Discussion continues on how to best balance academic freedom, Catholic character at Notre Dame, Saint Mary's
By PAT McELWEE
News Writer
Notre Dame and Saint Mary's are schools placed in a rather unique position within the world of American higher education.
Not only do they face the daunting task of remaining academically viable and competitive, but they are committed to maintaining a Catholic identity within an increasingly secular world.
The difficulty of reconciling those two goals is amply demonstrated in the current debates over how to do so. The most controversial focus of these debates has been the requirement that all Catholic theology professors obtain a mandate from the local bishop.
Professor John Cavadini, chair of Notre Dame's theology department, agrees with the goal of creating a Catholic and intellectual culture in Catholic universities. However, he believes, mandates are not the right creative force.
"You can't legislate a culture," said Cavadini. "You can't legislate people's hearts. That's impossible. You can only change a culture by debate, consultation and persuasion."
Mandates were conceived as tools to give bishops some jurisdiction over the Catholic theology taught in Catholic universities in an effort to preserve the Catholic nature of those universities.
Perhaps as early as May 3, Catholic theology professors will be required to have a mandate to establish that they teach "in full communion with the Church," in the language of the papal document, Ex corde Ecclesiae.
On one hand, Catholic universities do not want to revert to the dogmatic teachings typical of the Middle Ages.
On the other hand, those same universities do not want to go the way of Harvard and Duke — universities founded with a religious mission but almost completely secular now.
In a development which may have significant impact on the details of academic life at Notre Dame, proposed guidelines for granting mandates to Catholic theology professors were released in November by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.
According to the proposed guidelines, mandates are to be granted in writing by the local bishop to Catholic theology professors. A professor may request a mandate, provided she declares that she "will teach in full communion with the Church," or the bishop may grant a mandate "on his own initiative."
The proposed guidelines further spell out the right of Catholic professors to receive a mandate "if all the conditions for granting the mandate are fulfilled." That is, as long as the professor commits "to teach authentic Catholic doctrine and to refrain from putting forth as Catholic teaching anything contrary to" Church teaching, and behavior straying from that commitment is not proven.
In 1990, Pope John Paul II wrote Ex corde Ecclesiae, a document intended to resolve ambiguities in the relationship between the Catholic Church and its universities, and in 1999, the U.S. bishops approved an Application of that papal document.
Following the release of those documents, bishops, universities and theologians have been involved in discussions on how best to implement the goals enumerated first in Ex corde and later applied to the special circumstances of U.S. universities in the Application.
These discussions have focused on the crucial issues of academic freedom, institutional independence and Catholic identity.
While all sides of the discussion seem to agree on the ideals the Pope set out in Ex corde, not all agree that mandates are the right method for bringing those ideals into reality.
Proponents of mandates urge universities and theologians not to view the bishop as an external agent wielding power over Catholic universities, but rather as a part of the university community itself. They stress mutual goals rather than adversarial roles.
Bishop D'Arcy of the Fort Wayne-South Bend dioceses has been an outspoken proponent of discussions aiming to resolve difficulties with mandates.
He has expressed respect for both Catholic identity in Catholic universities and academic freedom.
In a letter provided to The Observer, D'Arcy wrote, "Like all the bishops who have Catholic institutions of higher learning within their dioceses, I have been engaged in regular dialogue with the local presidents of Catholic colleges and universities since 1991 [shortly after Ex corde Ecclesiae was released]."
Marilou Eldred, President of Saint Mary's, and Professor Joseph Incandela, chair of Saint Mary's theology department, both confirmed that they had participated in discussions with D'Arcy and would continue to do so in the future.
"[D'Arcy] has been here. He had lunch with the department last semester," Incandela said. "The bishop has been very responsive and very supportive. He understands some of the difficulties this could create for us and for all those who teach theology."
Crucial to the interests of Catholic universities is the ability to remain academically viable.
Mandates may threaten the freedom academics need to explore their disciplines, including theology, according to the concerns exhibiting by many.
Also, acceptance of the mandate would lower university prestige by giving fuel to the arguments of critics of religiously affiliated universities, according to Notre Dame theology professor Richard McBrien, who has publicly stated he will not seek a mandate.
"As soon as you concede jurisdiction over internal academic life, then the university has given up claim to be a university in the true sense of the word," said McBrien. "I am concerned as a Catholic theologian that our universities be respected in the academic world. [Mandates are] embarrassing, they give more credibility to our critics. Imagine bishops telling a university who may or may not teach," he said.
According to McBrien, if Catholic universities lose legitimacy, the result would be less Catholic influence in academics, a result Ex corde and the mandates were not intended to create.
At the end of all the discussions, there may be an understanding among all involved parties that the mandate, while officially on the books, will not be enforced.
But remains speculation, as no final decisions have been made.
Many details about the mandate remain up in the air, but discussions continue.
The future of the mandate is difficult to guess, even by those directly involved in discussions about it.
"If [mandates are] going to be enforced, then it's hard to predict what the consequences will be," said Incandela, "but I don't think they will be good."
All News Stories for Friday, March 2, 2001
