The following comes from an August 17 story in the National Catholic Reporter.
The U.S. bishops’ committee tasked with enforcing church doctrine adopted new procedures for investigating theologians a year ago, apparently unbeknownst to the theologians whose teachings and writings would be subject to the protocols.
The procedures seem to indicate that the committee is eschewing dialogue with theologians when concerns over their adherence to church doctrine are reported, instead preferring a private in-house review process.
The procedures, dated Aug. 19, 2011, would have been formulated and approved at a time when the bishops and their committee were being questioned about their treatment of St. Joseph Sister Elizabeth Johnson, a distinguished theologian whose work they sharply criticized in March 2011.
In various statements last year following the Johnson critique, the two primary U.S. theological membership societies faulted the bishops for not following a set of procedures promulgated in 1989 for dealing with doctrinal questions.
Those procedures were the result of deliberations between a group of bishops and theologians over a period of years, and were approved by the full body of U.S. bishops and endorsed by the Vatican.
The existence of new procedures came to light this summer in two academic journal articles by noted canon lawyer Father James Coriden. In the latest issue of the theological journal Concilium, Coriden writes that he had received a copy of the protocols from the U.S. bishops’ doctrine committee, but their existence came as a surprise to several prominent theologians NCR called for comment.
The protocols state that while theologians being investigated by the committee “may be invited to respond to the Committee’s observations in writing,” the committee “reserves the right” to publish criticism without consultation “if it judges that intervention is needed for the pastoral guidance of the Catholic faithful.”
To read the entire story click here.
U.S. bishops have shown a great reluctance to discipline anyone. Actions speak louder than words!
Vatican II said you cannot discipline anyone.. its not pastoral to do so.
Mbûkû Kanyau Mbithûka,
Please quote Chapter, paragraph and verse where the Vatican II documents allegedly forbid “discipling anyone”!
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
Finally!
If they publish their theological views it seems reasonable they should be judged by the bishops on that. What’s the big deal ? You stand by what you wrote or you don’t.
Not really “to stand by what one writes” here, but to bring home the bacon from what one writes.
Did you not know that Vatican II gave Theologians apostolic teaching Authority equal to that of the bishops?
They can even teach like the Pope.
Are theologians now to claim that they have a divine commission to not only “explore” new avenues for doctine to “develop” but also the right to rule on the propriety or Christianity of these avenues. My teenagers know this routine well. Dad is so “out of it”, just doesn’t get it because he’s too old and has forgotten how to be “cool” and new. But when my teenagers get into trouble – I’m responsible. I have the responsibility to protect the younger children (and the teenagers themselves) from the “new avenues” my teenagers have found. Thank God theologians can be restrained by the guardians of the Faith, descended through the Spirit from the Apostles.
Yes they do.
After reading the whole article, it seems that the bishops have one again gone off the rails and refused to follow canon law. They often remind me of the US Congress.
Bring back the nihil obstat and imprimatur as a requirement for all “catholic” publications!
That is pre Vatican II
Annonymous,
What good would that do since many of the Bishops who can grant these are heretics themselves?
If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, supports and promotes ducks, there is a very good chance it is a DUCK!
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
That is a very rash accusation. I know you have issues with Bishop Brown and that you attend an independent Traditional parish whose priests believe that Pope Benedict XVI is possibly a heretic and who believe that the Catholic bishops are heretics (though why I have never found out.) Is it the Mass?
KEN, why don’t you publish a list of all heretical bishops so we can avoid them?
rather like the nutritional labels on foods?
oh, that’s right — you are not GOD and don’t get to decide who’s holy, heretical, or whole.
unless i missed the memo on this development…
They still exist.
Views and authority are two different things. How exactly are bishops supposed to minister authority if they lack holiness? Recite Doctrine? And what twist do they put on it when they lack holiness? Holiness is essential to the nature of a bishop. Without it he is worse than nothing.
I infer you think our bishops are not holy
JLS, you have a point. When you have priests who have been guilty of abuse and the bishops have covered up for them and also covered up for their own misdeeds what kind of credibility do they have? If priests and bishops who have done this start giving sermons about how women are committing mortal sins when they use contraception what do you think the women in the pews will think?
MarkfromPA, Pretty clever attempt to maintain the status quo. Trying to schmooze JLS? Talking about the evil of contraception one week might mean that the next week that same bishop or priest will also condemn the latest diabolical fashion craze AKA same sex marriage and we know how you feel about that already.
Now for the answer to your question of how women will feel if they hear that they are committing mortal sins when they use contraception?…..The women in the pew will think, “O my gosh, may the saints preserve us’, when did Bishop So and So or Father So and So become a Catholic? It’s a miracle! Isn’t it wonderful!
I would think “tell it like it is.”