In wake of Ex Corde theologians ponder
options
By PAMELA SCHAEFFER
NCR Staff
While U.S. bishops ponder procedures for certifying theologians
who teach in Catholic universities, some theologians have already decided what
to do.
Some say that when (and if) the time comes to seek certification
from a church official, they will not do it.
Others have decided to cooperate with whatever procedures bishops
develop, or at least to give serious consideration to whatever is proposed.
Many others, perhaps most, are simply undecided. Several
interviewed by NCR said they are waiting and hoping that bishops will
fulfill their promise to engage in dialogue with theologians before deciding on
a course.
According to norms approved by U.S. bishops in November 1999,
theologians will be expected to request a mandatum, or mandate, from
their local bishops as a way of complying with Canon 812 in the churchs
Code of Canon Law. Specific procedures are to be worked out by bishops after
the Vatican has approved the new rules.
Canon 812 is new to the 1983 code. Compliance has been demanded by
the Vatican as follow-up to Pope John Paul IIs 1990 apostolic letter on
higher education, Ex Corde Ecclesiae (From the Heart of the
Church). The pope wants to ensure that Catholic colleges and universities
remain faithful to Catholic tradition in their quest for academic excellence.
Many university administrators have accepted the popes agenda, at least
in part. Many also feel, though, that the pope lacks understanding of academic
freedom in the United States and the need for theologians to operate within
that system.
NCR queried theologians around the country following
publication of an article in the Feb. 12 issue of America, Why I
Shall Not Seek a Mandate, by Fr. Richard P. McBrien. McBrien is author of
the best-selling introductory theology text Catholicism and a professor
at the University of Notre Dame. He said the process of seeking and granting
mandates would compromise academic integrity. It would do so, he said, by
introducing an external, non-academic agent in the internal, academic
processes that govern hiring, promoting and firing faculty. It would also
allow bishops to determine what courses faculty members might teach and in what
department -- whether in theology, or religious studies, for instance. Such
matters are the province of university administrators and department
chairs.
Several theologians, including some who requested anonymity, and
some who had not decided what they themselves would do, said they were glad
McBrien had gone public with his position.
Im glad somebody is speaking out, said John
Connolly, professor of systematic theology at Loyola Marymount University in
Los Angeles, who said he will not seek a mandate. I think its time
to stand up and oppose this. The bishops just gave in to Rome. If the bishops
had said no, this would have been over.
Connolly, a layman, said his mandate to teach theology derives not
from any bishop but from his baptism and his professional credentials.
What is the mandatum going to give me that is going to enhance or
facilitate my research, my teaching, my personal faith or even my relationship
to the church? asked Connolly, who has been teaching theology for nearly
30 years.
Gary Macy, professor and former chair of the theology department
at the University of San Diego, said he will not seek a mandate. I
suspect that many will not, he said.
On the other side is William Portier, who teaches at Mount St.
Marys College in Emmitsburg, Md., and is a candidate for president of the
College Theology Society, a Catholic academic group. Portier intends to seek a
mandate when the time comes and rejects the view that it will put his
professional integrity at risk.
Portier set forth his view last fall in Communio: International
Catholic Review. There he wrote, Since the affirmation of church
authority is an intrinsic part of Catholic theology and not an external
imposition, the application of Canon 812 would involve no violation in
principle of theologys autonomy.
In an interview with NCR, Portier said, Its
counterintuitive for Catholic theologians to be continually in a reflex
adversarial position with the Vatican. He added, I belong to a
different generation than Fr. McBrien. Im 54. He belongs to the
generation that taught me. He experienced Vatican II as an adult. Thats
what divides him from my generation. It gives him a different
perspective. McBrien is 63.
Portier said some other theologians had reacted strongly and
negatively to his views.
Roberto Goizueta, theology professor at Boston College, is among
the undecided. I want to wait and see what happens with the
implementation process. Right now, we are responding to something that
hasnt been concretized, he said.
Goizuetas concern is that the requirement for the
mandatum will ultimately undermine the goals of Ex Corde
Ecclesiae -- that is, the goal of heading off secularization at Catholic
universities. My concern is this could actually short circuit some of the
initiatives that have been taken, he said.
Shawn Copeland of Marquette University said she is keeping an open
mind. I owe a great deal to the church, she said. I have been
steeped in the church my whole life. I certainly want to be sensitive to
whatever the church asks of me. I dont want to reject it out of
hand.
Copeland said she understands the argument that faculty at
universities should not be subject to outside controls such as Catholic
bishops. She understands it, she said, but she doesnt entirely buy it.
Faculty members are open to inspections and evaluations from accrediting
agencies -- groups external to the university, she said. We accept the
standards they set in order to be able to say were accredited, she
said. Its almost impossible to operate without that.
Reactions from theologians are all over the map, said
Sr. Mary Ann Hinsdale, theologian at College of the Holy Cross. Hinsdale is a
member of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Congregation, Monroe, Mich. She holds a
licentiate in sacred theology -- a pontifical degree that she considers her
certification to teach. Ive always considered that to be a
mandate, she said. If procedures require her to seek another, she
hasnt decided what she will do. I think its premature to
say, she said. Working out the guidelines could take a long
time.
Sacred Heart Sr. Theresa Moser of San Francisco, president of the
College Theology Society, said theologians as a group are deeply conflicted.
University presidents are concerned about potential legal complications of the
implementation norms, and theologians just feel caught, she said.
Theres a lot of concern and a lot of wait and see.
Moser, who recently attended a meeting of college and university
presidents, said, At least one Jesuit president had pointed out that
bishops have a serious pastoral problem with theologians. Theologians
think that passing juridical norms was a betrayal of trust, because
for a long time they had been led to hope that the norms would be
non-juridical, she said.
She referred to a plan for implementing Ex Corde Ecclesiae
approved by bishops in 1995 but rejected by the Vatican because it did not
provide for implementation of Canon 812.
Mercy Sr. Margaret Farley, president of the Catholic Theological
Society of America and a professor at Yale, said giving bishops right of
approval over theologians at universities represents a serious setback for the
field and for the church.
If the mandate were understood as offering a kind of
blessing or missioning on the part of the church for his or her work, that
would be wonderful. Its ecclesiastically important and devotionally
important. Nobody disagrees with the goal of communion between
theologians and the rest of the church. But to give the bishops juridical
power. ... It has taken years for Catholic theology to be accepted as an
academic discipline in this country, and this development threatens all of
that, she said.
Farley added, There are no theologians who would say
academic respectability is the only important issue. They all feel its
important to also be working in the service of the church. But for that
to be as effective, theologians have to maintain their credibility among their
peers, she said.
Further, Farley said, mandates will have a negative effect on the
church and on universities by exacerbating a climate of suspicion
that has developed in recent years. Some theologians fear that authorizing
bishops to grant mandates will give right-wing groups ammunition in their
campaigns for rigid orthodoxy. A hostile environment could negatively affect
alumni funding for universities, Farley said.
National Catholic Reporter, February 25,
2000
|