In a footnote to a recent post, I referred to Father John Francis Maxwell’s vastly underappreciated Slavery and the Catholic Church: The History of Catholic Teaching concerning the Moral Legitimacy of the Institution of Slavery. Barry Rose Publishers, located in Chichester (UK), published it in 1975 in association with the Anti-Slavery Society for the Protection of Human Rights (its name from 1956 to 1990; it’s now the Anti-Slavery International). A foreword was provided by the Right Honorable Richard Wilberforce, Lord Wilberforce, C.M.G, O.B.E., great grandson of the abolitionist William Wilberforce.
Ten years ago I posted a facsimile of the full text of Maxwell’s book on my old site. I hope that someone with the authority to do so will retype Slavery and the Catholic Church either from my pdf or a physical copy of the book and cause it to be published as a searchable eBook.
Unfortunately, I’ve not been able to discover who, if anyone, has the copyright to the book. Can a reader point me in the right direction? Here’s my homework to date.
Father Maxwell wrote in his preface: “The author wishes to record his thanks to the Most Reverend Cyril C. Cowderoy, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Southwark, who released him from parochial duties between 1966 and 1973 and enabled him to do full-time research.”
Unless there were two Father John Maxwells assigned to the Diocese of Southwark (or I’m overlooking some other possibility), then the author died on August 19, 2007.
Six years later, I wrote to the Secretary and Webmaster of the Archdiocese of Southwark about Fr. Maxwell. I did not hear back. Today I reached out again to that person on LinkedIn.
Barry Rose, who published the book in 1975 when he was 52, passed away in 2005 at age 82. He sold the company; its new owners renamed it Barry Rose Law Publishers Ltd. An internet search yields an address (5 East Row, PO19 1PG, Chichester, West Sussex England), a phone number (01243 783637), and an email address, which I used today to inquire about who holds the copyright. Minutes later I got this bounce-back:
Address not found: Your message wasn’t delivered to books@barry-rose-law.co.uk because the domain barry-rose-law.co.uk couldn’t be found.
If you know anyone who knows how to get to the bottom of this copyright matter, I’d be grateful to hear from him or her. Slavery and the Catholic Church deserves a better platform than my old site (which, like its owner, won’t be around forever).
What reinforced my conviction was a long, one-star 2015 Amazon “review” of Slavery and the Catholic Church by one “Jeri” entitled “The information in this book is biased and poorly organized.” It starts with this sentence fragment—”A biased and confusing book which leaves out the most important historical points”—and goes downhill from there.
Since ascertaining the Catholic Church’s teaching about the moral legitimacy of slavery, and not recounting “the most important historical points,” was not Father Maxwell’s purpose, the “review” is misleading. If the misdirection was unintentional, then the “reviewer” is merely confused; otherwise . . . .
Here’s the text of my rebuttal (which you can also read on Amazon where it appeared today):
Fr. Maxwell’s book is about the history of the Catholic Church’s TEACHING on slavery, and no book on that topic could be better organized. His aim was to outline what must be included in an exhaustive documentary history of the Church’s TEACHING about slavery’s LEGITIMACY, which he did not pretend to deliver in 135 pages, as the following abridgement of its detailed table of contents makes clear:
A) The reasons why the common Catholic TEACHING concerning the moral LEGITIMACY of the institution of slavery was not corrected before 1965
(B) The history of the common Catholic TEACHING concerning the moral LEGITIMACY of the institution of slavery
(i) The institution of slavery in the Old Testament
(ii) Natural freedom and legal slavery under Roman law
(iii) The institution of slavery in the New Testament
(iv) The TEACHING of the Church Fathers and Councils up to the late twelfth century
(v) The influence of Greek philosophy and Roman civil law on the formulation of the common Catholic TEACHING concerning slavery, late twelfth to mid-fifteenth century
(vi) The practical application in West Africa and Latin America of the common Catholic TEACHING concerning slavery, fifteenth to sixteenth centuries
(vii) The TEACHING and decrees of the Holy See concerning slavery, sixteenth to nineteenth centuries
(viii) The explanations by moralists of questions, relating to the common Catholic TEACHING concerning slavery, sixteenth century to 1958
(ix) The gradual appreciation of the existence of errors in the common Catholic TEACHING on slavery, leading to their long-delayed official correction, 1573-1965
To this Jeri’s remarks about Vikings, the origin of the word “slave,” and the anti-slavery efforts of Catholics are irrelevant. Let’s hear Father Maxwell on his purposes, since few readers will have access to the book. Here are excerpts from his Preface:
The original intention had been to prepare a collection of documents with short commentaries, something along the lines of the work of S. Z. Ehler and J. B. Morrall Church and State through the Centuries (London, 1954). For the situation is that no adequate documentary study exists to illustrate the history of Catholic TEACHING in the Western Church concerning the moral LEGITIMACY of the institution of slavery. Historical studies on particular moral problems can provide source-material for general histories of Catholic moral theology; it is no doubt regrettably true that because of the lack of such specialized historical studies in the past, no detailed full-scale history of the whole field of Catholic moral theology has yet been written.
However, the preparation of a full documentary history in this particular field is beyond the limited capabilities of the collector and translator of these documents. Further research is needed especially of Portuguese and Italian sources; and if the archives of the Holy Office (now the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) could be placed at the disposal of competent investigators, this would be likely to provide a rich store of theological source-material. The author disclaims any expert knowledge of ecclesiastical history; and the provision of an adequate historical background in proper perspective for some of the documents is something which would demand the willing collaboration of an ecclesiastical and a social historian. So the author apologizes in advance that this is a mere interim report after a private investigation into the history of the common Catholic teaching in this particular area. This interim report indicates that future expert investigation is called for. As a preliminary summary presentation of the case it presupposes in the reader a minimal knowledge of the history of Western Europe.
By all means, disagree with an author’s aim, and judge him if he failed to achieve it. But don’t distort it—especially when he announces in advance its limits and underscores his limitations.
Again, you can read Slavery and the Catholic Church: The History of Catholic Teaching concerning the Moral Legitimacy of the Institution of Slavery on my old site, but if you can help it find a more suitable home, please let me know. Thanks.
