Ecclesia semper reformanda: An exchange of views
Steinfels, Margaret O' Brien & McCabe, Thomas A.
ECCLESIA SEMPER REFORMANDA AN EXCHANGE OF VIEWS MARGARET O'BRIEN STEINFELS THOMAS A. McCABE Our intrepid editor, with the support of her colleagues, went off in mid-June to give a...
...or else you may even be found fighting against God" (Acts 5: 38-39...
...Did it break D one or more of the over 1,000 canons in canon law...
...In the last few years, the looming shortage of priests has raised the possibility of a church deprived of the Eucharist...
...Just as you state that your goals of opening the priesthood to married men and to women are pur- sued not only for those who feel called to ordination but on behalf of the whole church and its needs, so too the way in which you pursue those goals is justly of significance to the whole church...
...I need not dwell on the problems of the priesthood...
...It was so peaceful that, despite the large numbers it drew--there were over 400 participants--it attracted no television coverage...
...that you will see in me the same person you kindly invited here / last November...
...unjust laws work to its detriment...
...It is the party of change that once prided itself on candor and self-criticism that surprises...
...Steinfels wisely observes that there is "the Catholic rule of thumb, that anyone with a good idea for changing church teaching or practice, I think here of John Courtney Murray, ought to be made to suffer for it...
...There was a fair amount of ink spilled over who and what was to blame, whether Humanae vitae or the reformed liturgy or general alien- ation or the decline of mortal sin or what...
...ECCLESIA SEMPER REFORMANDA AN EXCHANGE OF VIEWS MARGARET O'BRIEN STEINFELS THOMAS A. McCABE Our intrepid editor, with the support of her colleagues, went off in mid-June to give a speech to CORPUS (the Corps of Reserve Priests United for Service, an association of resigned priests...
...It is rather to say with Jesus and with Martin Luther King, Jr., that there are just laws and there are unjust laws...
...Although the party of change regularly resorted to the language of obligation and exhortation in regard 11 October 1991:575 THOMAS A. McCABE n January 1963, eight prominent, liberal, white Alabama clergymen wrote an open letter to Dr...
...The issue here is a moral one...
...Does it function to limit our vision or our thinking...
...In focusing on our own I do not mean to ignore the good that the church inspires and supports in us...
...If we are to be genuinely ecumenical, that means learn- ing from the weaknesses as well as the strengths of our fellow Christians...
...But what about the far greater number who are passing into adulthood and career with a very meager store of Catholicism's theological and spiritual riches?...They often lack the most elementary habits of prayer or understanding of the sacraments...
...It was a beautiful celebration of the Eucharist in which over 750 Catholics participated, including laymen and laywomen, religious women and religious men, children, young adults, and the elderly, celibate priests and married priests...
...Lay people and priests protested strongly against changing the language of the Mass from Latin to the vernacular...
...And when faced with mediocre preaching...
...I am deeply apprehensive that many holding key positions in the church want to turn their backs on Vatican II, or at best diligently circumscribe the council's sig- nificance and impact, viewing it more as a source of misunder- standing and disarray than of conversion and renewal...
...All over the country prayer services and agapes are being substituted for the Eucharist because there is no agree- ment on who the "celebrant" should be...
...After much delibera- tion about how to go about this (without con- suming the next several issues), we have decided to proceed in the following manner: We publish here excerpts from Steinfeis's remarks (the full text will be found in Origins, July 18, 1991...
...Liturgy, catechetics and religious education, justice and peace offices, campus ministry, much of the administration of Catholic higher education and social ser- vices, much though not all popular spirituality, the discipline of theology as a whole--these are all areas where the party of change has come to dominate...
...unconvinced and wary young people...
...On March 25, 1991, the con- ference coordinators had written to the cardinal: We would like to use St...
...The heart of Steinfels's argument is that "what is meant to be a sign of our connection to the whole church is being made a sign of public agitation and division...
...For this the scribes and Pharisees "were filled with rage, and discussed together what they might do to Jesus" (Luke 6:11...
...Let me bring these generalizations down to earth with a few small examples...
...Patrick's...
...While they think the pastoral needs will become so great that a renewed priesthood will happen in their lifetime, many realize that they will be too old to be reinstated...
...11 October 1991:579...
...In the nations most responsible for Vatican II--Germany and France--the council failed almost entirely to retard the course of secularization...
...Several of these areas are failing to achieve their objectives--religious education is the outstanding example--and several others, like liturgy, are in seriously ailing condition...
...What she had to say caused a stirm"storm" might be more accurate--at the meeting...
...It has to do with the people's right to the Eucharist and to pastoral care...
...Breaking church law is not new for religious people...
...Has an agenda developed in the conciliar and post-conciliar years hardened into concrete...
...In the United States, the church maintains a good deal of grassroots vitality while the institutional infrastruc- ture seems to be increasingly fragile and in some places in serious disrepair...
...All of these events broke both the letter and spirit of church law in those days...
...Religious women and laywomen at their conferences and gatherings are choosing to forgo the Eucharist rather than "to bring in" someone to "say it...
...vulgar liturgies...
...It is immoral to allow priestless Sundays...
...not to fragment the unity of the church and the unity of the Eucharist...
...Finally, many married priests active in the movement for a renewed, reformed priesthood are not acting simply for them- selves...
...to abstain from confrontation...
...not to use the Eucharist as a "tool for agitation...
...One month later, Bishop Patrick Sheridan, the vicar general of the archdiocese, wrote in the cardinal's name that the stated theme of the prayer service was "not merely controversial but also an unacceptable presentation in St...
...When the coRPus leadership asked for per- mission to hold a prayer service in St...
...On the contrary, Godfrey Diekmann in Collegeville, Gerard Sloyan at Catholic University, Eugene Walsh in Baltimore, H. A. Reinhold in Pittsburgh, and Alfred Longley in Minneapolis caused both tension and controversy...
...I am both hopeful and heartsick...
...there was participation in parts of the Mass before such participation was formally approved by Rome...
...but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow it...
...All of this is not to imply any disrespect for law in the church, nor to imply any lack of regard for the hierarchy or the pope...
...For example, even in our country, blessed with many vocations to the celibate priesthood, there are almost 2,000 parishes without a resident pastor...
...Because Steinfels described herself as "heartsick" at the deci- sion of the conference leaders to hold a prayer vigil at St...
...Patrick's fixed schedule if there is a conflict...
...there was concelebration of the Eucharist when it was still forbidden...
...And even now, who knows in what comer of the globe women and men still draw inspiration from the opening lines of Gaudium et spes...
...On too many campuses this identity and commitment have either faded into standard campus liberalism or taken refuge in a few campus departments or institutes...
...I am heartsick at the growing polarization in the church and the breakdown of genuine dialogue...
...On June 22, 1991, Margaret O'Brien Steinfels, the editor of Commonweal, delivered an address at the Fourth Annual Conference of coRPus---otherwise known as the National Association for a Married Priesthood--in New York City...
...When one looks beyond this country and sees that, accord- ing to Vatican sources, over 150,000 parishes worldwide are with- out a resident pastor, then the law that limits priesthood only to celibate males is clearly working against the common good of the church...
...Often enough, they can point to the same reasons for their discour574: Commonweal agement...
...Some of these priests walked away and want nothing more to do with the church...
...Normally, King did not respond to his critics, but because he felt these clergymen were of genuine good will and offered sincere criticism, and because he was in jail serving a sentence for demonstrating for civil rights and had time to write, he composed a lengthy defense of his nonviolent direct-action campaign of civil disobedience...
...They argued that Mass was "always" said in Latin and that Latin was a symbol of the unity of the church since Catholics could go anywhere in the world and attend Mass in Latin...
...Then, they were con- sidered "nuts...
...They will remain the facts until the priesthood is opened to women and to married men who are born Catholics, not just to previously ordained male converts...
...idiosyncratic theologizing...
...Catholic elementary schools are in the process of being closed even as their educational and religious value to both Catholic and non- Catholic children has becomes a matter of consensus in church circles as well as among educators and public officials...
...In our own day, besides Murray there are: the Jesuit missionary Vincent Lebbe, the scientist Teilhard de Chardin, and the theologians Leonardo Boff and Charles Curran...
...not to break the civil laws of Birmingham by "parading without a permit...
...Western Europe and Japan, two of the three major centers of modem technological and scientific culture, seem well on their way to becoming totally postreligious societies...
...While the cORPUS conference leadership had thought that it was unlikely Cardinal O'Connor would agree to such a request, they felt that it was a legitimate request, one that bishops in other dioceses might have acceded to...
...The Eucharist has become a source of division rather than a sign of unity...
...There was and is much cause for rejoicing...
...The Longleys and the Walshes are now considered prophets...
...Those who read the journal Worship were described as "lit- nicks...
...Some of the most vigorous women's religious orders, perhaps more crucial to the life of the church in the United States than in any other nation, heroically renewed themselves in the fifties and sixties--only to shrink in numbers, sometimes to the point that today they contemplate extinction within a generation...
...I am heartsick, like many of you, because of the impasse that our church appears to have reached in so many areas of its life...
...It is now over a quarter century since the Second Vatican Council...
...And it only takes a minute's worth of information- gathering to realize that already there are many churches with a married clergy, both men and women, to the point of surplus, and with democratic structures, and inclusive attitudes, and such a determination to act for justice that they can't wish you a good day without using the word "prophetic...
...In a way that could never have occurred without the council, the church that declared modem liberties anathema in 1864 (the Syllabus of Errors) and signed pacts of self-protection with Mussolini and Hitler in the 1920s and '30s has now become a champion, in some places the foremost champion, of human dignity and liberty for all people...
...skeptical, uncommitted, and miserly adults...
...In the church, it goes back to Jesus himself...
...Martin Luther King, Jr...
...They urged King to "wait...
...I might add to this list of"sufferers" many of the 20,000 American priests and the 110,000 priests worldwide who had to leave the active ministry when they knew that celibacy was no longer for them...
...Since then many letters--pro and con--have come to the Commonweal office...
...When King asked for permission to hold a march in Birmingham, it was denied by the civil authorities in order to preserve the laws of segregation...
...Mandatory celibacy, to quote Archbishop Rembert Weakland, "works to our detriment as a church...
...So before I explain why I think that what you are about to do here is wrong, theologically, canonically, and ecclesiologically, I would like to say something about the current situation of the whole church, at least as I see it...
...apathetic worshipers...
...His open letter, dated April 16, 1963, became known as "Letter from Birmingham City Jail...
...So, also, the movement for a renewed church---one that rec- ognizes that God calls people to the priesthood regardless of gender or marital status--is hardly an extremist movement...
...Can we really afford the same kind of defensive aggressiveness and intellectual conformity in the party of change that we have too often experienced in the party of resistance...
...These are the facts...
...Certainly nobody favored this development...
...The sad fact is that she is correct...
...I am hopeful that whatever best ener- gies, careful reflection, and deep love for the People of God that have previously operated in your lives and in this organization will again be summoned in your future actions...
...In his "Letter from Birminghan City Jail," King defended himself against the charge of being an "extremist...
...Steinfels urged the participants at the conference to wait...
...Yet, both the partisans of change and the partisans of restoration in the church are exceedingly gloomy...
...By contrast, we have developed a whole repertoire of ways to minimize, ignore, or dismiss them...
...Some of us attended liturgical conferences every summer during the 1950s...
...not to be extrem- ists...
...Patrick's for a prayer service on Saturday evening [June 22, 1991 ]. We expect 250 people to attend...
...He saw his position as that of a centrist between blacks on the right who were either profiting from segregation or so demoralized or afraid that they could do nothing for themselves...
...They are not "dying to get back in...
...I am heartsick that despite the very real problems of the quality and quantity of our ordained leaders, the current mood in the church permits so little honest and thor- oughgoing discussion of a whole range of issues, including option- al celibacy for the clergy in the Latin Rite and the ordination of women...
...And, of course, we are sure to be at least partially right in this accusation...
...the Scriptures were read aloud in English while the celebrant(s) read them so softly in Latin that the Latin could not be heard...
...4 Was it a valid Mass...
...At those conferences, Mass was said facing the people when it was still forbidden to do so...
...Patrick's Cathedral and, even more, to hold a liturgy this afternoon led by married priests...
...The velvet revolutions in Eastern European nations drew deeply on the spirit and theology of the council...
...Patrick's, their request was denied by church authorities because it was deemed "unac- ceptable" to pray for optional celibacy and for the ordination of women...
...While they love the church and the priesthood, they are happy with who they are today: married priests in good marriages who are not cele- brating the Eucharist or administering the sacraments but who are involved in efforts to renew the priesthood and to build the kingdom through their work in the world...
...The decision to hold the prayer service outside St...
...It is clear to many that the church law mandating priestly celibacy is working against the common good of the church...
...Margaret O'Brien Steinfels suggested in her talk that instead of employing the tactics of the civil rights movement, CORPUS should follow the tactics of the liturgical renewal movement...
...Patrick's came after a request, made to Cardinal John O'Connor, for a prayer service to be held within the cathedral had been denied...
...Indeed, it is vital that those who see themselves as part of a progressive movement in the church continue to talk with one another...
...He cured on the Sabbath and allowed his disciples to pick grain and rub it in their hands on that day...
...They will continue to work hard for reform, but in the long run they will put their faith in the words of Gamaliel: "If this plan or action should be of men, it will be overthrown...
...The theme would be to pray for the reinstatement of married priests and the ordination of women and married men...
...We would be glad to rearrange our Saturday evening schedule to accommodate St...
...King--to the end of his life a militant--and his followers were clearly a middle ground, mobilizing blacks into creative nonviolent action without allowing the rhetoric of the movement to degenerate into hatred for any race or social class...
...not to break canon law...
...In many sectors of church life it has become as dominant as conservatives are in the hierarchical structure...
...But I am also heartsick...
...Readers are invited to join in the debate and we will publish a selection of your letters (shorter is better) in coming issues...
...Of course...
...Some parishioners and fellow priests were furious when Longley placed the baptism font at the entrance of his church as a symbol that baptism is the sacra- ment of initiation into the church...
...But more important is the suffering of the people and the parishes who are deprived of these priests' ministry...
...Justice and peace offices mobilize a small number but the mass of Catholic laity shifts in a nearly opposite direction...
...Patrick's Cathedral and, even more, to sponsor a liturgy led by married priests, and because her criticisms were sincere and received wide publicity in the Catholic press, there is a need to respond to the issues she raised...
...The issues raised first by the decision of CORPUS leaders to include the celebration of the Eucharist by some of their members who have left active ministry, then by the objec- tions Steinfels raised to that decision, and then by the letters and continuing discussion seem to require a fuller and more public air- ing than they have had...
...this is followed by a response from Thomas A. McCabe, co-chairperson for the CORPUS conference and a member of the Renewal Coordinating Committee...
...The distinction has nothing to do with disliking a law...
...These are all problems that a married clergy would have to confront...
...I am hopeful that you will give me a patient and generous hearing...
...The conference leaders decided to hold a peaceful prayer service across from the cathedral...
...We whistle past the graveyard, telling ourselves that if our children don!t go to church or seem to have little knowl- edge or feeling for their faith, at least they are still concerned about the poor and detested Ronald Reagan...
...But today I am heartsick most of all because of the necessity of registering, in no uncertain terms, my disagreement with the decisions of your leaders to hold a prayer vigil at St...
...It is one of his most widely reprinted compositions...
...My objections to these plans are not merely a matter of indi- vidual scruples or conscience...
...9 ut to return to the Eucharist celebrated at the D cORPUS conference by three married priests...
...Her implication was that the liturgical movement, unlike the civil rights movement, had not broken any laws...
...Paul suffered for trying to renew the church...
...Parenthetically, it should be mentioned that all thirty local bishops in the New York area declined personal invitations to attend the conference as guests of CORPUS, and that ten other bishops from around the country declined invitations to lead the liturgy and/or a morn- ing or evening prayer...
...Is there anyone who is confident that the faith has been suc- cessfully passed on to the next generation...
...This does not mean that each and every one of them is suffering at the hands of the hierarchy...
...In her CoRPus address, Steinfels implied that the liturgical movement pursued its goals in a highly scholarly manner and that because of this, little tension and controversy resulted...
...It is not for themselves but for the church that they wish to see the priesthood opened to women and married men...
...Though Catholic theology is rich in scholarship and insight, too often theological pap and spiritual trendiness color our hom- ilies and popular piety...
...On the left are those who think that since every- one is a priest by virtue of baptism, ordination is not required for a valid celebration of the Eucharist...
...and not to be an "extremist...
...We fondly focus our gaze on the small number of admirable young people who join various volunteer groups sponsored by religious orders and who do heroic work among the poor here or abroad, and perhaps on our own children whom we instinctively feel have "caught" the church...
...But there is something particularly dispiriting about our current woes and it is this: After twenty-five years of postconciliar life, both what might be called the party of change and the party of resistance are stuck in their ways, more content with pointing an accusing finger at the other side than at thinking afresh about the challenges we--the whole church--face...
...That concern with the centrality of the Eucharist in a sacramental church has been fervently linked with the question of ordaining married people and women...
...CoRPus holds a deep respect for the reality of the ordained priesthood...
...King made the decision to hold nonviolent demon- strations without a permit...
...They are not doing this on a whim but after careful, prayerful consideration, and usually after being asked to do so by a faith community...
...It is far too rare, these days, when the party of change raises questions about these embarrassing realities...
...MARGARET O'BRIEN STEINFELS I stand at this podium with a conflicting set of feelings...
...It is concerned about reforming that priesthood, not destroying it...
...But being partly fight too easily keeps us fixed on defending our turf and our version of reality instead of engaging in self-criticism and on fending off anything that smacks of past practices rather than calmly evaluating proposals regardless of their pedigree...
...It is very much centrist...
...Today, more and more married priests are celebrating the Eucharist...
...Just laws serve and enhance the common good...
...Most people would say yes...
...Walsh was criticized for replac- ing traditional Mass hymns such as "Ave Maria" and "Come Holy Ghost" with new vernacular hymns...
...we can always blame Rome or the timidity of a growing number of bishops...
...not to follow the tactics of the civil rights movement...
...In the early 1960s, there was considerable controversy over home liturgies, 578: Commonweal but they were celebrated often before being officially sanctioned by Rome...
...The analogy to the civil rights movement becomes clearer...
...We would like to use the pulpit both for the readings and commentary on the readings...
...On the right are those who would deny people the Eucharist rather than have it led by an ordained woman or married man...
...The prayer service would be no more that one hour in length...
...But it was done to educate those attending the conferences by showing them approaches they might initiate in their own parishes when they returned home...
...In today's church, that is a centrist position...
...Yet in the years after the council, participation in the Eucharist declined by half among Catholics...
...Frankly, I find it less surprising when the party of resistance exhibits this attitude...
...Only time will tell if the actions taken at the CORPUS conference will hasten or postpone the changing of church law on mandatory celibacy...
...very age has its problems...
...Catholic higher education, after more than two decades of effort, has not resolved the tension between achieving high academic standards while maintaining its Catholic identity and commitment...
...But it is striking to me to recall how little tearing of hair and wringing of hands there was over such a massive, and unanticipated, phenomenon-- and which, at least in the United States, was a radical departure from our usual practice...
...And yet, even with all of this, their church memberships are declining, their congre- gations are restive, their cultural and intellectual influence is minimal, their young people are also departing...
...But there is a considerable number, the vast majority, who have stayed in the church, are active in their local parishes, and who are suffering because they are not allowed to celebrate the Eucharist, even as bishops approve a liturgy for priestless Sundays...
...In her address, Mrs...
...and blacks on the left who preached hatred of whites...
...it has to do with the common good (the commonweal...
Vol. 118 • October 1991 • No. 17
