Another dimension to this "intellectual life of the Church" discussion... (Main Forum)

by Brian Coyne , LINDEN, NSW, Friday, March 25, 2011, 01:02 (793 days ago)

Some background...

I was having a conversation with Cliff Baxter earlier this evening and the ideas I want to explore in this post basically derive from an idea that occurred to me in that conversation. Both Cliff and myself share an interest in the history of the Knights of the Southern Cross. As you probably know he recently published a history of the Knights and is still a member of the Order. I was a member and on the State Executive in WA but resigned due to my financial circumstances at the time and my lack of ability to meaningfully contribute about twelve months before I moved to NSW. I was also the last President of the Newman Graduate Society in Western Australia but it was a massive battle trying to keep that alive and essentially my personal circumstances put an end to my being able to do anything and the whole thing essentially just folded. In a sense my continuing endeavours here on Catholica are merely a continuation of the sort of activities I was endeavouring to pursue within the institutional framework in those two organisations I have mentioned. From both those sources, and also another which I'll disclose later in this post, I have long had an interest in both the history of these 'elite/opinion leader/more intellectual' lay apostolates and in the challenges they presently face in maintaining relevance in the changed social climate of life today.

The importance of an "intellectual heart" to any organisation...

At the outset let me say that I do believe the institution — any institution or society or political party or other organization — needs a strong "intellectual heart". Most businesses, governments and organizations these days have some kind of mission statement and the mission statement is largely something that is driven or articulated by the "intellectual heart" of the organization. Part of the reason Catholicism has endured in the ways that it has down through two millennia is that it has had a strong "intellectual heart". In quite separate and what seem to be entirely serendipitous ways both Cardinal George Pell and Fr Eric Hodgens have brought this question of the "intellectual vision" or "intellectual imagination" back to centre stage in the public debate of where Catholicism is heading. The view I want to put that has sprung out of my conversation with Cliff earlier this evening might put another important perspective on this debate which is emerging.

The personal perspectives and biases I bring to this discussion...

I am much more of a fan of the view Fr Eric Hodgens has articulated than the one George Pell is likely to articulate on 29th March — which, I would argue that, the reasonably astute observer can read from his many statements on all manner of things and his policy orientation over the past decade or more. I sincerely believe what George Pell is on about is actually dangerous in the sense that it is destructive of society and destructive of the church — in other words if pursued, his policy will have the effect of driving even more of the educated out of the Church and will ultimately decrease the relevance of the institution in wider society. Pell's agenda basically derives from the Melbourne-Mannix-Santamaria-dogmatic view of Catholicism agenda which I am reasonably familiar with having been a great fan and friend of Bob Santamaria for many years — and he was in fact a supporter of a couple of my projects. I had many conversations with him over the years and have a quite extensive personal correspondence with him and a couple of formal video and audio interviews. Today I largely reject the Santamaria view but retain deep personal respect for the man and his integrity as I perceived it. I won't go into detail as to why I have come to reject his view but it largely boils down ultimately to different views of what the meaning of Jesus is. As I argued recently in this place: is Jesus ultimately some "set of dogmas and rules" OR does Jesus "model for us a Way of processing or navigating life"? That's an argument for another day or for those interested go read my comments in this post: www.catholica.com.au/forum/index.php?id=70958 ).

One of the things that long inspired me about Bob Santamaria was his understanding of, and emphasis on, the intellectual life of Catholicism. He had long been passionate about the "intellectual apostolates" such as the various university and graduate Catholic societies that went under names such as the Campion or Newman Societies. In his youth, and virtually universally across Australia, these had been vibrant and played a massively important role in the church. They both played a role in the sense of a place where the more intellectual and cerebral members of the Church could socialize and engage in works of benefit to the wider institution. In other words they both gave a focus to the energies of a certain group in the church — and largely an important lay leadership and "opinion forming" social elite in society — and they did works of benefit to the wider institution.

Why have the "intellectual apostolates" died?

All that has largely died today. And that is the prime question I want to address in this post? Why have they died and should we be getting our knickers in a knot that they have died? George Pell has been investing a heck of a lot of energy to try and re-kindle the university societies of old in new forms such as the Theology on Tap initiative which meets at PJ Gallagher's pub here in the Diocese of Parramatta. Ultimately I don't believe Pell will succeed. Part of the reason is that he fails to understand why the old "intellectual climate" has changed (and seemingly died — as you'll see in a moment I don't think it has actually died and is probably more vibrant than it has ever been). Secondly, I think he basically just has a screwed agenda — and in "nicer language" than I could ever muster, Eric Hodgens, puts the intellectual arguments as to why George Pell's agenda is intellectually and statistically/demographically bankrupt and incapable of re-injecting life back into Catholicism.

The "intellectual heart" of the church has simply moved domiciles...

The other place from which I draw my knowledge is from the six years I spent as Media Officer for the Catholic Education Office of Western Australia from 1994-1999. The intellectual life has not died — as many seem to fear, or suppose. It has merely "changed its home". The reason why all these "elite lay and intellectual apostolates" have died is for the fundamental reason that their prime recruiting pool has disappeared. Let me explain: prior to about 1971 when the new Catholic Education system was established across Australia and largely financed by funds derived from the Australian Catholic taxpayers via government coffers, the only lay people the institutional Church could afford to employ were essentially parish housekeepers and the occasional gardeners. Catholic lay people who happened to be teachers were largely employed in the public education system. The leadership cohorts in the teaching professions were a highly visible presence in lay apostolates like the Knights of the Southern Cross and the university graduate and intellectual societies. I'm principally using teachers here as they were the first and also the largest and most visible profession to move into paid employment positions within the institution but you can extend this argument to Catholic doctors and workers in other professions who would later find remunerated employment within the institution).

When I first moved into employment in the Catholic Education Office in 1994 I think the thing that most bowled me over — and still sits with me as a precious memory — was the sense of moving into this vibrant intellectual and liturgical atmosphere that I simply never knew or dreamed existed in the Church or even could or might exist anywhere in the Church. You need to understand that in Australia by government law today every employer has to provide a certain amount of professional and personal development to their staff. In the Catholic system this, not unnaturally gets translated into large doses of faith development and theological development, even if mathematics teachers or phys ed instructors also take some of their professional development within their core discipline as well. These sort of programs, by law, are delivered to staffs across the nation at the cost of sometimes hundreds of dollars a day, sometimes an hour, to the people on the receiving end of this largesse in their lives. The Catholic Church simply could not afford to deliver these sort of programs at the ordinary parish level. The cost would be prohibitive. What goes on in the Catholic Education Offices and Catholic schools is largely "unseen by the ordinary pew-sitters at large". What has effectively happened today is that those leadership elites who prior to about 1971 were the prime recruiting pool for the elite lay apostolates of the Church are today now largely employed full time on professional-level salaries within the institution. The "intellectual life" locus of the Church has gravitated to an internal place within the institution. By some methods of evaluation it is claimed the Catholic Church in Australia today is the largest single employer outside government in the land. That's where the "intellectual heart" of Catholicism resides today. Figures are quoted that the institution in this country has a paid workforce of up to 100,000 individuals. And by and large they are not enormous fans of the George Pell intellectual agenda for Catholicism.

The upside and downside needs discussion and airing...

I would argue this has had good and bad consequences and these really need to be discussed by the entire institution. The "good side" for instance is that the quality of intellectual discussion and study going on these days is light years ahead of anything that was able to be delivered by the former "lay apostolates". One of the downsides is that in paid employment teachers, and doctors and social workers etc now have to shut their traps a heck of a lot more so we've had a trend to bureaucratization of the intellectual elite of the Church and, in a sense a silencing of that elite and "opinion leading/opinion forming" sector of the institution. When you now add in the two Catholic universities we now have in this country — neither of them existing in 1970 — a lay person from almost any professional discipline today can find a paid position within the institution where they can "live out their faith and get paid for doing it at the same time (sotto voce: as long as they keep their traps shut LOL)". We don't know how blessed we are.

I put these views forward as I think this is another important element that needs to be considered in the public discussion that seems to be emerging about re-vitalizing the intellectual life of Catholicism. As both the Cardinal's activities — not to mention the National Civic Council activities* of the late Bob Santamaria which have been active for decades trying to gain influence amongst the educated sectors in society and those that might form the "intellectual heart" of the Church — as well as Fr Eric Hodgens' paper seems likely to stir.

*The National Civic Council activities have largely taken place through an organisation called the St Thomas More Societies largely directed at young people and more especially the more educated cohort of young people such as university students. They have not had much success in attracting large numbers and might be likened to the influence able to be exerted by the old Democratic Labor Party Clubs compared to the Young Liberals or Young Labor. I presume the Thomas More Societies still exist in some form but their influence is marginal. Some of the people that were formerly likely to be attracted to the St Thomas More Societies seem to be very active with Cardinal Pell in such initiatives as the Theology on Tap initiative. Theology on Tap appears to be only of significance in NSW where it attracts impressive numbers to some of its functions but as I keep arguing, 5% of a billion Catholics in the world is still an impressive number. When you recruit the remnant from over an entire city and assemble them in one place it can give an impression that "all is well" and the Church is vibrant and surging ahead again. The remnant element exists in the younger generations just as much as it does in the older generations. Their status and "outlook towards life" is not determined by age.

LINKS:
String where Cardinal Pell's initiative is discussed:
www.catholica.com.au/forum/index.php?id=71193

String where Fr Eric Hodgens' paper on two contrasting intellectual visions is discussed:
www.catholica.com.au/forum/index.php?id=71114

Direct Link to Fr Eric Hodgens' paper delivered to leaders of Victorian Religious with responsibility for Catholic educational establishments:
http://catholicview.typepad.com/catholic_view/2011/03/change-challenges-a-faith-review....

Brian Coyne
[Editor & Publisher]