The Board of the CollegeTheology Society wishes to express to our membership our sadness and graveconcern in response to the statement released on October 28, 2011 by the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops’Committee on Doctrine regarding the case of Professor Elizabeth Johnson.

The Committee on Doctrinehas chosen to publicly criticize and discredit—not once but twice—a work by oneof our most esteemed colleagues without entering into a process of dialoguewith her about the issues being raised. Dr. Johnson prepared a substantive response that repudiated thecriticisms of her work as unfounded, and requested that a formal dialogue beestablished between her and the Committee on Doctrine to discuss the range oftheological issues raised by their initial Statement issued March 24, 2011. Her request was not granted; instead the secondstatement not only repeated the previous characterization of her work withoutengaging the issues she raised in her response, but also raised new criticismsof Dr. Johnson’s retrieval of female metaphors and symbols of God as foundwithin both biblical texts and classic texts from our Catholic theological tradition.   

The course of action takenby the Committee on Doctrine represents a fundamental breach in the call fordialogue within the Church and in particular between theologians and bishops, acall that is one of the hallmarks of the documents of the Second VaticanCouncil.  The necessity of dialoguebetween bishops and theologians is delineated in the 1989 statement approved bythe U.S. Bishops, Doctrinal Responsibilities. It islikewise found in the Regulation for Doctrinal Examination (RatioAgendi), which specifies the procedures the Congregation for the Doctrineof the Faith is to follow in cases of doctrinal dispute, procedures that are inkeeping with the principles of canon law regarding due process and the rightsand responsibilities of members of the Church.

The action taken by theCommittee on Doctrine wounds not only Dr. Johnson, but the entire community ofCatholic theologians as well, who long to be in more constructive relationshipswith our bishops–in particular, to be in conversation with them about how theliving tradition of belief and practice of our Catholic faith can best speak tothe most pressing issues of our time. The vital working relationships among bishops, theologians, and theentire people of God can only be advanced by recognizing the dignity andvocation of theologians and indeed of all the faithful in the mission of theChurch, and by cultivating practices of dialogue that can promote ourcollaborative relationship.

Bradford Hinze, Ph.D.
Fordham University
New  York, NY
President

Anita Houck, Ph.D.
Saint Mary’s College
Notre Dame, IN
Vice President

Michael Barnes, Ph.D.
Dayton University
Dayton, OH
Past-President

David Gentry-Akin, Ph.D.
Saint Mary’s College of California
Moraga, CA
Executive Director, NationalConventions

William Collinge, Ph.D.
Mount Saint Mary’sUniversity
Emmitsburg, MD
Chairperson & Editor ofResearch & Publications

Christopher Denny, Ph.D.
Saint John's University
Queens, NY  

Brian Flanagan, Ph.D.
Marymount University
Arlington, VA
Treasurer

Anthony J. Godzieba, Ph.D.
Villanova University
Villanova, PA
Editor, Horizons

Mark J. Allman, Ph.D.
Merrimack College
North  Andover, MA
Board Member

Colleen Mary Carpenter,Ph.D.
Saint Catherine University
St.  Paul, MN
Board Member

William Clark, Ph.D., S.J.
College of the Holy Cross
Worcester, MA
Board Member

Mary Doak, Ph.D.
University of San Diego
San  Diego, CA
Board Member

Jayme Hennessy, Ph.D.
Salve Regina University
Newport, RI
Board Member

Tobias Winright, Ph.D.
Saint  Louis University
Saint  Louis, MO
Board Member

The Board of Directors of the College Theology Society
Addresses the Critique of Sister Elizabeth A. Johnson’s book
Quest for the Living God: Mapping Frontiers in the Theology of God
By the Committee on Doctrine, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

The officers and board of directors of the College Theology Society endorse the statement issued by The Catholic Theological Society of America on April 8, 2011.  While affirming the distinctive vocations of bishops and theologians, the CTSA statement raises important and widely shared concerns about (1) the bishops’ failure to follow their own procedures as delineated in their 1983 statement on Doctrinal Responsibilities, (2) the misrepresentation of Professor Johnson’s position, and (3) the statement’s restrictive characterization of the nature of theology.  The board of the College Theology Society shares each of these concerns.

The College Theology Society is a professional society of theologians, solidly rooted in the Roman Catholic tradition and with a strong commitment to ecumenical collaboration, dedicated to teaching theology at the undergraduate level.  With this mission in mind, we believe that Elizabeth Johnson’s book Quest for the Living God: Mapping Frontiers in the Theology of God exemplifies a compelling style of Catholic theology that engages many different kinds of undergraduate students populating college and university campuses.  Her theology is credited with plumbing the depths of the received Catholic tradition as found in diverse scriptural and historical witnesses of faith while investigating pressing issues and searching for ever deeper understanding.  This book illustrates what has been a hallmark of all of Johnson’s work: a dedication to exploring the living faith of the Church as it is conveyed in communities in various cultures and contexts in the United States and throughout the world.  Her gifts and talents as a highly effective theological educator are clearly displayed in this book.

Since the membership of the College Theology Society includes a high percentage of younger faculty members and graduate students in theology, we are particularly concerned about the chilling effect the statement by the Committee on Doctrine will have on our younger colleagues.  Instead of cultivating a culture of open collaboration and mutual dialogue between bishops, theologians, and the people of God in the advancement of a deeper understanding of the faith, the document of the Committee on Doctrine, as well as the process by which that document was formulated, breeds disillusionment, fear, and mistrust among younger theologians in their relation to bishops and increasing sadness and fatigue among more seasoned scholars.     

Finally, the members of the College Theology Society are engaged in ecumenical and interfaith education and scholarship aimed at promoting mutual understanding among ourselves and with our students of diverse faiths and worldviews. In both substance and process, the statement by the Committee on Doctrine threatens to undermine the credibility of the Catholic Church and its hierarchy among many of our respected collaborators and students of different faiths and worldviews.     

We are honored to have Professor Elizabeth Johnson as a member of the College Theology Society. We fully support her during this period when the arguments advanced by the Committee on Doctrine are debated among theological faculties and in the Church and public at large.  We implore the Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine to recognize the deep commitment of this faithful servant of the Church and to adhere to its own processes in seeking clarification about methodologies used or conclusions reached in the work of this highly respected Catholic theologian.

Bradford Hinze, Ph.D.
Fordham University
New York, NY
President

Anita Houck, Ph.D.
St. Mary’s College
Notre Dame, IN
Vice President

Brian Flanagan, Ph.D.
Marymount University
Arlington, VA
Treasurer

Michael Barnes, Ph.D.
Dayton University
Dayton, OH
Past-President

David Gentry-Akin, Ph.D.
St. Mary’s College of California
Moraga, CA
Executive Director, National Conventions

Anthony J. Godzieba, Ph.D.
Villanova University
Philadelphia, PA
Editor, Horizons

William Collinge, Ph.D.
Mount St. Mary’s University
Emmitsburg, MD
Chairperson & Editor of Research & Publications

Mark Allman, Ph.D.
Merrimack College
North Andover, MA
Board Member

Colleen Mary Carpenter, Ph.D.
St. Catherine University
St. Paul, MN
Board Member

William Clark, S.T.D., S.J.
College of the Holy Cross
Worcester, MA
Board Member

Mary Doak, Ph.D.
University of San Diego
San Diego, CA
Board Member

Jayme Hennessy, S.T.D.
Salve Regina University
Middletown, RI
Board Member

Catherine Punsalan-Manlimos, Ph.D.
Seattle University
Seattle, WA
Board Member