Reverend David C. Kelly, Ph.D.
Professor of Moral Theology
Rev. David C. Kelly, MM, ordained a priest in Boston in 1957, is a Maryknoll missionary who has worked in Guatemala, El Salvador and Peru. He holds licentiate and doctoral degrees in moral theology from Louvain University in Belgium. He has taught at the Archdiocesan seminary in San Salvador, El Salvador and at Maryknoll Seminary in Ossining N.Y.
His interests are in moral theology as it relates to cultural values and conduct, as well as the connection between evangelization, moral theology and contemporary cultural challenges. He is especially interested in the changes happening in American cultural patterns as they impact on the American Catholic Church.
In his missionary work he was always challenged by the different ways in which people understood the world around them and the need they always had of moral education and correct formation of the conscience. He came to see, in his missionary work, how knowing and living the truths taught by the Catholic Church the people’s faith and human dignity were strengthened and freed up to grow.
He enjoys teaching in the seminary because it provides him an opportunity to share his pastoral theological experiences in other cultures and the challenge of mission as it impacts on theology and evangelization. He also learns a lot from the faculty and students.