In wake of Ex Corde theologians ponder options

National Catholic Reporter, Feb 25, 2000 by Pamela Schaeffer

Some say they will not seek mandate, others wait and hope for dialogue

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 church's 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 II's 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 pope's 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.

"I'm 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 it's 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. Mary's 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 theology's autonomy."

In an interview with NCR, Portier said, "It's 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. I'm 54. He belongs to the generation that taught me. He experienced Vatican II as an adult. That's 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 hasn't been concretized," he said.

Goizueta's 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.