PART 1: Beyond Catechesis [precedes "Theology and Catechesis: What's the Difference?"]

America The National Catholic Review ^ | September 12, 2011 | Michael G. Lawler and Todd A. Salzman

[delacoert]

What is the proper role of theology?

When Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of Phoenix accused St. Joseph's Hospital of performing a direct abortion to save the life of a mother and withdrew its status as a Catholic hospital, a question was raised: Could any such perceived lack of fidelity to Catholic teaching be applied to Catholic universities as well? The question is especially pertinent because the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is approaching its 10-year review of the application of "Ex Corde Ecclesiae," Pope John Paul II's apostolic constitution on the Catholic university. What if the U.S. bishops were to apply the Phoenix standards to the teaching and research of Catholic theologians?

If it comes to this, bishops and presidents of Catholic colleges and universities may want to keep in mind an essential distinction between catechesis (as in catechism) and the academic discipline of theology.

The tendency among members of the hierarchy is not to make this distinction, a tendency evident in a recent statement by the U.S.C.C.B. Committee on Doctrine that evaluated Quest for the Living God, a book by Elizabeth A. Johnson, C.S.J. The committee concluded that the book "contains misrepresentations, ambiguities, and errors that bear upon the faith of the Catholic Church..." In support of Sister Johnson, the board of directors of the Catholic Theological Society of America issued a brief response: While the bishops' statement recognizes "the complementary but distinct vocations of the theologian and the Magisterium," the C.T.S.A. was troubled that the statement "seems to reflect a very narrow understanding of the theological task." This narrow understanding appears to reduce the theological task of the theologian to catechesis. This same understanding of the theologian's role is present in the "Instruction on the Ecclesial Vocation of the Theologian," published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1990, the same year as "Ex Corde Ecclesiae."

The Charism of the Theologian
The instruction begins by emphasizing that the discipline of theology is "important for the church in every age" as a means to a deeper "understanding of the realities and the words handed on" in Catholic tradition. The document refers vaguely to "moments of crisis and tension" and never specifies the nature of the theologian's charism until it addresses dissent, but it does note that theology "offers its contribution so that the faith might be communicated" (No. 7).

It is easy to conclude that the instruction identifies the theologian's charism, as did Pope Pius XII, with catechesis. The great 20th-century ecclesiologist Yves Congar, O.P., agrees that the charism of didaskalos, or teacher, in the primitive church was more like catechesis than scientific theology. But he also points out that the theological schools that developed and flourished in the second and third centuries and thereafter moved away from catechesis to speculative thought on the nature of the faith and salvation. Tension developed between the theologians' speculation and statements that were traced to apostolic succession. Defining the charism of the theologian in terms of catechesis in the instruction and locating this definition in the section on dissent appear to send a message: To avoid conflicts with the magisterium that may lead to investigation and censure, the theologian should focus his or her efforts on explaining and defending magisterial positions.

Nevertheless, the distinction remains important. "Catechesis is an education in the faith ...which includes especially the teaching of Christian doctrine imparted... in an organic and systematic way, with a view to initiating the hearers into the fullness of Christian life" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 5). Theology may include catechesis, but it is also more than that. Theology uses scholarly principles not only to communicate the truths of faith but also to explore the meanings of those truths and contemporary ways of articulating them.

Theologians as Mediators
Theologians play a mediating role between the magisterium and the faithful. Francis A. Sullivan, S.J., explains that this two-way mediation is "from the faith, culture and questionings of the people toward the magisterium; and from the pronouncements of the magisterium back to the people." The first mediation takes place before magisterial pronouncements are issued; it requires theologians to do the preparatory work to elucidate the questions, issues and concerns of the faithful. The magisterium relies on this theological work to address any concerns in its pronouncements. The second mediation comes after magisterial pronouncements; it requires theologians to interpret those pronouncements for the faithful in terms that are culturally and developmentally appropriate.

The instruction, however, clearly emphasizes the second mediation, which it highlights in its treatment of the canonical mission or mandatum required of "those who teach theological disciplines in any institute of higher studies" (Can. 812). In "Ex Corde" "the theologian is officially charged with the task of presenting and illustrating the doctrine of the faith in its integrity and with full accuracy" (No. 22). This charge is part of the theologian's vocation, but it does not exhaust that vocation.

[RobbyS]

The key word is is speculation. The only authority that a theologian can claim is from demonstrating that what he says is consistent with the dogma of the Church. This requires greater humility. This is often lacking in theologians as it is in Biblical scholars. It may be lacking also in bishops, mystics and anyone else who counts as forming the Church elite. We in the laity are less likely to offer our opinions as worthwhile contributions to truth.