How To Make Sure "Catholic" Colleges are REALLY Catholic
- DEAL HUDSON
I have a daughter who'll be heading off to college in a few years. Like any faithful parent, if she goes to a Catholic school, I want to make sure she's being taught authentic Catholicism. None of that watered-down nonsense, thank you very much.
In
fact, you yourself may have a child or grandchild in a Catholic college. If so,
you need to know this: His or her theology professors should have received a "mandatum"
from their bishop by June 1st of this year. While most people have no idea what
a "mandatum" is, it's actually a very important thing (I'll explain why in a minute).
But first, a little background...
You might be familiar with
the document Ex Corde Ecclesiae that the pope issued in 1990, calling for
the return of a Catholic identity to Catholic universities and colleges and, in
the spirit of their Catholic tradition, the certification of those professors.
In their 1999 response to the pope's statement, the American bishops declared
(grudgingly, in some cases) that a mandatum would be required of all Catholic
professors at Catholic colleges who taught in the theological disciplines.
So what exactly is a mandatum? Basically, it's "an acknowledgement by Church
authority that a Catholic professor of a theological discipline is a teacher within
the full communion of the Catholic Church...[and] recognizes the professor's commitment
and responsibility to teach authentic Catholic doctrine and to refrain from putting
forth as Catholic teaching anything contrary to the Church's magisterium" (Guidelines
Concerning the Academic Mandatum, Article 1, a-b).
In other words, a
mandatum is a guarantee that a Catholic professor is teaching real Catholicism.
Sounds like a good idea, right?
Well, if you're like most American
Catholics, the only reason you know about the mandatum at all is because certain
theologians raised such a stink about having to get one. In fact, many of them
flat out refused to do so, claiming it restricted their academic freedom. Some
even suspect that the bishops themselves might be lax in enforcing the mandatum,
issuing them without regard to the professor's real intentions.
Now I'm
no Latin scholar, but it seems to me that the word mandatum is linked to the word
"mandatory." In fact, it actually means "command." So if this is a command for
Catholic theologians, why aren't they rushing out to get them?
One reason
is probably because they can get away with it. As it stands, the bishops' guidelines
have no provisions for punishing those professors who don't seek a mandatum. As
such, the professors are free to think what any rebellious child would: If no
one's watching, you can do what you like. (As the father of a five-year old boy,
I know this behavior first-hand.)
Others might try to find legalistic
loopholes in the wording of the document. For instance, the term "professor of
theological disciplines" might be interpreted to mean only those with the proper
title "professor of theology," instead of someone teaching, say, "religious studies."
And perhaps the fact that this document applies to "Catholic colleges and universities"
means that it wouldn't have to apply to schools that aren't referred to as "Catholic"
in their mission statement, but rather referred to by their specific order (like
a "Jesuit college," for example).
Of course, this kind of thinking is
flat-out wrong. In the bishops' guidelines, "theological disciplines" means any
professor of "Sacred Scripture, dogmatic theology, moral theology, pastoral theology,
canon law, liturgy, and Church history" (Article 2, c). That pretty well covers
the bases. And schools that refer to themselves by their specific religious orders
are out of luck, too-the document holds for ALL Catholic institutions, "particular
laws, customs or privileges notwithstanding" (Ex Corde Ecclesiae: The Application
to the United States, Part II, Article 1.1).
It's a shame that all
this legalistic wrangling is necessary. After all, the Church isn't trying to
cramp anyone's style as a teacher, but only ensure that Catholic professors are
teaching Catholic beliefs, or at the very least, not teaching other beliefs in
the name of Catholicism.
It really makes you wonder why any Catholic
professor worth his salt would have a problem proclaiming his Catholicism.
Unfortunately, this accountability debate is all too familiar to American
Catholics. We've seen plenty of this escapist attitude among people in positions
of authority in the Church. After all, it's this searching for loopholes and bending
of rules that helped cause the current scandals in the priesthood.
Perhaps
the bishops can't effectively police theologians who refuse to request a mandatum.
But at the very least, they can tell us which theologians are refusing. Making
public the names of these professors gives our children a choice as to whether
or not they want to study under someone who has already declared himself unwilling
to comply with Church teaching.
I think the pope said it best: "The
term 'Catholic' will never be a mere label either added or dropped according to
the pressures of varying factors." It's time to take pride in the heritage of
our Catholic universities and start expecting them to live up to their name.
Make sense?
Well, if you agree, there are ways you can make a difference.
Here are a few suggestions:
- Write
to the president of a Catholic college and demand accountability.
- Get
involved with alumni associations or national groups like the Cardinal
Newman Society to help advocate real renewal.
- If
you have academic credentials, there are several groups like the Fellowship
of Catholic Scholars that are growing in influence.
This is a fight we all need to be a part of. Today's Catholic college students are tomorrow's Catholic Church. Let's make sure Catholics of the future are more faithful than Catholics of the present.
This is Meaghen Gonzalez, Editor of CERC. I hope you appreciated this piece. We curate these articles especially for believers like you.
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Acknowledgement
Deal Hudson. "How To Make Sure "Catholic" Colleges are REALLY Catholic." (July, 2002).
This article was reprinted with permission of Deal Hudson. To receive Crisis Magazine's free e-letter click here.
The Author
Deal W. Hudson is the director of the Morley Institute for Church & Culture, and is the former publisher and editor of Crisis Magazine, a Catholic monthly published in Washington, DC. He is the author of seven books: Onward Christian Soldiers: The Growing Political Power of Catholics and Evangelicals in the United States; Understanding Maritain: Philosopher and Friend; The Future of Thomism; Sigrid Undset On Saints and Sinners; Happiness and the Limits of Satisfaction and his autobiography, An American Conversion.
Copyright © 1989 Understanding Maritain: Philosopher and Friend