Vatican City, Jul 29, 2019 / 04:00 pm (CNA).- The Pontifical John Paul II Institute issued a statement Monday, defending recent changes at the school. But some students and faculty members say that explanations do not address the full picture of issues at the theological institute.
“The academic project of the new Institute, approved by the Congregation for Catholic Education, is designed as a widening of reflection on the family, and not as a replacement of themes and topics. Such expansion, showing even more the centrality of the family in the church and in society, confirms and relaunches with new vigor the original and still fruitful intuition of St. John Paul II,” the July 29 press release said.
The statement aimed to respond to concerns raised by students, alumni, and faculty members of the Institute following the recent approval of its new statutes, or governing documents. The new statutes were called for in 2017, when Pope Francis reestablished the institute, broadening its focus from theology to include “family sciences.”
The Institute was initially founded in 1981 as a center for the study of Christian anthropology and theology, especially in light of the philosophical ideas expressed in Pope St. John Paul II’s “Love and Responsibility,” and the set of his teachings that eventually came to be called the “Theology of the Body.”
When Pope Francis legally refounded the Institute two years ago, he said he hoped its work would be “better known and appreciated in its fruitfulness and relevance.”
Adding a focus on the social sciences, he said, would be an expansion of “the field of interest, both in terms of the new dimensions of the pastoral task and the ecclesial mission, as well as in the development of human sciences and the anthropological culture in such a crucial field for the culture of life.”
The July 29 press release acknowledged that while a chair of fundamental moral theology at the school will no longer exist, changes made to the institute’s curriculum are intended to ensure that “moral doctrine of marriage and family,” and “theological ethics of life,” remain a part of the institute’s coursework.
Fundamental moral theology is already required in the “first cycle” of theological studies required for admission to the Institute’s graduate programs, the press release said.
But a professor at the Institute told CNA that scholarship in the field of fundamental moral theology has been a long-standing part of the school’s identity, and that other subjects also covered in the first cycle, such as Christian anthropology, remain a part of the Institute’s curriculum.
The professor, noting that Humanae vitae is not expressly mentioned in the Institute’s new statutes, said that the school’s chair of fundamental moral theology was established at the Institute’s inception, at the insistence of the school’s founder, Pope St. John Paul II.
“It is important to know that in the old statutes of 2011, based on a few words from Ratzinger about the Institute’s contribution to fundamental moral theology, explicit mention of fundamental moral theology was included,” the professor added.
Regarding concerns raised about faculty dismissals, the press release said that because of its partnership with the Pontifical Lateran University, the Institute has reduced its number of course offerings, and therefore not retained some professors, “according to a policy of consistency and economy.”
Some professors may be eligible for rehire, according to the future faculty needs of the Institute, the press release said.
Among those no longer included among the Institute’s permanent faculty is Monsignor Livio Melina, who held a chair in fundamental moral theology and served as the Institute’s long-time president. The press release said that Melina would no longer hold a permanent faculty position because the chair in moral theology “no longer exists.”
Also dismissed is Fr. Jose Noriega, DCJM, a professor of moral theology at the institute.
Noriega is the superior general of the Disciples of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, a Spanish religious community of 24 professed members. The press release said that Noriega could not continue on the faculty because of a provision in canon law which forbids holding two ecclesiastical positions which are “incompatible.”
Noreiga’s term as superior general of the Disciples of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary ends in January 2020.
Noriega has served as superior for 12 years. The priest told CNA that during his years as superior, including three years under the Institute’s current administration, the issue has not been raised to him by anyone at the Institute.
Noriega also said that there is no proof that his faculty position is “incompatible” with a leadership position in his religious community. He noted that during the time he has held both positions, he also served as editorial director of the Institute.
The press release took issue with reports that a new hiring process will be centralized in the office of the Institute’s Grand Chancellor, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, noting that “the appointment of new permanent teachers must be done through an open competition.”
Such a competition, according to the statutes, is judged by a commission constituted by the institute’s president, a faculty member, and an external member nominated by the Grand Chancellor or a vice-chancellor. Tenured faculty members can veto the commission’s decision by a two-thirds majority.
The faculty member told CNA that because the chancellor appoints the Institute’s president, the composition of faculty hiring commissions remains subject to his influence and control, noting that only one member of hiring commissions, the one appointed by the faculty, would have independence from the administration’s preferences and intentions.
“Analysis of the statutes shows that the concentration of power in the hands of the Grand Chancellor is true,” the professor told CNA.
The June 29 statement also disputed reports that 150 students had signed expressing concern about the direction of the school. The statement said that only a few representatives of the students had signed the letter, which “asked for explanations about the innovations taking place.”
“All students were promptly informed of the news and reassured, in accordance with art. 89 of the statutes, about the three-year validity of the old curriculum. Everyone will be given the opportunity to choose between old and new systems and to draft any new plans of study.”
The faculty member said that while the Institute has told students they may continue in their preferred curriculum, changes to course offerings will make that impossible for those students who wish to continue with the Institute’s traditional theological offerings.
One of the letter’s organizers told CNA that, to date, 246 students and alumni have added their signatures to the letter through a website set up for that purpose. Organizers say they intend to publish the letter in the coming days.
A student at the Institute, herself among the authors of the letter, told CNA that while students received communication from the Institute’s administrators before they sent their letter, they have received no response to their concerns.
“We students have expressed our reactions of pain and our request for clarification, addressing the academic authorities, to understand, to know what is going on; to express our support to the professors that have been fired overnight –and it is the time to say it, by an academic institution only because they were spiritual and cultural heirs of John Paul II, only because they believe in the teachings regarding marriage and family from Humanae vitae.
With the new order and the new statutes, we don’t have changes that have been shared and agreed upon, but replacements and expulsions. We are witnesses to a true coup d’etat; it is not an integration and alignment of new courses and professors to what already exists and works, but instead the end of an era, with the expulsion of serious and thoughtful persons,” she added.
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How much longer, Lord?
“ But yet the Son of man, when he cometh, shall he find, think you, faith on earth?”
Whether or not Christ finds Faith on Earth is up to us, not God . We must be Faithful and call out the counterfeit church with it’s counterfeit pope and it’s counterfeit magisterium that is attempting to subsist within The One Body Of Christ because they desire to lead others astray from The Deposit Of Faith, and create a god in their own image.
How can we “make disciples of all Nations”, while allowing certain disciples to deny Jesus The Christ?
Those whose”competence it is”, know what needs to be done to save The Papacy from the usurpers.
Pray they have the courage to call out the apostates!
Rather than be accused of gossip this comment will unmistakably be a constructive analysis. Rumor has it that Cdl McElroy is a Pope Francis favoriti. “He’s the cardinal who is most aligned with Pope Francis” (this proves the rumor is more fact than fictitious gossip).
Why should this matter? Doesn’t everyone have their favorites and their deplorables? I’d like for a minute to talk about the deplorables. Deplorables [made famous by Hillary] are a large group, moreso that favoriti. Take the US as a starter, we have Archbishops of much larger Dioceses than San Diego [where favoriti McElroy became cardinal], Denver, San Francisco. Archbishops Aquila and Cordileone must be deplorables. We also have deplorable Cardinals Raymond Burke, Gerhard Muller [Burke evicted from his Vatican apartment by Francis, Muller stripped of his staff when CDF prefect, immediately dismissed at 75, lately a thorn].
Getting back to favoriti McElroy Wash DC is likely the most prestigious US diocese, once the see of the unfortunate Theodore McCarrick. Without envisioning too far afield like the papacy that position is a type of chiefdom within American hierarchy. Since his appointment to San Diego he convened three Synods [of the Synodality kind] in that diocese, and Nov 12, 2024 Cardinal Robert McElroy has proposed that the US bishops set up a task force to implement the agenda of Synod on Synodality (CatholicVote org). Apparently McElroy will be Pope Francis’ Synodality point man and enforcer in the US.
This makes a lot of sense, that Cardinal McElroy is the point man for the pope. It’s also BAD news for American Catholics.
Thanks!! for the heads up.
Let’s pray for faithful priests to overcome the evil that is being done.
A shrewd political operator for the most political of U.S. cities. Even if this appointment seemed inevitable, I am sorry for faithful traditional Catholics in the Archdiocese of Washington who have already lost so much under Traditionis Custodes. I think of someone like Msgr. Charles Pope and pray that he, and they, do not lose more.
Although Cardinal McElroy is known for being outspoken on political and social issues, I believe the Archbishop of Washington, DC, has no jurisdiction over the House, Senate or White House. So his direct influence there is limited. As I understand, Catholic Senators and Representatives “belong” to their home diocese and relatively few elected officials claim residence in the District of Columbia or the Maryland counties included in tbe diocese. The White House operates largely by its own rules. That doesn’t mean that the Archbishop of Washington can’t have indirect influence over national political leaders, as was witnessed in the years when Cardinal McCarrick was in charge. But McElroy enters the DC scene at a major transitional point, and he won’t find the same degree of welcome that he would have found under a Biden administration.
The Washington Post will prop up his insipid pseudo-Christian neo-DEI bromides while even secular liberals tire of it.
True that.
Cardinal McElroy will get more media attention than he did in San Diego, that’s for sure. He will provide the sound bites that the DC based media establishment craves. He’ll also fit in well with the very liberal DC government.
Whether he will actually have more widespread influence to the point of swaying more people, includng Catholics, to his point of view .. well, that remains to be seen. Is the Archbishop of Washington actually looked at as a de facto national leader because of his location in the nation’s capitol? Doesn’t seem like it.
This appointment ain’t gonna play in Peoria.
The Faithful must not continue to ignore the fact that “ it is a sin to accommodate an occasion of sin”, and thus cooperate with those who profess to be Catholic, while they deny The Deposit Of Faith, which is evil.
We have Catholic politicians that constantly violate the laws of our faith and the pope tells them go ahead with receive communion. We need a new pope.
“This appointment ain’t gonna play in Peoria.”
Oh, I don’t know. Have you been in Peoria, IL lately? Really sad, IMO.
Some have claimed that many of Francis’ numerous appointments to the College of Cardinals are far more conservative than one would suspect given the inclinations of the pope who named them. We’ll see if that turns out to be true. A lot of them are so obscure that I don’t think anyone can confidently predict where they’ll come down one way or another.
There is no doubt about any of his American picks, however. They are absolutely the worst selections imaginable, save, perhaps certain famous certain celebrity Jesuits who otherwise seem very much favored by Francis. Francis has a special animus toward American conservative Catholics. This outrageous appointment is just the latest middle finger to a group of people he genuinely detests.
I think Pope Francis thinks all Americans are really rich. Of course, compared to many countries, we do have a lot of people who are earning a decent living and of course, many who are very wealthy. But we still have a lot of poor, disenfranchised, homeless, under-educated, addicted people, and we still have plenty of racism victims in the U.S.
We are not the “Beverly Hills” that I think some people think we are; e.g., “There are no cats in American and the street are made of cheese! (from the movie, An American Tail). Those immigrant mice found out that there are plenty of cats in America, and the streets are definitely NOT made of cheese!
But the opportunity to make a good life in the U.S. still exists, and we still retain many of our freedoms.
We need a new pope
Noting the trifecta election results centered in DC, McElroy’s role in the wake of woke is somehow to put his thumb in the dike, or wherever.
Normal Appointment – coming from where it does…
https://www.fromrome.info/2020/02/05/vatican-intelligence-officer-i-am-a-freemason-and-so-is-bergoglio/
“His Eminence” McElroy = McCarrick, an apostate hierarch of “the-science-of-sanctifying-sodomy-now.”
He, like his promoter-of-pederasty the Pontiff Francis, are witch doctors of “the-cult-to-decapitate-the-Body-of-Christ.”
“His Eminence” McElroy, along with all of his fellow hierarchs of the McCarrick cult, are of the death cult of the dry wood, fit for the prophecy Jesus spoke to the women of Jerusalem, when he was being marched to his crucifixion.
Every church he enters will empty out of Christian faithful.
Mark my word, no faithful Catholic will listen to a word that comes from the mouth of Herr McElroy.
Pope Francis had declared he would make a special exception for the Africans’ “cultural” attitude to homosexualism. Ambongo seems to be able to work along with consequential discrepancies but Tawadros withdrew from the theological dialogue.
So if Pope Francis has homosexualism as “not a sin” also as “cultural phenomenon”, going on in his brain, then it would make sense to appoint McElroy to administer over the towers of confusion among different localities and gravitational points?
A Polyhedron with angles and vectors like Beauty = Truth and Unity = Goodness?
You know, I can understand our Lord saying let the wheat and cockle grow together until the appropriate time -as pastoral. But the Holy Father makes no sense a lot of the time; eg., things were going well with Tawadros only then to turn for the worst.
I concede that some of the exhortations don’t clarify areas that have no apparent reason to them.
Also it seems to me that none of those called in the Nativity epiphanies right up to the time of Joseph’s departure, was told he was sad, or flat, or apathetic, or resigned or trapped.
‘ Even in the darkest nights, a star shines. It is the star of Jesus, who comes to care for our fragile humanity. Let us set out towards Him. Let us not give apathy and resignation the power to trap us in the sadness of a flat life. ‘
https://x.com/Pontifex/status/1876607215177748711
Elias. As a measure for assessment, how would Saint Francis Xavier have responded if Pope Paul III had a worship ceremony for Aztec god Nahuatl [God of the sun and sacrifice] in the Vatican gardens to be followed by an enshrinement of the sun god by a group of singing dancing cardinals in the sanctuary of St Peter’s Basilica? Why was the overall reaction by the Church to the Pachamama idolatry so mild, compared to what we can safely presume would have occurred during Francis Xavier’s day?
Satan had already gained a grip on the Church with the replacement of Aztec human sacrifice with the much greater, worldwide sacrifice of prenatal infants. Homosexuality has a strange, perhaps not so strange diabolic nexus with the murder of infants, now including the sexual exploitation of children. Find an active homosexual who is against abortion. Find one who actively opposes the sexual exploitation of minors. A rarity.
What has occurred with the placement by Francis of McElroy, one, if not the most well educated, intellectual spokesman for abortion and homosexuality, is the solidification of a strategy to totally corrupt the remaining significant Roman Catholic body [putatively the rationale for Francis’ disdain], the American Catholic Church.
The McElroy appointment is about the Mercy Alone heresy flowing from Amoralist Laetitia.
The main reason for McElroy to DC is about the need to hide the sordid history of McCarrick. Watch out Wuerl! Gregory is going to want some of the millions. 💰 🤐
Where do we go from here, Lord, where do we go from here? Only to you, Lord, ONLY to you. Having defeated evil on the cross we pray and work, work and pray aspiring to be counted with your Faithful Remnant in eager anticipation of your 2nd Coming when evil is abolished, your Good Creation restored to the beautiful you intended your good creation to be.
I am a life-long Catholic, 78 years old, who was taught that this is Christ’s church.
I find myself wondering if the Pope and his favorites really believe his. Do they ask
“What does Christ want for His Church?” or Do they have their own personal idea of what
they want the Church to be, with of course an important place for them?
As I recall, Christ rebuked Apostles who were maneuvering to sit at His right hand.
He made it clear that that was not what He was about. Have our higher clergy ever read this passage?
My take is that Cardinal McElroy’s placement in the nation’s capital is a timely reminder from Pope Francis to Catholics in the U.S.. Given the second Trump administration, the rising tide of White Christian (and Catholic!) Nationalism, and the mainly anti-abortion only stand of most of pro-life activists, McElroy’s pulpit will blast the full and complete scope of what pro-life advocacy is. Cardinal McElroy has consistently preached that a consistent pro-life ethic must support not only the protection of life in the womb but also the protection of life outside the womb. Expounding Catholic Social Teachings on the sanctity of life, McElroy asserts, that Catholics are to live out their pro-life commitments in ways that reflect compassion, justice, and solidarity. This vision goes beyond merely opposing abortion or euthanasia; it encompasses a comprehensive approach that sees the life and dignity of each person as sacred, from conception to natural death, and it calls Catholics to act on behalf of those who are often disregarded by society. This means standing up for policies that defend the lost, the least, and the last, such as advocating for humane immigration policies, racial justice, and ensuring that LGBTQIA+ individuals have the same rights and dignity as others in society. Being the U.S. bishop most aligned with Pope Francis in environmental justice advocacy, Cardinal McElroy has also shown that ecological work is deeply intertwined with the pro-life movement, as the health of our environment directly impacts the dignity and survival of all life on Earth. Filling in what is often lacking in most pro-life advocacy initiatives and echoing Pope Francis, Cardinal McElroy proclaims the Catholic Social Teaching that the pro-life stance is not confined to opposing abortion or protecting the unborn; it extends to defending life in all its forms, and that includes caring for the planet that sustains all life.
Catholics in the Archdiocese of Washington will pay attention to Cardinal McElroy’s appointment but “Catholics in the US” probably.won’t. Because he has no jurisdiction over them. The head of the Washington Archdiocese not acquire any national standing simply because he is seated in the national’s capitol. This limits his ability to be the kind of transformative figure you are imagining.
Given that Cardinal Gregory also supports most of the positions cited above, there may not be many dramatic changes. McElroy may be more outspoken and may grab more media attention; whether he will be more assertive in making changes to the archdiocese remains to be seen, but his changes will be to the Archdiocese of Washington, and will not apply to the country as a whole.
And there are a lot of liberals and progressives in the DC area saying saying more or less the same things that Cardinal McElroy is saying, so he is not going to stand out as much as you may imagine.
This extended screed of sycophancy sounds as if McElroy wrote it himself.
I don’t think people should be segregated or categorized by alphabet letters or by other inventions like “race” Deacon Dom. We’re just human beings and from a biblical perspective, we are all instructed to obey the same Commandments. We can each struggle dufferently to keep the Commandments and Christ’s teachings. Some teachings are going to be harder for us than others but that doesn’t create special exemptions based upon our attractions or temptations.
More nonsense from the “Deacon” named Dom.
Cardinal McElroy is a leftist social justice warrior, Deacon. He does have that it in common with Pope Francis. I’m surprised (not really) that you didn’t mention that, like Francis, the good Cardinal has covered for molestors and had, and maybe still has, a great relationship with Ted McCarrick.
Deacon, would being pro-life include not repeating the childishly silly lies pro-aborts and the morally indifferent have been saying about pro-lifers?
Exactly what line of reasoning goes into creating the belief that being a parent or doctor or nurse or teacher or legislator or administrator or homemaker or cook or waiter or builder or truck driver or construction worker or anyone from any other background within the pro-life movement, would preclude having the human compassion you infer that pro-lifers do not have for anyone after they are born? Incidentally, pro-lifers are not only racially white as you also infer. And we also care about thousands of things.
What exactly have you done? Do you provide material aid for abortion turnarounds like we do, or do you just prefer to stereotype us and denigrate us while simultaneously lecturing us about learning “compassion.”
Deacon: Does caring for life also include caring for the victim of a depraved priest raping his victim in satanic rituals or brushing her aside as McElroy has done? Or does “mercy” include caring for and having mercy for the victims of a depraved serial rapist of nuns or protecting the rapist as Francis has done?
Is Jesus God incarnate? Is the Son of God the head of the Church? Although there are disconcerting events and actions in the physical Church, we cannot always discern the workings of the Trinity in this life or in the Church. Trust in God, trust in Christ, trust in the Holy Spirit. Let your faith be authenticate, your life holy from grace, your conscience clear, and serve and love others. May what is True and Good prevail in church life.
McElroy, Cupich, and Tobin have to be “elevated” by Francis if they are going to have any influence. Their brother bishops sure don’t seem inclined to give them any influential roles in the USCCB. They are like the teacher’s pet despised by the rest of the class.
The “elevation” of McElroy to the DC archdiocese will not elevate him; it will only degrade DC.
Trump will get the better of any match with McElroy.
After reading the article I thought, “What a whitewashed piece of journalism this is.” Then when I saw it was written by Hannah Brockhaus of CNA, I understood. CNA does not want Catholics to know how people like McElroy, Francis, and others cover up abuse. CNA never reports on seminarians who are drugged and sodomized like Mark Brooks was in San Diego, or Rachel Mastrogiacom whose ritual satanic abuse McElroy attempted to cover up.
Msgr., I’ve been saying for awhile now that what comes to us from CNA is utter trash. It’s a propaganda agent for Bergolioistas.
Have you been granted a declaration of nullity by a Diocesan Tribunal for your “marriage” to Leila, Gene and have you resumed presenting yourself as a Catholic Priest or do you prefer the title “Dad”?
Woke Doctorates be dammed!
At a web site where a fawning interview of the Cardinal occurred, where he went on and on preaching his pseudo-gospel of “inclusiveness,” I posed these comments.
It seems an incapacity to make rational distinctions is now the necessary criteria for becoming a cardinal in this pontificate. Oh, I forgot. The ability to not be inclusive towards the damaged victims of the savage sinful sexual crimes, ritual satanic abuse in one case, by priests that you, Cardinal covered up, that’s right, what you have systematically ignored. Why doesn’t “inclusiveness” seem to “include” the victims of grave sins??