Irish bishops condemn author’s ‘errors’

A theological bestseller, first published in 1997, has now been censured by the Irish bishops. Christopher Lamb reports THE IRISH BISHOPS’ conference chose July as a good time to bury bad news. It took the media several weeks to notice that the conference had issued a statement censuring an influential textbook written by a respected Catholic theologian.
The book, Does Morality Change? by Fr Seán Fagan, a 77-year-old Marist priest who reportedly once described Cardinal Ratzinger as so conservative that he made Margaret Thatcher look like Fidel Castro, was labelled as “inadequate” and containing “a number of errors”.
The bishops objected to “the denial of the binding force of the Magisterium on conscience”, “the effective rejection of the Church’s understanding of natural law”, “effective denial of moral absolutes” and “the promotion of a false understanding of conscience”.
Essentially, the errors were down to a “widespread ‘moral’ relativism, itself based on the denial of our capacity to know objective truth with minimal certainty,” the bishops said.
The statement added that “such moral relativism characterises much of contemporary culture”.
Fr Fagan’s book is described as seeking to understand how morality may change as culture changes; it also aims to “free people” and to help them find their way in the confusion of the modern world. The Papal document, Ueritatis Splendor, issued by John Paul II in 1993, was specifically used to address these problems by laying out the “fundamental elements of moral theology”. This has led to speculation that the action taken by the Bishops was forced on them by Rome.
Does Morality Change? was first published in 1997 and sold 5,000 copies. It was reissued last September by Columba Press. No ban had been issued by St Paul’s bookshop – which usually make it clear when a book is censured. A spokesman said they had sold out of their copies of the 1997 edition.
Fr Fagan, an academic since 1955, is based at the Catholic University School in Dublin. He is also the author of Has Sin Changed? which is widely used in seminaries and has sold 65,000 copies since it was published in 1977 making it one of the best selling theology books.
The Irish priest is no stranger to controversy. Last September, he raised eyebrows in the Irish Times by questioning the Church’s teaching on homosexuality. In a letter he wrote: “I would not call homosexual acts disordered.” In February 2003, he openly criticised the Church authorities for their “casual” reaction to child sex abuse revelations, saying they were more interested in protecting the “image of the institution” by keeping allegations secret, than in securing the protection and welfare of innocent children. He also believes that most of today’s bishops are appointed by the Vatican for their “safe views and attachment to Rome”.
The Vatican has no qualms about criticising books that it believes contradict the teachings and tenets of the faith.
In 1998, Fr Jacques Dupuis, a theologian at Rome’s Gregorian University, was reprimanded by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) over his book, Toward a Christian Theology of Religious Pluralism.
He was defended by the late Cardinal Franz Konig, who described the book as a “masterly work” and a “superb conribution to inter-religious dialogue and theology”.
But Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the CDF, said the illustrious theologian’s interpretation of the doctrine of Christ was inconsistent with Catholic teaching.
“It is inconsistent with Catholic doctrine to hold that the seeds of truth and goodness that exist in other religions are a certain participation in truths contained in the revelation of or in Jesus Christ,” he said.
“It is erroneous to hold that such elements of truth and goodness, or some of them, do not derive ultimately from the source-meditation of Jesus Christ.” Fr Fagan has, to date, refused to comment on the latest censure. He said he had promised the Irish bishops that he would not speak on events, although sources close to him say that he believes it to be a case of Rome instructing and the Irish bishops “obeying”.
The Catholic Communications Office was unable to explain what had prompted the statement, or why it had been written.