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The Silos of American Catholicism and Their Connections to Cultural and National Identities: an Examination of Contemporary Ca THE SILOS OF AMERICAN CATHOLICISM AND THEIR CONNECTIONS TO CULTURAL AND NATIONAL IDENTITIES: AN EXAMINATION OF CONTEMPORARY CATHOLICISM WITH FR. JAMES MARTIN, SJ AND R.R. RENO Thesis Submitted to The College of Arts and Sciences of the UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree of Master of Arts in Theological Studies By Tiffany Alice Hunsinger, BA Dayton, Ohio August 2020 THE SILOS OF AMERICAN CATHOLICISM AND THEIR CONNECTIONS TO CULTURAL AND NATIONAL IDENTITIES: AN EXAMINATION OF CONTEMPORARY CATHOLICISM WITH FR. JAMES MARTIN, SJ AND R.R. RENO Name: Hunsinger, Tiffany Alice APPROVED BY: _________________________________________ William L. Portier, PhD. Committee Chair _________________________________________ Dr. Timothy Gabrielli, Ph.D. Faculty Reader _________________________________________ Sister Angela Ann Zukowski, Ph.D. Faculty Reader _________________________________________ Daniel S. Thompson, Ph.D. Chairperson ii © Copyright by Tiffany Alice Hunsinger All rights reserved 2020 iii ABSTRACT THE SILOS OF AMERICAN CATHOLICISM AND THEIR CONNECTIONS TO CULTURAL AND NATIONAL IDENTITIES: AN EXAMINATION OF CONTEMPORARY CATHOLICISM WITH FR. JAMES MARTIN, SJ AND R.R. RENO Name: Hunsinger, Tiffany Alice University of Dayton Advisor: Dr. William L. Portier The objective of this thesis is to outline the path of the American Church’s current polarization. Those represented by Father James Martin are not as engaged in the Traditional aspects of the Church, which loses credibility among those on the other “side.” On the other hand, those represented by R.R. Reno have embraced Tradition, but have the risk of falling into extremism that ignores Catholic Social Teaching as it is most widely interpreted. At the same time these sides are disputing, young adults are leaving the Church altogether at a drastic rate, which might make all this scholarship for naught. Through examining these sides from the viewpoint of migration into the United States, a common thread emerges that will bring the two sides together rather than further cleave them apart. However, as the American political stage shows in our current times, there appears to be no simple solution. iv Dedicated to my late Great-Grandmother Alice Whitehead v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I give special thanks to my advisor, Dr. William Portier, who has followed this project since my first semester in the 500C Historical Theology course. He has helped and continues to inspire my belief in the importance of grounding Theology in History. Furthermore, I am especially gratefully to the time, energy, and support he dedicated throughout this process. I know he exercised much patience in the process and has probably earned some time off in Purgatory. I also wish to thank my readers, Dr. Timothy Gabrielli and Sister Angela Ann Zukowski, both of whom provided a quick turnaround for my defense, which was further exacerbated by the Coronavirus. Both also offered their expertise as I shaped this project. As well as this, there are countless other scholars, professors, ministers, and friends that have inspired me immensely as I have embarked on this academic journey, especially those that honored me with the privilege of their time as I processed various ideas with them. Although the list is exhaustive, I would especially like to mention Dr. Sandra Yocum, Dr. Dennis Doyle, Dr. William Johnston, Fr. Silviu Bunta, Amy Doorley, Dr. Vincent Miller, Fr. Ted Cassidy, Fr. Jim Schimelfpening, Br. Tom Pieper, the Marianist community, and so many others of whom I beg their forgiveness because of their exclusion from this list. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT.......................................................................................................................iv DEDICATION....................................................................................................................v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS..................................................................................................vi INTRODUCTION TO THE SILOS OF AMERICAN CATHOLIC POLARIZATION …....1 CHAPTER I: R.R. RENO.................................................................................................23 CHAPTER II: FATHER JAMES MARTIN, SJ...............................................................41 CHAPTER III: MIGRATION..........................................................................................61 CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................99 REFERENCES................................................................................................................117 vii INTRODUCTION TO SILOS OF AMERICAN CATHOLIC POLARIZATION I took the Fall Semester of my senior year of undergraduate studies off. At the time, I had become stressed and could not see the point in finishing a degree at Purdue University. I had spent the two years prior becoming, my personal description, a “Catholic pro.” Dominican friars ran the Catholic parish literally in the middle of Purdue’s campus. Although Purdue is a public university, the friars still had a lot of sway, particularly the pastor. (In fact, he was often invited to graduation ceremonies to pray; it also provided him the opportunity to hug every student he knew as he/she received the diploma). As such, my whole life soon became wrapped up into proving the strength of my devotion. Because these Dominicans and their mostly male staff were extremely tradition-focused, this proved rather simple. In my case, as a woman, I merely needed to pray a Rosary every day, begin wearing a chapel veil, donate all of my pants, and work “part-time” with youth ministry and religious education. I had to also realize that my goal in life must be to become a stay-at-home mother or a nun (one that wears a habit). On top of that, the woman must always protect man’s virtue and embody pure, demure Mary, both mother and virgin, as best she could. After two years of this, I finally became disenchanted with this form of Catholicism. I found it impossible, or perhaps I just was not willing, to continue to subscribe to this faith system. Particularly as someone not raised in this tradition, I had finally had enough. Of course, when one is so entrenched in such a strong belief system, it is quite hard to escape. Perhaps because I had been blessed to be raised an eclectic pluralist and had experienced the direct damage that can come from this particular theology, I could literally and figuratively run away. As such, I moved to Chicago to live with brother and his family. I became a barista and swore off Catholicism, except I went to Confession every week. I walked to St. Peter’s in the Loop after my therapy appointments, just a couple of blocks away. My therapist, a Buddhist-type, taught me a lot about Jungian methods, a fun batch of therapeutic technique, but the Catholic guilt still existed. A priest once invited me to a young adult group at the parish, as a sort of weird penance. He promised not all Catholics were like the Dominicans. I did not believe him. Still, I made my way through the popular Chicago churches, not attending Mass, but just exploring. I went to St. John Cantius, known for Extraordinary Forms of Masses and the corresponding Latin Rosaries, for a Theology on Tap and learned more about exorcisms and mortal sin. I learned about social justice at Old St. Patrick’s, whose community centered itself on Hope, Kinship, and Hospitality. I marveled at Holy Name Cathedral and listened to a parishioner boast that St. John Paul II had once visited. I went to a few Polish parishes to witness the Polish language in a community setting. I explored the vastness of Catholicism during this time in Chicago, loving and despising all of it. At the same time, my questions about free will had begun to rise, so I went through some Aquinas and the philosophers all the Dominicans had loved. I had not yet found my answer and was growing bored of looking in the same places. Plus, Catholicism, religion in general, I had learned, functioned as an entity indescribable. Throughout my life, I had grown close to a variety of people professing, or not professing, various religious creeds. Yet, Catholicism, I had discovered, had a whole 2 different ruleset. For whatever reason, amidst horrible acts, people stayed. At the same time, Catholics condemned other Catholics. Some were “cafeteria” Catholics, some were “rad-trad” Catholics. James Martin was a heretic whose books should be burned, or he was a beacon with nice meditations and a popular book called My Life with the Saints. Pope Francis could be the antichrist, or he was the best thing to happen to the Catholic Church since the good intentions of Vatican II. Through this experience, and this research, I have discovered that the Church is yet again in a period of divisiveness. However, in the current era, it is more closely described as polarization, especially as it is located in the American Catholic experience. As such, this paper is meant to describe two sides of this polarization in the American Catholic Church, and outline its uniqueness to this time and place of the Church’s life. Polarization Divisions have existed in the Church since her conception. For example, any person can study the events of the Council of Nicaea and see a consensus was nowhere close to happening between all Christians there. In fact, Catholics have rarely all agreed on doctrine and Tradition. There has always been “in-fighting.” However, in this particular time,
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