by Tara Dix
As practical regulations from the Vatican document “Ex Corde Ecclesiae” (“From the Heart of the Church”) took effect on May 3, controversy has stirred anew among the academic community. The crux of the issue is the mandatum, a stamp of approval from the local bishop to be required of all Catholics teaching theology at a Catholic institution of higher learning. The National Conference of Catholic Bishops released draft guidelines for issuing the mandatum at its November meeting, followed by a lengthy discussion that revealed much confusion among bishops over the very fundamentals of the mandatum. Bishops were sent home to engage in dialogue with the theologians teaching in their dioceses.
But, while consultations have taken place among theologians, university administrators and bishops throughout the development of Ex Corde guidelines, students have largely been left out of the discussion. And it’s not because students are uninformed or without opinions on the matter. In fact, a search of student newspapers at Catholic colleges across the country reveals a great deal of press coverage and editorial response on the subject.
Georgetown University’s student newspaper, The Hoya, printed three articles about Ex Corde in a single issue (Nov. 19, 1999) which reveal a range of opinions from the student body. Robert Swope, at that time a senior at Georgetown, comments, “It is vital that Georgetown...seek to fulfill Ex Corde’s general norms and thereby renew its Catholic identity.” Junior Carrie Solages writes, “Although bishops have a considerable amount of knowledge and faith about what’s best for Catholicism, they do not know what is best for the Georgetown community. There are others who know more but don’t have the religious authority: the students. Students’ views must influence the bishops’ decision.”
Ted Donovon raises an interesting question in the University of San Diego’s student newspaper, The Vista: “What would USD be like if the [Catholic faculty] taught and lived by a different set of rules than the non-Catholics, simply because their careers would be in the hands of the local bishop?” And he points out that “Catholic colleges may be forced to choose between their commitment to quality education and their commitment to the Church.” This is a choice that leaves no winners, least of all the students.
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A University of Notre Dame student, Michael Camilleri, writes in a letter to the editors of his campus paper, The Observer, that he considers the Ex Corde guidelines a betrayal of one of the founding principles of Notre Dame, academic freedom, a principle that was fought for by President Emeritus Fr. Theodore Hesburgh. The 1967 Land O’Lakes statement, written by Hesburgh and a coalition of Catholic university presidents, says: “The Catholic university must have a true autonomy and academic freedom in the face of authority of whatever kind, lay or clerical, external to the academic community.” Camilleri believes the university should refuse to abide by the guidelines of Ex Corde on the grounds that they conflict with current governing policy.
In a May 1 Observer article, Notre Dame law professor Charles Rice claims that while “the controversy has focused on the rights of faculty and of the universities themselves...Ex Corde and the application are really a students’ bill of rights.” Yet the students have been far from the decision-making process.
The National Association of Students at Catholic Colleges and Universities (NASCCU) was founded precisely to give more voice to the students of Catholic institutions. In 1997, NASCCU leadership sought a greater role for students in the ongoing dialogue over Ex Corde Ecclesiae, making separate requests to the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU) and the National Conference of Catholic Bishops for more opportunities for student participation in the deliberations. The requests were never acted upon.
Thomas Matzzie was the national president of NASCCU at the time. He maintains that “students value the Catholic character of Catholic colleges and universities, but student participation in discussions about Ex Corde Ecclesiae was, and is, inadequate.” Matzzie says he would have liked many other issues that students are concerned about to be addressed by Ex Corde Ecclesiae. “The document clearly puts a priority on academic issues, yet the behavior of educational institutions as employers and consumers should also be a factor in evaluating a school’s Catholic identity. Where are the guidelines for a mandatum on sweatshop regulations and unions for campus employees? When looked at as part of the whole of Catholic teachings, this seems more like an attempt to control dissenting voices than to build and strengthen the Catholic identity of Catholic colleges and universities.”
In considering “From the Heart of the Church,” it seems that decision-makers have left out the heart of the university, which is the students.