Late last year, John Lamont approached me to request permission to reprint writings I composed with Robert Fastiggi, who chairs the department of dogmatic theology and Christology at Sacred Heart Major Seminary. Lamont wished to use my and Fastiggi's article "Critics of Amoris Laetitia Ignore Ratzinger’s Rules for Faithful Theological Discourse," as well as a follow-up letter we wrote to a critic, to represent the "other side"—that is, the pro-papal side—in a book he was editing that would attack the Holy Father's teachings (the same teachings to which every Catholic is expected to give religious submission of intellect and will).
I responded to Lamont that I would check with Fastiggi and get back to him, but I did not commit myself. Fastiggi responded to both myself and Lamont, saying he would not object to the republication. In the meantime, I reflected upon the request and decided not to grant my permission. I then forgot about the matter and did not respond further. Had Lamont written me a second time, I would have told him no.
But Lamont did not write me a second time. Instead, he went ahead without my permission and reprinted my and Fastiggi's writings in his edited volume Defending the Faith Against Present Heresies. I wish to state here for the record that the use of my writings in that book without my permission is illegal and wrong. It does not qualify as fair use and is a violation of copyright law.
