Charles John Brown

Brown was born on October 13, 1959, in the East Village, Manhattan, in New York City, when it was a mostly Jewish neighborhood. He later said his family "were pretty much the only gentile family in the apartment block" as he grew up as the oldest of six children. When he was five, the family moved to Rye, New York and in 1971 to Windham, New York.[1] His family's roots are in Ireland and German."[2]

Brown earned a Bachelor of History degree at the University of Notre Dame,[3] an Master of Theology degree at University of Oxford, and an Master of Medieval Studies degree at the University of Toronto. He then entered the seminary and earned an Master of Divinity degree at Saint Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, New York, and an

Brown was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of New York by Cardinal John O'Connor on May 13, 1989[4] in St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan. From 1989 to 1991, he served as was assistant priest at St. Brendan's Parish in The Bronx, New York City. In 1991, Cardinal O'Connor sent Brown to study in Rome. He earned a Doctor of Sacred Theology degree at the Pontifical University St. Anselmo. In 1994, Brown stayed in Rome to join the CDF staff,[1] where he remained until 2012.

Pope John Paul II appointed Brown as a chaplain of his holiness on May 6, 2000. He was named as adjunct secretary of the International Theological Commission in September 2009. .[3][5][6][7][8]

Brown described the rebirth as the spring after 20 years of winter, saying he saw "green shoots." "You see a renewed enthusiasm among young Catholics in Ireland now," said Brown, who was appointed as papal ambassador in November 2011, at the cusp of the church's troubles stemming from a long-standing period of unreported clergy sexual abuse. The new generation of Catholics, some of whom are studying for the priesthood at Saint Patrick's College, the national seminary in Maynooth, or the Pontifical Irish College in Rome, will "lead the Church forward into the next decade," he said. Young Catholics represent what is best in the tradition of the Second Vatican Council, "the idea of communicating the ancient unchanging faith in a new, vibrant and attractive way," he said.[13]

However, in The Tablet, Fr Sean McDonagh wrote:

"Figures on the bishops' own website show the age profile of Irish priests. Over 65 per cent of Irish priests are aged 55 or over. There are only two priests under the age of 40 in the Archdiocese of Dublin. A priest in Killala diocese, Fr Brendan Hoban, pointed out that there has been a priest and celebration of the Eucharist in his parish –Moygownagh – since the eighth century. But he believes he will be that last priest in that parish. At the moment there is a priest in every parish in Killala. Within 20 years there will be seven serving 22 parishes spread out over a wide area. The situation is much same in other dioceses. The research points out that to maintain the status quo would mean ordaining 82 priests each year. The reality is that 20 students entered Maynooth in September 2013. It is likely that only 10 or 12 will be ordained in 2020".[14]

In August 2015, Brown warned that the church's emphasis on a handful of social issues such as abortion, same-sex marriage and contraception allowed for a view of the church that was nothing more than "a caricature", ignoring its spirituality and history, its vision of eternal life. He also stated that the Irish bishops did "an excellent job" in their unsuccessful campaign against the legalization of same-sex marriage in Ireland before May 2015 referendum on the issue.[15]