Daniel Charles Maguire

Daniel C. Maguire, Professor Emeritus of Theology at Marquette University, died peacefully at his home in Milwaukee on May 21, 2025 at the age of 94. He was a gentle soul and a courageous champion for social justice. His family knew him as loving, kind, generous, and patient. For his students, he was a selfless mentor and advisor. His friends' lives were enriched by his wit and warmth, and his signature sense of mirth endured until his last days. Daniel loved the company of his seven grandchildren. Even in his 90s, he could command the room and inspire their laughter as they watched sports together or discussed current events. Their political positions were largely aligned. Written on the cake celebrating his final birthday on April 4 was "Still Woke at 94."

Daniel Maguire was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 4, 1931 to Bernard and Catherine ("Cassie" Gallagher) Maguire, who had emigrated from Glenties in County Donegal, Ireland with his six older siblings - Annie, Patrick, Connell, Bernard, Kathleen, and Teresa. Maguire graduated from La Salle College High School and began study for the priesthood at St. Charles Seminary in Philadelphia, where he earned a B.A. He was sent to Rome for further study and earned a Master's and Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he was ordained a Catholic priest in 1955. The Vatican granted his request for laicization from the priesthood in 1971 to marry his first wife, Marjorie Reiley Maguire. They had two sons - Daniel Charles Maguire, Jr. (1973-1983) and Thomas Edmond Reiley Maguire (Karen) of Chicago, the father of Daniel's seven beloved grandchildren: Isa, Adam, Raadia, Jannah, Yusuf, Zeyneb, and Ayyub. In 1992, Dan married Dr. Edith "Edie" McFadden M.D., who preceded him in death in 2023.

Daniel Maguire was a theologian who did "much to retrieve the foundations of the Roman Catholic ethical tradition even while critical of its misuse," as he was described in the Lifetime Achievement Award he received from the Society of Christian Ethics in 2014. He lectured widely on social justice, medical ethics, women's reproductive rights, and affirmative action. In recent years, Maguire worked against the increasing corporatization of universities and advocated passionately for Palestinian human rights. In its tenth anniversary issue in 1982, Ms. magazine named Maguire "one of the forty male heroes of the decade, men who took chances and made a difference in promoting gender equality." His pro-choice stance on abortion as a Catholic theologian led to the denunciation of vice-presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro by New York's Cardinal O'Connor after she invited Maguire to brief Congress on the issue and quoted him as an authority on abortion and Catholicism.

Maguire authored fourteen books, edited three anthologies, and wrote over two-hundred articles in scholarly and popular journals, magazines, and newspapers. The Moral Choice (1978) was his original and unique contribution to ethical methodology. Published in multiple editions and later rewritten as Ethics, A Complete Method for Moral Choice (2009), The Moral Choice was recognized as Best Book of the Year by the College Theology Society in 1978 and Best Scholarly Book by the Council for Wisconsin Writers. His other books included: Death By Choice (1973, 1984); A New American Justice: Ending the White Male Monopolies (1980); The New Subversives: Anti-Americanism of the Religious Right (1982); The Moral Revolution: A Christian Humanist Vision (1986); The Moral Core of Judaism and Christianity: Reclaiming the Revolution (1993); Sacred Energies: When the World Religions Sit Down to Talk About the Future of Human Life and the Plight of This Planet (2000); Sacred Choices: The Right to Contraception and Abortion in Ten World Religions (2001); A Moral Creed for All Christians (2005); The Horrors We Bless: Rethinking the Just War Legacy (2007); Whose Church?: A Concise Guide to Progressive Catholicism (2008); A Merry Memoir of Sex, Death, and Religion (2013); Christianity Without God: Moving Beyond the Dogmas and Retrieving the Epic Moral Narrative (2014). In 1991, he co-authored On Moral Grounds: The Art/Science of Ethics with his close friend and colleague, A. Nicholas Fargnoli. All of his writings, classes, lectures, and social interactions were peppered with his distinctively Irish sense of humor. Maguire was the President of the Society of Christian Ethics in 1981 and gave his presidential address on "The Feminization of God and Ethics." He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society in 2014. From 1994 to 2008, he was also president of the Religious Consultation on Population, Reproductive Health, and Ethics, an international collegium of scholars from the world's major religions.

Maguire taught at Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia, Villanova University, St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore, and Catholic University in Washington, DC. After his laicization, he joined the theology faculty at Marquette University, where he remained for almost fifty years from 1971 to 2019. He also taught at Notre Dame University (1983-84), where students voted him as one of the top ten teachers, and at Trinity College Dublin (1985), as well as in summer programs at Boston College, St. John's University in Collegeville, and Vancouver School of Theology.

Dan generously donated to many organizations, institutions, and causes. In lieu of flowers, please consider supporting academic freedom with donations in Dan's honor to the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), Marquette University, or Palestine Legal, which defends people who are persecuted for supporting Palestinian rights.

Prasser-Kleczka Funeral Home is handling Dan's green burial at Forest Home Cemetery in Milwaukee. Memorial arrangements are pending.