Father James A. Coriden passed to eternal life on Feb. 7.
Father Coriden was born in 1932 in Hammond and was baptised and confirmed at St. Joseph in his hometown. He graduated from Central Catholic High School (now Bishop Noll Institute), also in Hammond, in 1950 before continuing his education at Our Lady of the Lake Seminary in Wawasee.
He was ordained to the priesthood in 1957 for the Diocese of Gary and earned a Doctor of Canon Law in 1961, joining Canon Law Society of America (CLSA) that same year.
Father Coriden served on the tribunal and in the chancery of the Diocese of Gary in the late 1960s and then taught canon law at The Catholic University of America before joining the faculty at Washington Theological Union in 1975. He taught there for more than three decades.
Father Coriden attended St. Meinrad Seminary, received a Licentiate in Sacred Theology and a Doctorate in Canon Law from the Gregorian University, and a Doctor of Laws from The Catholic University's School of Law. He was admitted to practice before the bar of the Supreme Court of the State of Indiana, the Court of Appeals and the United States District Court of the District of Columbia, and the United States Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia Circuit.
“The CLSA owes Father Coriden a debt of gratitude for serving as one of the editors for the CLSA’s New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law that was published in 2000,” said the CLSA in a statement that appeared on its website. “He wrote numerous other books and articles on canon law and theology throughout his life.
“CLSA members of a certain age will remember Father Coriden as the stalwart member who proposed a resolution at nearly every convention for many years. A review of past issues of Proceedings from the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s confirms his involvement in the Society in this unique way.”
In 1987, Father Coriden was chosen as the CLSA’s Role of Law Award recipient. He was also the recipient of the 2011 Catholic Theology Society of America’s John Courtney Murray Award, the highest honor bestowed by that society on a theologian.
“I believe the last time he was here (in the Diocese of Gary) was for the priests' jubilee celebration in 2018,” said Father Dominic Bertino, senior priest. “Belonging to the cathedral parish and having attended the school, I often served Mass for him when he was in residence there.”
Father Sammie Maletta, pastor of St. John the Evangelist in St. John, recalled Father Coriden was very helpful to him on several occasions.
“He was so much smarter than me, but he never made me feel stupid as I called him repeatedly on canonical questions,” he said. “I always found him patient and kind – a true gentleman.”
Father Maletta added that as a young priest, Coriden was someone from his home diocese who had made it “big” outside the diocese.
“As a priest of the Diocese of Gary I was proud that he came from us to serve the broader Church,” he said.
Details of Father Coriden’s funeral arrangements are still pending.
Editor’s Note: Details provided in this article were shared by Catholic Theology Society of America.