I think that's right.  Fr. Brown published a major study, 'The Birth of the Messiah', in which he reviewed the biblical evidence for (among other things) the Virgin Birth.  He reached a very traditional, even conservative conclusion about the doctrine, but apparently his critics didn't approve of his method, which was not limited to but certainly included historical and literary criticism.  I re-read 'Messiah' last Advent, and found it as rewarding now, or maybe more so, as when I first read it.