A Difference of Opinion
from Notre Dame Resources, September 6-12, 1998
Catholic theologians I: Pope John Paul II's recent apostolic letter,
Ad tuendam fidem ("To Defend the Faith") admonishes leaders and
teachers of the Catholic Church against theological dissent and warns that
Catholic theologians who publicly challenge "definitive" church teachings
"may be punished with a just penalty." According to Rev. Richard A. McCormick,
S.J., John A. O'Brien Professor Emeritus of Christian Ethics at Notre Dame,
the letter represents a "shift in ecclesial climate — from persuasion to
coercion." In the August 14 edition of Commonweal magazine, Father
McCormick notes that Pope John Paul II's predecessor, Pope Paul VI, "wanted
people to be 'convaincus, pas vaincus' ('convinced, not conquered'). This
is no longer our climate." According to Father McCormick, this new, coercive
church atmosphere "threatens ministry, sours the laity and divides the
church — the very opposite of what the pope intended." Contact: Michael
Garvey, 219-631-7367; garvey.2@nd.edu
Catholic theologians II: Notre Dame philosopher Alfred J. Freddoso
fully supports Pope John Paul II's recent apostolic letter. "The pope's
letter is bad news for a generation of Catholic thinkers who have tried
so hard to accommodate Catholic faith and morals to the bourgeois standards
of 1990s American culture," he says. "The pope understands that he will
be criticized by the dissenters, but his goal is to encourage fidelity
among the increasing number of young and zealous Catholic scholars who
see undiluted Catholic Christianity as a deep and coherent alternative
to rampant hedonism, consumerism and moral skepticism." Contact: Michael
Garvey, 219-631-7367; garvey.2@nd.edu |