In John Allen's recent column, he reminds his readers of some basic history of the ITC. Then, he gets into three topics that the most recent session is getting ready to tackle. I've highlighted one of them, because I thought it relevant to discussions we've had on this blog.
The International Theological Commission, a body of 30 Catholic theologians from around the world that advises the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, can function as a kind of "early warning system" for gathering theological storms. In 1976, the commission produced a document on liberation theology, "Human Development and Christian Salvation," ahead of Rome's crackdown on liberation theology in the 1980s. In 1997, the commission issued "Christianity and the Religions," and the next few years witnessed a series of disciplinary actions against theologians working in the area of religious pluralism. That campaign culminated with Dominus Iesus in September 2001.Hence it's worth paying attention when the commission tackles a subject, because one can be sure it's on the Vatican's radar screen.
This week, a new group of members assembled to start their five-year terms, and they settled on three topics for reflection.
o Infant baptism and Christian hope: . . . [see the link if you are interested]
o Natural Law: Building on the pope's encyclicals Veritatis splendor (1993) and Fides et ratio (1998), the commission will take up the subject of "natural law," what Catholic philosophy regards as a law implanted in creation by the Creator that can be discovered by human reason. One motive for the study is to attack what the CDF has long seen as a "positivistic" tendency in reactions to its pronouncements on moral issues, such as gay marriage or stem cell research. Often it's assumed that the Catholic church expects people to follow its teachings because it says so ("positivism,") when in the Vatican's view, the church proposes a teaching because it's true. The hope is that by recovering a natural law framework, the church can shift the terms of debate from its own authority to the inherent persuasiveness of its teaching.
o Theology and the Academy: . . . [see the link if you are interested]"
It's difficult to convince someone who disagrees with you that what you are saying is "right" because it is "true". Some people believe everything is up for grabs, and enforcing doctrine may be viewed as a sort of power-play. My prayers are certainly with the Commission in their work. I hope it bears much fruit. This is not an easy time we are in.
