town soon turned to harsher realities for many in this part of the country. This innovative, dynamic and yet most challenging appointment left Kelly with many ideas he wished to explore in those hours of the week he gave over to his continuing academic studies. These questions pursued him so much that he eventually took leave to take up a Research Fellowship at Queen's College
, Birmingham
, where he completed his pioneering book on bioethics (1985-86).
Kelly did not put his pastoral ministry on hold for very long, and he was back in parish ministry at Our Lady’s, Eldon St., in inner-city Liverpool as soon as 1986, continuing there until 1998.
This full-time ministry was actually carried out in only half of Kelly’s "real" time as he soon began a regular commute to London, where he had been asked by Jack Mahoney to teach at Heythrop College
, the specialist theology and philosophy college of the University of London
. Kelly soon found himself covering much of the moral theology at Heythrop and utilising his train
journeys to great effect as a makeshift study. Kevin continued this bi-locatory dual-existence from 1986 until 1993.
Kelly’s most recent educational attachments came at Liverpool Hope University
, first of all as a part-time lecturer in Christian Ethics at its former incarnation as the Liverpool Institute of Higher Education between 1993 and 94. He then returned when it became a university college to be Senior Research Fellow (again part-time) between 1996 and 98. Finally, he was elevated to Emeritus Senior Research Fellow status in 1998.
Kelly has contributed to research initiatives, conferences and international gatherings on almost every continent of the world. His researches and pastoral antennae have also taken him on numerous further visits to places such as the United States
, Canada
, Ireland
and Continental Europe
. In 1967, he was a co-founding member of the Association of Teachers of Moral Theology. In 1995, Kevin visited Thailand
and the Philippines, taking part in an Asia
n theological consultation on the challenges of HIV/AIDS, and interviewing many people in connection with research for his forthcoming book on the subject, particularly to inform his reflections on the impact of these conditions upon women and upon how the position of women in society exacerbated the dilemmas posed by HIV/AIDS. In 1997, Kelly was also a co-founding member of the International Catholic Theological Coalition for HIV/AIDS Prevention, and, in 1999, he spent the summer in Zimbabwe and Zambia, helping to run two National Winter schools in the former which sought to educate people on the moral and pastoral issues concerning the care of those whose lives are affected by HIV/AIDS. Whilst there he sought out further experiential research opportunities through visiting partners of the UK Catholic aid agency (CAFOD) responsible for the care of AIDS orphans and also for AIDS home-care initiatives.
His pastoral achievements, however, were yet to take a further turn after his inner-city work and weekly sessions in the "library on wheels" that the train to and from London became for him. Kelly’s doctoral dissertation explored the work of Anglican moral theologians of the 17th century, and his ecumenical sensitivity and commitment, as indicated, have been amongst the most constant features of his life and career. Kelly took up the post as Catholic Pastor of the Ecumenical Anglican and Roman Catholic church of St Basil’s and All Saints http://www.stbasilandallsaints.org.uk/, at Hough Green
near Widnes
.
Liverpool Hope University announced that they will be awarding Kevin Kelly an honorary Doctorate at its graduation ceremony in 2007 and The Centre for the Study of Contemporary Ecclesiologyhttp://www.hope.ac.uk/research/ecclesiology/ has honoured Kevin Kelly by awarding him its very first Honorary Fellowship for his services to the church, to pastoral care, to moral theology, to ecumenism and to the wider community in general.
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
Roman Catholic 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...
and moral theologian.
Kelly was born in Crosby, just north of Liverpool, England on 27 June 1933, to Patrick and Winifred Kelly from Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. Kelly has been a pioneering priest and theologian, nurturing a compassionate approach to Catholic morality from the 1960s down to the present day. In his academic and pastoral work, he has tackled some of the most pressing issues facing the Church today - human conscience, HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
-AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
, divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
and second marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
, bioethics
Bioethics
Bioethics is the study of controversial ethics brought about by advances in biology and medicine. Bioethicists are concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, law, and philosophy....
, sexual ethics
Sexual ethics
Sexual ethics refers to those aspects of ethics that deal with issues arising from all aspects of sexuality and human sexual behavior...
and pastoral theology in general.
After formative years at the Upholland Senior Seminary, Lancashire, where he would later return to work, Kelly was further educated at Fribourg University, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and at the Gregorianum University, Rome. At Fribourg he completed a doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in moral theology and in Rome he gained a licentiate in Canon Law
Canon law
Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
. The author of seven books and well over a hundred articles and chapters elsewhere, he has worked tirelessly in urban parishes and academic settings alike, from the very outset of his priestly calling.
He began his academic career at St Joseph's Seminary, Upholland, England (1965-75), during which time he also served as a visiting lecturer at the University of Manchester
Victoria University of Manchester
The Victoria University of Manchester was a university in Manchester, England. On 1 October 2004 it merged with the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology to form a new entity, "The University of Manchester".-1851 - 1951:The University was founded in 1851 as Owens College,...
, looking after the students of the late great Ronald Preston, no less, and further honing his ecumenical vision and commitment. Kevin embarked upon that tireless combination of being both an academic moral theologian at one and the same time as being a pastor at the ‘coal face’, when he was appointed to serve as Assistant Priest at St Clare's Parish in Liverpool from 1963-65.
In 1975 Kelly became the founding director of the Upholland Institute, a centre and professional team for adult Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
education and in-service training for clergy. In this role he initiated pioneering educational and formational programs. Kelly would bring in visiting lecturers such as Bernard Häring and Charles E. Curran. Here Kelly worked tirelessly to involve the laity, women as well as men, in the Institute's many courses and activities. Thus putting into action the ecclesial vision of Vatican II.
In 1980 Kelly was a visiting fellow at St Edmund's College
St Edmund's College, Cambridge
Saint Edmund's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the second oldest of the four Cambridge colleges oriented to mature students, which only accept students reading for either Masters or Doctorate degrees, or undergraduate degrees if they are aged 21 or older, the...
, University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
where pressing pastoral and ethical questions concerning divorce and second marriage preoccupied much of his research. During this time he also embarked on a tour of countries where major ethical challenges were being responded to through grass roots activism and the newly emerged liberation theology
Liberation theology
Liberation theology is a Christian movement in political theology which interprets the teachings of Jesus Christ in terms of a liberation from unjust economic, political, or social conditions...
. His travels took him to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
and Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
.
Kevin then played a leading role in the experimental "Team Ministry" that was in the new town of Skelmersdale, serving from 1981-85. The "Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
Years" of government were pressing times for the northern regions of England in particular. The early optimism that followed the founding of this new town soon turned to harsher realities for many in this part of the country. This innovative, dynamic and yet most challenging appointment left Kelly with many ideas he wished to explore in those hours of the week he gave over to his continuing academic studies. These questions pursued him so much that he eventually took leave to take up a Research Fellowship at Queen's College
Queen's College, Birmingham
The Birmingham Medical School was founded by surgeon William Sands Cox in 1828 as a residential college for medical students in central Birmingham, England. It was the first Birmingham institution to award degrees, through the University of London. Cox went on to found the Queen's Hospital in Bath...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, where he completed his pioneering book on bioethics (1985-86).
Kelly did not put his pastoral ministry on hold for very long, and he was back in parish ministry at Our Lady’s, Eldon St., in inner-city Liverpool as soon as 1986, continuing there until 1998.
This full-time ministry was actually carried out in only half of Kelly’s "real" time as he soon began a regular commute to London, where he had been asked by Jack Mahoney to teach at Heythrop College
Heythrop College
Heythrop College is the specialist philosophy and theology constituent college of the University of London situated in Kensington Square, Kensington, London. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in philosophy, theology and psychology, as well as research in related fields.It was founded...
, the specialist theology and philosophy college of the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
. Kelly soon found himself covering much of the moral theology at Heythrop and utilising his train
Train
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
journeys to great effect as a makeshift study. Kevin continued this bi-locatory dual-existence from 1986 until 1993.
Kelly’s most recent educational attachments came at Liverpool Hope University
Liverpool Hope University
Liverpool Hope University is a university in Liverpool, England. Two of its three founding colleges were established in 1844 and 1856, the third opening in the 1960s. It is the only ecumenical university in Europe. Based on two campuses, the main campus is located in Childwall and the second...
, first of all as a part-time lecturer in Christian Ethics at its former incarnation as the Liverpool Institute of Higher Education between 1993 and 94. He then returned when it became a university college to be Senior Research Fellow (again part-time) between 1996 and 98. Finally, he was elevated to Emeritus Senior Research Fellow status in 1998.
Kelly has contributed to research initiatives, conferences and international gatherings on almost every continent of the world. His researches and pastoral antennae have also taken him on numerous further visits to places such as the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and Continental Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. In 1967, he was a co-founding member of the Association of Teachers of Moral Theology. In 1995, Kevin visited Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and the Philippines, taking part in an Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n theological consultation on the challenges of HIV/AIDS, and interviewing many people in connection with research for his forthcoming book on the subject, particularly to inform his reflections on the impact of these conditions upon women and upon how the position of women in society exacerbated the dilemmas posed by HIV/AIDS. In 1997, Kelly was also a co-founding member of the International Catholic Theological Coalition for HIV/AIDS Prevention, and, in 1999, he spent the summer in Zimbabwe and Zambia, helping to run two National Winter schools in the former which sought to educate people on the moral and pastoral issues concerning the care of those whose lives are affected by HIV/AIDS. Whilst there he sought out further experiential research opportunities through visiting partners of the UK Catholic aid agency (CAFOD) responsible for the care of AIDS orphans and also for AIDS home-care initiatives.
His pastoral achievements, however, were yet to take a further turn after his inner-city work and weekly sessions in the "library on wheels" that the train to and from London became for him. Kelly’s doctoral dissertation explored the work of Anglican moral theologians of the 17th century, and his ecumenical sensitivity and commitment, as indicated, have been amongst the most constant features of his life and career. Kelly took up the post as Catholic Pastor of the Ecumenical Anglican and Roman Catholic church of St Basil’s and All Saints http://www.stbasilandallsaints.org.uk/, at Hough Green
Hough Green
Hough Green is a residential area of the town of Widnes, within the borough of Halton, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Historically, it was part of Lancashire until 1974....
near Widnes
Widnes
Widnes is an industrial town within the borough of Halton, in Cheshire, England, with an urban area population of 57,663 in 2004. It is located on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. Directly to the south across the Mersey is the town of Runcorn...
.
Liverpool Hope University announced that they will be awarding Kevin Kelly an honorary Doctorate at its graduation ceremony in 2007 and The Centre for the Study of Contemporary Ecclesiologyhttp://www.hope.ac.uk/research/ecclesiology/ has honoured Kevin Kelly by awarding him its very first Honorary Fellowship for his services to the church, to pastoral care, to moral theology, to ecumenism and to the wider community in general.
Publications
- From a Parish Base: Essays in Moral and Pastoral Theology http://www.hope.ac.uk/artsandhumanities/hopepark/theology/staff/Kevin%20Kelly%20Texts/From%20Parish%20Base/From%20a%20Parish%20Base.rtf (Darton Longman and Todd, 1999)
- New Directions in Sexual Ethics: Moral Theology and the Challenge of AIDS http://www.hope.ac.uk/artsandhumanities/hopepark/theology/staff/Kevin%20Kelly%20Texts/New%20Directions%20in%20Sexual%20Ethics/New%20Directions%20in%20Sexual%20Ethics.rtf (Continuum, 1998)
- New Directions in Moral Theology: The Challenge of Being Human http://www.hope.ac.uk/artsandhumanities/hopepark/theology/staff/Kevin%20Kelly%20Texts/The%20Challenge%20of%20Being%20Human/The%20challenge%20of%20being%20human.rtf (Continuum, 1992)
- Conscience: Dictator or Guide? A Study in 17th Century English Protestant Moral Theology (Geoffrey Chapman, 1967)
- Divorce and Second Marriage: Facing the Challenge, (Collins, 1982)
- Life and Love: Towards a Christian dialogue on bioethical questions, (Collins, 1987)
- Divorce and Second Marriage: Facing the Challenge, New and Expanded Edition, (Geoffrey Chapman, 1997)
Selection of Contributions to Other Publications
- 'The Role of the Moral Theologian in the Church', in R Gallagher & B McConvery (edits), Conscience and History, Gill & Macmillan, 1989, 8-23
- 'Divorce and Remarriage', in Bernard Hoose (edit), Christian Ethics: An Introduction, Geoffrey Chapman, 1998, 248-265
- 'Divorce', in Adrian Hastings (editor), The Oxford Companion to Christian Thought, Oxford University Press, 2000, 172-173
- 'A Moral Theologian faces the new Millennium in a time of AIDS', in James Keenan (editor), with Jon Fuller, Lisa Sowle Cahill & Kevin Kelly, Catholic Ethicists on HIV/AIDS Prevention, Continuum, 2000, 324-332.
- 'Some theological reflections on the parish reports', in Noel Timms (edit), Diocesan Dispositions & Parish Voices in RC Church, Ashgate, 2001, 167-180
- 'Divorce and Remarriage', in James J Walter, Timothy E O'Connell & Thomas A Shannon (editors), A Call to Fidelity: On the Moral Theology of Charles E Curran, Georgetown University Press, 2002, 97-112
- 'Resuscitation', in Peter Drury, Tony Flynn, Kevin T Kelly, Resuscitation: Whose Decision? Christian Council on Ageing, 2003, 13-25
- 'It's Great to be Alive', in Linda Hogan & Barbara Fitzgerald, Between Poetry and Politics: Essays in honour of Enda McDonagh Columba Press, 2003.