Documentation: Does Survival of the Fittest Apply to Theologians?

The tides of reaction are running fast in the Roman Catholic household these days. The Vatican, in the person of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, is out to crush all independent, creative thought in our community. There is a danger that our most important liberation theologians, such as Fathers Leonardo Boff and Gustavo Gutierrez, will be further marginalized.

The recent assault on Father Matthew Fox and creation-centered spirituality continues in this pattern. Lesser intellectual lights may well withdraw in meek compliance to the climate of terrorization rather than risk similar repression.

In all repressive regimes, the purpose of silencing creative leaders is not simply to stop them from writing and communicating with others but also to silence everyone, to create an atmosphere of fear where none dares lift his or her head in criticism of authority.

In the interest of combating not only the specific libels against Fox and his program, but also the silencing of us all, I have composed this basic checklist of tips to help us combat the inquisition and (maybe) win. My intention is to sustain hope and saucy humor and lessen unwarranted awe at the presumed omnipotence of the inquisition and its present grand master.

Survival rules for those under scrutiny by the inquisition

1. Examine carefully the lines of power that connect the Vatican to our means of employment. Try to cut wherever possible these lines of control over our lives. This might mean putting Catholic colleges under lay boards of trustees (this has usually already been done), putting religious orders’ property under separate boards and so on.

Get good canon and secular lawyers to examine the lines of power that make us vulnerable. Distinguish these lines of power from our psychological insecurities and continuing confusions of the Vatican with God. Discuss with these Vatican lawyers what means of redress we may have particularly within U.S. law.

Summon the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) to defend our colleges against assaults on academic freedom illegal under U.S. law. Civil suits might be worth trying. Could we take Ratzinger to court for loss of employment, mental anguish, libel and clergy malpractice?

2. Having clarified our options, let us examine the best way to communicate the issues to the Catholic community. Both Boff and Fox accepted temporary silencing. If Boff’s case is any guide, this limited “retreat” can be an effective way of resistance.

One might say that, in a clerical culture, humble acceptance, within limits, of unjust punishment puts one in the stance of injured innocence. This excites antipathy towards the punisher, especially in liberal societies. Our object is to make sure every spear thrown in our direction becomes a boomerang to return with tripled force to hit the perpetrator in the nose.

3. Take temporary “silence” as a welcome opportunity to expand your acquaintance with important people and societies. Enjoy your sabbatical. Go to Latin America, China, and India. Add new vistas of thought and experience to your life. Plan your new book. Relax and have fun. Stop in Hawaii on the way to China.

4. While you are officially silent, be in constant touch with your support community. Develop a well-organized public relations committee which will work to keep your case and writings constantly before the public. Your silence will become as a megaphone making your voice heard to new and larger audiences. Sales of your many past books will skyrocket; your new book will be a best-seller.

5. Be sure to put no more than 10 percent of your energy into fighting with the ecclesiastical authorities. This can be considered a kind of tithing to the institutional church. The final victory of all repressive regimes, whether the FBI or the inquisition, is to make us physically and emotionally exhausted fighting their arbitrary demands.

Try to avoid this. Keep a sense of proportion. Remember that, however much harm Ratzinger’s inquisition is doing, he is not the most important problem in the world. He and his minions, Catholics United for the Faith, are in the minor legions of the demonic hosts compared with the big polluters and mad bombers who threaten to destroy the earth under our feet.

6. If Ratzinger has any sense, he will call off the attack in six to nine months, recognizing it is counter-productive. If he doesn’t, gracefully call off your silence. Announce that you have complied long enough and besides, you are concerned with the way your compliance with injustice is creating antipathy toward the Holy See. Be suavely ironic in public communications rather than “strident.” It helps to increase the force of the boomerang and doesn’t draw attention to you as the problem.

To summarize this advice to all resisters of repression from ecclesiastical or other bureaucracies in a few words: Don’t let the bastards get you down.

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