Sectarian Catholicism
The editors | MAY 11, 2009

T he clouds roll with thunder, the House of the Lord shall be built
throughout the earth, and these frogs sit in their marsh and croak—‘We
are the only Christians!’” So wrote St. Augustine about the Donatists, a
perfectionist North African sect that attempted to keep the church free
of contamination by having no truck with Roman officialdom. In the
United States today, self-appointed watchdogs of orthodoxy, like Randall
Terry and the Cardinal Newman Society, push mightily for a pure church
quite unlike the mixed community of saints and sinners—the Catholic
Church—that Augustine championed. Like the Circumcellions of old, they
thrive on slash-and-burn tactics; and they refuse to allow the church to
be contaminated by contact with certain politicians.

For today’s sectarians, it is not adherence to the church’s doctrine on
the evil of abortion that counts for orthodoxy, but adherence to a
particular political program and fierce opposition to any proposal short
of that program. They scorn Augustine’s inclusive, forgiving, big-church
Catholics, who will not know which of them belongs to the City of God
until God himself separates the tares from the wheat. Their tactics, and
their attitudes, threaten the unity of the Catholic Church in the United
States, the effectiveness of its mission and the credibility of its
pro-life activities.

The sectarians’ targets are frequently Catholic universities and
Catholic intellectuals who defend the richer, subtly nuanced, broad-tent
Catholic tradition. Their most recent target has been the University of
Notre Dame and its president, John Jenkins, C.S.C., who has invited
President Barack Obama to offer the commencement address and receive an
honorary degree at this year’s graduation. Pope Benedict XVI has modeled
a different attitude toward higher education. In 2008, the pope himself
was prevented from speaking at Rome’s La Sapienza University by the
intense opposition of some doctrinaire scientists. The Vatican later
released his speech, in which he argued that “freedom from
ecclesiastical and political authorities” is essential to the
university’s “special role” in society. He asked, “What does the pope
have to do or say to a university?” And he answered, “He certainly
should not try to impose in an authoritarian manner his faith on others.”

The divisive effects of the new American sectarians have not escaped the
notice of the Vatican. Their highly partisan political edge has become a
matter of concern. That they never demonstrate the same high dudgeon at
the compromises, unfulfilled promises and policy disagreements with
Republican politicians as with Democratic ones is plain for all to see.
It is time to call this one-sided denunciation by its proper name:
political partisanship.

Pope Benedict XVI has also modeled a different stance toward
independent-minded politicians. He has twice reached out to President
Obama and offered to build on the common ground of shared values. Even
after the partially bungled visit of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with
Pope Benedict, Vatican officials worked quickly to repair communication
with her. Furthermore, in participating in the international honors
accorded New Mexico’s Governor Bill Richardson in Rome last month for
outlawing the death penalty (See Signs of the Times, 5/4), Pope Benedict
did not flinch at appearing with a politician who does not agree fully
with the church’s policy positions. When challenged about the governor’s
imperfect pro-life credentials, Archbishop Michael Sheehan of Santa Fe
responded on point, “We were able to help him understand our position on
the death penalty.... One thing at a time.” Finally, last March the
pro-choice French president Nicolas Sarkozy was made an honorary canon
of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the pope’s own cathedral.

Four steps are necessary for the U.S. church to escape the strengthening
riptide of sectarian conflict and re-establish trust between
universities and the hierarchy. First, the bishops’ discipline about
speakers and awards at Catholic institutions should be narrowed to
exclude from platforms and awards only those Catholics who explicitly
oppose formal Catholic teaching. Second, in politics we must reaffirm
the distinction between the authoritative teaching of moral principles
and legitimate prudential differences in applying principles to public
life. Third, all sides should return to the teaching of the Second
Vatican Council and Pope Paul VI that in politics there are usually
several ways to attain the same goals. Finally, church leaders must
promote the primacy of charity among Catholics who advocate different
political options. For as the council declared, “The bonds which unite
the faithful are mightier than anything which divides them” (“Pastoral
Constitution on the Church in the Modern World,” No. 92).


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