“My hope is that we come out of this meet- ing with a renewed sense of our theological vocations and with fresher ideas as to how we, as women and men deeply embedded in the world of intellectual enquiry, can work more fruitfully with our own bishops. At the same time, I hope that the meeting at Boston College serves as an invitation for Catholic bishops to reach out more intentionally to young as well as more seasoned theologians, to work in projects for the common good of the faithful.” The relationship between theologians and bishops has become more urgent this year after the Doctrinal Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a document calling into ques- tion some of the ideas in Quest for the Living God, a popular theology book by Sr Elizabeth Johnson, who teaches at Fordham. Many the- ologians complained that
the USCCB
committee did not enter into any dialogue with Johnson before issuing its statement. Johnson wrote a lengthy defence of her work to the committee and it appears that discussions will commence soon. This focus on the relationship between the- ologians and bishops is one of many that entails significant theoretical issues and more prosaic, concrete realities. Professor Camosy notes that the young theologians also focus on education and basic theological and his- torical literacy, cultivating Catholic community,
and responding to the issues of the day in ways with which average people can engage. “I think theologians should worry less about changing the minds of popes or politicians and more about empowering their readers and students to think, act and organise amongst themselves at the ‘ground level’,” said Clark. “We should worry less about imple- menting abstract platforms, and more about reforming our own lives and responding to the immediate needs of those around us.” Clark’s professional work focuses on the classic Christian ideas of martyrdom and self- sacrifice, and how those translate to contemporary issues, as he explained: “For example, how does the ideal of martyrdom apply to people whose histories of oppression have only been recently acknowledged by the faith? Or how might the spirituality of mar- tyrdom be of help in the urgent struggle to achieve ecological sustainability? In exploring these kinds of questions, it is vital to maintain some continuity with tradition in order to evaluate whether and how the tradition devel- ops in response to contemporary challenges.” Seeing the need to keep theologians grounded in the wider Church community, Ospino said: “Theological enquiry in the United States has rapidly shifted to universities and research centres during the last decades. This has provided theologians with amazing resources and many possibilities. Yet, such a move also comes with the risk of theologians
becoming removed from the life of the faith communities that sustain most believers. Efforts like the Catholic Conversation Project are important because they allow us to crit- ically reflect about the key issues of our faith while reflecting also on our multifaceted voca- tion as theologians, members of the academy and baptised Christians.” These young theologians are impressive not only in their scholarship and the range of their intellectual curiosity. It is their deep love for the Church that shines through in conversations with them. Only a few decades ago, theology was almost solely the province of ordained clerics, but many of these theolo- gians are laymen and laywomen. But, for all the differences a new generation brings, it is the abiding concern for the traditions of the Church, and especially for the effective procla- mation of the Gospel, that links them with earlier times. “One powerful thing about the Church is that it is often willing to take a ‘both … and …’ approach where alternatives seem in ten- sion with each other. This is especially true when it is able to both listen to new and emerging voices and blend them into the growing edge of a beautiful tradition that is also in some sense fixed,” said Camosy. “Our generation is eager to add its voice.”
■Michael Sean Winters writes for The Tablet from Washington DC.
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