catholic scholars and the recovery of the sacred · catholic scholars and the recovery of the...

Volume 12 Number 4 FeHowship of Catholic Scholars Newsletter SeQ.tember 1989

Catholic Scholars and the Recovery of the Sacred

This issue of the Newsletter, the last that will appear during my term as President, will reach membersshortly before we convene in Atlanta for our annual meeting. Since the theme of our convention this year is"Recovering the Sacred: Catholic Faith, Worship, and Practice", I thought it might be opportune to make someobservations about the work of Catholic scholars relative to the "recovery of the sacred".

'-'I think a useful starting point is provided by some remarks of Etienne Gilson in his essay, "The

Intelligence in the Service of Christ the King," which appeared originally in his Christianity and Philosophy andwhich has been recently published in booklet form by Scepter Press. Gilson proceeds on the basicassumption that the Catholic scholar is one who has dedicated and consecrated his or her intelligence to theservice of Christ and His redemptive mission. He notes that the Catholic scholar is aware (or should be aware)that piety never dispenses one from the discipline of study. One cannot become a scholar by osmosis orsimple fiat. One becomes a scholar only by disciplined study and by the acquisition of the skills necessary toachieve learning in one's chosen field of inquiry. As Gilson puts the matter, "no one, nor anything, obliges theChristian to busy himself with science, art, or philosophy, for other ways of serving God are not wanting, but ifthat is the way of serving God that he has chosen, the end itself, which he proposed for himself in studying

(continued on page 2)

~

.

Volume 12 Number 4 Fellowship of Catholic Scholars Newsletter SeQ.tember 1989

them, binds him to excellence. He is bound, by the very intention which guides him, to become a goodservant, a good philosopher, or a good artist. That is for him the only way of becoming a good servant." It isindeed impossible, Gilson continues, "to place the intelligence in the service of God without respectingintegrallythe rights of the intelligence;otherwise, it would not be the intelligence that is put at his service." ,...,

Gilson's point here, of course, is obvious. But frequently the obvious is easily overlooked. I contendthat Catholic scholars have an indispensable role to play in helping people today recover a sense of thesacred. But to carry out this work they must, as Gilsonsays, "respect integrallythe rights of intelligence",and, Iwould add, the decent expectations of others that they willdo so.

But Gilson's main point --and here, I think, we touch on the indispensable role that Catholic scholarshave in communicatinga sense of the sacred - is that for Catholic scholars the Catholicfaith itself is the "secretcore" animating their work. This is so because Catholic scholars approach their intellectual work with theconvictionthat the primaryconditionfor attaining the truth - and truth itself is a participation in the "sacred"- ishumilityand the obedience of faith. Catholic scholars do not regard their faith as an obstacle to or restrictionon intellectual freedom but rather as a wonderful gift from God that both opens the human mind to truthsotherwise not accessible to it and enables the human mind to come to an ever deeper understanding of thetruths it can discover by disciplined study. Faith both generates its own critique of the myths that competewith it and raises meaningfulquestions about what can be knownby human inquiry.

I believe that Catholic scholars have an indispensable role to play in helping people today recover asense of the sacred because Catholic scholars realize that existence itself is a great and inexplicable giftfromGod and that there are bonds linking being, truth, beauty, and goodness. Through their intellectual inquiry,research, and teaching they can, it seems to me, communicate to others the "awe-fulness"of existence. In myopinion, one of the major reasons why the sense of the sacred has been lost or at any rate obscured in ourculture lies in the fact that existence today is considered as a "given"rather than as a "gift",a given that we areto manipulate through our technologizing and pragmatic intellects, precisely so that, as autonomous agents,we can satisfy our desires. Catholic scholars can do much, it seems to me, to restore to human consciousnessan awareness that existence is a gift, one given us by the God who summons us to be, in Christ, fully thebeings He wants us to be. ..

Dr. WIlliam E. MayCatholic University

\W

2

Volume 12 Number 4 FeliowshiQ of Catholic Scholars Newsletter SeQtember 1989

.rEvangelization in the Culture of the United States

and the Bishop as Teacher of the Faith'-'(A Meeting of Pope John Paul II with the Archbishops of the United States (1))

On March 8-11, 1989, the active Cardinalsand more than thirty other American archbishopsmet with Pope John Paul II and leading membersof the Roman Curia to discuss ongoing problemsof the Church in the United States. Firstrequested by the NCCB president in 1986, theninsisted upon by the Pope, the high level visit wasintended by the Americans to hel~ the Popeunderstand the Church of the United Statesbetter, and to offset the picture painted (so theleaders said) by homegrown "conservatives" of asagging, divided and frequently rebellious Catholicbody. Although an unfriendly Jesuit 'criticsuggested that sitting archbishops were an easyaudience for the Pope (he chose half of them) themore relevant fact is that under Church law (Cn.436) archbishops are responsible for overseeingthe faith and ecclesiastical discipline of dioceseswithin their Province. They are also obligated toinform the Pope of abuses if there are any, and tovisit a suffragan See should it be neglected by thelocal bishop.

(.I The summit Roman meeting seems to bewhat the participants called it - a success. Theadjectives used to describe the discussions thatfollowed ten archepiscopal presentations were"candor", "conviction", "kindness", and"cordiality". The announced euphoria resultedpartially from the low expectations of both theAmerican and Roman sides. Cardinal JosephBernardin, co-moderator for the visitors, made itclear that the conference was not designed to beaction-oriented, merely a friendly discussion of theCatholic situation in the United States from twodiffering perspectives. He anticipated a betterRoman understanding of the difficulties faced bybishops of the United States and a modicum ofpatience with their strategy for dealing with them.The calculated irenicism had to be one of thebenefits to be derived from the sessions. JohnPaul II was relieved that no fireworks occurred toscandalize the faithful further. The Pope'sconfidence in the future apparently rests on hisability to choose the right bishops. As one wag onSt. Peter's square summarized the meeting vis-a-vis the Americans: "If they're happy, fine, but waittill they see the next ten bishops."

~Sideline observers of the Roman

conference found most interesting the manner inwhich the bishops spoke of their local churches.

No one did this more enthusiastically than JohnCardinal O'Connor, whose summary of Americanimpediments to episcopal teaching was lucid andscholarly. O'Connor was forthright in pointing outthe failure of the Church (here he could only meanhierarchy) to prepare the faithful for the meaningand sense of Vatican II, the four years waiting forHumanaeVitae. liturgical experiments run wild, andthe rise of paratroopers for a new Church in thepersons of Xavier Rynne, theologicalconfounders, radical feminists, publishers ofambiguous catechetical texts, and distorters ofCatholic college teaching. The controllingpragmatism of the secular culture, especially of themedia, were not helpful either, the New Yorkarchbishop said; and as if that hindrance were notenough, a bishop had reason to worry whether hisparticular battles on behalf of authoritative teachingwould enjoy the support of Rome or of the NCCBmachinery. On this latter point Cardinal O'Connordid not provide specifics. Neither did he allude todifferences some bishops have had with policiesand definitions of the Holy See.

However, specifics were provided byCardinal Joseph Bernardin in his summary of theresults of the summit meeting. Without proposinga concrete solution for the differences, he listed anumber of what he called "issues" that createdcontroversy - the nature and conduct of religiouslife, first confession of children, inclusive liturgicallanguage, altar girls, general absolution, fallenaway Catholics, annulments, Catholic highereducation, seminaries, clerical celibacy, andothers. Cardinal Bernardin proposed as aresponse to these ongoing issues more dialogue,better arguments, further study, leaving "theissues" unresolved or open to anticipated futurerelaxation.(1)

One interesting paragraph of theBernardin summary concerned traditionalists:

Concern was expressed as to therationale for placating a small but vocalnumber of people who side step thelocal bishop's authority and, at times,seek to undermine that authority.They would appear to present adistorted image of liturgical life in theU.S. and absorb a disproportionalamount of time that could be better

3


given to other more urgent matters. Inregard to the Tridentine Mass, it wasmade clear that the hesitation to permitits more frequent use is not with theMass per se, which was the center ofthe Church's liturgical life for so many'centuries. Rather, it is the attitude ofsome of those who request the Masstoward the local ecclesial authority, aswell as toward many of thedevelopments introduced by theSecond Vatican Counc.il.

No one who has ever run a parish or adiocesan agency or a catechetical center or atheology department would disagree ~ith CardinalBernardin's view of traditionalists, particularly ofTridentines. Whether converted Lefebvrites orno, they are often self-righteous, hard nosed,bitter, and in pursuing their narrow religiousinterests frequently a nuisance. Why they thinkthat Mass in an old Latin form with the priest facingthe back wall of a Church is worth their anger ortheir pestiforous behavior is difficult to understand.Still, traditionalism, even of the Tridentine variety,is not a major problem for the Church in the UnitedStates or for bishops either. One is reminded of anold Depression adage among farmers, which wentsomething like this: When wolves are ravagingyour crops and wounding your children, it's no timeto be worrying about gnats. Furthermore, theTridentine Mass has been restored by the HolySee as a favor, and under normal Church rules, isto be permitted to those to whom it applies.

Bernard Cardinal Gantin, co-moderator ofthe summit meeting, gave no synthesis of "theissues" for the Roman side. Had Gantin, thePrefect of the Congregation for Bishopsresponsible for nominating all the bishopsappointed by the Pope throughout the world,chosen to do so, his summation might haveoffered the chief reasons why John Paul II had theArchbishops come to Rome.

Others did speak:

I. Cardinal Ratzinger made the major pointthat bishops have to a large extent acquiesced inthe reduction of their office to that of moderator oftheological differences, becoming dispensers ofpious advice rather than witnesses to bindingtruth.

2. Cardinal Antonio Innocenti, the Pope'schief catechist, asked bishops to guarantee thatpriests, especially teachers and seminary

professors, present Church doctrines withoutdistortions or erroneous subjective interpretations.

3. Cardinal Jerome Hamer, who currentlydeals with religious institutes following his time withRatzinger's Congregation, reminded theArchbishops that religious orders are notautonomous from bishops.

~

4. Cardinal Eduardo Gagnon, president ofthe Pope's Council on the Family, warned bishopsagainst allowing programs of Natural FamilyPlanning to be interfaced with methods of artificialcontraception; about sex education guidelineswhich the Holy See wanted revised; about judgeson marriage tribunals who do not believe in theindissolubility of marriage; of marriage preparationcourses which do not reflect Familiaris Consortio:of the ordination of married deacons who havebeen sterilized; of ministries to the divorced whichhave degenerated into dating services forCatholics who are not free to marry; and of peopleon bishops' staffs who reject Humanae Vitae andare pro-choice on abortion.

5. Cardinal Martinez Somalo, whooversees divine worship, reminded the Americanprelates that they are the principal protectors ofliturgical norms. He warned that failure to use theirauthority in a timely way creates difficulties - over,for example, the use of "exclusive language"(which "touches on biblical and theologicalquestions"), the use of altar girls, modification ofapproved liturgical prayers that express the faith,the proper order of first confession and firstcommunion for children, and so forth.

~

6. Whether Catholic colleges are reallyCatholic; whether the training of future priests iswholesome; whether professional accreditation ofseminaries has not actually lowered theologicalstandards; whether a generalized concept ofministry has replaced a specific concept of theordained ministry; whether in dealing with priestlyformation celibacy is treated as a problem -thesewere matters of concern when Cardinal WilliamBaum, the Pope's man for Catholic education,analyzed the formation of future priests in theUnited States.

7. Cardinal Achille Silvestrini, the chiefjustice of the Church's Supreme Court, objectedto the 37,538 annulments granted by the U.S.tribunals in 1985,80 per cent of the world's totalnullities. Of the American cases accepted, onlythree per cent of the decisions were negative.Silvestrini complained: "Various tribunals in theUnited States have introduced their own method ~

4

Volume 12 Number 4 FellowShiQ of Catholic Scholars Newsletter SeQtember 1989

~(of adjudication) not fully in conformity with theCode of Canon Law." Herethe referencewas tonullities based on the improper use of "psychicincapacity" as the reason for nullity(Canon 1095).The Cardinal made three particular charges:American judges were translating what modernpsychologists call "immaturity" into the Church's"canonical immaturity", an entirely differentconcept; they were also confusing marital difficultywith incapacity for marriage; and equating theunhappy marriage withthe invalidmarriage. One ofSilvestrini's indictments received little presscomment: "grave violations of the right ofdefense." Historically under canon lawprocedures, the "Defender of the Bond" was animportant officer of the tribunal. His job was todefend the indissolubility of what appeared to besacramental marriage. Because Christ's clearwords "what God has joined together let no manput asunder" (Mt. 19,6) represented a seeminglyinfallibleand irreversible judgment, the Church hasalways placed the burden of proof againstindissolubilityon the plaintiff,withthe "Defender ofthe Bond" named in Catholic law as the officialadversary. The New Code of Canon Law (Canon1432),for example, says he is "bound by office topropose and clarify everything which can bereasonably adduced against nullityor dissolution".Complaints have reached the Church's Court ofAppeals in Rome (the Rota), often from spouseswho object to attempts to declare null and voidtheir long-established church marriages that thesystem which once stood for indissolubility, nowstands for annulment. The burden of proof ofindissolubility is now placed on defendants. And,while bishops subsidize at great expense theirdiocesan tribunals (and so the annulmentprocess), spouses who choose to fight thedissolution of their marriage are often greeted withhostility from tribunal personnel (especially if theyappeal to Rome), are denied access to appropriatedocuments, are forced to expend large amounts oftheir money to defend what once they thought theChurch defended freely. Cardinal Silvestrinireminded his audience that "bishops even morethan the officials who make up the tribunals, areresponsible for the administration of justice", andso he counselled them to be "vigilant". Thebishops defended their tribunals, pointing to thebad Americanfamilysittiation and their own cautionin accepting cases for nullity assessment. Afterthe Roman meeting Cardinal Bernardin invitedCardinal Silvestrinito visit the United States for anexamination of the American Church's tribunalprocedures.

~

1,1

~The critical issue, however, is not

procedure, but the substance of the Church's

Doctrine and law concerning consummatedsacramental Catholicmarriages.

What was not discussed in the Bernardinsummation of "the issues" was doctrinal dissent orthe extent of its influence on Catholic formationprograms, including those under the direct controlof bishops or within the familyof the bishops itself.Cardinal O'Connor made several references to it.but Cardinal Bernardin did not, in his summary, listdissent as an "issue".

But the thoughts of John Paul II andmillions of his flock go beyond those who merelywish to stem the current revolution at its presentlevel. The fundamental issue for the Pope is thetruth of revealed doctrine. As the archbishops ofthe United States were preparing to return homefrom the March meeting, the Pope, quoting one oftheir own, said in essence: We may not besuccessful, but we must be faithful. ContinuedJohn Paul:

We are the guardians of somethinggiven and given to the Churchuniversal; something which is notthe result of reflection, howevercompetent, on cultural and socialquestions of the day, and is notmerely the best path among many,but the one and only path tosalvation.

We do live in a society saturated withpersonal and social values based on the unverifiedor dubious conclusions of experimentalpsychology and sociology. The deductions ofthese social sciences about human nature, aboutmoral norms, about institutions and the function ofthe common good, about marriage and sex andreligion itself, are often diametrically opposed tothe teachings of a religion that is centered in Godand derived from a revelation attributed to JesusChrist. The taboos of modern society, largelycreated by social science theories, includingnotions of personal responsibility, self denial,directive authority, chastity in or out of marriage,obedience, sin, guilt or punishment, dogma,immortality, "the other world", etc. render theteachings of any respectable church especially aCatholic one, jejune, if not incredible or ridiculous.

One would think that after a quarter of acentury bishops would be happy to take theirproblems to the Holy Father and seek his help inrestoring authentic teaching and good order to the

(continued on page 19)

5

Volume 12 Number 4 Feliowshi,Q of Catholic Scholars Newsletter Se,Qtember 1989

The Foundations of Faith

In his Apostolic Exhortation, Reconciliatioet Poenitentia, n. 17,Pope John Paul IIspoke of a"doctrine, based on the Decalogue and on thepreaching of the Old Testament, and assimilatedinto the kervama of the Apostles and belonging tothe earliest teaching of the Church; and constantlyreaffirmed by her up to this day-. The doctrine inquestion is that "there exist acts which Derse andin themselves, independently of circumstances,are always seriously wrong by reason of theirobject". Correspondingly, as the Holy Fathernoted in his "Discourse to the InternationalCongress of Moral Theology" on April 10, 1986,"there are moral norms that have a precise contentwhich is immutable and unconditioned...forexample, the norm...whichforbids the direct killingof an innocent person".

This doctrine is rejected bY'Richard M.Gula, (1), professor of moral theology at St.Patrick's Seminary, Menlo Park, California, in thistext of fundamental moral theology, one intendedprimarily for use in seminaries. In company withother moral theologians of what has come to beknown as the "proportionalist" school of thought,Gula holds that "material" norms, which areconcerned with specific sorts of human actsunderstood, according to him, in their materialityand thus independently of any intentions of themoral agent (cf. p 290), indeed "help us torecognize premoral goods and evils" and, "whenstated negatively, point out the kind of conductwhich ought to be avoided as far as Dossible" (p.291, emphasis added). Nonetheless, such normsare not absolute or exceptionless insofar as they"ought to be interpreted as containing the impliedqualifiers, 'if there were no further interveningfactors', or 'unless there is a proportionate reason',or 'all things being equal'. (p. 291). Some norms ofthis kind, Gula holds, are "virtuallyexceptionless"or "practical absolutes" insofar as they "highlightvalues which, in the general course of events, willtake precedence and, for all practical purposes,should be preferred". Among such "virtuallyexception less norms he includes the norm thatwould prohibit"crueltreatment of a childwhich is ofno benefitto the child"(p.294).

Gula is led to deny the existence ofexceptionless or absolute specific moral norms("material" norms in his terminology) because heaccepts the "principle of proportionality".According to this principle "the key to determiningthe morality of an action...is the presence orabsence of a proportionate reason" (p. 272). Gula,in company with other proportionalists, sharply

-distinguishes between "premoral" or "ontic" eviland moral evil, and holds that one does moral evilonly when one intends a "premoral" or "ontic" evilwithout a proportionate reason. When the agentintends and realizes through his action aproportionately greater "premoral" good, then thedeliberate intending of a "premoral" or "ontic"evil,such as the death of an innocent person, is morallyjustifiable.

~

Gula, following Louis Janssens andothers, claims that St. Thomas Aquinas "acceptedproportionalism" (p. 265 ff). He likewise claims(pp. 223-228) that in his teaching on the naturallaw St. Thomas was inconsistent. In some texts,e.g., Summa Theoloaiae. 1-2,94, 2, St. Thomas,so Gula claims, accepted as normative the Ulpianunderstanding of natural law as "that which natureteaches all animals", that is, as a nonrationalinstinct. According to Gula, in this important textSt. Thomas is saying that "practical reasonperceives the natural inclinations in humanpersons in the form of moral imperatives whichbecome the concrete conclusions of natural law(p. 225, emphasis added). But in other texts, forinstance Summa Theoloaiae, 1-2, 91, 2 and 93,St. Thomas according to Gula, recognizes that thenatural law is an order established by reason (p.224). Gula holds that the second understandingof natural law, as an order established by reason,gives rise to the contemporary understanding ofnatural law which includes, as one of its primaryfeatures, the primacy of the principle ofproportionate good (pp. 244-245). According toGula the Ulpianunderstanding of natural law,whichpermeated Aquinas' teaching on sexual issues,gave rise to "physicalism"in morality,which sees asmorally determinative the physical or materialstructure of human acts (p. 227). This physicalisticunderstanding of natural law (obviously anerroneous way of conceiving natural law) is, Gulaholds, central to the teaching of the magisteriumon sexual and medical issues and is reflected insuch documents as Humanae Vitae. the 1975Vatican Declaration on Certain Questions ofSexual Ethics. and the 1987 Instruction 0 nResDect for Human Life in its Oriain and on theDianitv of Procreation. The understanding ofnatural law as an intelligent ordering is reflected indocuments concerned with social teachings, forinstance PoDulorum Proaressio and OctoaesimaAdveniens.

Qb

jtbGula believes that some very general moral

principles pertain to the core of faith and have

6


~been infallibly proposed by the magisterium andtherefore require the assent of faith. Among suchmoral teachings he includes the teaching of theChurch on the twofold command to love God andneighbor (p. 158, cf. p. 209). Since he denies thatany specific moral norms ("material norms" in histerminology) are exceptionless or absolute, heobviously must regard as false or insufficientlyarticulated those moral teachings of themagisterium that absolutely proscribe such specificsorts of action as the deliberate killing of theinnocent, sexual union outside of marriage, andthe like. He nowhere considers the possibility thatthese norms and, indeed, the precepts of theDecalogue, as traditionally understood within theChurch, have been infallibly proposed inaccordance with the criteria set forth in LumenGentium, n. 25. He observes, in footnote 12 ofchapter 11, p. 162, that some theologians, e.g.,Germain Grisez and John Ford, have argued thatthe magisterial teaching on contraception hasbeen infallibly proposed. However, he then refershis readers to Francis Sullivan's "critical responseto this position", and it is evident that he agreeswith Sullivan. He neglects, however, to inform hisreaders that Grisez replied extensively to Sullivan'sresponse and that Sullivan has not as yetattempted to reply to Grisez.

Obviously, according to Gula, the specificmoral norms regarding the direct killing of theinnocent, sexual union outside of marriage, and soforth that the magisterium proposes are notinfallibly proposed. Rather, they pertain to the"official" teaching authoritatively proposed by themagisterium and require the internal religiousassent of mind and will. But, Gula holds,responsible dissent from such teaching is bothnecessary and legitimate (pp. 207-217). I will nothere note all the reasons that Gula offers tosupport such responsible dissent. He claims (p.208) that the manuals of moral theology in useprior to Vatican Council II recognizedthe legitimacyof "internal and private dissent", and to supportthis claim he refers to an article of his own (p. 218,note 9). He also says that "Vatican II admitted toloyal dissent not specifically in any of its decreesbut implicitly in the very process by which itadopted its decrees" (p. 208).

~

I

,I,~,

~

I believe that in the foregoing paragraphs Ihave summarized some of the major positionstaken by Gula. The pastoral implications of hisworkshould be obvious. If not, they can be illustratedby the following passage, which appears in thesection of the work where he denies that any"material" norms are absolute or exceptionless.Gula writes: "take the case of the married couple

who have all the children for whom they can care ina reasonable way. They cannot enlarge their familywithout compromising the well-being of theirpresent children. At the same time, the couplefeels that fairly regular sexual expression isnecessary for the growth and development of theirmarriage. They do not feel that they can respondadequately to both values and follow theproscription of contraception in Humanae Vitae.What do they do?" (p. 290). Gula does not give ananswer to his question. Yet readers will conclude, Iam sure, that in this instance the couple couldrightly choose to contracept, for by so doing theywould be acting for a proportionately greater goodand they would be acting contrary only to a"material norm" that must, after all, be interpretedas "containing the implied qualifier, 'unless there isa proportionate reason'" (p. 291). In my opinion,this is the conclusion that readers of Gula will draw.Since the work is intended primarily as a textbookin fundamental moral theology for seminarians,future priests will be among these readers. Ibelieve that this illustrates the type of impact thatGula's work, so remarkably reminiscent in manyways of Timothy O'Connell's 1978 treatise,Principles for a Catholic Moralitv. will have onpastoral ministry.

But what of the claims made by Gula? Iwant, first of all, to note how Gula and othermembers of the proportionalist school of thoughtprejudice matters by referring to the exceptionlessmoral norms or moral absolutes proposed by themagisterium as "material" norms. According toGula and his associates, these norms identify"material" or "physical" acts independently of anyintent or purpose of the agent. But Catholictheologians who today defend the truth of moralabsolutes (e.g., Pope John Paul II in Reconciliatioet Poenitentia, n. 17) and those who affirmed theirtruth in the tradition (as did St. Thomas, as shallsoon be noted) offer a much different account ofthese norms, which they never call "material" or"behavioral" norms. According to thesetheologians, the human acts identified and morallyexcluded by such norms are not specifiedindependently of the agent's will. Rather, they arespecified "by the object", and by "object" is meantexactly what the agent chooses. either as an end(finis or finis remotus) or as a means (finisproximus). The "form", intelligibility", of such actsis not given by their nature as physical events inabstraction from the agent's understanding andwilling, but from their intelligibly chosen objects.

Second, I think it should be noted thatGula's interpretation of St. Thomas is egregiouslyflawed, both with respect to St. Thomas'

7

Volume 12 Number 4 Fellowship, of Catholic Scholars Newsletter Sep,tember 1989

understanding of natural law and with respect tohis teaching on moral absolutes and the sources ofthe moralityof a human act. In Summa TheoloQiae.1-2,94,2, Thomas in no way says that our naturalinclinations are -moral imperatives which becomeconcrete conclusions of natural law. Inthis articlehe is dealing with the first principles of practicalreasonina. principles analogous, in the practicalorder, to the first nondemonstrable principles ofknowledge in the speculative order. He holds thatthese principles are based on the concept of theaood. just as speculative principles are based onthe concept of beina. The foundational principleis that aood is to be done and pursued and itsopposite. evil. is to be avoided. Aquinas then saysthat our reason naturally grasps at Qood. andhence at what is to be done and pursued, thoseaspects of human flourishing to which we arenaturally inclined. Gula's interpretation of thispassage fliesinthe face of its reading. (Forfurtheranalysis of this important Thomistictext, I referreaders to Germain Grisez's essay, -The FirstPrincipleof Practical Reason:A Commentaryonthe SummaTheoloaiae. 1-2,Question94, Article2H,Natural Law Forum(V. 101965) 168-201andto MartinRhonheimer'srecentNaturalsGrundlaaeder Moral (Jnnsbruck/Wien:TyroliaVerlag, 1987),pp 76-83).

Likewise Gula's contention (followingJanssens) that Aquinas was a proportionalistinsofar as he saw the end intended by the agent asthe HformalHdeterminant of the morality of humanacts is a terribly flawed interpretation of St.Thomas. According to the Common Doctor humanacts receive their HformsHnot from nature but fromhuman intelligence, which places them in theirmoral species by discerning their Hends-,-objectsH, and HcircumstancesH. Aquinas insiststhat all these factors must be good or inaccordance with natural law precepts if the wholehuman act is to be good (Summa Theoloaiae. 1-2,18). He holds that the end and the object are theprimary factors giving a human act its moralspecies. The end for whose sake !in action isdone is a primary source of an act's moral speciesbecause humans, as intelligent beings, act in thefirst place only for the sake of an end (1-2, 18, 1-3).He regards the end as the forma maais universalisof the whole human act in the same sense in whicha genus is said to be the forma maais universaliswith respect to its diverse species (1-2, 18, 7c andad 3). Nonetheless, the .0bjectH of the externalact chosen and commanded by the will is also aprimary source of the moral species of the wholehuman act, precisely because this object is theobject of an act of will or of choice. It is the

.proximateH end that the acting person intends (1-2, 1, 3, ad 3) and must therefore be good if thewhole human act is to be good. As Thomas says,Hitis not enough that the external act (willed andchosen by the person) be good by reason of thegoodness of the will which comes from theintention of the end; but if the will is bad either byreason of the end intended or bv reason of the actthat is willed, the external act will be badH(1-2,20,2). For Aquinas, the goodness of the wholehuman act depends on the goodness of the act inits integrity (bonum ex inteara causa), and thisintegrity of goodness means that all the elementsof the act, namely, the end intended, the objectchosen, and the circumstances in which the act ischosen, must be good. Ifanv of these elements isbad, the entire act is bad (malum ex auocumauedefectut Further details of Aquinas' teaching onthis matter are provided in my essay, HAquinas andJanssens on the Moral Meaning of Human ActsH,Thomist 48 (1984) 566-606, and in my MoralAbsolutes: Catholic Tradition. Current Trends. andthe Truth (Milwaukee: Marquette University Press,1989), pp. 58-65.

~

Third, I believe that Gula's discussion of-responsible dissentH is woefully inadequate.Despite his claim to the contrary, the manuals priorto Vatican Council II did not Hjustifyinternal andprivate dissentH. They spoke rather of thepossibility of not assenting to a given teaching, orof non-assent. But non-assent is not the same asdissent (on this see the texts cited in detail byGermain Grisez in The Wav of the Lord Jesus. Vol.1, Christian Moral Principles. Ch, 36). Nor didVatican II in any way legitimate dissent (cf. Grisez,ibid., for details).

~

Much more could be said about the veryserious problems of Gula's work, but I think that themost serious are those noted here. The book,unfortunately, will probably be used widely inseminaries and in some colleges and universitiesas a basic text in Catholic moral theology. I thinkthis unfortunate, for it is a seriously flawed work,one that denies the truth set forth as a doctrine byPope John Paul II in the passage fromReconciliatio et Poenitentia with which I began thisreview.

(1) Reason Informed by Faith: Foundations of CatholicMoralitv by Richard M. Gula, 5.5. New York, PaulistPress, 1989. 334 pp. Paperback $12.95.

William E. MayProfessor of Moral TheologyThe Catholic University of America

~

8

Volume 12 Number 4 FeliowshiQ. of Catholic Scholars Newsletter SeQ.tember 1989

The Bishops' Meeting

Q Newcomers to a general meeting of theNational Conference of Catholic Bishops (June1989) must have been struck by its multi-layeredbureaucracy and parliamentary efficiency.Oftentimes, however, one was left with a feeling ofswallowing camels and straining at gnats. Thatimpression may be a surface one but anyone whoattended the recent June 16-19 meeting of thebishops at South Orange might have had thefeeling. The American bishops assembled atSeton Hall University enjoyed su~ a pacificmeeting that not a few of them napped, disguisedyawns and made discreet exits. Their discussionsseemed mainly opportunities for concord andbonhomie.

A potentially contentious moment was thereview of Doctrinal Responsibilities: Approaches toPromotina Cooperation and Reso Ivi naMisunderstandinas between Bishops. andTheoloaians. But the Bishops' DoctrinalCommittee had so airbrushed the phraseology ofthe document that it was accepted by the bishops(255-5)with just a murmur of dissent.

~Their Excellencies sailed through a policy

statement on relations with Vietnam. It wasoverwhelmingly applauded despite the pleas of afew hundred Vietnamese boat people who hadearlier met with some of the bishops hoping toderail the statement which they believed wouldfacilitate persecution of Vietnamese Catholics,especially imprisoned priests.

tJ

Microscopic sparks were visible for a split-second when the conference took up discussionof the Fifth Centennial Observance of theIntroduction of Christianity into America chaired byArchbishop McCarthy of Miami. After the FloridaOrdinary sought approval of -Evangelization- as anappropriate theme for the celebration, ArchbishopWeakland demurred. He contended that thetheme was too -churchy-, unduly -inner-directed-,and thought that such a .Catholic. emphasis wouldoffend .minorities, persons of color and nativeAmericans.. Some bishops politely distancedthemselves by citing similar ambitious programs ofProtestant denominations. Cardinal Law quietlysuggested that -doctrinal illiteracy. in somepatches of the American Catholic Church mightjustify an evangelizing thrust. Thoughevangelization won in this gentle skirmish, one wasleft wondering how differences of such importancecould be addressed without more substantialviews emerging.

--

The presentation and discussion on thePastoral Plan for Black Catholics was amplyreported in both secular and Catholic press.Wheelchair-ridden Sister Thea Bowmanaddressed the bishops with the coruscatingoratory of a classic black preacher. The bishopsfastened themselves to her presentation likechicks waiting for food. Her spell was powerful.Ordinarily reserved prelates shouted .Amens- ather suggestion and rose to their feet, handsclasped, swaying back and forth to the strains ofWe Shall Overcome.. Effective as she was, it wassad that this spirited, carefully spoken religious feltrequired to speak a message of racial resentment;even more disconcerting to see bishops accept ituncritically - or apparently so. Rather than askingthe bishops for programs facilitating a moredynamic unity within the Church through sounddoctrine, effective catechesis and liturgy, this mostattractive lady turned to a political phraseology ofthe Church as a socioloaical unit where differences(Black Catholics, ~ Catholics, Hispanic Catholics,etc.) become critical axes for lobbying for -rights.and increased power. This presentation anddocument could have been auspicious steps formoving beyond the spent ideology of -accreditedvictim status- - with the Catholic bishops boldlyleading the way. Regrettably, vision dimmed andemotion won.

Members of the Fellowship will want amore focused description of the DoctrinalResponsibilities debate which for many promisedto be an engaging climax to this document'sstormy three-year past. Alas, there was no debate.There were a few comments, but no substantivediscussion. At the November meeting of 1988,theConference received an eleventh hour letter fromthe Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of theFaith expressing serious concerns regardingDoctrinal Responsibilities. This CDF interventioncapped years of scholarly critiques of the initialdrafts of the proposal, one of the more adroit onesin this Newsletter only a few months ago. (1) TheCDF intervention occasioned a March (1989)meeting between Archbishop Lipscomb and hisDoctrinal Committee, with Cardinal Ratzinger andCDF staff. This reported amicable dialogueresulted in a letter by the Cardinal (appended tothe official NCCB document) thanking ArchbishopLipscomb's committee for -considering theobservations previously expressed by thisCongregation-. Ratzinger's letter concluded withgentlemanly deference sans precise approval or

9


enthusiasms. 8 At this time, it (theCDF)can onlyexpress its satisfaction with the way in which theBishops' conference has chosen to deal with thismatter: Archbishop Lipscomb's committee waskindto include the critical observations of the CDFas Appendix 2 of the finally approved document.As a consequence of the March Rome meeting,the Lipscomb committee decided to make no lessthan 46 modifications to its earlier draft. Thoughthe Roman discussions persuaded the committeeto correct the more dangerous parts of thedocument, the general direction and tone of thefinal document remains undisturbed by the CDF'scriticisms.

The document is divided roughly into twosections -(a) the rights and responsibilities ofbishops and theologians, and (b), a paradigm offormal doctrinal dialogue between them. Aftertaking note that 8dialogue between bishops andtheologians is, of course, an excellent thing8,CDFpunctures the very heart of the project: 80newonders, however, what good may be gained byunduly juridicizing the dialogue.8 This is the oldproblem of the man at sea who tries to slake histhirst by drinkingthe salt water: the more water themore thirst. Any empirical observation of the lasttwenty years of theological dissent shows clearlythat the theological deviations riddlingthe Churchtoday have not resulted because of too littledialogue - but too little exercise of legitimateauthority. Prescribing more dialogue to remedydisputes between dissenting theologians andtheir bishops is offeringmore salt water.

Conspicuously absent from the text andtone of the document is the whole raison d'etre ofthis theological enterprise -to support and clarifythe Faith for its adherents. Ratzinger elaboratedthis point: 8Doctrinaldisputes, however, cannot bereduced solely to an issue between a bishop and atheologian. The interests of the Church as a wholeand the rights of the faithful enter here as well.The question of the teaching itself, its content,does not receive its due consideration in theseproposed procedures8 (Appendix #2, p. 5). Thebishops' document suggests that the Church'suffers from scores of aggrieved, statute-boundtheologians muzzled from any self-expression.This hardly seems to be the contemporaryproblem.

An even more serious question is raisedby the CDF on 8the way in which bishops andtheologians are treated at times in the document8;and the CDF notes that 8the practicalities of theproposed procedure do indeed give theimpression that the two are in some way on an

equal footing8 (Appendix 2, p. 2). In spite of theamended final document, the criticism of the CDFpersists. Any number of examples of subtlemelding of the work of bishops and theologianscan be adduced from the Bishops' document.Consider:

~

8Thus, diverse gifts, ministries, andauthority exist for the full development of theChurch's unity in lifeand mission. They require anecclesiological application of shared responsibility,legitimate diversity and subsidiarity. Upon thebishops devolves the responsibility to encouragethis diversity and to unifythe various contributionsof the members of the church (p. 10).

8Briefly stated, the purpose of formaldoctrinal dialogue is to determine the nature andgravityof the issue at dispute as wellas its pastoralsignificance, and to achieve an agreementbetween the parties...(p. 34).

8 As they fulfill their distinctive butcomplimentary duties, both bishops andtheologians are sustained by the faith of theChurch..: (p. 6).

CDF sifted through this elliptical languageand identifieda dangerous error: 8Byattaching thederivation of the theologian's authority directly tohis faith in communion with the Church guided bythe HolySpirit, there arises a magisterium parallelto that which derives from the Sacrament of Order-(Appendix 2, p. 3).

~

Having immunized the theologian frombishops' pressure the NCCB document proceedsto protect the theologian further by shielding himfromthe lay critic:

Although bishops and theologiansteach in very different ways,nevertheless the position of either canbecome the target of complaints andcharges which have no substance ormerit. Although the accusers might bewell-intentioned, these situations arepotentially volatile and enervating foreveryone involved. In some dioceses, itmay prove desirable to the diocesanbishop to establish a procedure whichprevents groundless charges fromoccupying more time and attention thanthey deserve. (p. 25).

Something approaching an apotheosis ofthe theologian happens here. Previously, thehard shell of the theological elite and the busy day ~

10

Volume 12 Number 4 Fellowship of Catholic Scholars Newsletter September 1989

~of an Ordinary were pierced occasionally by thesincere petitions of the devout, educated layman.Even this opening seems blocked now beneaththe heavy hand of the 'dialogue' process as boththeologians and bishops drift out of easy reach ofthe laity who cannot remain indifferent to thiscensorship. CDF said: "This proposalundoubtedly corresponds to the experience ofcrisis which marks the contemporary situation. Thissame experience, however, calls forth anotherobservation as well. Withsuch a structure, there isalso the danger of erecting a barrier which, whileinsulating the body of theologians from criticism,hinders the faithful from bringing to the bishopstheir legitimate concerns concerning particularteachings" (Appendix 2, p. 3).

~

Bishop Vaughn posed the only seriousquestion during the brief review. It was inresponse to the part of the document regarding"theological advisors", It reads: "The bishop isalways free to choose his own advisors, but thecompetence of theologians who serve in anyconsultative capacity should be recognized bytheir peers. They should be selected from asmany segments as possible on the spectrum ofacceptable theological opinion..: (p, 29). Theambiguity in this passage prompted BishopVaughn to ask, "Would it be acceptable for abishop to select theologians who (a) favor theordination of women, (b) deny the perpetualvirginityof Mary, (c) dissent from the Church'steaching on the sinfulness of artificialcontraception, or (d) favor selective abortion?"Archbishop Lipscomb attempted to assuageBishop Vaughn's concerns by assuring himthat nobishop would ever appoint theological consultantsdissenting from the Church's stated positions,End of debate. Inview of the episcopal theologicalconsultants of the last 20 years, we may ask -arewe here confronting ingenuousness or simplestonewalling? With no other hesitation theBishops gave a near unanimous approval toDoctrinal Responsibilities.

~

Over and over it was stressed byArchbishop Lipscomb (as well as in the documentitself)that this whole doctrinal dialogue is optional.The CDF begged to differ, and vigorously, "If atheologian should request it, it would seem almostimpossible for a Bishop to refuse, eveJ1if he wouldhavegoodreasons fordoingso. Hewouldbecastasthe 'villain'by publicopinion. Indeedthe moralpressure which the guidelines...exert...is littleconsonantwiththe freedomof authorityheshouldenjoy in doctrinal matters" (Appendix2, p. 4).Ratzingertrenchantly concluded:"the ambiguityInherent in (this) proposed process becomes

evident: a 'doctrinal response' should be theresponsibility of the Bishop acting on his ownauthority, if one really intends to respect the'proper roles',

Archbishop Lipscomb remarked at a newsconference that if this dialogue had been in place adecade ago, the Curran case would never havecome up. The Archbishop is absolutely right. Andthat's exactly what many fear.

Nuncio Pio Laghi's talk each year to themeeting has achieved stature for its carefullyselected subject and his succinct presentation.Last year's presentation on the Hispanicdimension of the Church in the United States isremembered, This year he spoke on thepriesthood (2). He paid the traditional and sincerePapal compliment to the "faith and generosity,vision and courage" of our priests, but situatedthem empathetically in the middle of "bewilderingchange". He noted that they "must directly bearthe burden of the factors in your culture whichclash with their mission to teach and evangelize".And that they fear for their people in a secular andimmoral age; and that an indulgent world oddlyleaps at the least foible of a priest. He invoked the"rich theology" of the priesthood to help priests beboth faithful and creative.

But stability and productivity come, theArchbishopremindedus, from the priesthoodas a"specialized,permanentparticipationin the Ufe ofChrist". And that in practice centers on theEucharist.

He addressed priests loneliness anddistinguished it from an important solitude withGod.

A very fine talk, continuing a highstandard.

(1) "Formal Doctrinal Dialogue: A Proposal forBishops and Theologians." Fellowship ofCatholic Scholars Newsletter, March, 1988,Volume 11, No.2.

(2) "Growing Challenges Facing thePriesthood." Oriains, July 6, 1989,Vol. 19, No.8, pp. 125-126.

Rev, John PerriconeSt. John's University

11


Book Reviews

Inside Mv Father's House by Msgr.GeorgeA.Kelly,Doubleday,NewYork, 1989,$19.95.

Msgr. George Kelly, an inside observer ofCatholic change for several decades, has alreadyenriched our perception of what happened to theinstitutional Church over 30 years. (1) His talentand gift to us has been to avoid unhrnged theoryand personal interest. He described the how. whvand who of real motions within the Church whetherhierarchic or lay, academic or popular, political orsociological. He attended to the effect of thosemotions on the general spiritual health andpersonal sanity of the Catholic people. This wasno slight accomplishment in a twenty year flood ofCatholic publication that often created moral theorywithout Christian anchors, disguised elitedemands as popular, and forced a -developmentof Christian doctrine- - speculations that rarelytouch the ground of reality or popular need. Msgr.Kelly's feet are always on the ground.

He is, of course, the bete noire of thosewho are uncomfortable with the ordinarymagisterium of the Church and who dismissChristian history as irrelevant. Msgr. Kelly's love ofthe Church and his assumption of Catholic senseregarding the creed, the ten commandments, thesacraments, prayer, incorrupt Scripture and theChristian purposes of Catholic institutions havemade him a well read annoyance to those of otherviews. Real partisans, like Msgr. Ge6rge Higgins,become very unpleasant.

Reflecting a Catholic historian's love oftruth, Msgr. Kelly now offers us an early historicalview of the Church in New York during itsadministration by two archbishops, CardinalsSpellman and Cooke.

The issues are of course not local butnational and international.

The frame of the book is a personalmemoir but it is crammed with details of those twoCardinals' work and circumstances. It offers newand arresting information on both Cardinals' plans,problems and resolutions in education, priestlypractice, attention to marriage, moral-politicalquestions like homosexual legislation, reactions toHumanae Vitae and many other importantsubjects.

The importance of Msgr. Kelly's book isthat it is the first empathetic book-length study ofthe two mid-century Archbishops. Both Cardinals

were men of consequence in the Church and thebook establishes a needed benchmark of seriouspersonal witness to their work. Father RobertGannon's biography of Cardinal Spellman (2) isundervalued because it was written in the subject'slifetime and is non-judgmental. Large parts of itwere dictated by the subject and therebyconstitute a primary source. Msgr. FlorenceCohalan's Popular History of the Archdiocese ofNew York (3) had to restrict the work of CardinalSpellman to one chapter. John Cooney'sbiography of Cardinal Spellman (4)is rubbish frombeginning to end. It is almost totally unaware ofecclesiastical life, of its procedures and purposes;is replete with grim misquotations from witnesses;and is written like a homosexual daydream. Msgr.Kelly, suffering none of those disqualifications,has set a course to uncover what these tworanking clergymen wanted to do, tried to do andactually accomplished, 1939-1983.

4uJu

Beyond offering a portrait of theinteresting person of Francis J. Spellman andoffering it with the detail known to him as one of hisimportant aides, Msgr. Kelly describes theassumptions of his subjects, namely, that bothCardinals were focused churchmen. They weredifferent from each other as churchmen are,different as ~ Catholics are, generation togeneration, but their common denominator was along term interest in the welfare of the mass of theCatholic people, in the volunteers and institutionsthat served students and the sick especially, andtheir concern for the larger community thatCatholics hoped to serve. Both Cardinalsattended carefully to the Black community andeach decade's new immigrants. No slightaccomplishment was their notable cooperationwith Jewish leadership in these interests. Mostprelates of Cardinal Spellman's era and the majorityof prelates of Cardinal Cooke's early years sharedtheir concentrations. Cardinal Spellman's muchmisunderstood political sense, and CardinalCooke's ecumenism can mislead casual observers.These were never the first interest of either man.Nor did either allow his many second interests todiminish his work to sustain the Catholiccommunity as a devout, commandment-keeping,virtue-pursuing people. They also encouragedtheir people to generosity toward whatever wasgood in both Church and nation. As the Catholicpeople rose to prosperity the two Cardinalsburdened them successfully not to forget the poorbehind,them. The administrative side of all this wasa wearying business of planning and guiding,rescuing and funding the institutions of people

~

-

~

12

.

.

fI

~

Volume 12 Number 4 Fel.lowship of Catholic Scholars_Newsletter Sep,tember 1989

and brick that had, earlier, created a first-evercomprehensive Catholic school system for theworking class. They also enlarged a formidablehealth system.

This book is good reading in 1989 whenan ascertainable number of bishops in the nationare grappling with similar questions but oftenapproaching them from different vectors.

Some bishops will not be empathetictoward these two Cardinals who were so sure oftheir ideals and piety, so keen on Catholiceducation, vocations and charity; and who wererelatively undisturbed by what hostile critics saidabout the Church or about them. Readers maysense the difference between the agendas ofthese goal-.oriented prelates and the agendas ofmany contemporary bishops. A number of thelatter, with equally honest convictions, seemembarrassed to appear interested more inCatholics than in non-Catholics; to sustaindistinctly Catholic institutions; to police their clergy;to deal with parochial questions; or attend openlyto the requirements of the Catholic middle class,now the largest sector of non-Hispanic Catholics inthe United States. Cardinals Spellman and Cookewould have been appalled at such hesitations,without necessarily disagreeing with many of theBishops' second concentrations, today.

This difference was neatly touched uponby Archbishop Rembert Weakland at theNCCBIUSCC bishops' conference in June of thisyear. He criticized a plan to mark 1992 with aCatholic evangelical campaign as Ntoochurchy...soCatholic it might offend minorities, persons of colorand native Americans.. A counter reason for thedrive was offered noting the Protestant evangelicalmembership campaigns among Hispanics. It was agood reason but carried with it a subtle note ofapology for shoring up Catholics -suggesting that,in a better world, evangelization might remainsuspended on both sides. Spellman would havethought that nonsense; Cooke would haveunderstood it but would have voted for thecampaign. Msgr. Kelly's information throws light onthese questions of shifting episcopal interests andvalues.

This is rich and rewarding reading foranyone who cares about the Church, the Catholicpeople and the impact of religion on our society.

(1) His earlier works:Catholics and the Practice of the Faith. Part I

Catholic Youth; Part II Catholic Parents, St.John's University Press, New York, 1967 and1971. Government Aid to Non Public Schools:

(2)

(3)

Yes or No? (Editor), St. John's UniversityPress, New York, 1972. The Parish.St. John's University Press, New York, 1973.The Catholic Church and the American Poor.Alba House, New York, 1976. Who Should Run

the Catholic Church?, Our Sunday Visitor,Chicago, 1976. The Battle for the AmericanChurch. Doubleday, New York, 1980. TheCrisis of Authoritv: John Paull!. Regnery-Gateway, New York, 1982Et cetera.

The Cardinal Spellman StOry by RobertGannon, Doubleday, New York, 1962A Popular Historv of the Archdiocese of New

York by Msgr. Florence D. Cohalan, UnitedStates Catholic Historical Society, New York,1983

American Pope by John Cooney, Times Books,New York, 1984

(4)

Msgr. Eugene V. ClarkSt. John's University

* * *

Authentic Metaphysics in an Aae ofUnreality by Leo Sweeney, S.J. (with William J.Carroll and John J. Furlong), Peter Lang, NewYork, 419pp., $39.80.

In 1965, Father Sweeney published anexcellent textbook in metaphysics, Metaphysics ofAuthentic Existentialism. It was something rare: ametaphysics textbook that was actually interesting,one that was clearly involved in the living questionsof our time.

Everyone knows how much Christianphilosophy has suffered in our universities andseminaries over the last few decades. Many of oureducational leaders have forgotten what Christianphilosophy is. Many, abandoning any efforts tooffer a coherent form of education with a realismcompatible with faith, began to forget what it couldpossibly mean to have a vision of life that is true ora faith that gives joy in making known to us whatreally is so.

After all, did not Vatican II teach that we allought to be relativists, and that one philosophy orone religion is just as good (or bad) as any other?

But Father Sweeney's new textbook,Authentic Metaphysics in an Aae of Unreality.shows that he has not lost heart. He has rudelyrefused to become a convert to cultural relativism,when everyone else is trimming Catholicism down

13

Volume 12 Number 4 Feliowshi,Q of Catholic Scholars Newsletter Se,Qtember 1989

hoping to make it a version of that meta-everything.

This book may seem expensive for atextbook, but it is worth more than it costs. It is aninteresting and a solid introduction to the centralquestions of philosophy. And it will give seriousstudents intelligent reasons for rejecting Sartreanexistentialism, process philosophy, and thedogmatic relativism or skepticism so frequentlyserved with phenomenology, popular forms ofhermeneutics, and deconstructionism.

And it is fun to teach with this book.

Ronald D. Lawler, O.F.M.Cap.Holy Apostles SeminaryConnecticut

. . .Buildina Unity. (Ecumenical DocumentsIV.) Ecumenical Dialoaues with RomanCatholic Participation in the UnitedStates. Edited by Joseph A. Burgess andBrother Jeffrey Gros, F.S.C., Paulist Press, NewYork, 1988, pp. xii, 499, $14.95, Paper.

This book gathers documents from thebilateral ecumenical conversations between theCatholic Church and a number of other religiouscommunities: Anglicans, Baptists, Disciples ofChrist, Lutherans, Methodists, Eastern Orthodox,Oriental Orthodox (especially Coptic and Syrian)Presbyterian and Reformed. There are also a fewdocuments from the Faith and Order Dialogue ofthe National Council of Churches.

There is no effort at completeness. Only amodest number of documents have bee nselected from the vast literature theseconversations have generated. However,bibliographical notes offer guides toward otherdocuments.

The quality of the documents is verydifferent in the various dialogues. By far thelargest amount of space in this volume is given toLutheran-Catholic papers, and these papers tendto be more rigorously worked out than most of theothers.

The documents often reveal theenthusiasm of the participants in the dialogues.Frequently there are announcemellts that .wehave reached a consensus. in important areas

long a source of tension between the Churches.Yet, as the editors note (p.5) these are notagreements between Churches, but amongmembers of the groups conducting the dialogue.Entire Churches could confirm the statements: butoften the statement that a consensus has beenreached is an expression of hope rather than aclear record of fact.

~

One wonders whether it is significant thatonly 4 of the 31 documents printed here werepublished after 1983. The great hopes for unityamong Christians are traced out here. But theproblems that have long surrounded ourecumenical discussions can be found here too - inthe texts, and between the lines. Often there aresigns of great hope: profound and realistic, sharedappreciation of points important in our journeytoward unity. But often too there are the signs ofhuman failure: the unwillingness to probe deepenough when agreement is only superficial, thehaste to declare agreement when anyone familiarwith the depth of the problems at hand knows thatmajor questions yet remain.

Ecumenical dialogue reveals not only thedifferences between Churches, but also theprofound divisions within Churches. They requiregreat labor and great patience, a will to be entirelystraightforward and to be as charitable as possible.It costs very much, but the good it longs for isworth all the trials.

~Ronald D. Lawler, O.F.M. Cap.Holy Apostles Seminary

. . .

The Hidden Manna: A Theoloav of theEucharist by Father James T. O'Connor, IgnatiusPress, 376 pp., $17.98.

Dunwoodie's professor of dogmatictheology has written a gem of a book. Not onlybecause in most people's minds the celebration ofMass is the distinguishing mark of CatholicChristianity, but because Father O'Connor, writingon the history of the Eucharist, provides anintelligent and accurate compendium of Catholictruth about Christ, the Church, the Priesthood andthe Sensus Fidei.

For the first thousand years of Christianity(more or less) the Eucharist was the peacefulpossession of the Church. Christians believedthat Christ was really present under theappearances of bread and wine. Docetists andGnostics, the first heretics (second century), did b

14

..91


~not think that Christ had a real body so there wasno need for them to worry about the reality of Hispresence in the Eucharist. Modern heretics denythat Christ ever intended to institute the Eucharist,maintaining that Jesus' Last Supper was nothingmore than a goodbye meal, so they too, see it aslittle more than a man-made religious rite. MostChristians, however, including Martin Luther,believed in the Real Presence, arguing only overhow this occurred. Catholics further hold that theMass is the continuation of Christ's sacrifice for uson the cross and Christ's on-going way of havingus share in our redemption.

~

Father O'Connor's chapters unfold like aChristian drama -with a prelude, various acts, and asmashing finale. The prelude contains the story ofhow the apologists of the Church's first centuryinterpretedthe LastSupper. Thenfollow variousacts, the ways in which the great Church Fathersdeveloped Eucharistic doctrine and how thedoubts of the ninth and tenth centuries becamethe Protestant denials of the sixteenth. The climaxis reached when the author compiles the mannerin which the truths about the Ma.ss and theSacrament were formalized by the popes from Leothe Great in the fifth century to John Paul IIwhoonly this year called the Eucharistic Liturgy "theprivileged place for the encounter of Christianswith God and the one whom he has sent, JesusChrist". The book's finale is entitled "MysteriumFidei" more than eighty pages of explication insimple declarative language of howthe Eucharist isto be understood as Real Presence, Foretaste ofHeaven, Sacrifice, Sacrament, its importance tothe Church, and the relationship of Our Ladyto theEucharistic devotion of Catholics.

Who willprofitfrom this book? Scholars, ofcourse, priests and religious,too, who seek a clearand handy source book for their preaching andteaching on Eucharistic subjects -all the aboveand the laity whose devotional life willprofit fromthe assembled readings, and apologists who inthemidst of contemporary doctrinal confusion seekauthentic guidance.

.~

Father O'Connor is fast becomingrecognized as a scholar of substance. His recenttrilogy on Christology (The Father's Son, 1984,TheGift of Infallibilitv 1986),and nowthis 1988treatiseon the Eucharist, are relevant to the needs of thepost-Vatican II Church. At all times today it isurgent for Catholics to remember that howeverfamous the world's cathedrals are for theirarchitectural beauty, their chief significance lies inthe fact that they enshrine the altar of EucharisticSacrifice. Even Napoleon Bonaparte was

importuned to declare at the end of his days thatthe greatest day in his life was not December 2,1804 when he crowned himself Emperor ofFrance, but the day of his First HolyCommunion.

Msgr. George A. Kelly

* * *

Mary of the Americas. Our Lady ofGuadalupe by Christopher Rengers, O.F.M.Cap., Alba House, New York, 1989, 154 pp., $8.95.

The appearance of Father Renger's bookon Our Lady of Guadalupe seems opportune inthe history of the Church in this country. At itsNovember 1987 plenary meeting, the NationalConference of Catholic Bishops approved achange in rank of the commemoration of Our Ladyof Guadalupe from a memorialto that of feast intheUnited States. At the November 1988meeting, thebishops approved the texts for the Liturgy of theHours for the new U.S.feast.

Recognition of the importance of, anddevotion to, the apparition of the Holy Virgin onTepeyac Hill on December 12, 1531, has grown inthe United States. This has obviously resultedfrom the rapidly growing Hispanic community in theCatholic Church in this country.

What is startling about Father Rengers'book on Our Lady of Guadalupe is the extent towhich he plays down the Hispanic character of thedevotion to her under that title. He does so out ofa true devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe,however, and with a desire to promote theapparition on Tepeyac Hill as the appearance ofMary par excellence throughout the long history ofthe Church.

The book in no way denigrates theHispanic character of devotion to Guadalupe. Infact, it is held up as a beautiful example ofprofound love for the Mother of God. The clearpurpose of the book, however, is to promotedevotion to the Virgin of Guadalupe by all of us notjust Hispanics.

Father Rengers makes the pointrepeatedly that Mary appeared at the central spotof the entire American landmass before there wereany national or cultural boundaries. Furthermore,Our Lady made her appearance not for a parochialpurpose but to be present "at the birth of a new erain western civilization" (p. 22). She did not arrivefor just one nation. Cortes and the Spaniards

15


joined the Indians to whom, through the AztecJuan Diego, Mary had shown herself. Togetherthey formed a happy procession the day afterChristmas to the small chapel where the preciousimage of the Virgin would hang and be venerated.

It is often pointed out that the image ofMary on the Aztec tilma, or cloak, looks very muchlike an Indian and may have contributed to themany conversions after the conquest. However,Father Rengers insists that face on the tilma looksfar more Semitic than Indian. He also claims thatmany of the Indian characteristics of dress, such asthe HAztec foldHat the feet, were added later. Herattire on the original image, revealed through infra-red photography, is supposedly morecharacteristic of a Semitic woman at the time of OurLord than of an Indian.

Other indications of the intention of FatherRengers to present Our Lady of Guadalupe as thepatroness for all the Americas and not justHispanics is the fact that the National Shrine of OurLady of Guadalupe is not in an Hispanic region ofthe country, but in Allentown, Pennsylvania, of allplaces! Rengersalso links the appearance of Maryon Tepeyac with the decision of the bishops in theUnited States in 1846to place this country underthe patronage of the Immaculate Conception sinceshe had referred to herself as Hthe perfect andperpetual Virgin, Mother of the true God.. In fact,he recommends that the Guadalupe image serveas the ordinary representation of the NationalPatroness of the United States.

Father Rengers does not doubt themiraculous, supernatural origins of the image.However, he may draw too much from certainbeliefs about it. There has been spepulation thatthree figures can be seen reflected in the pupil ofMary's eye when the painting is enlarged. If theyare indeed the reflection of Juan Diego, thebishop and the interpreter present when the cloakwas opened with the miraculous image, then,Father Rengers suggests, Hthetilma of Juan Diegoalso may offer proof of her Assumption intoheavenH. (p.87) This apparently because imagescould be reflected only from the eyes of a body!

Zeal also leads to theological carelessnesswhen a statement is attributed to Mary on Tepeyacthat could never have come from her lips. She isquoted as saying, HIam Holy Mary, Mother of theTriune God..: (p. 3) The same quote (I think) ispresented later in the book in unobjectionableform:HIam holyMary,Motherof the true God.H (p.

116).Father Rengers admits in a footnote (p. 25)that the early chronicles of the event and of thewording of the exchange between Juan Diego andthe Virgin do indeed differ and that he has takensome liberties with them. It is a shame theegregious mistake of the first quote was notcaught since it expresses the very error of whichmany Protestants falsely accuse the CatholicChurch with regard to her Marian doctrine.

~

An intriguing proposal of the book is thatJuan Diego be canonized and designated Patronof the Laity since he as a layman was so trustingand faithful in carrying out the commands of theBlessed Mother. His Cause has been introducedand a Postulator designated in Mexico City.

There is a useful bibliography on Our Ladyof Guadalupe at the end of the book.

John M. HaasPontifical CollegeJosephinum

* * *

I Have Called You Friends: Sacramental.Theoloaical and Existential AsDects ofPriestly Fraternitv by Carlo Bertola, AlbaHouse, New York, 1989, 125 pp., $7.95.

't..f)

Father Bertola presents in this small work,as the title states, the sacramental and theologicalbasis for priestly fraternity, primarily among secularclergy, though what he says is applicable toreligious as well. Likewise, he is concerned withthe contemporary problems that undermine thispriestly brotherhood.

Father Bertola finds the ultimatefoundation for priestly fraternity within the Trinity.All brotherhood mirrors the love within the trinity ofdivine persons. More immediate, priests find theirbrotherly unity in Christ in whose ministry theyespecially share. HTobecome a priest is to enterinto a brotherly, intimate, and sacramentalcommunion which strictly binds ministers togetherbecause they are vitally united to ChristH(p. 121).Father Bertola is excellent in presenting the visionof this priestly fraternity in Christ as it ischampioned by the Fathers of Vatican II andexpounded in the conciliar documents. '-'

16

~

[Ir

~

t

~

Volume 12 Number 4 FellowshiQ of Catholic Scholars Newsletter SeQtember 1989

However, while the grace of ordinationnecessarily binds priests together in Christ, thisfraternity obviously must be promot~d and livedout. Father Bertola realizes that pious, or evensolid theological exhortation to priestlybrotherhood is not enough. HRealfraternity hassome very basic requirements:above all, reciprocalawareness which must not be limited to occasionalget-togethers or, worse, to superficial and gossipychattering. It should be fruitful andtreasured...Nothing is more disturbing...thannegative criticism, backbiting, willfulness 0 rstubbornness in relationships among priests whoare called to announce to the world the messageof Christ's 10veH(pp. 56-57). Father Bertola alsoclearly, and rightly, perceives that priestly fraternityis essential for a healthy life of celibacy.

Even though Father Bertola is very goodin presenting the solid biblical and theologicaljustification for priestly fraternity as expressed inVatican II's vision for a renewed priesthood, andwhile he is attentive to the problems confrontingpriestly fraternity today, he is unable to translateadequately the theory into living reality for priests.Thus one can be left frustrated, having clearlyseen what priest are called to be, yet i<nowingthatin reality the situation so often falls short. Is therean answer or are we merely left with pietisticrhetoric? I believe that there is, but it does not lie ina better understanding of the priesthood, nor justin priestly fraternity - though the proper type ofpriestly fraternity can be immensely helpful - but insomething even more fundamental.

The place where the priestly vision andideal meets the tangible everyday lives of priests isin a renewed awarenessthat they are primarily andfundamentally called to live converted Christianlives. They must be men of mature faith who havegiven their lives entirely to Jesus Christ.

Briefly stated, priests must recognize theirown sinfulness and their need for repentance. Aspriests, who call others to repentance, they mustfirst experience the Father's healing love mademanifest in Christ. United to Christ the great HighPriest, priests must also live disciplined lives offruitful daily prayer (more than routinely saying theOffice and presiding over the Eucharist) wherethey are in touch with God's presence andexperience the work' of the Spirit in their lives.Likewise, as Christ taught His apostles, so he mustspeak continually to his priests through his livingword in Scripture. These and similar simple truthsof the Christian life may seem cliches, yet if theyare practiced daily, they allow the gospel to renew

a priest's life and in turn provide a solid basis fortrue priestly fraternity.

Thomas Weinandy, O.F.M., Cap.Mother of God CommunityGaithersburg, Maryland

* * *

New Trends in Biblical Scholarship.

If some of our members visit Paris'foremost Catholic bookstore, Le Procure.(diagonally across from the Church of St. Sulpice)they should ask to see the French editions ofLaurentin's, The Gospels of the Infancv of ChristCarmignac's The Birth of the Svnoptics. and thewhole corpus of Claude Tresmontant, The HebrewChrist, and his retroversion of the Gospels ofMatthew, Mark, Luke, John and the Apocalypsefrom Greek into Hebrew then into French.

You will be in for a surprise. During arecent trip to France, I asked for assistance inlocating these titles. The salesperson looked atme as though I were totally out of it and with anaudible sigh led me to a section of the storededicated to Scripture. I was beginning to feel likeInspector Clouseau. With a wave of her hand, shetold me that these books were piled together in acubicle (cave) at the very bottom of the stacks.

I had to crouch down to find the works.Interestingly enough, this same salesperson,about ten minutes later, escorted another personto the same below-the-knees bin. It was obviousthat the clerk was not amused and the potentialcustomer got the message. He gave me one ofthose typically French shrugs that means - whatgives?

All the works I mentioned raise seriousinteresting questions about the validity of aunilateral application of the historical critical methodto the Gospels. Carmignac and Tresmontant, intheir works, hold for an original Semitic, probablyHebrew redaction of the Gospels and that theywere redacted in this original language (beforebeing translated into Greek) much earlier than wehave been allowed to understand. And since thepeople of Jesus' time employed a myriad ofmemory-building techniques, we may be muchcloser to the ipsissima Verba Christi than we havebeen given to understand.

Incidentally, Tresmontant's Hebrew Christhas sold 15,000copies in France and Carmignac'swork has gone through three French editions.

17

Volume 12 Number 4 Fellowship- of Catholic Scholars Newsletter Sep-tember 1989

Franciscan Herald Press has brought out mytranslation of Carmignac, and we hope KennethWhitehead's translation of The Hebrew Christ willsoon appear In Franciscan Herald's listings.

All of these works have been savagelyattacked in France by one of the nation's foremostscripture scholars, Father Grelot. This is notsurprising when we consider that well acceptedhypotheses may be about to fall like a house ofcards.

For several centuries, the h~tory of thesciences has been replete with just suchunexpected happenings. The histories ofcosmology, physics, chemistry, biology andmedicine are filled with errors that are hardlybelievable today. And these errors had beensolemnly taught for generations. An entire historyof science could be written from the point of viewof the tremendous errors that were so persistentlyproposed. The human mind is very passive.

It takes a great deal of courage to admitthat, given new evidence, what has beenproposed for so long a time may, in fact, beerroneous. Perhaps, by the year 2000 theseauthors - Laurentin, Carmignac and Tresmontant -will have been vindicated and a major reconciliationbetween faith and exegesis finally achieved.

Msgr. Michael WrennNew York

Instrument of Peace: Personal andSpiritual Goal of the Priest by l1ev. DouglasJ. Morin, Alba House, New York, 1989.

Father Morin has written a brief primer onthe priesthood. In the introduction he tells usthese pages are written for his fellow priests, andindeed the topics covered such as Prayer,Celibacy, Preaching and Teaching, and SpiritualExercises will be of help to diocesan priests,particularly those at the beginning of theirpriesthood. The writing is clear andstraightforward, the tone is intimate, and the faithexpressed is solidly grounded in orthodoxy.

However, I would not recommend thisbook for a variety of reasons. Father Morin wouldhave done better to have waited several moreyears to gain more pastoral experience in placesmore varied than a single assignment. His pagesdo not reflect the experience that comes with timeand often as a consequence of suffering. Inaddition, there are numerous rich theological

resources that could have been used to enrich thisvolume, enabling it to be personal, contemporary,and magisterial at the same time. Only think of thetreasure trove of the present Holy Father's HolyThursday letters to his priests.

Finally, two essential elements for a bookon the priesthood are missing. One, there is nomention of the fundamental necessity of personalspiritual direction in order to put the Ideasexpressed in the book into practical effect in theday-to-day life of the priest. Second, althoughthere is no doubt of the author's commitment topersonal holiness, I did not pick up a strong senseof an apostolic zeal that must flow from thiscommitment. Today we may need the priest moreas -Evangelizer of the People- than as an-Instrument of Peace-.

\Ur

A second edition of this book -with thepassage of time - longer, deeper, more thoroughlyresearched, and more apostolically oriented wouldbe of great benefit for the younger clergy. To endwith a personal quibble: we do not need any morebook covers with sunsets, glasses of wine, andbaskets of bread. Religiosity is the enemy of truereligion.

Rev. C. John McCloskey, III

~* * *

Passion of a Believer by Eugene F. Diamond,life rose Press, Chicago, $7.95.

Not too long ago, some priest authors,sensing that straight religious instruction bookswere often ignored, started writing novels thatemphasized religious truths and values. Inthis dayof the laity, Dr. Diamond - medical practitioner,professor, eloquent advocate for life -also turns tofiction.

Passion of a Believer is about seminarianJoe Dalton whose penchant for challenging a fewtrendy teachers (in barnyard, but never boudoirlanguage) results in his being sent to St.Stephen's to get his rough edges smoothed.

Besides the kindly pastor, Father Burke,St. Stephen's is home to school superior SisterHuberta who opts for the -changing Church-;young Sister Susie who lusts but repents; Father-Ace- Hubbel who lusts and doesn't repent; andMrs. Gorski, the pious, nosy housekeeper. Alsoon hand are Joe's sister who tries -the pur and has \.;

18

.,:..1'

~

:1

~

i

tI

I'!I

"


a stroke; another sister who flirts with abortion; araffish young brother who gets a girl pregnant andthen receives an offer he'd better not refuse; andMsgr. Dunlap,the Cardinal's secretary.

When Father Hubbel, sulking under Joe'sdislike, alerts Dunlapto some (false) accusations,Joe is summoned downtown. Dunlap wants to befair but after Joe sounds off, the seminary oustshim.

Thereafter, the book races on to aresolution that is plausible, if a bit neat. That's a lotof ground to cover in a book of modest size, soperhaps characters are more types than typical.And perhaps the grave problems happen tooquickly and to too small a group' of people.However, in today's Church the types are real andthe problems are too prevalent.

From the opening pages when Joe isnearly killed by an ugly ruse of the Cong inVietnam, to a plot twister near the end, the story isinteresting and informative--quick and goodreading.

John J. Farrell

* * *

(continued from page 5) Evangelization in theCulture of the United States...

Church. To visit Rome seeking understanding ofour deficiencies and to leave without a program ofactive remedy reminds one of the faulty wisdom ofanother day another society - .Prosperity is justaround the corner: Only the most irresponsiblecritics expect the hierarchy to wash the Church'sdirty linen in public, or to satisfy the media's lust forecclesiastical fisticuffs. John Paul II told theArchbishops he came to listen and he did, toponder in the aftermath where he shall go fromthere.

Is there a plan to reform the Church inaccordance with the real intent of Vatican II? Arebishops prepared to unite with John Paul II in theeffort? Are they prepared to reclaim and toexercise properly the authority which belongs tothem alone, and to follow the lead of the Pope, inrestoring obedience as well as faith in thechurches they govern? The faithful may notrequire all the details, but they can use assurancefrom Christ's vicars that appropriate reforms are inthe making. The credibilityof the Church for thosewho sacrifice their lives to its gospel deserves noless.

(1) usee Publication No. 278-0

Msgr. George A. KellySt. John's University

19

Voiume 12 Number 4 FellowshiQ of Catholic Scholars Newsletter SeQtember 1989

Books in Brief

American Catholics and the Family Crisis.1930-1962 by Jeffrey M. Burns, Garland, NewYork, 1988, $60.00.

This volume is the published version of aUniversity of Notre Dame doctoral dissertationwritten under the directorship of Jay P. Dolan. Thesubject matter is fascinating, dealing as it does withthe Roman Catholic intellectual and organizationalresponse to a perceived crisis in American familylifefrom 1930 to the second Vatican Council. Theintellectual response was led by Catholicsociologists like Paul H. Furfey, EdgarSchmiedeler, Jacques Leclercq, John J. Kane,John L.Thomas, and Alphonse H. Clemens. Theorganizational response centered on the formationof the Family LifeBureau of the National CatholicWelfare Conference, the Intearitvmagazine group,the Cana Conference, and the Christian FamilyMovement.

Unsurprisingly, Burns' historicalinterpretation Is often marred by Americanistassumptions and judgments. Histale has heroesand villains. Charles Curran, Jack Egan, and Patand Patricia Crowley are some of the .good guys.with George A. Kellyrepresenting the .worst kindof conservative paranoia. (p. 257). Implicitthroughout his analysis is the perception that theintellectual approach of a distinctive .Catholicsociology. was wrong-headed and that theCatholic organizational response was, at best, oflimitedeffectiveness. Implicitalso is the judgmentthat today's secular sociology and thecontemporary non-religious professionalorganizational responses to the weakening of thefamily represent an evolutionary advance overprevious Catholic thought and activity. Burns'volume is yet another example of the present-dayprogressivist attempt to revise American Catholichistory.

Joseph A.VaracalliDepartment of SociologyNassau CommunityCollege

* * *

Critical Voices in American CatholicEconomic Thouaht by John J. Mitchell,PaulistPress, 200 pp., no price.

This is a nice little book about veryinteresting Catholic people -Orestes Brownson,Edward McGlynn, Peter Dietz, Virgil Michel, Peter

Maurin, Paul Hanly Furfey, Dorothy Day, CesarChavez. According to the author, it was written toprovide some background for the bishops' recentemphasis on social reconstruction. Shortbiographies and commentary provide insights tothe long Catholic preoccupation in this countrywith this subject area. The book contains usefulinformation, although it is not offered as a seriouscritical assessment of the causes thesepersonalities represented.

"

~

* * *

John Cardinal O'Connor by Nat Hentoff,Scribner's, 290 pp., $19.95.

Cardinal O'Connor, a good friend of theFellowship of Catholic Scholars, is the country'sbest known American prelate. John Paul IIoncereferred to him as .Archbishop of the Capital City ofthe World.. A member of .the Proud and AncientOrder of Stiff-Necked Jewish Atheists., a title NatHentoff gives himself, has written a book with twobasic chapters -the author's reading of the NewYork Cardinal and a compilation of significantstatements by the Archbishop himself. A reviewerof this book, writing for the National CatholicReporter. was unhappy with Hentoff because hedid not explain John O'Connor to her satisfaction.Perhaps. But this much is surely true. Hentoffexplains soundly whythe Cardinal is instant news.

~

* * *

Kourion: The Search for Lost Roman Cityby David Soren and Jamie James, DoubledayArcher Press, NewYork, 214 pp. , index and goodillustrations, (no price indicated - onlyuncommunicative striations).

For archeology buffs and those interestedin the special science of seismic archeology or inChristian Crete, this is an engaging, informativeand pleasingly written book. The coast of Cretewas destroyed more than once. This bookconcentrates on the earthquake of July 21, 365A.D. The science that has studied the nature andeff~cts of shock waves leads to intriguingenlightenment about the story of the people justbefore and during the earthquake. That Christianswere involvedand that Kourionwas an identifiableChristian city make it all the more interesting.Sweet stories of parents covering their childrenwith their bodies and a teen age girlwho rushed tocomfort her donkey, add a nice pathos. '"

20

'.I...

1.£

~

,Q,


Parental Riahts: The ContemporaryAssault on Traditional liberties. edited byStephen Krason and Robert D'Agostino,Christendom College, Front Royal, VA, 1988, 206pages and index, $9.95.

One of the intellectually enrichingcommunication modes of our time is thepublication of excellent, dove-tailed papers onsubjects of special interest. Since so manyreligious and family subjects are banned from themedia, burlesqued in entertainment, and shunnedin most universities, they especially require thepublication of papers from carefully designedseminars. .

This volume on Parental Riahts may be thefirst to review the subject in this form. Ifso it is avaluable first and ought to be in every collegelibrary and on the shelves of those concerned foreroding parental liberties.

Reliable writers like Kenneth Whiteheadand Charles Rice lead the way for uniformlyperceptive writers in nine excellent papers.

God bless someone: there is a fine index.

. ..

Creative Love: The Ethics of HumanReproduction. edited by John F. Boyle,Christendom Press, Front Royal, VA, 252 pp.,$11.95.

Ditto from the review above of ParentalRiahts. except this book is hardly a first. But it ishappily a clear headed, unprejudiced review of itssubject followingthe Vatican's 1987 Instruction inRespect for Human Life. The Instruction wasgreeted by neurotic hoots from predictable writers.But its critics are faced with a terrible problem:science, now deep in amoral mind sets, is about toterrorize the world, or at very least, disrupt normalmarried sex and the principled protection of lifenew and old. Disconcerted or not by these alarms,most secular reviewers attacked the Vatican forspeaking on such a subject in terms of principle.Despite the patent need for norms, secularists stillresist reliable principles of any kind as tendingtoward intellectualfascism.

Here is an excellent review of soundChristian principles by thoughtful, trustworthy andobjective writers like Ralph Mcinerny, JosephBoyle, Damian Fedoryka, John Crosby, DanielSmith, Ronda Chervin and other fine thinkers.

What a treat to have this subject spoken ofwith taste, clarity, openness, objectivity and asense of high mindedness. The fact that it is atreat, chills us with the thought of how subjectiveand emotive so much writing on this subject hasbecome. It could lead a Catholic to become a snobof sorts.

More than a venial sin: no index!

. . .Three From Ignatius Press:

Collected Works. Vol. XI. Collected Playsand Chesterton on Shaw by G.K. Chesterton,610 pp., $19.95.

Among his plays included here are: -TheKnight-, -Magic-, -The Judgement of Dr.Johnson-, -The Turkey and the Turk-, and -TheSurprise-. Among his writings on Shaw includedhere are: -Do We Agree?- (a debate), -How IFound the Superman-, -Sorry, I'm Shaw, and -ASalute to the Last Socialist-.

The Illustrated London News. Vol. XXXI,(1917-1919).

Many Chesterton buffs feel these includesome of Chesterton's finest writings. Some of thetopics of the one hundred and thirty columns inthis volume include -The Poetry of theCommonplace Things-, -The Rhetoric ofPacifjeom-, -Socialism and Individualism-,-Despotism and Democracies-, -The Fury ofAmerica-, -Relativity against Reason- and-Controllingthe Common Man-.

Cardinal Newman's Prayers. Verses. andDevotions, introduction by Louis Bouyer, 742pp., $29.95.

This beautifully bound, -Bible paper-volume of Cardinal Newman's most profounddevotional writings contains his meditations on theLitanyand on the Stations of the Cross. And in hismeditations on Christian doctrine Newman showsthat the source of true piety is sound teaching.

21

~

Volume 12 Number 4 FellowshiQ of Catholic Scholars Newsletter SeQtember 1989

~

Recent Information on the Pill:

In research published in the prestigiousEnglish medical journal, The Lancet, one of theresearchers, Clair Chi Ivers of the Institute ofCancer Research in London, said that amongwomen younger than 36, research found a 43%increase in the risk of breast cancer afterfour years of pill use and a 74% increaseafter eight years.

"This study presents us with anotheropportunity," said John F. Kippley, President andco~founder of the Couple to Couple League, "toappreciate the wisdom of the encyclical HumanaeVitae."

IiI,Ii

He also noted: "This study, along withothers, continues to bring into focus the harmfulconsequences of accepting maritalcontraception: He emphasized that this shouldbe a time to increase efforts to support andpromote contemporary natural family planning as aviable alternative to unnatural methods of birthcontrol. "With Natural Family Planning" stated Mr.Kippley, "couples are not faced with the healthrisks or the abortifacient risks associated with thepill: "Furthermore," he continued, "research hasshown the Sympto-Thermal Method of NaturalFamily Planning can be used at the 99%level of effectiveness ~ right up there with thePill: "Another benefit, " Kippley added, "is thatNFP is immediately reversible."

IiConservative estimates about the rate of

"breakthrough ovulation", consequentconceptions and early abortions yield a U.S. pill-abortion rate of about 1.4 million per year, roughlyequal to the number of surgical abortions, and anannual IUD abortion rate of 2.2 for every IUD user.

The Sympto- Thermal Method is a 100%natural, safe, easy-to-Iearn, economical and highlyeffective form of birth regulation. It can also be

used by the marginally fertile couple to achievepregnancy.

For more information about the Sympto-Thermal Method of Natural Family Planning,contact the Couple to Couple League, P.O. Box111184, Dept. 59, Cincinnati, OH 45211,513-661~7612.

* * *

On October 12~15, 1989 at FranciscanUniversity of Steubenville A CentennialCelebration will be held in honor of two eminentCatholic thinkers of the twentieth century:Christopher Dawson and Dietrich vonHildebrand, both of whom were born October12, 1889. Pope Pius XII once referred to vonHildebrand as "a twentieth century Doctor of theChurch", and many modern scholars haveidentified Dawson as our greatest historian ofreligious culture.

~

The symposium will feature Dr. Alice vonHildebrand, Dr. Josef Seifert, John J. Mulloy, Dr.James Hitchcock, and other scholars. The topicsdiscussed will span the fields of theology,philosophy, history and Christian culture in thelight of Dawson's and von Hildebrand's thought,lives and works.

If you would like more information about ACentennialCelebration,pleasewrite:

"A Centennial Celebration"Franciscan University of SteubenvilleSteubenville, OH 43952

* * *

~

22

~

11,<

g

Q

Volume 12 Number 4 FellpwshiD of Catholic Scholars Newsletter SeQtember 1989

Franciscan University of Steubenville tooka historic step during its recent baccalaureateservice. The University's entire full-time theologyfaculty pledged to uphold Catholic doctrine andChurch teaching by making the new I yformulated Profession of Faith and takingthe Oath of Fidelity, as it is called for in theChurch's New Code of Canon Law.

The new form for the Professionof Faith and Oath of Fidelity was announced by theCongregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Romein February and published in the March 13, 1989issue of the English edition of L'OsservatoreRomano.

* * *

Spelman College, Atlanta, is looking foran individual as Provost with an outstandingrecord of teaching and scholarship, preferably ascientist, who has had, as well, substantialadministrative experience in an appropriateacademic setting.

At the same time the college is looking tofill the position of Dean of the Colleae. Under thedirection of the Provost, the Dean will have primaryadministrative responsibility for all academicmatters directly affecting the educational progressof students. The Dean will be expected to provideleadership. Contact:

Search Committee for Provostor

Search Committee for DeanOffice of the PresidentSpelman CollegeAtlanta, GA 30314

* * *

A Call for Papers: A Conference on Vatican IIand the Post-Conciliar Church, Washington, D.C.,September 28-30, 1990. The OrganizingCommittee seeks your contribution on a variety oftopics: Ecclesiology, Moral Theology, SystematicTheology, Canon Law, Religious Life since VaticanII, the Laity, Empirical Studies on the CatholicChurch, Biblical Studies, Ecumenical Studies, etc.

Contact:Professor Pierre HegyConference CoordinatorSociology DepartmentAdelphi UniversityGarden City, NY11530

* * *

First Meeting of Coetus Set for F.C.S.Convention

The first regular meeting of the Coetus onCanon Law will take place during the annualconvention of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars,September 22-24 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Father Vincent Rigdon, JCL, Defender ofthe Bond for the Tribunal of the Archdiocese ofWashington, D.C, will address the topic "CanonLaw and the Sacred" as part of the convention'sgeneral theme.

8: 8: 8:

This Fall, the Pontifical John Paul IIInstitute for Studies on Marriaae andFamily begins a new and unique program ofstudies leading to the Master of TheoloaicalStudies in Marriaae and Family.Complementing the Institute's existing Licentiatein Sacred Theology program, the specializedM.T.S. program, primarily in academic theology,combines both a general understanding of andcompetence in moral theology with specificattention to contemporary questions of marriageand family life. The program is shaped by theteaching of Vatican Council" and that of Paul VIand John Paul II. Courses include: Philosophicaland Theological Foundations of Humanae Vitae,Biblical Theology of Marriage and Family, Marriageand Family in the Teaching of the Church.

Inquiries should be directed to Miss BarbaraWynne, Director of Admissions, John Paul"Institute, 487 Michigan Avenue, N. E.,WashingtonD.C. 20017 or call: 202-526-3799.

The Institute also announces that the 1989MichaelJ. McGivney Lectures (jointly sponsored with theKnights of Columbus) will be delivered by G.E.M.Anscombe on the topic: "Sin, Negligence,Omission, Mortal and Venial", October 3, 5, 10, 11in Washington, D.C.

23


The 1989 FeUowship Convention

IHE RECOVERYFAI"t;H"

ForTerry

information, write or call:Room 375

Fellowship of Catholic Scholars NewsletterPublished by St. John's UniversityJamaica. New York 11439

Non-Profit Org.US. Postage

PAID

Jamaica. NY 11439Permit No. 451

,.,-

24

-

-

~

~

-- -