ARTICLES

A Post-Vatican II Misunderstanding

Richard McBrien Proclaims New Church

By Joe Marti

In the evening of October 10, a group of about 150 people, mostly senior citizens, gathered in St. Ignatius Church to hear a gentleman in a blue suit and a bright red tie. After a hymn and prayer to the Holy Spirit, the pastor of St. Ignatius, Father Charles Gagan, introduced the gentleman as the head of the "pre-eminent department of theology in the English-speaking world, Professor Richard McBrien."

McBrien, who besides being a professor is also a priest, is the former chair of the theology department at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. He has authored many books and is known primarily for his outspoken and often controversial views on various articles of faith, including the virgin birth of Christ and His explicit founding of the Catholic Church. McBrien's book, Catholicism, was rejected initially by the United States bishops for inaccuracies. Because it still presents views in opposition to the teachings of the Church, the National Council of Catholic Bishops Committee on Doctrine, in 1996, concluded "that the new edition of Father McBrien's book Catholicism did not sufficiently correct several deficiencies that the committee had identified in its examination of the first two editions of the book undertaken in the early 80s."

McBrien came October 10 to the Jesuit parish to speak on the legacy of Pope John XXIII and the Second Vatican Council, of which he said he was "a grateful product." McBrien asserted that Vatican II was the vehicle for changes not yet realized due to the "revisionist" interpretations of such figures as Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, who wants "to see the Church as the one true church."

Instead, McBrien hopes to put people straight and work for a church that sees herself as not so much renewed but reborn by Vatican II. Early in the talk, he remarked, "Vatican II was concerned with the nature and mission of the Church," as if this mission was made manifest for the first time in history. As one participant, William Madison, put it, "it's like all of church history starts with Christ, screws up the next 2000 years, and finally gets something right with Vatican II. [McBrien] gives no credit at all to the pre-conciliar Church." What followed was largely a brief retelling of the council, peppered throughout with McBrien's opinions on the true aims of it.

In one extended instance, McBrien strayed from the subject to give his endorsement for Voice of the Faithful, a group that calls for more laity involvement in a variety of matters, including the selection of parish priests and bishops. Voice of the Faithful is a group determined to reshape the structure of the Church from its traditional hierarchical configuration to one that is democratic. Voice of the Faithful chairman James Muller was quoted in the National Catholic Reporter this year, saying, "we have donation without representation, and we have to change that." According to McBrien, not only should Voice of the Faithful be given rein to spread their gospel, but on church grounds no less. He states that this ought to be so because Voice of the Faithful members tithe at their local churches. He said, "it's a sad commentary that with all the sex abuse in the Church that Voice of the Faithful can't meet on church property that they paid for."

He went on to comment on the election of the next pope, an event that he awaits as the dawning of a new era in the Church that will unfetter her from the "narrow and severe" pre-conciliar church. One thing he expects is greater autonomy for local bishops who, according to him, currently "feel like they're treated like altar boys." He added, "it's my firm conviction that all the cardinals will require the next pope to be much more respectful to local bishops." McBrien said that bishops "are prelates in their own right, not franchises of one CEO and one Church."

McBrien went on to deny the truth of the creed recited at every Sunday Mass, stating that in the glory of Vatican II, "[the Catholic Church] is no longer the one, true church that doesn't recognize other 'Christian Communities,'" but is part of the "whole Body of Christ, including Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans, etc." Any other view on this point is due, according to McBrien, to an attitude of "pre-Vatican II misunderstanding."

One characteristic of McBrien's talk was his brusque depiction of the current church as a giant corporation, with the pope as CEO and bishops as branch managers of franchises all over the world. However, when the topic of women's role in the church was raised by one listener, he expressed frustration over the church's failure to adopt modern business practices and admit women to the priesthood.

McBrien said that all this will end soon. Daring neither to express his wishes plainly nor blame Pope John Paul II directly, he went as far as to predict that "this pre-Vatican II style of Church will end with this pontificate, who is the last 20th century pontiff in both chronological terms and ecclesiological terms."

After the talk, a participant named Megan explained why she was there. "I'm taking a class, and my teacher is giving the talk next week," she said. Saying that neither she nor her two friends were Catholic or religious, she said she was looking into the Catholic Church to find out more about it and thought the talk would help her understand the Church better. Holding her copy of McBrien's Catholicism, a text in her class, Megan explained that no one told her that there were any objections to the text in her class.

Jesuit Father President of the University of San Francisco, Stephen Privett, whose office cosponsored the event, would not respond directly to questions about McBrien's invitation to speak at St. Ignatius, instead opting to refer to the chapters of the gospel of Saint Matthew regarding the Pharisees' hypocritical questioning of Christ regarding paying taxes to Caesar. Father Gagan did not respond to any questions regarding the involvement of the parish in this event.

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