Vatican Suppression of American Theologian

The Vatican has issued a notification against a book written by a Catholic theologian. The author, Roger Haight, has also been banned from teaching Catholic theology. Many Catholics are worried about this, arguing that even if one disagrees with Haight, his book doesn't merit the punishment the Vatican is trying to employ.

John L. Allen Jr. writes:

[T]heologians insist that even if some of Haight’s tentative conclusions are debatable, his book has opened up a valuable new conversation and should be encouraged rather than condemned. “I think of Haight as a voice in the wilderness,” Elizabeth Johnson said. “He’s doing the work of a theologian, trying to articulate in new cultural idioms what the faith says. … He’s a faithful man of the church, who ascribes to the Nicene Creed with full-heartedness. He’s not trying to oppose doctrine, but to make it come alive.

What is the proper role of the Vatican, or of church authority in general, in “policing” fidelity? The question has a special relevance with regard to Haight, since there already was a lively scholarly debate about his book prior to news of a Vatican investigation. Johnson said that if Vatican officials have a concern, as they clearly do with issues surrounding the universality and uniqueness of Christ, they should “get into the debate,” but not with condemnations or bans on teaching.

“The Vatican has not always been right” when it censured theologians in the past, she said. “Sometimes they’ve attempted to block pioneering ways of thinking that turned out to be really valuable,” pointing to Vatican attempts earlier in the 20th century to stop Fr. Karl Rahner from writing on concelebration, or Fr. John Courtney Murray on religious freedom.

A related question is whether Vatican procedures against theologians, with the threat of disciplinary consequences, actually impede the self-corrective function of theological debate. In other words, do theologians hold their fire when a fellow member of the club is under investigation? This possibility was raised by the Catholic Theological Society of America statement, which warns, “Rather than promote greater criticism of the book, the Congregation’s intervention will most likely discourage debates over the book, effectively stifling further criticism and undermining our ability as Catholic theologians to openly critique our colleagues.”

This entire issue would appear to be a symptom of the Vatican's move towards a more top-down style of management of worldwide Catholicism. Rather than working with Catholics around the world, Vatican prelates seem more interested in forcing more and more conformity. Since he became pope, this has been what John Paul II has sought. Read more...

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