by Eileen Arnold
Two years ago the Vatican tried to crack down on theologians teaching Catholic doctrine at American college campuses. But the rulings have had little impact so far at Fairfield and other Catholic schools, according to professors and school officials.
“It is generally my impression that the overwhelming majority of Catholic theologians have done nothing,” said Professor Paul Lakeland of Fairfield’s Religious Studies department.
Conversely, Fr. Paul E. Carrier, S.J., another professor of Religious Studies said that a mandatum is “a way for the Church to recognize that the university is an important part of the mission of the church.”
In 1990, a document entitled Ex corde Ecclesiae was published by Pope John Paul II outlining his plans for Catholic higher education. American bishops acting under Vatican direction issued a number of rules stemming from the above document. The most controversial rule was the order that all Catholic theologians teaching Catholic doctrine on American Catholic campuses must seek church acknowledgement – formally called a mandatum – that what they are teaching is authentic Catholic doctrine.
Lakeland said “the job of a Catholic theologian is not to teach Catholic doctrine, but explore the tradition of the Church while representing the Catholic doctrine faithfully.” Basically, Catholic theologians can give their own opinion on the material they teach, but they cannot misrepresent what the Vatican says is the correct teaching.
Lakeland explained that “the one thing that is very clear is that a mandatum is a private issue between the bishop and the theologian.” Lakeland went on to explain that there is no way to find out who has been issued a mandatum simply because of the confidential nature of them.
The mandates have received a wide variety of criticism and praise from American theologians. Some have interpreted them to be harsh attempts at academic control while others have seen them as attempts to verify that students taking religion courses are taught authentic Catholic doctrine.
“The system of mandates is a mistake occasioned by Vatican misunderstanding of American Catholic higher education,” Lakeland said, adding that the longer the misunderstanding is prolonged, the more it will look to the rest of the world like this is a restriction of academic freedom. Consequently, the material that Catholic theologians deal with could be taken less seriously by the non-catholic academic world.
Some students at Fairfield, surprisingly, say they don’t see a problem with the new rules. While students may not agree with the mandates in and of themselves, they do agree that the Church has a right and responsibility to assure that proper Catholic doctrine is being taught.
Mandy Johnson, ’05 said that the Vatican plays a role of “spiritual guidance,” and that theologians should “use the mandatums as guides.”
Jay Imhoff, ’05 said that the Vatican “wants the people to know correct dogma,” while Rob Keder, ’04 said that he “understood the Vatican’s intentions.” However, all the students questioned were uneasy with the methods the Vatican chose to use.
Leave a Reply