August 7, 2012      Martin Mallon   (Ireland)       Martin's previous articles

                          CONGAR  AND  THE  CURIA

The question that is troubling many in the Catholic Church is why have the teachings of the Second Vatican Council not been implemented by our Church?  

Any valid answer would have to explain why most appear to want to see the teachings implemented while others, the minority, do not, yet many teachings and the spirit of Vatican II are not supported by the institutional church.  

One interesting answer to this question was given by Cardinal John Henry Newman years before the Council was held and is quoted in the book My Journal of the Council by Yves Congar. Paul Philibert OP has an essay in the 2012 edition on Congar’s Ecclesiastical Subtext: Intransigent Conservatism.  

Philibert writes that Congar “...never succeeded in changing the hearts of the curial leaders – Ottaviani, Ruffini, Browne, and so many others. They, who had their day before the Council, would also have too strong an influence upon the implementation of the Council’s work afterwards.
For that reason, it is important to grasp the subtext of the many confrontations described by Congar in this journal.” page lvi  

The hearts of the present day “curial leaders” need changing as well if Vatican II is to be implemented. The curia remains the same in mentality.  

“...Congar talks about how Newman describes the forces of the right that caused him so much pain and frustration. In Newman’s words, ‘They set up a church within a church... turning their own point of view into dogmas. I defend myself not against their positions, but against what I have to call their schismatic spirit.’ page lvi  

Newman found himself having to defend himself against the “schismatic spirit” of the right. The similarities with today’s church are striking and the curia and hierarchy are presenting a “schismatic spirit”; this can be seen in the non-implementation of Vatican II teachings on collegiality and subsidiarity  together with the reform of the reform. It is notable that the fiftieth anniversary of Vatican II is being shadowed, if not eclipsed, by the twentieth anniversary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a document of much lower authority, in the Institutional Chuch.  

Philibert makes a relevant point by describing that “Congar goes on to say that the tendency in Catholicism to exaggerate the role of authority in solving questions goes along with an equally strong inclination to judge and condemn any openness, any real spirit of research, or any questioning of received ideas. It also tends to judge someone’s orthodoxy by whether or not they find others heterdox. In so doing, these people put their judgment above that of the church and they arrogate to themselves the right to judge what is Catholic in terms of their own narrowness, if not their own ignorance. What integrisme really lacks is a genuine confidence in the truth, a genuine love of the truth, which can respect and honour the truth even in its developing expressions.” page lvi  

This could be describing the curia today with the censoring and silencing of priests in Ireland as an example of this attitude.  

On page xlix Philbert explains what Congar means by  the “mentality of the right” and “integrisme” where “... he insists he is talking about a ‘mentality’, by which he means a worldview or perspective that governs or controls the way someone sees things. He explains that integristes are emotionally attached to thte idea of a Christendom invested with a glorious past of kings annd bishops working hand-in-hand with the pope – all of them enjoying the authority to impose their  views.”  

“The affinity of traditional Catholicism for the political right is grounded in its dream of restoring a monarchical order or, at least, a fundamentally authoritarian one. Congar quotes an old saying that those on the right prefer order to justice, explaining that order appeals to them because it is assured of its rectitude from on high through precepts and authority. Those on the right  place little trust in human instincts and have little interest in new ideas. Their attitude is typically a refusal or a condemnation of anything new and a condescension before any expression of grassroots hopes or desires. They instinctively see things from the perspective of authority, from a hierarchical point of view. This goes along, of course, with their inexpressibly vulgar tendency to spy on others and turn them in to the ecclesiastical authorities for judgment and punishment.” page l  

As Philbert writes this tendency for spying on others is, again as can be seen in the example of the Irish priests, is vulgar. It is worse than vulgar and is not Christian.  

With regards to religious matters Congar gives examples of this type of mentality; integrisme is generally pessimistic, firm, authoritarian, hierarchical, against any ideas of evolution or development, makes it difficult for others to access Catholicism and stresses church law.  

Philibert’s final paragraph has a message for us all:  

 “To the degree that the tendency to restorationism in today’s church replicates the spirit of the European integrisme of the nineteenth century or of the curial integrisme of the pre-Vatican II world, Congar’s journal offers useful lessons. It also, thank God, shows us how profound theological training, immense hard work, and a trust in divine providence can overcome the divisive spirit of the integrisme of any age.” Page lvi  

The message is very clear; the “schismatic spirit” of the right in the Church, the curia etc, held and wielded power in the Church until Vatican II. This is a dark message as it suggests little will change until there is another Ecumenical Council. However, we live in different times with communication among the the People of God so much faster that, hopefully, the Holy Spirit will ensure that the next Ecumenical Council will be called soon and will include and listen to all strands of the People of God; this would ensure the end of the curia as we know it.  

Until such times it is the duty of all Catholics opposed to “restorationism”, returning the Church to the pre-Vatican II position, to follow their conscience and do what they can to bring the Church closer to the Gospel message of Jesus. The Assocoations of Catholic Priests and other lay groups give hope for the future and with the Holy Spirit working through such groups we may be seeing a new mode of change within the Catholic Church; a form of democracy resembling the early Church as seen in the Acts of the Apostles.