Marquette professor wants U.S. Catholic bishops, theologians to start talking about controversial issues

By Lee Roberts

An act of undefeatable hope. That's how Daniel Maguire said his recent attempt to encourage dialogue between U.S. Catholic bishops and theologians about some controversial issues could be described.

In June, Maguire, a professor of theology and ethics at Milwaukee's Marquette University, sent a letter to all 270 U.S. Catholic bishops asking them to help close what he termed the "great divide" that exists between bishops and theologians in the contemporary church by engaging them in communication about the "basic biblical concerns of poverty, justice and peace on an imperilled earth."

"I think that communication, even if it leads to little agreement, is a human good," read a line from Maguire's June 19 letter.

In that spirit, Maguire included two short pamphlets with his letter - one about abortion and one about same-sex marriage - both of which he said are topics on which the hierarchical teaching has become impaled. The intent of the pamphlets was to show the variety of theological opinion on these issues so that, hopefully, the bishops could see beyond them and instead focus attention on "the needs of the increasing militarism of our nation, our neglect of the poor of the world, racism, sexism and the wrecking of the earth's ecology through greed."

Beyond a doubt, the bishops could be among the most influential religious leaders in the nation if only they could get off what he calls the "pelvic issues" and address the wider view, Maguire said in later writings.

Maguire's letter did not have the effect he had ultimately hoped for. Only three of the 270 bishops responded, and the most resounding response - which came from Archbishop Timothy Dolan - left little room for discussion.

Dolan's letter to Maguire, dated July 13, said he was obliged to respond and went on to denounce the ideas expressed in the two pamphlets, saying they "are totally at odds with clear Church teaching. Sacred Scripture, the Magisterium, and Natural Law are consistent in opposition to abortion and so-called same sex marriage."

"You speak of your duty to dissent. Well, at least call it such," Dolan's letter to Maguire read. "To claim that such support for abortion and same-sex `marriage' is consonant with Catholic moral teaching is preposterous and disingenuous."

More than a month later, Dolan followed his personal response to Maguire with comments in his "Herald of Hope" column in the Aug. 24 edition of the "Catholic Herald." There, Dolan not only dismissed the writings in the pamphlets distributed to the bishops, but told readers that they should pay no attention to Maguire and his ideas.

"He has dramatically dissented from clear church teaching for decades," Dolan's column read. "After my arrival here four years ago, I sought counsel as to whether or not I should publicly warn the faithful about his erroneous opinions. Voices I considered wise advised me that this was not necessary, since the great majority of our people already recognize his views as clearly inconsistent with legitimate Catholic teaching."

While we don't have numbers to support such allegations, research on the Internet turned up blogs with passionate responses to Dolan's column on both sides of the issue - some of them praising the archbishop's traditional stance, and others joining Maguire's push for open discussion of the issues. Clearly, there are Catholics out there who agree with Dolan, while others - such as those involved in the group of progressive Catholics called Call to Action, Wisconsin - do not accept that all the answers to critical questions are found in the documents and pronouncements of the magisterium.

"What is taught needs to be relevant to our lived experience and true to our contemporary knowledge," reads part of a letter sent by CTA-Wisconsin to Dolan on Sept. 2 in response to his column. The opening paragraph of the letter reads: "Your attack on Daniel Maguire, a professor in good standing at Marquette University, seems to assume that mature Catholics are unable to discuss and debate what some consider controversial issues. Your `teaching responsibilities' do not preclude our obligation to wonder, to question, to speculate, to evaluate, to criticize and yes, to search for the truth. We can do this and not leave the Church."

For more information on CTA, visit http://www.ctawi.org While Maguire's original letter may not have sparked much discussion between bishops and theologians, it did prompt talk among the Catholic laity, through reaction to Dolan's column. And that is something, at least, says Maguire.

The theologian, who is the author of 11 books and many articles, said he didn't really expect to get responses from the bishops, mainly because of the atmosphere surrounding the Catholic Church today, which he says in recent years has been in a crack-down period which discouraged discussion with theologians.

"There was more openness, and readiness to listen and understand theology, back in the sixties," he said.

Maguire seemed pleased to get the three responses he did, even if they dismissed the ideas presented. The other two bishops echoed Dolan's conservative view, but they did so much more courteously, he said.

He was disappointed, however, that none of them reached beyond the "pelvic issues" to more urgent concerns such as war. "They seemed to have missed the point."

Such strained dialogue between theologians and church hierarchy is nothing new, says Wayne Thompson, associate professor of sociology at Carthage College in Kenosha. Thompson, whose career includes jobs doing research for the Archdiocese of New York and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, said that theological debate within the Catholic church can be traced back through history to the origins of the church.

One of the biggest debates that comes to mind is the one over birth control that took place in the 1960s, he said. Today, following a 40-year conservative phase, the Catholic Church faces a variety of complex issues, as it deals with changing demographics, church and school closings, recovery from the sex scandal and more.

Catholics today are a more diverse group of people, who bring a variety of issues to the table, Thompson said. And, as has been the case throughout history, the church is faced with the challenge of finding a way to preserve enough tradition, while embracing a changing society, he said.

Complete versions of Maguire's letter to the Catholic Bishops, along with Archbishop Dolan's letter of response can be read on The Religious Consultation Web site at http://www.religiousconsultation.org.

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