EDITORIAL Now theologians, alone face the mandatum
Almost imperceptibly, it seems,
after more than a decade of sometimes heated debate and anguished negotiations,
the Catholic academic world is about to cross a line that could alter the way
it does its work for a long time.
This is the season of theological gatherings, when two of the
major Catholic theological organizations -- the College Theological Society and
the Catholic Theological Society of America -- will meet. They do this annually
at the end of the academic year. But this year is different.
Soon after their meetings, U.S. Catholic bishops will gather June
14-16 in Atlanta for their annual spring meeting. One of the agenda items is to
vote approval of the final draft of the guidelines concerning the academic
mandatum that requires teachers of theology in Catholic colleges and
universities to obtain authorization to teach from the local bishop.
Ex Corde Ecclesiae, the 1990 papal document on higher
education, called for the implementation of Canon 812, which contains the
requirement for the mandatum.
Nothing will stop the bishops from approving the requirement. In
earlier stages of debate, the bishops rejected the provision of the
mandatum and later attempted to negotiate a modification of the statute
with Vatican authorities, all to no avail.
Vatican officials today have little regard for national
conferences, and todays bishops apparently have little inclination to
carry the debate any further.
Which leaves the academic community, particularly theologians at
Catholic colleges, as the last line of defense against the imposition of this
new rule.
Many bishops have met with theological faculties in advance of the
spring vote. Most of the informal reports weve heard tell of cordial
gatherings, with most bishops trying to reassure the scholars there is nothing
to worry about. But the question here is not whether the local bishop is a
benevolent and charming chap. Bishops change.
The question, rather, is whether our best and brightest
theologians will take a step that will be difficult to undo, a step into
unknown territory that could well compromise their academic discipline for
years. For no matter how soothing a bishop might be in explaining his position
on Ex Corde, in reality no one knows what sanctions a given bishop might
attempt to impose against a theologian. No one knows the ramifications for an
institution of higher education should a bishop decide to discipline a
theologian.
In an affront to U.S. standards for academic conduct, crossing the
line means theologians, whose work is inside the university, will now be
seeking validation and approval outside it.
While certain elements in Rome argue that Ex Corde is meant
to shore up Catholic identity, it is difficult to see it as much more than an
expression of distrust and exercise of unwarranted power. The Vatican has
already neutralized the authority of the U.S. bishops by ignoring their wisdom
and the nearly unanimous votes that would have put in place a less severe
juridical measure, one that also had the broad approval of the academic
community.
The bishops original approach and the first draft of the
implementation of Canon 812 advocated a pastoral approach. Rome insisted on a
more juridical approach. Now the bishops are left trying to put a pastoral face
on a legal scheme.
Anyone who values the theological endeavor knows these are
dangerous times for Catholic thinkers. Only history will show how deeply the
discipline has been damaged in this era of crackdown and disciplining where it
seems a Vatican congregation is bringing action against a theologian almost
weekly.
One has to wonder, though, what would happen if our best
theologians at the most prestigious institutions decided not to seek the
mandatum. Perhaps the more appropriate question is, what happens if they
do?
National Catholic Reporter, May 25,
2001
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