Church and Society: The Laurence J. McGinley Lectures, 1988-2007

1. University Theology as a Service to the Church: December 6–7, 1988

1 University Theology as a Service to the Church December –,  T he title of this lecture could be an occasion for some surprise. University theology is not always considered a benefit to the Church. In the light of certain well-publicized cases of recent memory some might be inclined to repeat the proposition: ‘‘Universities, with their programs of study, their colleges, their degrees, and their professorships , are products of vain heathenism; they are as much good to the Church as the devil is.’’1 This proposition, taken from the writings of John Wycliffe, was condemned by the Council of Constance in 1415. The condemnation, approved by Pope Martin V in 1418, may be taken as evidence, at least indirect, for the Church’s appreciation of universities and their theological faculties. Differing Styles of Theology The concept of university theology is necessarily somewhat vague. No sharp opposition can be drawn between theology done at the university and that done in other forums, but theology does tend to take on different hues depending on the environment in which it is practiced. Patristic theology , for instance, had a particularly pastoral character since it was closely linked with the preaching of the bishops to their flocks. In the early Middle Ages theology, chiefly practiced in monasteries, became more contemplative ; it was closely bound up with the pursuit of holiness and with 1 2 兩 Church and Society prayerful reading of sacred texts, both biblical and patristic. In the high Middle Ages the universities emerged as the chief centers of theological productivity. Theology became more academic and scientific. Then, in early modern times, when the universities became secularized and nationalized , theology moved by preference to the seminaries, and there it remained for the most part until about a generation ago. Seminary theology has usually been somewhat clerical and doctrinaire. Since the mid-1960s there has been a notable shift back to the university but in a situation quite unlike the Middle Ages. As yet few theologians have reflected seriously on what should be expected from university theology as a service to the Church in our day. The answer to this question will depend in part on how one appraises the changing character of the university itself. Contribution of Medieval Universities The golden age of university theology was no doubt the high Middle Ages.2 The earliest medieval universities grew up spontaneously as expansions of preexisting schools and were subsequently recognized by papal or royal charters. Later medieval universities were founded directly by popes or, in some cases, by kings and emperors. The university faculties of theology , especially at Paris and Oxford, produced the greatest speculative theology of the age, and perhaps of any age. Bonaventure, Albert the Great, Thomas Aquinas, and Duns Scotus composed philosophically sophisticated articulations of Christian doctrine that still remain vital elements in the heritage of Catholicism. When new problems have arisen in later centuries, Catholics have found light and guidance in the work of the medieval masters. It is not easy to summarize the manifold contributions of medieval universities to the life of the Church. Most obviously, they provided Europe with some learned clergy. Many of the popes, cardinals, and bishops were former students or even professors of theology or canon law. Viewed in historical perspective, the intellectual probings of the medieval Scholastics have given the Church of later ages an invaluable doctrinal resource. The theology of Thomas Aquinas guided the Council of Florence in its teaching on the Trinity and on the sacraments; it was used by the Council of Trent for its teaching on justification and the Eucharist, and again by Vatican Council I for its decrees on faith and reason and on papal University Theology as a Service to the Church 兩 3 primacy. Modern developments in Mariology, and notably the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, gained impetus from the speculations of Duns Scotus at Oxford and Pierre d’Ailly at the University of Paris. The theology of grace and of salvation history, as developed by many modern authors, is indebted to Bonaventure. The medieval universities, especially from the fourteenth century on, cooperated with popes and bishops in the formulation of doctrine and maintenance of orthodoxy. The university theologians were considered to have quasi-hierarchical status as members of what was called the ordo doctorum. The Decrees of the Council of Vienne (1311–12), by order of Pope Clement V, were not promulgated...