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GEORGIA BULLETIN, THURSDAY. MAY 30, 1968 5
John Cogley
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Theologians’ Task Never More Urgent
IT IS ALWAYS fascinating to
consider where the ideas that turn into
movements begin. Usually the
geneology is not easy to trace because
intellectual currents crisscross, and the
end product is usually both something
more and something less than the
originators intended.
Ideas get oversimplified, vulgarized,
and sometimes
crassly distorted in
the process of
being turned into
social realities.
Moreover, one
thought leads to
another, and there
is simply no
stopping the
process once
“development” of an idea starts to take
place.
This is the reason, I believe, that the
theology of the Second Vatican Council
already seems dated to many in the
forefront of Catholic renewal. The
ferment that began with the Council did
not cease on the day Pope Paul declared
the Council completed. It has been alive
ever since, and there seems to be no
stopping it. This explains, for me, the
phenomenon of the “underground
Church,” as well as the ^futility of
referring obstreperous. Catholics to the
literal documents of 'tlie Council, in the
attempt to keep, them in line’.
Actually there is a definite
connection between the Council
documents and what is being thought,
said, and acted upon today. But, since
the Council ended, the Church has
moved almost as far as it did in the nine
decades that separated Vatican I from
Vatican II.
THEOLOGICAL VIEWS that
seemed downright daring in 1965 are
already old-hat for many. Doctrinal
notions that were mere seeds in the
documents of the Council have burst
into flower. Some of the growth, to be
sure, seems wild and undisciplined, but
once the seeds were sown there was
simply no stopping their development.
“For example, the Council
theologians’ rejection of the idea of the
Church as a law-ridden hierarchical
structure in favor of the People of God
concept turned out to have practical
implications that no one in Rome
seemed to anticipate during the Council.
Catholics with no theological training at
all are now thinking of the Church
differently from the way it was looked
upon even five years ago. This has
notably changed their'expectations of
what should be looked for in the
liturgy, the sacramental experience and
ecumenism. The present expectations
are often far more radical than anything
proposed by the Council Fathers.
Again, the image of the priesthood
has been transformed for many in the
Church, not least of all among the
clergy themselves. The idea of the priest
more as servant of the community than
as keeper of the mysteries is reaching
the man in the pew. The emphasis of
service as opposed to mystic withdrawal
has similarity revolutionized the nun’s
image of herself and led to radical
changes in the convents.
IF THERE IS confusion among the
laity, self-doubt among the clergy and a
crisis in convents and monasteries, much
of it is due to the fact that theological
ideas were put forth at the Council
before they had a chance to ripen, or to
enter the consciousness and take
practical shape in the thinking of the
faithful.
In a word, motions accepted by the
Council were seminal but had no chance
to mature before they became
canonized in the official documents.
For this reason, it seems that the
main job of the Catholic community
right now is to speed up the theological
enterprise. Social facts are racing so far
ahead of theological theory in the
Church that the only ones who can
bring order out of the present turmoil
are the theologians. Their work can not
be impeded if the Church is to regain its
equilibrium.
IT SEEMS CLErfR to almost all now
that it is futile to try to meet the
present situation by referring Catholics
back to the theology that held sway
before Vatican II. Only the Father
DePauws even try this approach. It
strikes me as being just as misguided to
refer people to the literal Council
documents, as if they were some kind of
last word. Actually the last word is the
most recent word, and Vatican II
already seems to have taken place a long
time ago, so much has happened since.
I don’t have any solution to the
problem of how to avoid the random
growth of the theological seeds sown by
Vatican II. But knowing that there is a
problem and how to account for it
could be helpful. In the meantime, the
theologians’ task was never more urgent,
never more demanding than it is today.
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Two Movies
Condemned
NEW YORK (NC) - The
National Catholic Office for
Motion Pictures evaluated twlo
moves in its Class C (condemned)
category—one on the ground of
nudity, the other as being “an
obscene exploitation film.”
The NCOMP objected to “Jig
Saw,” a Universal release, on the
ground of “nudity in treatment.”
The office said of “Therese and
Isabelle,” an Audubon films
release: “In spite of a
professional gloss not found in
the average ‘grind-house’ movie,
this account of a lesbian love
affair is an obscene exploitation
film.”
CLASS A, Section HI - Hang
‘Em High (United Artists),
Interlude (Columbia), Shock
Troops (United Artists)
Class B - A Lovely Way -to Die
(Universal) - Objection: Low
moral tone; suggestiveness in
costuming and situations.
CLASS C - Jig Saw (Universal)
- Objection: Nudity in treatment.
Therese and Isabelle
(Audubon Films) - Objection: In
spite of a professional gloss not
found in the average
“grind-house” movie, this
account of a lesbian love affair is
an obscene exploitation film.
On Dean’s List
Mary Ann Lambert, daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. John J. Lambert
of 3451 Stratford Dr., NE,
Atlanta, has been named to the
dean’s list at Trinity College,
Washington.
Miss Lambert, a graduate of
D’Youville Academy, is a senior
majoring in Spanish.
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