Bishop Shannon marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma and protested the Vietnam War. He decided to resign from the episcopate when he could no longer reconcile his personal convictions about family planning with the Vatican's landmark statement, Humanae Vitae, which condemned artificial birth control. Shannon was certain the proclamation was harmful to people's lives. Now happily married, Shannon has become a spokesperson for those working to institute a more democratic and inclusive church in an age of increasing authoritarianism.
