Bishop D'Arcy Issues "Pastoral Response" to Father Jenkins' "Closing Statement"

(Hat tip: Emily at The Shrine of the Holy Whapping)

Taking his teaching role as a Bishop seriously, Bishop John D'Arcy of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend has issued a "Pastoral Response" to Father Jenkins' "Closing Statement" regarding The Vagina Monologues, academic freedom, and Notre Dame's Catholic character:

Pastoral response to 'A Closing Statement on
Academic Freedom and Catholic Character'
by Father John Jenkins, CSC
By Bishop John M. D'Arcy
Today's Catholic
April 30, 2006

Father John Jenkins, CSC, shared with me his decision and the rationale that supported it at the same time he shared it with the press, the afternoon before it was released to the public. Holy Week and the beautiful pastoral responsibilities it brings followed immediately, but now, with these responsibilities completed, I am able to respond to the decision and the material that accompanied it in a way that is more adequate, and thus try to fulfill my pastoral obligation.

A bishop is bound to preach the Gospel. In fact, if St. Paul is taken at his word, it seems that this obligation relates directly to his eternal salvation. “If I preach the Gospel, this is no reason for me to boast for an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it.” — 1 Cor. 9, 16. Surely, this sacred responsibility does not relate only to the preaching of the Gospel on Sunday at the holy liturgy, though that is always central. It also requires the bishop to apply the Gospel and the teachings of the church to the questions of the time, and, indeed, to his own pastoral decisions. If we do not accept that, there is the danger that the Gospel would become irrelevant and the ministry of the bishop greatly weakened.

Academic freedom
In the discussion which Father Jenkins initiated with his talk in January to the university faculty and later to the students, and also in his closing statement, he spoke about academic freedom and the Catholic character of Notre Dame.

In “Ex Corde Ecclesiae,” Pope John Paul II, himself a longtime professor in a Catholic university, wrote with clarity about academic freedom at a Catholic university. Among other things, he said that a Catholic university:

“… possesses that institutional autonomy necessary to perform its functions effectively and guarantees its members academic freedom, so long as the rights of the individual person and of the community are preserved within the confines of the truth and the common good.” — “Ex Corde Ecclesiae,” 12.

Although Father Jenkins cited “Ex Corde Ecclesiae” in his closing statement, he did not cite its teaching on academic freedom or related matters, and this would have seemed especially relevant in a closing statement on academic freedom in relation to Catholic character. This teaching simply carries forward teaching on the freedom of inquiry stated earlier by the Second Vatican Council (“Guadium et Spes,” 59) and the 1966 Declaration on Catholic Education, where freedom of inquiry is founded on the same principles. These principles, the rights of individuals, the truth and the common good, also constitute central parts of Catholic social teaching and Catholic ethics. Indeed, if properly understood, they do not restrict academic freedom, but enlarge it and give it a color that is truly Catholic.

Nowhere in his comments does Father Jenkins speak of these principles or the tradition of freedom of inquiry that is based on them. I found this difficult to understand and trust that this teaching was not considered irrelevant.

This is all the more surprising because the University of Notre Dame’s Board of Trustees and the officers of the university traveled to the Holy See for their February meeting, immediately after Father Jenkins’ January presentation to the Notre Dame community. They visited some close collaborators of Pope Benedict XVI, cardinals and bishops, and even, briefly, the Holy Father himself. Presumably this indicated at least an openness to considering the teachings of the Holy See on matters relevant to a Catholic university community. Yet, upon returning to Notre Dame and listening to varied viewpoints, they made no mention of the principles of Pope John Paul II, and the Second Vatican Council before him, relative to freedom of inquiry in general and to academic freedom in a Catholic university in particular. It seems appropriate to raise the question as to why were such principles not considered worthy to be part of the campus-wide debate.

Father Jenkins noted that he even took time to visit with the young women who had acted in this unfortunate play at the heart of the present controversy. Knowing Father Jenkins, I am sure that this was a pastoral visit and showed his desire to assist them spiritually. But, it seems appropriate to ask, if Father Jenkins gave access to these young women and allowed himself to be influenced by them, as he claims, is it too much to expect that he also would have given access to the understanding of academic freedom in a Catholic university put forward by Pope John Paul II? The papacy, after all, is a teaching office. Would it have been too much to expect that, after his gracious visit to the Holy See, (memorialized in the pictures sent out to alumni and to all U.S. bishops in the recent edition of Notre Dame Magazine) the teaching of Pope John Paul II on academic freedom might have at least been part of the conversation, which went on at Notre Dame for 10 weeks? It might even have had some influence. If, as Father Jenkins says, it was his determination that “we should not suppress speech on this campus,” then the speech of Pope John Paul II might have become an influential part of the dialogue. But, if it was the intention that it not be admitted and discussed, what would be the purpose of going to Rome?

Also, it should be noted that, as local bishop, I wrote extensively on this matter three years in a row, as the office I am privileged to hold is also about teaching, and teaching in communion with the successor of St. Peter, as I promised on the day I was ordained a bishop. I, too, presented each year this understanding of academic freedom; but, alas, my words were also absent from Father Jenkins’ statement and from the 10-week dialogue at Notre Dame.

Further, Pope Benedict XVI wrote a striking passage in the first encyclical of his pontificate, “God Is Love,” that is relevant to the play in question. He addresses the “contemporary way of exalting the body,” and judges it deceptive. This insight of the new pope also did not find its way into the continuing dialogue conducted at Notre Dame although I cited it at some length in my statement of Feb. 12, 2006 in our diocesan newspaper. Would it not seem that this would have been very respectful and, indeed, a matter of ecclesial faith to complete the dialogue begun in Rome, and to help Pope Benedict in his teaching to reach the hearts of the young people at Notre Dame? Not only because he is the pope, but because his insight on the true nature of love and the place of the body in love is a result of genuine scholarship, scholarship which is not only biblical but also philosophically and historically informed and rooted in faith?

***
The truth
The term truth is mentioned twice in Father Jenkins’ rationale, and, both times as something for which we search. The search for truth is central to the work of a Catholic university. Also central is that we hold some truths as revealed by God and taught by the church; for example, the dignity of the human person. Truth is something we search for, but it is also something we receive. Surely at Notre Dame we do not find any serious objection to the fact that it is possible for men and women, through study, prayer and faith, to know the truth and base their lives on this truth.

Pope John Paul II, himself a longtime professor in a Catholic university, as already mentioned, puts it clearly:

“A Catholic university’s privileged task is to ‘to unite existentially by intellectual effort two orders of reality that too frequently tend to be placed in opposition as though they were antithetical: the search for truth, and the certainty of already knowing the fount of truth’.” — “Ex Corde Ecclesiae,” 1, Discourse to the “Institut Catholique de Paris” June 1980,

What I found to be missing in the decision at Notre Dame and in the rationale of Father Jenkins that accompanied it is any sense that critical decisions for a Catholic university must be based on truth as revealed by Christ and held by the church. Also, I could not find there any mention of the essential link between freedom and truth.

***
A personal and concluding word
... My pastoral concern is not only because of the decision not to ban the play, but because of the rationale that accompanied the decision. It fails to give room to the great truths of the faith. The teaching of the church on sexuality, on academic freedom, on the relationship between a man and a woman and on the human body is hardly mentioned, except to admit that the play stands apart from, and is even opposed to, Catholic teaching. The truths of faith seem not to have been brought to bear on this decision. Is this an omission that will mark the future of such decisions for this school so blessed by Our Lady and by countless scholars and students over the years? I pray that it not be so; for that would, indeed, mark it as a mistake of historic proportions. As a shepherd with responsibility to Notre Dame, I must point out to her leaders that this judgment and the way it has been explained calls for further, more informed consideration.

Please read the whole thing.

Given the past week's barrage of thoughtful and cogent arguments against his policy coming from some fairly heavy hitters (including, now, the Bishop), I think it's safe to say that if Father Jenkins thought his "Closing Statement" was going to be the last word on this matter, he seriously miscalculated.


UPDATE (28 April 2006):
Once again, be sure to read the interesting comments that always ensue over at Amy Welborn's blog.



Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Rape Survivor (ND Graduate) "Shocked" and "Depressed" by Father Jenkins' "Closing Statement"

Bishop D'Arcy Denounces Notre Dame Policy

Some GOOD Things Happening at Notre Dame, Too

The "Scooby Doo" Ending to the Academic Freedom Debate at Notre Dame

An Open Letter to the Notre Dame Community Regarding Catholic Identity [UPDATED]

Father John Jenkins, Moral Coward

More of the Same at Our Lady's University?