SNIPPET: John Courtney MURRAY (1904-67) was a Catholic priest whose writings on religious freedom and the relationship between church and state exerted a profound influence on the faithful in and out of the Catholic Church. Born in NYC to a Scottish father and an Irish mother (Margaret COURTNEY), he entered the Catholic priesthood and was ordained in 1937. That same year he accepted a position of professor of theology at the Catholic seminary in Woodstock, MD. He wrote widely on the subject of church-state relations, eventually drawing the ire (and censure) of Rome for his argument that the American-style separation of church and state was both compatible with Catholic teaching and a model for other societies. His book "We Hold These Truths: Catholic Reflections on the American Proposition" brought him national attention (and his photo on the cover of "Time" magazine) and helped to dispel concerns over whether Catholics were fit for national office during the election of John F. KENNEDY. He later served as an advisor to the Second Vatican Council in Rome and helped write the Declaration on Religious Freedom. -- Excerpt, "1001 Things Everyone Should Know About Irish American History," Edward T. O'Donnell, Holden, MA (Broadway Books/NY 2002)