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Assumption University


A New Assumption?

An Open Letter to Father Paul J. Rennick

Assumption University, Windsor, Ontario, Canada


By Philip D. Ropp

June 27, 2006

Note:  Father Paul J. Rennick is Academic Vice President at Assumption University in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.  At the time this letter was written, Father Rennick was engaged in restructuring the Assumption University Saginaw Program, which granted unaccredited master level degrees in Pastoral Ministry and Religious Education. I was enrolled as a student in this program in the fall of 2005.  My letter, the text of which follows below, was in response to Father Rennick's general letter of  May 30, 2006, detailing the progress of this restructuring for the student body of the Saginaw Program.  The issues addressed here should prove to be of interest to all Catholics, and so are reporoduced here.  Father Rennick has yet to respond.  The Assumption University Saginaw Program is currently being phased out within the Diocese of Saginaw.
-- P.D.R.       

June 27, 2006

(Rev.) Paul J. Rennick csb Ph.D.
Vice President
Academic
Assumption University
Windsor, Ontario, Canada 

Dear Father Rennick:

Thank you for your letter of May 30, 2006, updating the progress being made concerning the future of the Assumption University Saginaw Program.  Along with my fellow students, I am grateful for your efforts and I can assure you that my prayers go with you as you seek to secure the future of advanced theological education within the Diocese of Saginaw. In your letter, you requested input via email concerning the viability of a "two-a-day" class schedule on Saturdays.  In my opinion, any class schedule that allows for the highest level of instruction by potential faculty, along with the highest level of participation by the student body, is the direction that should be taken. If this can be accomplished by scheduling one morning and one afternoon class on Saturdays, then this is the course that should be pursued.

I realize that the paragraph above fulfills your request.  However, I have a number of concerns pertaining to the role and direction of Catholic education within the Diocese of Saginaw, and so I am taking this opportunity to share my thoughts and observations as well as some of my “Assumption Experience” with you.  During the meeting at the Saginaw Center for Ministry on April 5, 2006 and in your letter, what has gone unsaid has created a void in my understanding of this situation that must be filled so that I might determine whether or not Assumption University is in God’s plan for me. Certainly, it would be helpful if we got to know each other better.

Perhaps the best way to get to know me better is through Radio New Jerusalem, which can be seen online at radionewjerusalem.com. Radio New Jerusalem is a web site that I publish for the purpose of promoting Catholic communications via radio and the internet.  It is my intention to use this medium as a means of fostering not only the evangelization of the Catholic Faith, but as a means of fostering greater communication and understanding between the various factions that comprise the Catholic Church. Over the past two thousand years, Jesus' Great Commandment to his church -- that we love one another -- has also proven to be the most difficult to accomplish.  Today, we are living in a world that demands that we overcome our differences and accomplish precisely this or witness the further decline of Christian civilization and culture.

Ostensibly, it is this commandment that we love one another that is the impetus for providing a theological education experience geared towards the Catholic laity.  It is the purpose of Assumption University.  Paul left us no greater legacy and our own Catholic history, in spite of the mistakes that have been made, bears no greater witness than the truth that there are, indeed, three things that last: faith, hope and love.  And while love is the greatest, it cannot survive without faith, and without faith there is no hope.  Today, Father, I am reaching out to you with the hope that this great Catholic Faith that we share, a faith based upon the love of Jesus Christ himself as shown to us in no uncertain terms in the act of Calvary, will transcend the differences that separate us and unite us in common cause:  The common cause of teaching this eternal truth that God has manifested Himself among us and continues to do so, that we might rise above what we are and become the eternal beings that he has created us to be.  His posterity and ours will be satisfied with nothing less.  And so we pray for one another as you suggest.

It would seem that this proclaiming of God's truth to the world would be a straightforward matter.  Christians of all stripe, be it Catholic, Orthodox or Protestant, confess and share in Christ's Great Commission to proclaim the Gospel to the most far-flung corners of the earth. Indeed, in this age of modern, global communications it is difficult to conceive of any location on the planet that has not heard the good news that Christ has died, Christ is risen and Christ will come again.  Radio New Jerusalem stands in witness to the fact that through the power of modern media the Great Commission is being fulfilled within our hearing.  Listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches, for these media carry the message that a voice cries once more in the wilderness: "Make straight the way of the Lord."  When we hold in perspective the reality of this exciting time in history in which we find ourselves -- a time in which we witness the fulfillment of the conditions for our Lord's return -- then it is easy to see why this proclamation of God's truth which has been entrusted to us is anything but a straightforward matter.  With the end of the course in view, the powers of evil that are manifest within our world have mounted one last great offensive in the face of certain defeat. And so we find ourselves engaged in a spiritual "Battle of the Bulge" that manifests itself in the form of sexual abuse scandals, financial misappropriations, rebellion within our religious orders, and misuses of authority and power within the hierarchy of the church itself.  The ferocity of this attack is such that we cling to the promise of Christ that the gates of hell will not prevail against us, even as the walls of Rome are breached.

If we are to seal this breach and heal these ills that plague our church, then we must draw upon the resources and talents that God has given us -- all of us -- in order to do so. Too often we succumb to the temptation to categorize and label each other according to pejorative terms such as "liberal" or "conservative," "progressive" or "traditionalist," "radical" or "fundamentalist," "convert" or "cradle Catholic."  This quickly degenerates into a form of insult mongering and name calling that is at once childish and pedantic; ignorant and derogatory.  It is anything but Christian.  If we are to carry the Great Commission to its final completion and bring the Gospel of Christ to full bloom in the form of political liberty, economic justice, and religious and spiritual freedom for all, we will do so only by embracing his Great Commandment --  and, in turn, each other.  Since we know not the day and hour in which our Master returns, we would do well to tend this human garden he has left us by sating the hungry, slaking the thirsty, clothing the naked, welcoming the stranger and visiting the sick and imprisoned.  I know of no Christian, Catholic or otherwise, categorized by these or other labels, that disagrees with this.  It is here we stand on common ground.  And should we stand this ground together, we will not only accomplish this work and heal our ills, we will also answer in the affirmative Christ's Great Question: "When the Son of Man comes will he find any faith on earth?"

On the surface, this all seems very simple.  But there is a major complicating factor.  And that is sin.  The Bible tells us that sin has been our constant companion since the third chapter of Genesis and will remain so until we walk the golden streets of New Jerusalem in Revelation 22.  Sin is the cause of humanity's downfall and ensuing degradation, and the overcoming of sin is the key to our restoration and eternal salvation. As Catholic Christians, we believe that Jesus Christ died upon the cross as a propitiation for our sins.  At every Mass we celebrate "the death of the Lord until he comes," as we reenact the sacrifice of Christ and become one with him through his Real Presence in the miraculous transformation of the elements of the Eucharist. And so we sing "O Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us..."  The core belief of the Catholic Faith is eternal salvation through the remission of sins by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. This is the heart of the Gospel of God's kingdom, for it is through this act that we are able to gain entrance.

In my experience at Assumption University Saginaw, we were taught a Gospel far different from that found in the New Testament and proclaimed for nearly two thousand years by the Catholic Church. When I began my studies in the fall of 2005, I was told that feminist and liberation theology were "unassailable."  And this proved to be so, though the very cross of Christ and the central tenets of our faith would not be extended this same courtesy.

The quote that follows is from a hand-out we were given in "Jesus Christ and His Ministry." It is included here because it is indicative of the feminist underpinnings of the theological education offered at Assumption Saginaw:

This Paschal Mystery of dying and rising is a part of the message of the Redemption.  Redemption is not a sado-masochistic dogma in which a vengeful father requires the death of his only son to satisfy his anger for the transgressions of sinful humans.  Feminist theologians have rightly criticized the foolishness of such a doctrine of atonement or ransom, derived from Anselm of Canterbury and popularized by Luther and Calvin, because such a theory unwittingly would sanction child abuse.  It was not Jesus' death, but his virtue unto death, which redeemed or reconciled us to God.  Earth Spirituality and the claims of Jesus show us that redemption is a gracious attitude of letting go. 1                            


While it is not my purpose to provide an in depth critique of this passage, it is so rife with error that a cursory examination will prove beneficial to the point I will make below.  Please indulge me:

The Paschal Mystery is most certainly the key component of the message of Redemption.  However, nowhere in Scripture or in the Tradition of the Church is this act ever presented in any way that can be construed as a "sado-masochistic dogma."  This is the a priori assumption of the author. To the contrary, John 3:16 tells us that "God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life."  This is hardly the act of a "vengeful father" seeking to "satisfy his anger."  It is, instead, the ultimate act of love propagated by a Triune God willing to give the most precious part of Himself for the purpose of winning our salvation.  And, it may be added, the Son, who is an adult, submits to this act willingly.  The idea that this constitutes or sanctions some cosmic form of child abuse would be laughable if it was not at the same time so mean spirited and tragic.  Even more absurd is the idea that the doctrine of atonement, a major theme that runs throughout the Old Testament as well as the New, derives from St. Anslem and was "popularized by Luther and Calvin."  I am sure that any of the three would quickly point to Matthew 20:28, where we read "...the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."  This is hardly some chauvinistic theological fad left over from the 16th century. That it is not Christ's death but his "virtue unto death" that is, in some unexplained way, that which reconciles us to God is, again, an a priori assumption that cannot be in any way supported by Scripture or Tradition.  The term "Earth Spirituality" is a reference to the neo-paganism that spawns this kind of backward thinking that claims "that redemption is a gracious attitude of letting go."  The "claims of Jesus" that supposedly support this go unquoted. However, the actions of Jesus show us that redemption is not a "gracious attitude of letting go," but, rather, a fervent embrace of the cross.  It is to precisely this that the resurrection is witness.  If Jesus' death is not the salvific act of human history, then his resurrection becomes moot, and, as Paul instructs us, our faith is in vain.

In like manner, liberation theology was also presented to us not as a school of thought but as an incontrovertible truth.  Totally ignored were its heritage as an outgrowth of the so called "Christian Marxist" movement of the mid 20th century, and its misuse as a tool of open rebellion within the Catholic Church, culminating within the Society of Jesus during the early years of Pope John Paul II. Also ignored was the fact that this pope addressed, in a most direct manner, the legitimate concerns raised by liberation theology in the form of a papal instruction from the pen of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger in 1984 entitled Instruction on Certain Aspects of "Theology of Liberation."  The excerpt below was cited in my paper for "Jesus Christ and His Ministry" entitled The Gospel According to Albert Nolan:        

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a message of freedom and a force for liberation. In recent years, this essential truth has become the object of reflection for theologians, with a new kind of attention which is itself full of promise. Liberation is first and foremost liberation from the radical slavery of sin. Its end and its goal is the freedom of the children of God, which is the gift of grace. As a logical consequence, it calls for freedom from many different kinds of slavery in the cultural, economic, social, and political spheres, all of which derive ultimately from sin, and so often prevent people from living in a manner befitting their dignity. To discern clearly what is fundamental to this issue and what is a by-product of it, is an indispensable condition for any theological reflection on liberation.
   
It is only when one begins with the task of evangelization understood in its entirety that the authentic requirements of human progress and liberation are appreciated. This liberation has as its indispensable pillars: the truth about Jesus the Savior; the truth about the Church; and it is in light of the Beatitudes, and especially the Beatitude of the poor of heart, that the Church, which wants to be the Church of the poor throughout the world, intends to come to the aid of the noble struggle for truth and justice. She addresses each person, and for that reason, every person. She is the "universal Church: The Church of the Incarnation. She is not the Church of one class or another. And she speaks of the name of truth itself. This truth is realistic". It leads to a recognition "of every human reality, every injustice, every tension and every struggle."  2


The thesis of my paper was that Nolan's inept use of historical method resulted in a theological perspective that replaced eternal salvation through the remission of sin with a concept of temporal liberation. This is the "tragic flaw" that plagues liberation theology in general and it is the Achilles' heel of Nolan's argument in particular.  I argued that the correct perspective was that of liberation as an aspect of Christ's Gospel of salvation, not its ultimate goal. Because of this, Nolan's concept of orthopraxis is only valid when understood within the larger context of orthodoxy, as witnessed in the above quote from then Cardinal Ratzinger.  This paper was returned to me ungraded as a personal attack on Father Nolan.  When I refused to capitulate to this on the grounds that this paper was a well documented and argued academic critique, was in no way an attack on the person of Father Nolan, and that I would stand by its veracity even if it resulted in my expulsion from the Assumption Program, I was grudgingly granted a grade of "B." 

Now don't get me wrong, Father. This has nothing to do with grades on papers or academic standing.  I'm not a whiner and I have reached an age and a place in life where I am secure in my faith and aware of my scholastic talents and academic abilities.  However, I did find it curious to be involved in a Catholic educational program that decried the church's supposed "marginalization" of women, gays and lesbians while being marginalized myself for supporting the intentions of my bishop, the magisterium and our Holy Father.  In the Assumption classroom I have been taught that there is no such thing as the Immaculate Conception and that Jesus was, indeed, born under the stain of original sin.  In fact, when I questioned this, one of my fellow students informed me that to take issue with this assertion was tantamount to heresy in the tradition of the Arians. This went unchallenged. I was taught that the time of Bishop Untener was a golden age for the Diocese of Saginaw and that the reign of Bishop Carlson marked "a return to the 15th century." Anything that smacked of orthodox or traditional Catholicism was denigrated, while at the same time the ideas of the far left fringe of the church were taught as if gospel truth. EWTN was referred to derisively as "that Mother Angelica station," and we were taught that Catholic devotions like the Holy Rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy were not only useless, but served to focus the individual so much on heaven that it resulted in isolation from and apathy towards the plight of humanity.  I could go on, but you certainly must have the picture by now.

Understandably enough, there was an air of mounting tension throughout the fall term that culminated in the resignation of Sister Mary Ann Flanagan as Program Director for the Saginaw Campus in December. And let me take this opportunity to make it perfectly clear that I regard Sister Mary Ann with a great deal of affection and I have the utmost respect for her personal integrity.  I will gladly stand in her defense against anyone that questions her sincerity, and it is as obvious to me as it is to everyone else that her act of resignation required a great deal of courage and is a reflection of her strong personal convictions. However, it is also abundantly clear that when we take our vows as Catholic Christians, be it laity, religious or clergy, we are assuming a commitment to the orthodox teachings of the church and a sincere and abiding respect for the position and authority of those within the hierarchy that Divine Providence has chosen as our leaders.  Therefore, it should be equally obvious that when this commitment to orthodoxy and respect of authority is violated this will, ultimately, result in the situation that we are currently experiencing at Assumption University and within the Diocese of Saginaw.  Those of us that come into the church as converts seem to have a ready grasp of this reality, while, for some reason, it often seems to escape the cradle Catholics.  My most sincere prayers are with my fellow Assumption Saginaw classmates, especially those that believe that this is all somehow a personal vendetta against Sister Mary Ann on the part of Bishop Carlson.  It is not.  The process that is underway, the process that you have the unenviable task of dealing with for Assumption University, is the result of our bishop's larger efforts to bring a diocese that had swung way to the left back into line with Rome and the central, orthodox heart of Catholicism. Our prayers should not be merely for each other but for our bishop as well.

Overall, this centering of the Diocese of Saginaw will be a positive achievement that will work to the benefit of all.  It is high time this diocese stop being held up as the poster child for all that is wrong with the far left-wing agenda within the Catholic Church and assumes its proper role of promoting the Great Commission to take the true Gospel of Jesus Christ to the middle of Michigan and the world. Assumption University finds itself in the unique position of being able to take a vital leadership role in this process by providing a quality Catholic education to the lay leaders that the church will need to grow into the bright future that lay before us. Perhaps even more important is the opportunity that presents itself to heal the student body, both past and present, of the spiritual and intellectual wounds that have been inflicted through the errors of the past, and to, in turn, spread this healing into the parishes. The unique opportunity that challenges us today is to join our bishop in his vision of making this diocese a beacon to the world by uniting the best of all that is Catholic in such a way that we remove the bushel that has covered our light for so long and allow it to shine for all to see.  If Jesus is to find faith on earth, then let the truth be that he needs look no further than the Diocese of Saginaw and Assumption University.

In realizing this vision by no means should it by implied that disciplines such as feminism and liberation theology should be eliminated from study. However, these and other schools of thought that comprise a well rounded theological education should be taught as part of a larger curriculum that reflects the magisterium of the church, and not as unassailable truth in the form of an anti-orthodox agenda. To the contrary, a liberal education is the goal, but it should be liberal enough to include sound doctrine and the orthodox history and teaching of the church as well as the works of rebels and malcontents. By all means, let us read Schillebeeckx and Kung, but give us Wojtyla and Ratzinger as well. Allow the full story to be told and the truth that is our Catholic Faith will emerge victorious. It has always been and will be thus. If there are those in our midst that can't deal with the reality of what it means to be Catholic, then perhaps they would be happier in another church.  I am not being facetious.

Father, I appreciate your intention to be as "transparent as possible," and I have responded by sharing my observations and feelings as candidly and honestly as I can. These are issues that are begging to be dealt with openly and fully. If this can be done in an air of mutual respect and Christian affection then we gain the potential to accomplish something truly special here that will extend far beyond our own parochial interests.  Certainly, we are not the only Catholics struggling to find unity in the midst of our diversity. You are right when you say that we all want this settled.  However, it is in the best interest of all of us to make sure that this matter is treated fully and correctly.  True healing is accomplished only through opening and thoroughly cleansing the wound. Merely applying a band-aid now will almost certainly result in amputation later.

God bless you and God speed.


Phil Ropp

  

Cc: Bishop Robert J. Carlson

 

 

Notes:

 

1. Jeannine Gramick SL.  Jesus in an Evolutionary Framework.  LENN, Autumn, 2005 p.5.

2. Ratzinger, Joseph Cardinal. Excerpted from Instruction on Certain Aspects of  "Theology of Liberation" Given at Rome, at the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, on August 6, 1984, the Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord.