Frank Sheed, in full, Francis Joseph Sheed,[1] (1897–1981), an Australian-born lawyer, was, like his wife Maisie Ward, a writer, publisher, and speaker. Famous in their day as the names behind the imprint Sheed & Ward and as forceful public lecturers in the Catholic Evidence Guild, their reputations have dimmed in subsequent decades. That is an ironic development given that they were ahead of their time in so many ways, foreshadowing most of what was good about the Second Vatican Council.
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Sheed was a lay theologian in Catholicism back in 'clerical days' when there was practically no such thing. He wrote a constant stream of books touching on almost every aspect of basic theology, several of which remain in print. His translation of St. Augustine's Confessions (which he hyped in an advertising campaign as "sex-drenched!") remains acclaimed. As publisher of an all-star roster including Karl Adam, Christopher Dawson, Ronald Knox, and Hugh Pope, he maintained a robust basic Christian faith while keeping pulse on progressive trends.