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HE renewal of RomanCatholicismin the modernworld is an astonishing reality that frustrates Catholics who have seldom attempted
to question their faith, raises the suspicions of conservative-minded
Catholics and non-Catholics who are always uneasy when changes threaten
well-engrained attitudes and positions, and compels the admiration of nonCatholics who wish to encourage Catholics to draw upon their rich heritage
and make it relevant to the present day. In point of fact, the renewal of
Catholicism is understandableonly in relation to several current considerations among Catholics: fundamental disagreement, lengthy and critical
dialogue, and careful argumentation. Various differences were dramatized
during the sessions of Vatican Council II, and many new developments in
Catholic thought have appeared.
The notion of freedom is basic to the renewal of Catholicism.' A new
emphasis is being placed on the radical nature of man's freedom in relation
to God's freeing grace, on the "risk" of evolutionary development, on the
creativity of the human act, and on the layman's assumption of responsibility
in the temporal order. Modern Catholicism has been awakened from a deep
slumberby the rediscovery of the Bible, the liturgical revival, new approaches
to moral theology, and revisions in theological methodology.2
The right to religious liberty is one important dimension involved in
Catholicism's new emphasis on freedom.3 Western Catholic scholars are
addressingthemselves to the problem of religious freedom in an unprecedented
THOMAS T. LOVE (B.A., University of Oklahoma; B.D., Southern Methodist
University; M.A., Ph.D., Princeton University) is Associate Professor of Theology and
Christian Ethics at Cornell College. He is the author of John CourtneyMurray: Contemporary
Church-StateTheory (Doubleday). His most recent article in JBR was "Theravada Buddhism:
Ethical Theory and Practice" (October, 1965). This is Mr. Love's initial contribution
as the Journal's Research Editor in Religion and Ethics.
1
See essays by Catholics from Germany, Belgium, France and the United States in
Freedom and Man, ed. John Courtney Murray, New York: P. J. Kenedy & Sons, 1965.
2 See Donald J. Wolf and James V. Schall, eds., Current Trends in
Theology, Garden
City: Doubleday & Company, 1965; Hans Kiing, Freedom Today, trans. Cecily Hastings,
New York: Sheed and Ward, 1966.
8 See John Courtney Murray, ed., Religious Liberty: An End and a Beginning, New
York: The Macmillan Company, 1966.
58
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59
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60
THOMAS T. LOVE
in traditional terms -
morality,
1964; Jacques Leclercq, La Liberti d'opinion et les catholiques, Paris: Les Editions du
Cerf, 1963.
1 See
Guy de Broglie, Le Droit naturel la liberte'religieuse, Paris: Beauchesne, 1964;
also Problimes chritienssur la liberte religieuse, Paris: Beauchesne, 1965,
especially pp. 129-38.
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61
draftsof DignitatisHumanae
"followeda line of argument
commonamong
We
this
above.
have
illustrated
French-speaking
approach
theologians."s
It has been the dominant view in progressive Catholic thought, especially
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62
THOMAS T. LOVE
See John Courtney Murray, The Problem of Religious Freedom, Westminster, Mary1'
land: The Newman Press, 1965.
12 Rafael Lopez Jordan, ed., Problematicadella libertd religiosa, Milano: Editrice Xncora,
1964; Libertad religiosa, una solucion para todos, Madrid: Ediciones Stvdivm, 1964.
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63
The views of the Italian theorists included in Jordan's volume are similar
to the view shared by Pavan and Murray. These authors emphasize the
person's concrete right to freedom from coercion in religious matters in
modern juridical societies. Furthermore, persons are not to be restrained
from actions rooted in their religious convictions, to the extent that such
actions are in accord with the public ordering of society. The civil government has no competence with regard to the truth or lack of truth of religion;
it has competence only in matters of justice and order among its citizens.
Particular conflicts that may arise - e. g., blood transfusions for a Jehovah's
Witness, polygamy for a Mormon, education for the Amish in the United
States - must be considered in terms of jurisprudence.These conflicts are
not resolved on grounds of abstract ideals or a priori judgments.1"
Essays by Spanish Catholics in Jordan's volume reflect awareness of new
international conditions that require a reconsideration of the problem of
religious liberty in Spain. Despite his obvious nationalistic feelings, Archbishop Cantero of Zaragoza believes that the Catholic Church in Spain must
become aware of the world situation and international affairs. The modern
world is pluralistic, and the problem of coexistence between Catholic and
non-Catholic communities within the international community is a practical
one. In the face of the "lamentable sociological phenomenon of religious
pluralism," which Catholics must recognize in the present day, it is necessary,
says Cantero, for Catholics to adopt a practical attitude of justice, love, and
liberty toward all persons for the sake of the "internationalcommon good."
To defend religious liberty is not to accept non-Catholic religions as true;
it is simply to recognize that every citizen has socio-juridical rights despite
his religious claims. Interestingly, Cantero declares that one must think not
only of the rights that truth should have over error but also of the rights of
persons to think and act as their consciences direct them. Nevertheless, the
Archbishop defends the privileged juridical position of Catholicism in Spain
as properly reflecting analogically the individual and social character of the
people. Cantero's essay illustrates one kind of Catholic position that will
continue to be put forth in Spain for many years.
A challenge to Cantero's position is found in an essay by Eduardo
Garcia de Enteria of the Law Faculty, Madrid. According to Garcia, John
XXIII's Pacem in terris with its section on man's private and public
right to religious liberty was in fact interpretedin such a way as to necessitate
no change in the Spanish tradition. Garcia believes, however, that the events
of Vatican II have caused Spanish Catholics to become aware of an actual
alteration in the attitude of the Catholic Church. Hence, he asserts, Spanish
Catholics can no longer justify any special position for the Church in Spain
on the grounds of the nation's so-called religious unity. The Catholic Church
cannot properly have two positions on religious liberty, one favoring and
13
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64
THOMAS T. LOVE
one not favoring the Spanish arrangement. In point of fact, Garcia argues,
the position on religious unity long esteemed by Spanish Catholics is passe.
Spain has many non-Catholics. Furthermore, the juridical status of the
Catholic Church in Spain has produced many "marginal" Catholics, i. e.,
Catholics who display the outward signs of Catholicism but are not faithful
believers. The old medieval notion of a religious state is incongruous with
the properly secular world and political societies of today. Garcia asserts
that those who deny the application of the new principles of religious liberty
to Spain not only reject an essential Christian teaching of our time, but also
manifest a lack of confidence in the apostolic mission of the Catholic Church.
Current works on religious liberty by Roman Catholics clearly exhibit
a genuine renewal in Catholic thought. This renewal is further encouraged
by Protestant studies that critically analyze aspects of modern Catholic
thought.14 One may hope that the renewal of thought will find authentic
expression in attitudes and practices.
14See, for example, G. C. Berkouwer, The Second Vatican Council and the New Catholicism, trans. Lewis B. Smedes, Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1965; Thomas T.
Love, John CourtneyMurray: ContemporaryChurch-StateTheory, Garden City: Doubleday &
Company, 1965.
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