Rite and Reason: Angela Hanley asks if recent comments by senior clerical figures suggest they have left Jesus out of the equation.
In correspondence in this newspaper regarding the ecumenical Easter celebrations in Drogheda, one clerical letter-writer favoured theological education of the faithful. On the face of it, this seemed a positive suggestion.
However, the tone of the letter, with its use of the inelegant, even pejorative, phrase: "what would Jesus do?" implied education as indoctrination rather than education as teaching/learning.
When one chooses to educate as opposed to indoctrinate, one takes risks and when such risks are taken, students are unlikely to emerge as clones of the master. The educator's presuppositions and prejudices will be questioned and challenged, with some of them perhaps changed, to everyone's benefit.
In this context, then, it was an unedifying spectacle to see the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, and Mgr Dermot Farrell, president of St Patrick's College, Maynooth, disassociating themselves so speedily from the recent fascinating and stimulating conference, Risks of Theology, held at Maynooth. It seemed more a case of frantic hand-washing which had unfortunate resonances considering we were/are still in the season of Easter.
Why did this conference, organised by the theology faculty of Maynooth for April 29th/30th last, in honour of Prof Enda McDonagh, emeritus professor of moral theology there, cause such fright? Quite simply it was the presence of a priest to whom the loaded epithet "dissident" is most usually applied, but to whom the following adjectives could be equally and justly applied: tall, gangling, gentle, clever, educated, gracious, humorous, kind, humble, God-centred . . . I could continue, but the point is obvious.
Fr Charles Curran, a priest in good standing with the Catholic Church, which he loves, but whose teaching mandate to lecture in Catholic universities was removed (because he had the courage of his convictions) by the current pope in 1986, when Benedict XVI was prefect at the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, looked, spoke, and, at 71 years old, behaved as anything but a dire threat to the institution of Catholicism as he analysed Fr McDonagh's critical contribution to theology prior to, during, and since Vatican II.
The faith practice of the large and appreciative audience present did not appear in any way endangered by Fr Curran's benign and spirit-filled presence.
The other eminent contributors, both Irish and American, spoke convincingly and passionately on a range of stimulating and important issues such as moral theology since Vatican II; what a Christian university should look like; Aids, a theological response; and respect for life and scripturally sanctioned violence. All of which are important issues for the whole church as the people of God.
So why the fear? Why the retreating rearguard leadership? In as much as theology needs to take risks, so too, do our leaders, and to date the evidence of such risk-taking is scant, to say the least. What a wonderful risk it would have been if even one senior church leader decided to attend the conference. He might have been very surprised, indeed heartened, at what he would have heard and seen.
One could say that Archbishop Martin and Mgr Farrell were put in a very awkward position and, in the circumstances, were obliged to say what they said. And perhaps such a view has a certain validity. But one could also say that it was an opportunity to take risks for leadership and for theology. It could have been what is called the "kairos" moment - a moment of opportunity. For my money, it would be far better to be prophetic leaders of a searching, questioning, dedicated and committed community, which may be awkward and difficult to lead at times, rather than be compliant, political leaders of emptying seminaries and emptying pews.
Although people are leaving the churches they are still searching for a structure for their faith, and many are finding this in theology courses, many of which have excellent religious and lay lecturers. However, not all such courses are safe and protected by church leadership willing to take risks for theology, as the shutting down of the Newman Institute last year sadly proved.
At the end of a wonderful conference, in a conversation with an admirer of Fr McDonagh I was heartened by a story, not apocryphal I was assured, that many years ago when Fr McDonagh was meeting with gays and lesbians for the first time in his mission of "doing theology from the fringes", he was contacted by a senior churchman and asked what on earth was he doing meeting these people. He replied he decided to do so when he had asked himself the question: "what would Jesus do?" And the exasperated response from the senior cleric: "Oh, for heaven's sake, leave Jesus out of this!"
Angela Hanley is the midlands co-ordinator in the distance education programme in theology offered by the Priory Institute, Tallaght.