Catholicity as Catholic

The Rev. Richard P. McBrien’s presentation of reasons for not seeking a mandatum (2/12) seems to rival the proposed mandatum itself in its problematic character. Here I wish to note only two of the questionable aspects of the article.

1. The author wonders: Why are the mandates limited to theologians, while chemists, biologists, philosophers, etc. are let completely off the hook? And he goes on to say, If we are really concerned about the Catholic character of our universities, we should be concerned about the whole faculty and the whole administration, not just the theology department.... Is it asking too much that the drive to insure Catholicity be itself catholic in scope?

It is indeed a noveleven if unpersuasiveargument that the mandatum requirement is too narrow rather than too much. Anyone who has read either Ex Corde Ecclesiae or its Application by the U.S. bishops knows well that in these documents the drive to insure Catholicity encompasses very explicitly every aspect of a university. Account, of course, is taken in the documents of the variety of roles and functions within a university; consequently the drive toward Catholicity is seen as finding expression in many diverse but analogous ways within the university rather than exclusively in a single mode. With regard to the theology department, the drive is expressed as a drive to insure that the theology taught in the university corresponds to church teaching, and it issues in requiring a mandatum to teach theology.

One may or may not believe that with regard to theology departments the mandatum requirement is the best practical conclusion to be drawn from the premise of insuring Catholicity. But the suggestion that requiring the mandatum only within the theology department betrays a lack of concern for the Catholicism of other areas of the university cannot be taken seriously by anyone who attends to the official documents themselves and can grasp analogical thought.

2. Father McBrien acknowledges the need for the dialogue on the Application between bishops and university presidents to continue, but now it will have to involve theologians. The participating theologians are to be selected by the officers and board of directors of the Catholic Theological Society of America (C.T.S.A.). Not only may bishops not select the theologians whom they are to consult; they also may not reject by veto any selection made for them by the C.T.S.A.

For several reasons it is noteworthy that, in the proposal, the C.T.S.A. should arrogate to itself exclusively the prerogative of choosing the theologians for the bishops to consult. First, one might reasonably expect that the bishops themselves would have at least some exercise of freedom in the matter. Second, the C.T.S.A. is not the only national professional society of theologians. Third, some theologians with the credentials and stature of an Avery Dulles, S.J., or a Matthew Lamb have averred publicly in recent years that not all theological voices are finding effective expression in the C.T.S.A.

On learning of Father McBrien’s proposal, the president of another national professional society of theologians, Theresa Moser, R.S.C.J., of the College Theology Society, wrote to America that this society, too, should be involved in the selecting of the theologians whom the bishops would consult. But so far a third national society, the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, has apparently not sought to find a place in the group to appoint the theological consultors.

Father McBrien’s proposal would have greater credibility if it appeared more as the expression of a desire to see all theological viewpoints represented in the dialogue with the bishops rather than as the embodiment of a tendency to have one group of theologians in a position to determine which theological voices will be heard in the dialogue.

Norbert J. Rigali, S.J.

University of San Diego

San Diego, Calif.

Balanced Expression

I want to congratulate you for that beautiful cover by Darrel D. Nelson on the Jan. 29 issue of America. Of course, I religiously read the whole magazine as soon as it comes and enjoy the balance of theological expressions. Could that cover be made into holy cards, or certificates that could be used for commissioning of D.R.E.’s, catechists, teachers and anyone who teaches the word of God?

David Belongea, O.F.M.Cap.

Appleton, Wis.

Admonition and Advice

I want to concur strongly with the recent observations of Mr. Giancoli (Letters 2/12). I applaud the stand of America on the importance of social justice, but I need and want the spiritual nurturing America so aptly provided in the past. The page content of the magazine also appears to have diminished as its focus narrowed. Please return to a broader content with the admonitions to our conscience placed in better balance with advice for our souls.

James J. Scott

Wildwood, Mo.

Minding the Store

I was shocked and saddened by the report in your Signs of the Times (2/12) that Priest AIDS Deaths Twice That of Adult Male Population. The thought that immediately came to mind was what were the pastors, superiors and bishops, the men who were supposed to be minding the store, doing while all this was building up?

Paul Brady

Clymer, Pa.

The Gospel According to...

Thank you for the new comic section in America (2/12). Peanuts has been taken away from us, but America has responded. I enjoyed the cartoon about the recently retired Navy chaplain. But I must say I got many more laughs from the hilarious article that surrounded it: the one explaining why the Rev. Richard P. McBrien is not seeking a mandate from any bishop to teach at a Catholic university. He suggests that the proper people are not being consulted and that, in his mind, the officers of the Catholic Theological Society of America should be recognized as the real experts. That one really wowed me. Then, when I read about how thoroughly sound the theological departments are at the universities with which he has been associated, I just doubled over with laughter. What a tremendous sense of humor that man has! Finally, at the end of the article, Father Richard indicates that he, of all people, is going to show us the middle way. I just about split my sides on that one.

Keep up the good work, America. Charlie Brown and Lucy were funny, but they were never like this.

Edward V. Griffin, O.S.A.

Philadelphia, Pa.

Perspectives Ignored

Like the Rev. Richard P. McBrien (2/12), I too have been struck by the theologians’ absence from the round of discussions that have taken place between bishops and college/university presidents on Ex Corde Ecclesiae. Even more striking has been the dearth of lay Catholic voices as the process has unfolded to date. The fact is, it is this body of the churchthe lay Catholics who serve as faculty, administrators, students and staffthat not only constitutes the academic institutions’ core Catholic element; it is the laity that comprises the mission that is U.S. Catholic higher education today.

My concern is not only that presidents and bishops have been allowed to gloss over, even ignore fundamental theological issues. More importantly, the insights and perspectives of the U.S. church’s lay theologians, those Catholics for whom theology is both an ecclesial vocation and a profession, a means to support self and family, have gone unheard. Certainly it is this group that has the most at stake in respect to all decisions on the

Journey of Conversion

Apologies for a tardy response to Tourist or Pilgrim? Rescuing the Jubilee, by Paul Robichaud, C.S.P (12/18/99); a prolonged absence and the Christmas festivities have me going through issues of America in random order.

Father Robichaud asks questions about this Jubilee Year’s visitors to Rome, observing that the notion of pilgrimage is lost under the weight of tourism. Along more than 400 miles of the Camino de Santiago in Spain in 1998, my companions and I often tried to answer similar questions: Who are the real pilgrims? and Is the pilgrimage in the journey or in the destination?

On the road, we walkers knew that we were real pilgrims, allowed that those on bicycles or horses probably were pilgrims, and questioned whether or not those in autos or buses could be included in the select group. We also distinguished between those who walked the road for spiritual reasons, and those hikers whose goals were only sportif. However, by the time we got to Santiago de Compostela, most of us felt that it was silly to categorize the crowd into pilgrims and non-pilgrims, or to try to judge the worth of the intentions that moved men and women to undertake the journey. All had come to Santiagothat was important. Why we had come to Santiago was also important, but only each person could experience how life-changing that might be. Santiago’s and Christ’s holy door is open to all: pilgrims, tourists, spiritual vagabonds; one never knows when the Spirit will illuminate those who pass through it.

Father Robichaud writes, The heart of the pilgrimage is conversion, not travel, for the journey is only the means to the end. My one-pilgrimage experience leads me to a different conclusion, echoed by my companions on the road. The day-by-day life of the journey blends with arrival at the destination into an experience that lives long after the pilgrim returns home. The pilgrimage is a journey of conversion that continues in the mind of the pilgrim and changes the way he or she lives his or her life.

So I say: Relax, Father Robichaud. Today’s visitors to Rome will get as much spiritual benefit as pilgrims ever did. Don’t look for signs. Many of those in the crowds will exemplify the saying, I departed as a tourist; I arrived as a pilgrim.

J. Richard Durnan, D.D.S.

Newport, R.I.

A Worthy Guide

Paul J. Caruso of Boston (Letters 1/15) lamented the fact that the excellent article by Paul Robichaud, C.S.P., (12/18/99) did not supply the titles of good texts on Rome and the topic of pilgrimage.

May I humbly recommend my recent publication, A Pilgrim’s Guide to Rome and the Holy Land for the Third Millennium (Thomas More Press)? It treats the topic of pilgrimage throughout church history and is meant as a spiritual guide for pilgrims. It’s not a guide for shopping, museums, eating and lodging, but rather a guide for those who want a retreat, and not just a tourist tour.

This book seeks to provide basic information and spiritual reflection that will help the pilgrim both to appreciate the places, art works and history, and to encounter God in the midst of them. In short, it is a guide to enable pilgrims to marvel and pray, to understand and worship, to perceive and praise.

Aurelie A. Hagstrom

University of St. Francis

Joliet, Ill.

A Post-Superbowl Reflection

Thomas McCarthy on American Sport is right (1/29). Professional sports are a huge waste of time. Sports fans will all say they watch sports for the enjoyment of it, but I wonder. A class polled at my local university reveals that most students are tense during football games, not relaxed, and many feel bummed out over the next several days and some up to a week if the game is close and the home team loses. If the fans enjoy watching so much, why do so many curse when something goes the wrong way?

I suggest another explanation. We might watch a live war on television, not because it is so enjoyable but because we believe it matters a great deal who wins and who loses. Similarly, by all appearances, sports fans also believe that it truly matters who wins the games and who loses. So we watch sports not because it is always so pleasant, but because we believe the outcome is of some importance. If sports fanatics