Bernard Law And The Catechism

According to the National Catholic Register,

The origins of the Catechism date back to 1985 and the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops convoked by John Paul II to mark the 20th anniversary of the close of the Second Vatican Council. The synod studied both the reception and implementation of the Council in the life of the Church, with a special focus on how to interpret its documents and teachings. This was a major step for the Church toward clarity about the Council after an era of some confusion and misinterpretation under the banner of a so-called “Conciliar Spirit.”

During the sessions of the Synod, a memorable intervention was made by Cardinal Bernard Law, then Archbishop of Boston, on the need for a universal catechism to serve as a reliable compendium of the Faith. “Some of the national catechisms are of great value,” he said, “but of their own, they are insufficient…Young people in Boston and Leningrad wear the same blue jeans; they sing and dance to the same music. There is a need for a single form of catechesis.”

Cardinal Law was giving voice to the same thoughts and concerns of many leaders in the Church at the time, including then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Well, great idea, huh? But I think we're beginning to see why it might not have been, with Pope Francis's revision of CCC 2267. One problem I see is that the 1992 Catechism is in fact a compendium of teachings that have varying levels of authority. To put them all in the same official place, footnotes notwithstanding, they all tend to be given the same authority.

Thus the Holy Father can order the CDF to tweak certain provisions, like CCC 2267, under whatever pretext -- times have changed, so the teachings of the Church must change:

If, in fact, the political and social situation of the past made the death penalty an acceptable means for the protection of the common good, today the increasing understanding that the dignity of a person is not lost even after committing the most serious crimes, the deepened understanding of the significance of penal sanctions applied by the State, and the development of more efficacious detention systems that guarantee the due protection of citizens have given rise to a new awareness that recognizes the inadmissibility of the death penalty and, therefore, calling for its abolition.

Observers have certainly begun to see that other parts of the Catechism, such as the "objectively disordered" wording in CCC 2358, are equally vulnerable and subject to the same revision if Francis or a like-minded successor feels he can get away with it.

But this brings me to an article, "The Many Faces of Cardinal Bernardin", that I found the other day. Bernardin, a notably gay-friendly liberal, was in fact a co-consecrator when Law was consecrated Bishop of Springfield-Cape Girardeau in 1973. At the time. he was Archbishop of Cincinnati, and he had presumably come to know Law well in his capacity as General Secretary of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops; he had previously been Auxiliary Bishop of Atlanta, GA, where he would also have been familiar with Law's ecumenical and civil rights work.

The article cites an agenda arising from the NCCB in 1976, "Call to Action"

the "21 month consultative process" decided that the Church wanted "ordination of women, married priests, remarried divorced Catholics spared excommunication, determination of conscience in birth control, a national arbitration board to control the bishops, [and] civil rights for gays."

Bernardin, then-chairman of the NCCB, is excoriated in the article for in effect "selling out" the conference.

Law, on the other hand, is characterized as a "conservative" in Catholic media, for instance in his obituary in the National Catholic Reporter:

He soon saw his role as a national and international leader. His connection to the Bush family proved invaluable and probably moderated his political views. He strongly supported the pro-life agenda of the pope and the American bishops, but not the consistent ethic of life espoused by Chicago Cardinal Joseph Bernardin.

. . . As a loyal supporter of John Paul II, Law also played an active role in the church as a cardinal. The Vatican used him in communicating with the Bush White House, especially prior to the pope’s historic visit to Cuba. In return, the Vatican often followed his recommendations for episcopal appointments in the U.S.

With this power and influence came a growing arrogance that demanded others, including bishops, defer to him. Rather than trying to persuade his fellow bishops, he did end runs around them by going to Rome to get his way. Bishops did not appreciate this and responded by voting him down for conference offices, including president.

But I'm not sure if Law was ever that much different from Bernardin; there certainly seems to be evidence that both were gay or gay-friendly. And what is Anglicanorum coetibus but a back door to ordaining married priests in the guise of supporting "conservative" Church policies? And what is a central Catechism, with brief paragraphs on individual parts of Church teaching, but a way to streamline revisions to that teaching? We can dismiss Humanae Vitae with a paragraph or two on modern social thought now, can't we?

I think Law and Bernardin are much closer than people may think.