President takes oath as bishops debate
it
By PAMELA SCHAEFFER
NCR Staff
As U.S. Catholic bishops struggled in mid-November with tensions
related to Vatican norms for higher education, one U.S. university president
was preparing to buck tradition.
On Nov. 19, the final day of a four-day meeting of U.S. Catholic
bishops in Washington, the new president of The Catholic University of America
recited a controversial oath of fidelity.
During an inaugural ceremony at the Basilica of the National
Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, Vincentian Fr. David M.
OConnell vowed publicly to hold fast to the deposit of faith in its
entirety and to avoid any teachings opposed to that
faith.
The oath, required of Catholic college and university presidents
under the 1983 Code of Canon Law, but strongly opposed by most of them, is
among issues causing the tensions with Rome. Also controversial is a
requirement that theologians obtain a mandate from a local bishop to teach.
Bishops discussed the thorny issues in higher education Nov. 18, during their
annual meeting in Washington.
Cardinal James Hickey of Washington told NCR, Fr.
OConnell and the board regarded it as appropriate that he take the
oath. Hickey is chancellor of The Catholic University
Monika Hellwig, executive director of the Association of Catholic
Colleges and Universities, said she did not regard OConnells
decision as precedent-setting.
Unique position
Catholic University is in a unique position because it is
chartered by the Holy See, she said. It is the only major university in
the nation with a direct relationship to the Vatican. She said some academics
had been taken by surprise by OConnells action. But,
she said, no college or university presidents had called her to discuss it.
Jesuit Fr. William Byron, a former president of The Catholic
University, said he knew of no presidents of The Catholic University in recent
times who had taken such an oath. Hellwig recalled that professors at The
Catholic University formerly took an oath against modernism. The practice has
been abandoned.
Vincent P. Walter Jr., OConnells chief of staff, said
the new president was too busy to speak with NCR about his action.
OConnell, 43, took his oath in the context of an inaugural
speech that suggested other universities should follow suit. Noting that The
Catholic University was founded in 1887 as the national university of the
church in the United States, he said the school should lead the way
in showing what it means to be Catholic and what it means to be a
university.
The 230 Catholic institutions of higher learning in the United
States have a responsibility to set goals beyond acceptance from the
academic community, he said. What would it profit us to surrender
that responsibility or even to strike compromises in its regard to gain the
grudging acceptance of the whole academic world, only to lose our soul in the
process, he asked.
Identity and Ex Corde
OConnells words evoked the spirit of Ex Corde
Ecclesiae (From the Heart of the Church); his oath evoked its
letter. Ex Corde Ecclesiae is a papal document calling for Catholic
colleges and universities to strengthen their Catholic identity and conform to
canon law. Since the document was released in 1990, most Catholic colleges and
universities have given high priority to efforts to strengthen Catholic
identity. That identity, many agree, is at risk in an era of declining
vocations to religious orders that sponsor Catholic schools.
Based on six years of conversations with university administrators
and theologians, U.S. bishops in 1996 voted overwhelmingly in favor of a
pastoral strategy adopting the spirit of Ex Corde Ecclesiae but
circumventing canonical requirements deemed incompatible with academic freedom.
The Vatican rejected the pastoral approach the following year.
U.S. bishops, at their meeting last month, considered stricter
norms proposed by a subcommittee headed by Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua of
Philadelphia. Bishop John J. Leibrecht of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, Mo., said
his committee, which developed the pastoral approach, would seek
recommendations from bishops in the months ahead and, in consultation with
Bevilacquas subcommittee, prepare a new draft aimed at compromise with
the Vaticans demands. That draft is expected to be voted on next
November.
Archbishop Rembert Weakland, speaking against such compromise,
asked whether it would be possible to approach Rome and reaffirm the original,
pastoral draft. He said he strongly opposed further consultations with college
and university presidents, whom, he said, have already spoken forcefully about
their opposition to applying canonical rules. Why sit down with us again
if were not going to be the ones making the decision? Weakland
asked, referring to the Vaticans refusal to accept the bishops
previous vote.
Retired Archbishop John R. Quinn of San Francisco cited a growing
interest in Catholic religious events on campuses, such as Masses and retreats.
It would be very imprudent to place these in jeopardy by applying
norms in a way that would diminish the status of Catholic
universiies, he said.
National Catholic Reporter, December 11,
1998
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