WASHINGTON (CNS) – Moral theologian William E. May, who taught theology for decades and wrote numerous books and scholarly articles, died Dec. 13 at age 86 surrounded by members of his family in a Maryland suburb of Washington.

His funeral Mass was celebrated Dec. 20 at Holy Redeemer parish in Kensington, Md., followed by burial at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Silver Spring, Md.

Catholic journalist and author Russell Shaw described May as “one of the most prominent moral theologians of his day” who was “a forthright defender of orthodox Catholic faith; the prolific author of a steady stream of books and articles, scholarly and popular alike; and a dedicated teacher, who helped prepare hundreds of young men and women for academic careers and pastoral service in and to the Church.”

Shaw, writing in the Dec. 16 issue of Our Sunday Visitor, also described May as a “devoted husband and father and a faithful, big-hearted friend of extraordinary generosity who was never happier than when giving others the praise he thought they deserved.”

Since 2008, May had been a senior research fellow at the Culture of Life Foundation, a Washington-based research and educational institute.

From 1991 to 2008, he was the Michael J. McGivney professor of moral theology at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at The Catholic University of America in Washington. Before that he taught at Catholic University for 20 years.

He also taught at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome and several other institutions. In 1986, Pope John Paul II appointed him a member of the Vatican’s International Theological Commission, a position he held through 1997. He was a theological expert at the 1987 world Synod of Bishops on the vocation and mission of the laity.