ARTICLES

Curran Pops Up In Golden Hill, Prays For "Bishop Of Rome"

WHY HAVE THERE BEEN ONLY TWO TREATISES ON WOMEN'S ORDINATION?

By Lesley Payne

The theologians gathered at the Doubletree Hotel at Horton Plaza for the June 6-9 convention of the Catholic Theological Society of America continued to slide into open dissent. The majority of the professors and priests rejected the "institutional church," complained about Vatican "authoritarianism," passed resolutions in support of Richard McBrien's recently censured book Catholicism, and commissioned a statement on women's ordination. Last year's election of Sister Elizabeth Johnson, leading feminist from Fordham University, as society president was indicative; Johnson's best-known book, She Who Is, calls for a re-imaging of God into a trinity of feminine features to make up for "past injustices" to women.

Thursday USD President Alice Hayes gave an opening prayer; Bishop Brom, the welcome. John Randall Sachs, S.J. of Weston Jesuit School of Theology, followed with "'Do Not Stifle the Spirit': Karl Rahner, the Legacy of Vatican II, and its Urgency for Theology Today." His address was filled with feminine references to God and called for women's ordination and acceptance of homosexuality.

Sachs denied that revelation comes from God (he views it as a gradual awakening of human understanding), and questioned the need for the Catholic Church, Jesus Christ, or monotheism. Sachs presented the Second Vatican Council as not authoritative: "The familiar way that Vatican II continued to insist on the fullness of truth in the Roman Catholic Church while admitting the presence of truth outside it is no longer adequate. The fullness of truth is not present and realized in the Roman Catholic church, both because the Church is sinful and because it is not yet truly catholic."

The "respondent" to this address, Catherine Mowry LaCugna of the University of Notre Dame, disagreed little with Sachs and voiced her agreement to his complaint about the Church's teaching on homosexuality.

At the Sunday morning follow-up seminar on Sach's address, panelists were more critical. Father Marc Ouellet, rector of Saint Joseph seminary in Edmonton, Canada, stated that Rahner's view of the Holy Spirit originating in humans (Father Ouellet termed this "pneumatology from below") "ends up confusing the contrasting and ambiguous trends of the cultures with the Holy Spirit..." He proposed instead a focus on "Mary immaculate, who is the bride of the Lamb, and the real symbol of the universal fruitfulness of the feminine in the Church. The pneumatology we need today in order to retrieve the spirit of Vatican II must be deeply trinitarian, christological, and marian."

Friday's "Soteriology" seminar featured a panel discussion of Violence Unveiled, with responses by the book's author, Gil Bailie. The three panelists showed enthusiasm for the book's sociology (human cultures and religions use sacrificial victims and scapegoats to "de-fuse" violent tendencies; Christianity attempts to stop this by means of a God who identifies with victims).

Sandra Schneiders of the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley (author of Beyond Patching, which expresses feminist despair over the "reformability" the Catholic religion) viewed Bailie's book as consistent with her reading of the "true meaning" of scripture, which, she says, is evident between the lines in the Bible, in spite of efforts of the evangelists to say something different. She cited authors of the Gospels presenting Jesus's crucifixion as "willed by God" to atone for humanity's sins. She claimed that the real significance of the crucifixion can be gleaned from biblical narrative, in spite of the writers' attempts to misinform readers.

The audience, who had been thrilled with the panelists' deconstruction of Christianity, were unhappy with the ending remarks by Bailie. Bailie quoted the late theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar on the absolute truth of Christianity and catechized the group on the doctrines of sin and redemption, correcting Schneiders' statements about the crucifixion. He pointed out that Rene Girard was led to the Catholic Church by the results of his anthropological research, and is now "a very traditional Catholic." (Bailie's interview on the Dan Erwine show on KPBS radio that morning reiterated that his book is intended to use non-religious arguments for Christanity.) In the question period, one woman theologian stood up and thanked Bailie, saying the book "gave me the first idea about taking Christianity seriously as a world dynamic."

Other workshops were notable for members' adherence to Catholic teachings, including the "Criteria of Catholic Theology" seminar (packed with eager, young theologians), the Balthasar Society seminar, and sessions on John Henry Newman and Mariology. Many of traditionalist minority were affiliated with the quarterly Communio (founded by Hans Urs von Balthasar and Cardinal Ratzinger), including Communio editor David Schindler of the John Paul II Institute, Sister Agnes Cunningham and Sister Sarah Butler of Mundelein Seminary, Father Matthew Lamb of Boston College, and Father Marc Ouellet. Other notables included Father Avery Dulles, Father Benedict Ashley, Father Augustine Di Noia, Father Robert Imbelli, and Professor Robin Darling Young.

The society's business meeting was held early Friday evening. The group passed a resolution, prepared by 30 of 39 members of the department of theology at Richard McBrien's University of Notre Dame, complaining about the NCCB's unfavorable review of McBrien's book, Catholicism. Other business taken up at the meeting included a board of directors election. Father Augustine Di Noia, theologian to the U.S. bishops' committee on doctrine and author of the censure of McBrien's book, was one of four candidates for the board but received only 30 votes out of over 200.

Later Friday evening, the society held an "informal colloquy on Responsum Ad Dubium [from Cardinal Ratzinger] regarding women and priestly ordination." While most of the members voiced their support of women's ordination, the arguments were primarily whether the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (Cardinal Ratzinger) had authority to declare the pope's recent encyclical against women's ordination, Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, an infallible teaching. Most of the speakers argued this was an invalid procedure.

A panel of five theologians gave opening remarks, followed by an "open mike" session for the audience. Father Avery Dulles of Fordham University, the panel's token conservative, supported the encyclical and the Responsum. Margaret O'Gara of the University of St. Michael's College and Jean Porter of the University of Notre Dame opposed the Vatican documents. Porter suggested that research be done into whether Church authority is reserved for the ordained.

James Provost, a canon lawyer at Catholic University, argued that Ordinatio Sacerdotalis was not presented infallibly, according to guidelines in the 1983 Code of Canon Law and the Vatican II document Lumen Gentium. Father Francis Sullivan, a Jesuit in the theology department of Boston College, claimed that the definition of "ordinary Magisterium" given by the Second Vatican Council says that all bishops of the world must agree on a doctrine in order for it to be infallible. He added that, since the Council uses the present tense in this definition, this means all bishops must agree "at the present time," no matter what bishops in the past believed. He also claimed that Pope Pius IX said there must be a consensus of all Catholic theologians to prove that something is taught by the ordinary magisterium.

The first audience member to approach the microphone was Father Benedict Ashley, a Dominican from Aquinas Institute in St. Louis and a former advisor to the U.S. bishops doctrine committee. Father Ashley defended the papal position. He complained about lack of true debate over the issue, saying "only one voice is being heard -- that which has conformed to the culture." As Father Ashley spoke, the audience members giggled and whispered openly. When Father Ashley suggested that humans' creation as male and female "tell[s] us something about what God is," the audience laughed out loud.

After a couple intervening speakers, Father Matthew Lamb of Boston College approached the microphone and pointed out the "scandalous lack of theological treatises by Roman Catholic theologians on the issue of women's ordination." He stated that only two papers have been written on the subject, both in Germany many years ago, one for and one against; the author of the pro-women's ordination paper changed his mind in later years. Lamb stated, "Those Catholic theologians who want the ordination of women have yet to make their case in serious theological treatises." Lamb criticized the society's board of directors for appointing a three-person committee (all pro-women's ordination) to prepare an "official" statement which will be voted on at the 1997 conference. Father Lamb received sparse applause as he returned to his seat.

Sister Nona Harrison, an Eastern Orthodox nun dressed in a traditional black habit, claimed that the Orthodox Church is loosening its stance against women's ordination, and that Bishop Kallistus Ware has recently changed his mind and is about to publish an essay in favor of women's ordination. She added, "Given the attitude the Orthodox generally have to papal assertions of universal authority, the recent developments may have the unintended effect of encouraging further discussion of women's ordination in the Orthodox Church." Her statement was followed by cheers and loud applause.

Theresa Moser of the University of San Francisco stated that the encyclical "looks to me like a misuse of papal authority...it does not seem to represent the developing faith of the Church."

Also on Friday Father Orlando Espin of USD's Religious Studies Department had urged society members to attend Mass at the "poorest church in San Diego." He admonished the group members to give money. The Mass, at Our Lady of Angels in Golden Hill, was celebrated by Father Charles Curran of Southern Methodist University. (Curran was removed from teaching theology at Catholic University). Originally, it had been announced that Sister Johnson would give the Mass's homily, but Bishop Brom intervened, saying that he would not welcome the group unless they changed the plan. A compromise was reached that Johnson could "preach," but not give a "homily."

In her opening greeting, Sister Johnson thanked Our Lady of Angels pastor Father Del Priori, "who rolled out the red carpet." Throughout the Mass, Father Curran prayed to God "our Mother and Father" and shunned masculine pronouns, the apparently objectionable term "Lord," and references to sin, sacrifice, Virgin Mary, and saints. He changed the Gospel reading as he went along, deleting "non-inclusive" references. During the barely recognizable Eucharistic Prayer, he declined to pray for the pope, praying instead "for those who exercise leadership in our various communities...Robert, this local bishop, and John Paul, the bishop of Rome."

The Hispanic parishioners standing at back at the church provided the only displays of traditional devotion (kneeling, wearing Sacred Heart pins, and reciting the responses without changes and deletions). The songs, readings, and Mass parts which were done in Spanish retained masculine images of God the Father and Jesus the Lord.