Religion: Magna Carta for Theology

Almost every other day, it seems, Pope Paul issues a new admonition against Roman Catholic priests, bishops and laymen whom he considers to be flirting with heresy for their challenge to the magisterium of Rome. Last week, 38 leading theologians answered the Pope by releasing a statement that demanded, in effect, a Magna Carta of intellectual freedom in the church.

The statement, which will be sent to Pope Paul for his consideration, was signed by some of the most respected theological minds of Roman Catholicism. They included Switzerland's Hans Kung, the Dominicans' Edward Schillebeeckx of Holland and Yves Congar of France, German Jesuit Karl Rahner and American Jesuit Biblical Scholar John McKenzie. "In genuine, complete and unambiguous loyalty to the church," began the statement, which was drafted by Kung and German Jesuit Johannes Neumann, "the undersigned theologians feel compelled to point out publicly that the freedom of theologians in the service of the church, regained by the Second Vatican Council, must not again be jeopardized." The signers added that doctrinal errors today cannot be rooted out by force but only by debate and dialogue. "Any form of Inquisition, however subtle, not only harms the development of sound theology; it also causes irreparable damage to the credibility of the church."

The theologians proposed seven specific reforms. The most notable was a demand that the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, now dominated by conservatives, be revamped to reflect a wider spectrum of theological opinion. The statement also declared that no theologian accused of error should be heard in secret, and that if a hearing is necessary, the case should be decided by a board of experts, half of them chosen by the defendant himself.