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Tradition must be Informed

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Tradition must be Informed

“Thus God, who spoke in the past, continues to converse with the spouse of his beloved Son. And the Holy Spirit, through whom the living voice of the Gospel rings out in the Church—and through her in the world—leads believers to the full truth, and makes the Word of Christ dwell in them in all its richness (cf. Col. 3:16)”.

. . . “The Tradition that comes from the apostles makes progress in the Church, with the help of the Holy Spirit. There is a growth in insight into the realities and words that are being passed on. This comes about in various ways. It comes through the contemplation and study of believers who ponder these things in their hearts (cf. Lk. 2:19 and 51). It comes from the intimate sense of spiritual realities which they experience. And it comes from the preaching of those who have received, along with their right of succession in the episcopate, the sure charism of truth. Thus, as the centuries go by, the Church is always advancing towards the plenitude of divine truth, until eventually the words of God are fulfilled in her.”

Dei Verbum. ‘Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation’ no 8, in The Conciliar and Post-Conciliar Documents, ed. by A.FLANNERY, Dominican Publications, Dublin 1975, p. 755. See full chapter here.

In the Church's experience of her Tradition, it has become clear that misunderstandings and misjudgements can be made. During certain periods of the Church's history people were prevented from discerning the true Tradition because their reasonings were wrong or their minds were focussed on the wrong reality.

In order to be validly part of Tradition, a doctrine or practice must be informed. This means that the carriers of Tradition must understand the question and the issues that are at stake.

In ‘The Survival of Dogma’, Avery Dulles adduces the following principle: “No doctrinal decision of the past directly solves a question that was not asked at the time.” For example, the fact that Paul, quoted by Trent, asserts that Adam was a single individual (see Romans 5,12-21) cannot be used to refute modern science's idea of polygenism; the question had not even arisen yet. By extension, “whenever the state of the evidence on any question materially changes, you have a new question that cannot be fully answered by appealing to old authorities.”

As Pope Pius XII stated in Divino Afflante Spiritu (1943): “There are many matters, especially historical, which were insufficiently or hardly at all developed by the commentators of past centuries, because they lacked nearly all information needful for elucidating them”.

We will illustrate this principle in three steps.

The ‘truth’ as a source of Tradition

In Vatican II’s dogmatic constitution on Revelation § 2 (quoted above) mentions that progress in the understanding of a Tradition comes about in various ways:

The Council says that, from a combination of these factors, the Church will eventually reach the ‘fulness’ of divine truth, until eventually the words of God are ‘fulfilled’ in her.

The important principle is that, next to the main source: ‘Scripture & Tradition’, there is another source, namely: Truth as it becomes known to us through other means in the course of time.

The principle has been acknowledged in the history of the Church as an auctoritas [=‘authoritative source’] next to Scripture and Tradition. It is found in Ambrosiaster in this form: “Whatever is true comes from the Holy Spirit, no matter who expresses this truth.” The implications are that truth has to be taken seriously from whatever source it comes, as long as it can be shown to be true. Such truth may be found through new scientific discoveries, through the spiritual experience of non-Christians, through the wisdom of philosphers, and so on. (See Yves M.J.Congar, Tradition and Traditions, Burns & Oates, London 1966, pp. 130 - 131).

Ambrosiaster's principle, which was usually ascribed to St. Ambrose, has been frequently quoted:

The principle was also formulated in the form that the Holy Spirit was acknowledged as the source and origin of all true knowledge.

The First Vatican Council (1869 - 1870 AD) defined that there cannot be any real disagreement between revealed truth and truth established by natural reason.

“Although faith stands above reason, there can, however, never exist any real contradiction between faith and reason, since the same God who reveals mysteries and infuses faith, implanted in the human soul the light of reason. God cannot deny himself or ever make truth contradict truth. The semblance of such contradiction mostly arises from this that either the doctrines of the Church have not been understood or explained according to the mind of the Church, or what is mere opinion is held to be the outcome of reason.” Dei Filius, ch. 4, § 3; Denz. (new) 3017.

The Second Vatican Council (1963 - 1965 AD) spelled out the implications even more fully.

The application of this in the history of the Church can be quite dramatic. The new economic reality of banking, for instance, forced the Church to re-read and re-interpret the Scripture texts related to ‘usury’. Scientific discoveries about the ‘genetic’ basis of homosexuality throws an entirely new light on the morality of homosexual existence. The realization of how social and cultural prejudices influenced the thinking and practice of the Church in previous centuries calls for a reappraisal of the limitations put on women's ministry. A study of such examples helps us understand the principle of ‘informed’ Tradition, ‘informed’ by a wider discovery and deeper realization of truth.

The example of taking interest for capital loans

The Magisterium forbade the taking of interest for capital loans until 1830. The taking of interest was simply equated with usury in the ‘tradition’ that was supposed to support it. Here are some examples of official Church teaching on the matter:

What were the reasons for the condemnation?

The Fathers of the Church, pastoral leaders, theologians and the Popes simply equated the ‘taking of interest on capital loans’ with ‘usury’, which had been condemned in Scripture: Exodus 22,25; Leviticus 25,36-37; Deuteronomy 23,19-20; and so on.

The Church changed her mind on the taking of interest when it realised that the modern system of banking, which began in the Middle Ages, treated money in a new way.

In Old Testament times ‘usury’ consisted in demanding a profit on the loan of a loaf of bread or a sack of wheat. Such a practice is an exploitation of the poor and demands condemnation. But the Old Testament did allow landowners to demand a regular income from tenants who cultivated the land. A loaf of bread is not fertile. A piece of land is fertile. From the loan of land one may demand a share of the profit.

However, in our modern society capital is ‘fertile’. It produces a profit as much as a piece of land does. Taking interest for a capital loan is consequently in harmony with Christian justice.

Further explanations and bibliography in John Noonan, “The Amendment of Papal Teaching by Theologians”, in Charles E. Curran, ed., Contraception: Authority and Dissent, (New York: Herder & Herder, 1969), pages 41-75.

Conclusion:

The blanket condemnation of all homosexuality in the past

Homosexuality has been denounced in both the Old and New Testaments.

Small wonder that homosexuality has always been considered sinful in the ‘tradition’ of the Church.

See, for instance, Clement of Alexandria (Paedagogus 2,20; 3,3-5; Stromateis 4,8); John Chrysostom (Homily 4; Ag. Opponents of Monastic Life no 3); Thomas Aquinas (Summa Theologica 2 2ae, q.154, a 12, r 2-4).

It was called a ‘sin against nature’ and was put on a line with ‘bestiality’, that is: having intercourse with an animal. For the State it was a criminal offence, often punishable by death.

What is beginning to change thinking in the Church?

The facts. Social research has established that 5 - 10% of the population in most countries has an innate homosexual disposition. Three ‘causes’ of homosexuality are now generally accepted: it is a genetic trait in some people; it may be the result of a hormone imbalance before birth; it may also stem from the situation in which a child grows up (i.e. incest or child abuse) and the experiences he/she has of each sex.

But if God, the Creator, has made some people homosexual by nature, we cannot condemn them outright, whatever our views on legitimate sexual acts for homosexuals.

The Congregation for Doctrine's Declaration on Certain Issues Concerning Sexual Ethics (1974) was an improvement on earlier Roman statements because it acknowledged that there are ‘homosexuals who are definitively such because of some kind of innate instinct or a pathological constitution judged to be incurable’. ‘In the pastoral field, these homosexuals must certainly be treated with understanding and sustained in the hope of overcoming their personal difficulties and their inability to fit into society. Their culpability will be judged with prudence.’ But the Document still condemns all sexual homosexual acts as ‘intrinsically disordered’ and ’condemned by Scripture as a serious depravity’ (Paragraph no 8).

Reflection on this issue is not finished in the Church. Here we will quote some modern theologians discussing the issue. Note that our renewed, informed understanding leads to a different evaluation of the ‘tradition’.

Conclusion:

The question of the ordination of women

When considering the socalled ‘tradition’ of not ordaining women to the priesthood, the reasons underlying the ‘tradition’ are paramount. If these reasons are found to be defective, the whole ‘tradition’ becomes suspect because it was not focussed, reflective and informed

Here is the judgment of Elizabeth A. Johnson, C.S.J., professor of theology at Fordham University, president of the Catholic Theological Society of America, and the author of She Who Is (Crossroad).

“Regarding the second, history is replete with examples of unbroken tradition breaking due to the moral sensibilities of believers, the insights of critical thinkers, and careful searching on the part of the teaching office, all converging in the context of cultural change. At one time it was official church teaching that it was unlawful for married couples to take pleasure in the marital act; that killing infidels was a way to salvation; that taking interest on a loan was forbidden; that slavery was permissible; that discrimination against Jewish people was legitimate; that biblical scholars could not use historical critical methods on Scripture texts. How do we discern whether the teaching on women's ordination can be open to similar development? The stated reason why women were not ordained throughout the centuries was that they were inferior, or "defective males" (Aquinas). That reason has crumbled in our day. And so do the other arguments given . . .”

“The reasons do not hold up, try as one might to entertain them. According to traditional Catholic teaching, the human faculty of judgment is not free, unlike our will. We can give genuine assent only to what presents itself to our mind as true: "The truth cannot impose itself except by virtue of its own truth, as it makes its entrance into the mind at once quietly and with power" (Vatican II, Declaration on Religious Freedom, no 1). If a declared teaching or practice continuously jars our mind as missing the mark, as in the present case, it is our responsibility to explore and express the reasons why. This resistance is not to be equated with disloyalty or rebellion, let alone lack of faith, but with a form of loyalty and service . . .”

“Over the years, informed, responsible disagreement has been a gift to the church whereby the criticism born of love has empowered growth. In my view, the recent noninfallible statement about the alleged infallibility of the tradition about women's ordination calls for just this sort of response.”

‘Disputed questions: authority, priesthood, women’ in Commonweal 123 (Jan. 26,1996) pp. 8-10.

Sister Rose Hoover R.C., staff member of the Cenacle in Metairie, Louisiana, writes as follows:

“For centuries, the male priesthood seemed to provide an effective means for the transmittal of the message of Christ, and in this sense could be seen as tradition in service of the Tradition . But what about today? What if the exclusion of women from the priesthood is jeopardizing the handing on of the tradition ? I am not just worried about the practical problem of a lack of vocations. What if the exclusionary tradition of the male priesthood is itself inimical to the gospel Tradition?” . . .
“We cannot let the views of the Fathers of the Church or of scholasticism or even of theologians early in this century determine how women are to be viewed in the church today. We are responsible for what we have learned about men and women from modern social and biological sciences, as well as from the Holy Spirit. Thomas Aquinas was wise in many things, but even he was a product of his times. In the Summa Theologiae we read that "since it is not possible in the female sex to signify eminence of degree, for a woman is in the state of subjection, it follows that she cannot receive the sacrament of Order." What is more, woman's subjection is not due to social conditions. Addressing the question of whether slavery is an impediment to ordination, Thomas wrote in the Summa that "sacramental signs signify by reason of their natural likeness. Now a woman is a subject by her nature, whereas a slave is not." Aquinas also believed that "in women there is not sufficient strength of mind to resist concupiscence." One would certainly have doubts about ordaining a creature of such limited endowment. We cannot judge Thomas Aquinas. But we know better.”
“ We know that women are not by nature inferior to men (see John Paul II's 1988 apostolic letter, Mulieris Dignitatem). We know that a woman is no more in a state of subjection by her nature than is a man. Aquinas's objections can no longer be cited as reasons to refuse ordination to women. Nor can any other reasons that imply inferiority. To do so would stand in contradiction to what we now understand of the good news of Christ.”

From ‘Consider Tradition: the Case for Women's Ordination’ in Commonweal 126 (January 26, 1999) pgs 17-20. For the full article, click here.

Conclusion

In the past, judgments and decisions have, at times, been based on ignorance or defective information. Tradition can only be valid if it has rid itself of such human accretions by becoming critical. The Holy Spirit helps the community of believers to re-examine their convictions in the light of the new data that become available in the course of time, so that the contents of Tradition can be re-assessed and given relevance in changed circumstances.


John Wijngaards


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