USD Magazine, Fall 2001

continuedfrom page 13 rain guidelines chat some scholars believe threaten the autonomy of individuals or institutions. The first expectation is that certain Catholic colleges and universities must submit their statutes and governing documents co the local Bishop for approval. This co ncern has been alleviated with language in the Conference of Catholic Bishops' official application of Ex Corde Ecclesiae to the United States, which calls for the bishop to "affirm" rather than "approve" a universiry's statutes (San Diego Bishop Robert H. Brom is a member of USD's Board ofTrustees, the body which secs the university's bylaws). The second expectation, chat all Catholic universities should employ Catholics in a majority of faculty posi– tions, is not mentioned in the official application. While it remains a concern, it appears now not likely to cause signifi– cant difficulty if a good faith effort to include a significant number of Catholics on the faculty and in the student body is apparent on the pan of individual Catholic colleges and universities. The controversy beside which all others pale in interest and intensity, however, is the question of the mandatum, a formal recognition by the local bishop chat a Catholic theologian is teaching orthodox doctrine in communion with the magis– terium of the Church. This guideline has caused considerable concern among many Catholic scholars. Some fear that bishops will use the mandatum as a lever to squelch theological views that dissent

Ex Corde Ecclesia.e: Tlte AppHcation to tlte United. States Catholic Iaennty Catholic universities, in addition to their academic commitments to Mandatum 1. The mandatum is fundamentally an acknowledgment by Church authority that a Catholic professor of a theolog–

secular goals and programs, should excel in theological education, prayer and liturgy, and works of charity. These religious activities, however, do not alone make a university "Cathol ic." Ex Corde Ecc/esiae high– lights four distinctive characteristics that are essential for Catholic identity: 1. Christian inspiration in individuals and the university community. 2. Reflection and research on human knowledge in the light of the Catholic fa ith . 3. Fidelity to the Christian message in conformity with the magisterium (teaching authority) of the Church . 4. Institutional commitment to the service of others.

ical discipline is a teacher within the full communion of the Catholic Church. 2. The mandatum should not be con– strued as an appointment, authoriza– tion, delegation or approbation of one's teach ing by Church authorities. Those who have received a manda– tum teach in their own name in virtue of their baptism and their aca– demic and professional competence, not in the name of the Bishop or of the Church's magisterium. 3. The mandatum recognizes the profes– sor's comm itment and responsibility to teach authentic Cathol ic doctrine and to refrain from putting forth as Cathol ic teaching anything contrary to the Church's magisterium. apparent is chat the Holy Father has pro– vided a clear explanation and robust affirmation of the nature, character and scope of Catholic higher education. Ex Corde Ecclesiae proclaims and celebrates the Catholic Church's aspirations for academic life and challenges USD and every ocher Catholic university co pro– claim the Gospel and secular knowledge in new and profound ways. +

For the complete document, go to the Un1tecl States Conference of CathoHc B1shops Weh s1te at www.ncchuscc.org/b1shops/e"corcle.htm.

from official Church views or to pressure Catholic universities co silence or even remove from their posts dissenting the– ologians. Other scholars object co the mandatum in principle, believing that any requirement co conform to externally determined teaching is an unacceptable infringement on their academic freedom. The resolution of the controversy over the mandatum is still unclear, but what is