The Catholic Studies Reader

6. A Definition of Catholic: Toward a Cosmopolitan Vision

6 A Definition of Catholic Toward a Cosmopolitan Vision jeannine hill fletcher Catholic Studies emerges in the North American context precisely at a time when the boundaries for identifying ‘‘Catholic’’ are contested . Under conditions of globalization when persons shift in and out of a variety of local and transnational affiliations, the identifier is not as clear as perhaps it once was. In earlier periods, in so-called Catholic countries, the category ‘‘Catholic’’ encompassed the whole of society and the definition was bound up with national and ethnic identities. In non-Catholic Christian contexts, such as in the United States, where identity was constructed ‘‘over-against’’ the dominant ethos, the category ‘‘Catholic’’ was identifiable in contrast to the largely Protestant society. Yet, as one set of researchers conclude regarding the present North American context: Today Catholics no longer feel so distinct, and they don’t need to defend themselves against the outside. Now they feel freer, more allowed to make their own choices—whether to be a loyal churchgoing Catholic, an ethnic Catholic, a private Catholic, a Catholic in name only, or none at all. Now the boundary between Catholic and non-Catholic is fuzzy, and the social environment provides little ‘‘identity from outside.’’1 As the field of Catholic Studies emerges when the lines between Catholic and non-Catholic are blurred, providing a definition of ‘‘Catholic ’’ that might guide Catholic Studies is an exercise in self-reflexivity. As feminist theorist Elizabeth Spelman writes, ‘‘Since people can be classified and catalogued in any number of ways, overlapping ways, how we catalog them, in particular how we sort out the overlapping distinctions, will depend on our purposes and our sense of what the similarities and differences among them are and how they should be 130 jeannine hill fletcher weighed.’’2 To what end are the people, events, and ideas of what is ‘‘Catholic’’ selected to fit under the umbrella of ‘‘Catholic Studies’’? In our globalized, interreligious, and conflict-ridden world, a definition of Catholic that resists tribalism and seeks solidarity is arguably the most fitting. Institutional Diversity Defies Easy Definition of ‘‘Catholic’’ One easy way to define ‘‘Catholic’’ (and therefore the scope of Catholic Studies) is through the institutional church. Organizationally distinct, ‘‘Catholic’’ refers to that religious community hierarchically structured under the direction of the pope.3 Through the work of cardinals and bishops, the magisterium defines the boundaries of ‘‘Catholic’’ and provides the primary resources for Catholic Studies. With this definition in place, the scope of Catholic Studies is, first and foremost, the history of the Catholic Church understood as an organization with its headquarters in Rome. Perusing the course offerings of many Catholic Studies programs in North America, one sees this working definition of ‘‘Catholic’’ implicit, for example, in course titles such as ‘‘History of the Papacy,’’ travel programs that make pilgrimages to Rome and course descriptions that identify the primary sources of investigation as papal encyclicals, the texts of Vatican II, and documents prepared by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.4 In this approach, secondary materials would include, for example, Thomas Bokenkotter’s A Concise History of the Catholic Church,5 in which the primary ‘‘Catholics’’ under discussion are popes and priests. Such a definition of ‘‘Catholic’’ is a reasonable place to begin, since the institutional church centered in Rome forms the most visible symbol of the global institution. Furthermore, the teachings produced out of Rome under the offices of the magisterium do form an identifiable body of material, and a rich one for the investigation of traditions of Catholic teaching and symbolic representation, as well as official responses to contextual social issues such as labor practices, bioethics, and the family. With this pattern of defining ‘‘Catholic’’ in its close association with the institutional and hierarchical church, the subjects of the discipline are popes and priests, the focus is on teaching, and the definition of ‘‘Catholic’’ centers on the integrity of a coherent tradition. But defining a definition of catholic 131 ‘‘Catholic’’ following representative male leaders along the lines of a single tradition masks a more varied reality available for the investigation of Catholic Studies. As Robert Schreiter remarks, ‘‘Traditions are often seen, especially by their guardians, as being more cohesive than they in fact might be. There are elements of indeterminacy...