Some thoughts about Church autonomy

I would like to thank many of the MOJ contributors who have recently raised some important questions involving Catholics in public life-- be they university professors, office holders, theologians, or citizens. I believe that Rick's recent posting on the Church autonomy conference he recently attended helps me frame the thougths that I would like to present in this contribution that address the issue of Church autonomy.

Rick properly asked a question about the Constitutional source of the Church-autonomy doctrine. I imagine most lawyers addressing this issue would immediately think of the religion doctrines that emerge from the First Amendment. But I think that it is not only the free exercise and anti-establishment doctrines that would apply; we must also consider the apppropriate application of church members and their churches relying on the protection of rights regarding assembly, petitioning the government, and free speech and expression. Of course, other elements of the Constitution that also apply would include the doctrines involving equal protection, due process of law, and the prohibitions against bills of attainder and ex-post facto laws.

Coming back to some of the First Amendment matters for a moment, I want to address the difficult issue of the "wall of separation." I think most of us would agree that the Constitution does not use this formulation; however, some Supreme Court jurisprudence has attached particular, and perhaps undue, significance to a phrase found in a political letter written by Thomas Jefferson who had no hand in the drafting of the Constitutional text to which his phrase has often been applied. But, let us assume for this discussion that the Jeffersonian formula provides a useful analogy to understanding the First Amendment religion provisions in some contexts. I will further assume that most of us would be inclined to agree that there could be situations in which exclusive deference to particular religious views in developing public policy might raise establishment questions. So if the Church is barred from certain actions under some circumstances that would constitute establishment, is the State barred from any intrusions into the proper activities of the Church? In other words, does the separation principle generate responsibilities for both? I believe the separation principle also obligates the State from improper incursions of the Church's matters just as that principle restrains the Church from interfering with certain matters that properly belong to the temporal authorities. If the abstention obligation also applies to the State, its improper intrusions into Church affairs interferes with the autonomy of the Church.

In this context, individuals (office holders and citizens who are also members of the Church) need to be mindful of the dichotomy presented. But, when the person claims loyalty to both institutions--the sacred and the temporal-- he or she must be clear on certain first principles. Just as the Catholic owes certain responsibilities to the State, the Catholic office holder and citizen cannot use the authority of the State to intrude into those matters that properly are those of the Church. An illustration of this last situation would be the unsuccessful attempt last summer and fall of some members of the Massachusetts General Court (the legislature) to impose certain financial obligations and reporting duties on the Church.

How we think about the respective autonomies of the State and Church brings me to something Patrick had raised in one of his recent postings. In one of his discussions, Patrick made a reference to the Woodstock Reports. I did not realize they are posted on-line, so I took advantage to read some of the Woodstock Center's recent monthly reports. I found a passage in the June 2006 report [Here] pertinent to this posting. In an entry entitled "Vagaries of Faith and Politics", the author, William Bole, made this interesting observation in the context of the "prophetic voice" of bishops in nonpartisan debates on the political issues of the day:

"Some would argue the bishops muted this nonpartisan message in the 2004 [sic], when a furious handful of them stole the election-year stage by denying communion to Catholic politicians (especially liberal Democrats) who take a prochoice stand on abortion."

I believe this author is correct when he offered his suggestion that a small number of bishops had publicly addressed the duties of Catholics vis-a-vis their respective roles in participating in the temporal affairs of the State in 2004. However, I question his use of particular language and the accuracy of his portrayal, and I lament the image which his chosen rhetoric portrays. I read most, and I believe all, of the statements that American bishops issued during the 2004 election year regarding the public responsibilities of Catholics in exercising their public duties as either officials or as citizens. I found their written and oral statements clear and helpful in clarifying Church teachings that applied to many of the pressing issues being debated during the election season. I did not find their rhetoric "furious." Firm: yes; furious: no. I also recall that "stealing" is a crime, but I do not think any bishop committed this crime by exercising his proper teaching authority and other duties of episcopal office. In short, no bishop and no group of bishops "stole" anything in the context of the election-year stage. To suggest otherwise reveals an attitude that may well lead to the State improperly intruding into the Church's exercise of its autonomy.

I return to Rick's posting. I think he is on to something important when he concludes that Church autonomy could well be the religious-freedom issue of the present day. It is surely an important one. As we continue to address it, we also need to be mindful that there are other sources of authority addressing the relationship between the Church and the State. Some of them are from international law and could very well apply to the ensuing discussions; but, we must never forget the Church's own body of law that also has a bearing on this important issues and those others related to it.    RJA sj