Durham E-Theses The Relevance of Democratic Thought and Practice to Roman Catholic Ecclesiology: An Historical, Theological, and Philosophical Case BADINI-CONFALONIERI, LUCA How to cite: BADINI-CONFALONIERI, LUCA (2011) The Relevance of Democratic Thought and Practice to Roman Catholic Ecclesiology: An Historical, Theological, and Philosophical Case, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/882/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 THE RELEVANCE OF DEMOCRATIC THOUGHT AND PRACTICE TO ROMAN CATHOLIC ECCLESIOLOGY : AN HISTORICAL , THEOLOGICAL , AND PHILOSOPHICAL CASE Luca Badini Confalonieri Thesis submitted for Ph.D. degree Durham University Department of Theology and Religion 2011 1 ABSTRACT This work draws from history, theology, and political philosophy to address the question of whether it is possible to democratize the polity of the RC Church. Its historical part investigates two hypotheses. First, neither exegesis nor history warrants the absolute necessity for church unity of the political function of ἐπισκοπή : and much less do they provide sufficient evidence for upholding that such a function should be fulfilled exclusively or even only primarily by means of a top-down monarchical hierarchy. Second, in structuring their own faith community, Christians throughout history have adopted and at times critically adapted insights as well as structures from political philosophy and the human polity respectively. Next, it examines the few central insights political philosophy has advanced concerning the socio-ethical conditions for the individual’s cooperation in the common action of a group to be responsible. Particular attention is paid to the principle of subsidiarity which, it is argued, entails a precise understanding of ‘delegation’, as something justified only and exclusively with regard to decisions which the individual or lower levels deem beyond their capacity to make responsibly, because they lack either the relevant knowledge or the resources to implement them. The important implication is that the division between what can be decided autonomously and what should be decided by delegation must be determined by the delegating individual or group and not by the higher levels: it is only the former, in effect, who has the responsibility to decide on the appropriateness and extent of the delegation. The result is an original understanding of democracy’s distinctiveness as consisting in its enabling and fostering the rationality and responsibility of the delegation of authority, rather than exclusively or even primarily in the number of people to whom ultimate decisional power has been freely, intelligently, and responsibly delegated. The final section assesses the compatibility of those political insights with the ecclesial constitution on the basis of the scriptural and traditional evidence concerning the structural aspect of the Christian community. It highlights the potential hospitality of Christian ecclesiology to key insights of democratic political philosophy. This work improves on the current state of ecclesiological research in two main ways. The first contribution is to supply a broad historical mapping of the symbiosis between the Christian and the human polities, as well as ecclesiology and political philosophy, complementary to the many already existing specific case-studies. At the 2 theoretical level the work blends a variety of arguments developed in different domains, and thus also bridges several bodies of literature. To analyse the distinctiveness of the Christian community, it builds on traditional theological insights concerning the distinctiveness of the Christian individual qua Christian, as well as on political insights into the formation and development of community and of the cooperation it serves. In so doing the work links two related but—currently at least, although not in the past— largely disconnected literatures: that on ecclesiology, and that on political philosophy. The genuine insights the latter has developed throughout history retain a lasting significance which Christians in general and ecclesiologists in particular ignore at their own risk. This work is an initial attempt to suggest concretely why the traditional symbiosis between those two disciplines is still valid and can bear fruit toward the solution of their shared problems. 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work has been made largely possible thanks to a very generous doctoral Fellowship from Durham University: for this I am extremely grateful. My thanks must first go to my primary supervisor, Paul D. Murray. His acceptance of my proposed dissertation topic (despite its unusually wide scope), assistance in applying for the Durham University Doctoral Fellowship, and excellent guidance throughout the research period have vastly improved both this final output and my professional development. I remain much in debt with him. I am also very grateful to Robert Song, who has provided high quality supervision at the beginning of my research. Special thanks are due to Fr. Tony Currer and Fr. Terry Watson for their immeasurable help throughout the first three years of the doctorate. During the academic year 2008–09 I have spent eight months at the Lonergan Institute at Boston College for an in-depth study of Bernard Lonergan’s political thought. This was made possible thanks to a Lonergan fellowship, for which I am indebted to the late Fr. Joseph Flanagan, former Director of the Institute, who sadly died last May, and to Kerry Cronin, current Director of the Institute. I remain very much indebted to both of them. I would also like to thank the following people who, together with Joe Flanagan, taught me about Lonergan whilst I was staying at Boston College: Patrick Byrne, Chae Young Kim, and Fred Lawrence. Finally, my greatest thanks go to my parents. 4 DECLARATION This work has been submitted to the University of Durham in accordance with the regulations for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. It is my own work, and none of it has been previously submitted to the University of Durham or in any other university for a degree. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. All information derived from this thesis must be acknowledged appropriately. 5 Abbreviations DS Enchiridion Symbolorum Definitionum et Declarationum de Rebus Fidei et Morum , ed. Henricus Denzinger, rev. Adolfus Schönmetzer, 34 th ed. (Freiburg and Rome: Herder, 1967). CD Vatican II, ‘Christus Dominus . Decree Concerning the Pastoral Office of Bishops in the Church’ (28 th October 1965), available at http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/va t-ii_decree_19651028_christus-dominus_en.html . CDF Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. CIC Codex iuris canonici auctoritate Ioannis Pauli PP. II promulgatus, (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1983). CUP Cambridge University Press. CWL Collected Works of Bernard Lonergan. GS Vatican II, ‘Gaudium et spes . Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World’ (7 th December 1965), available at http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/va t-ii_cons_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html . LG Vatican II, ‘ Lumen gentium . Dogmatic Constitution on the Church’ (21 st November 1964), available at http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/va t-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html . LWF Lutheran World Federation. NT New Testament. OUP Oxford University Press. PCPCU Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity. PL J.-P.Migne(ed.), Patrologiæ Cursus Completus , Series Latina, 221 vols. (Paris,1844–64). RC Roman Catholic. SPCK Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. USCCB United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. 6 7 Table of Contents Abbreviations ...............................................................................................6 Table of Contents.........................................................................................8 1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................11 1.1 The Problem of Church Democratization..................................................... 11 1.2 Argument and Findings of this Work ........................................................... 19 2 ECCLESIOLOGY AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY : HISTORICAL SURVEY 31 2.1 Introduction................................................................................................... 31 2.2 The First Millennium.................................................................................... 31 2.3 From the Eleventh to the Fifteenth Century ................................................. 42 2.4 From the Reformation to Vatican II ............................................................. 48 2.5 The Relationship between Ecclesiology