Bishops to Increase Teaching Oversight

The Vatican has approved a plan by U.S. Catholic bishops for exercising greater oversight of theologians who teach in the nation’s 235 Catholic colleges and universities.

Under the plan, a Catholic theologian would be required to obtain a “mandatum” from the local bishop--a written acknowledgment that the theologian is in “full communion” with the church’s official doctrine.

Although a college could fire a theologian who fails to obtain a mandatum, the implementation plan--known as an application--does not flatly require that. Some theologians have said they would refuse to seek mandatums. The plan takes effect May 3 next year.

Rome’s acceptance of the plan marked an end to a decades-long fight. The argument pitted American ideals of academic freedom against the church’s desire to ensure that theologians teaching in Catholic institutions present the church’s positions in an orthodox manner.

The debate erupted after Pope John Paul II in 1990 issued an edict known as “Ex Corde Ecclesiae” (From the Heart of the Church), which directed the church to ensure that Catholic colleges and universities maintain their Catholic character.