Fall 2012 Cushwa Center Activities

Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism By Whose Authority? U.S. Women Religious and the Vatican: Conflict and Historical Context If you consumed any media in 2012— powerful men who are tone-deaf to the frame that either renders sisters victims or, and not just Catholic media—it’s likely you sisters’ mission in the modern world. This conversely, implies that, like disobedient encountered American Catholic sisters in more storyline, however, is incomplete. children, “they had it coming”—a more than a few headlines. The media and public accurate understanding of the censure would responded loudly and with interest to recent There’s a second—less common but reflect that both parties in the conflict conflicts between the Leadership Conference similarly incomplete—storyline. In this claim to possess legitimate authority, both of Women Religious (LCWR) and the telling, the emphasis is on the total authority operate from a relatively coherent set of Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the of the Roman hierarchy and the failure of the principles and assumptions, and both have Faith (CDF). The storyline of “out-of-touch sisters to listen to and obey that authority. acted with strategic precision in defense of Vatican authorities dropping the hammer on Here, the recent Apostolic Visitation of their perceived interests. innocent sisters” inspired a wide range of American sisters by the Vatican’s Congregation articles, opinion pieces, blog posts, and analysis. for Institutes of Consecrated Life and The problem with interpretations that Societies of Apostolic Life and the negative portray sisters as powerless in the face of The most common Vatican-versus-nuns Doctrinal Assessment of the LCWR from Vatican authority is not just that these storyline goes something like this: American the CDF both are actions justly taken. narratives present a profound misreading of women religious are innocent victims at the the history of American women religious and mercy of a corrupt, misogynist patriarchy While the media, the American public, the Second Vatican Council, or that they in Rome. The sisters, this storyline suggests, and even many Catholics understand the oversimplify the institutional and juridical have little recourse to refute the unjust Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s structure of the Catholic Church and accusations lodged against them or resist censure of LCWR as the Vatican “dropping misunderstand the position of women the unjust punishment meted-out by the hammer” on sisters—an interpretive religious in that structure (though all these are true). The more critical error of narratives that emphasize sisters’ powerlessness in the face of hierarchical power is that they I N S I D E undervalue the considerable theological, canonical, and procedural resources that Cushwa Center Activities . 2 sisters possess, and underestimate sisters’ ability to utilize those resources to shape and Announcements . .10 defend their institutions. American sisters Publications . 12 may face powerful interlocutors in the Upcoming Events . .21 see U S. Women Religious, page 6 Volume 39 Number 2 Fall 2012 Cushwa Center Activities Seminar in at Westminster John Knox Press, read a around whether America was founded on transcript of her comments. Christian principles, she suggested, Was American Religion America Founded as a Christian Nation? Winner began by praising Fea for his would serve as an excellent guide for people On April 14, the Seminar in American contribution to our understanding of the on both sides of the issue. Religion discussed John Fea’s Was America past. As a scholar of colonial Anglicanism, Founded as a Christian Nation? A Historical she appreciated that Fea treated Anglicans Mark Noll was also impressed by Fea’s Introduction (Westminster John Knox, 2011). “on the terms of liturgical piety, and not work. Noting the author’s talent for “bringing Fea is associate professor of history and chair the terms of evangelical profession and together disparate concerns into coherent of the department at Messiah College. He also performance.” And as a historian of colonial individual texts,” Noll said, “Fea does an probes “the intersection of American history, religion more broadly, she was impressed unusually good job addressing several of the Christianity, politics, and the academic life” by his “nuanced discussion” of the tension sub-questions that lurk beneath the central through his column at patheos.com. Among between Christian and enlightenment question posed by his title.” Noll then assessed his numerous publications for both academic currents in the Declaration of Independence; Fea’s account in light of four of these questions. and popular audiences, Fea has authored The Way of Improvement Leads Home: Philip Vickers First, what did Fithian and the Rural Enlightenment of or did not happen Early America (University of Pennsylvania, during the founding 2008), and Confessing History: Explorations years? In speaking to of Christian Faith and the Historian’s Vocation this question, Noll (Notre Dame, 2010), which he co-edited said, Fea “succeeds with Jay Green and Eric Miller. The Way of admirably.” Noll’s Improvement Leads Home won two awards. only “semi-serious It was named Non-Fiction Book of the issue” was that Fea Year by the New Jersey Studies Academic sometimes adduces Alliance, and an Honor Book by the New primary-source Jersey Council for the Humanities. quotations from secondary sources, In Was America Founded as a Christian John Fea “which in the all- Nation?, Fea approaches the title’s question too-serious debates from a historical perspective, helping readers about the character of American Christian his “elegant consideration” of Jefferson’s see past the emotional rhetoric on both origins is probably a tactical mistake.” sides of the issue. Through illuminating case failure to live up to Jesus’ moral teachings; studies of the Founding Fathers, he shows and his “simple, also elegant observation” that Second, what is the meaning of what that three (John Jay, John Witherspoon, Jefferson, as a slaveowner, had a convenient happened? Here, Noll lauded Fea’s decision to and Samuel Adams) were devout, while way of setting aside his belief that God was not offer a definitive answer to the the other four (George Washington, John angry about the institution of slavery. The question his title poses. Any effort to do Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin only drawback to Fea’s story, Winner thought, so, Noll said, “is fraught with extraordinary Franklin) were more ambivalent toward was its lack of women. ethical, historical, religious, and even theological difficulty.” orthodoxy. The book was a finalist for For all its historical acumen, Winner the 2012 George Washington Book Prize argued, the true import of the book lies in its Third, what difference should in American History. Lauren Winner, capacity to engage general readers. Winner historical conclusions about America’s associate professor of history at Duke related how, in her own state of North founding make in terms of present Divinity School, and Mark Noll, professor Carolina at the time of the seminar, people legislative and judicial decisions? After of history at Notre Dame, responded to were debating a constitutional amendment to mentioning that Fea also refrains from the book. As Winner could not attend due define marriage as between one man and one addressing this question, Noll communicated to illness, Jana Riess, acquisitions editor woman. Since much of the debate revolved 2 his own view on the matter, which is on how female abolitionists, suffragists, and (Mark Noll). The discussion closed with that “bad history breeds bad history. others often “promoted their ideas out of a a consideration of the difficulties in Statesmen who can read American history Christian understanding of the nation.” In writing for a public audience, particularly to support the notion of a ‘new American addressing Noll’s comments, Fea noted that on so incendiary topic as the faith of Israel,’” he said, “are statesmen who deserve the title of his book poses “a bad historical the Founding Fathers. In a reflection of judges who assert that the founders erected question,” which (he argues in the book) is generational differences among modern ‘a wall of separation’ between religion and ultimately impossible to answer. Indeed, Fea evangelicals, Fea related how students at society.” Indeed, Noll continued, even if wondered if presenting this argument to Messiah are open to the book while their these politicians were to read Fea and form both conservative and liberal non-historians parents in many cases are not. an accurate understanding of American amounts to “tilting at windmills.” Will history, they would have difficulties the book make a difference in how people applying that understanding to a nation think about America, he asked, particularly that is now very different than it was since most come to his book talks with American Catholic during the eighteenth century. their minds already made up on the issue? Studies Seminar Fourth, why have debates over the A lively and wide-ranging discussion On February 21, participants in the Christian character of America’s founding ensued, which centered on the historical American Catholic Studies Seminar discussed been so important, and why do Americans origins and nature of the question, “Was Monica L. Mercado’s paper, “‘What a continue to see them as important today? America founded as a Christian nation?” Blessing It Is to be Fond of Reading Good In responding to this query, Noll posited a George Marsden pointed out that the people Books’: Catholic Women and the Reading historical tendency among Americans to who thus frame the question are often Circle Movement in Turn-of-the-Century embrace “ideological liberalism and basic biblicists, and that their attempts to return America.” Mercado is a Ph.D. candidate at Protestantism” at the same time. This to a primitive text are shaping the question the University of Chicago, a 2011–2012 “amalgamation” has meant that some posed by Fea’s title.

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