the ancient Near East. A special autonomous library, the Oliveira Lima Library, sometimes referred to as the Ibero-American Library, houses one of the largest collections of rare books on history and literature of Portuguese Brazilian culture outside of Brazil.
=== Academic freedom ===
==== Dismissal of Professor Charles Curran ====
In 1967, a tenured professor of theology, Reverend Charles E. Curran, was fired for his views on birth control but was reinstated after a five-day faculty-led strike. In 1986, the Vatican declared that Curran could no longer teach theology at Catholic University after the Curia department in charge of promulgating Catholic doctrine, headed by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, decided he was unfit. The areas of dispute included publishing articles that debated theological and ethical views regarding divorce, artificial contraception, masturbation, pre-marital intercourse, and homosexual acts.
A report American Association of University Professors noted, "Had it not been for the intervention …
