Francis X. Murphy

Francis X. Murphy (1915-2002) was a Redemptorist chaplain and theology professor. He is most known for his articles about the Second Vatican Council, published under the pseudonym Xavier Rynne.cite web
url= http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1141/is_26_38/ai_86047261
accessdate= 2008-04-17
first= Arthur
last= Jones
title= Another luminary lost: F.X. Murphy dies at 87; as Xavier Rynne, exuberant scholar revealed the inside story of Vatican II
publisher= National Catholic Reporter
date= May 3, 2002]

Murphy was born to Irish immigrants in what was then called the Irish Bronx. His father was a policeman. Murphy took Redemptorist vows in 1935 and was ordained a priest in 1940.

He worked as a naval chaplain at Annapolis, Maryland, with Catholic Relief Services in Europe after the Second World War and then as a chaplain with the United States military. Murphy received masters and doctoral degrees from the Catholic University of America.

In 1959 Murphy became a professor of moral theology at Pontifical Lateran University.

Under the psuedonym Xavier Rynne, combining his middle name and his mother's maiden name, he revealed the inner workings of Vatican II to The New Yorker.cite web
url= http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990DE6DE103CF936A25757C0A9649C8B63
accessdate= 2008-04-17
title= Francis Murphy Dies at 87; Chronicled Vatican Debates
first= Eric
last= Page
date= April 15, 2002] He is credited with setting the tone for the popular view of the conclave, depicting it as "conservative" versus "liberal". [cite web
url= http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A34617-2002Apr11
accessdate= 2008-04-17
title= Priest Francis X. Murphy Dies; Wrote Dispatches on Vatican II
author= Graeme Zielinski
date= April 12, 2002
page= B06]

During the 1970s Murphy served as a visiting professor at Princeton University and later was connected with Johns Hopkins University. He then served as rector of Holy Redeemer College in Washington DC. He wrote more than 20 books in his lifetime, under his pseudonym and his own name.

Bibliography

* "John XXIII: The Story of the Pope" (1959)
* "Letters from Vatican City : Vatican Council II, first session : background and debates" (1963)
* "The second session; the debates and decrees of Vatican Council II, September 29 to December 4, 1963" (1964)
* "The third session; the debates and decrees of Vatican Council II, September 14 to November 21, 1964" (1965)
* "The fourth session; the debates and decrees of Vatican Council II, September 14 to December 8, 1965" (1966)
* "The Pilgrim Pope" (1979)

References