St. Benedict's Explains Its Doctrine

St. Benedict's Center will begin a new round in its doctrinal controversy with the Roman Catholic Church at 8:15 p.m. tonight, Fakhri Maluf, one of three professors dismissed last Spring from the teaching staff of Boston College will deliver the first in a series of Tuesday evening lectures entitled "The Boston Heresy Case".

Father Leonard Feeney, S. J., Chaplain of the Center, will follow on Thursday nights lecturing on the topic, "The Dangers of Liberal Theology."

To fully understand the nature of this controversy, which has been raging in the newspapers off and on ever since last April, it is necessary to go back to 1940 when St. Benedict's Center was founded. Among the four people who started it as a religious and social meeting place for Catholics from Harvard, Radcliffe, and neighboring colleges were Christopher Huntington '32, then assistant dean of Freshmen, and Avery Dulles '40, son of Senator John Foster Dulles.

The Center existed in its present location at 23 Arrow Street directly across from Adams House's A entry as a recreation center until three years ago when Father Feeney turned it into a school.

Two years after the founding of St. Benedict's, "bull sessions" were established as a regular feature of the Center, in order that students could learn Catholic doctrine from each other.

It became increasingly evident to the students leading the discussions, however, that the sessions were getting nowhere because there were too many questions that could not be answered by anyone not a theological authority. At one of the meetings, in 1942, Father Feeney happened to be present. The students were so impressed with his answers that they asked him back frequently.

At the time, Father Feeney was professor of Sacred Eloquence at Weston Seminary, the local Jesuit theological school. He had formerly served as Literary Editor of "America", the national Catholic magazine. He was the author of "Fish on Friday" as well as many books of poetry. Before teaching on the Weston faculty he was a professor at the Graduate School of Boston College.

Father Feeney Becomes Chaplain

After making occasional visits to St. Benedict's for one year he was appointed full-time chaplain in 1943 by Archbishop Richard J. Cushing. He left Weston and has been at the Center ever since.

Under his administration the Center was turned into a school in June of 1947, with day time classes in the Holy Scripture, philosophy, Church History, Greek, and Latin. It was around this time that the Harvard and Radcliffe Catholics Clubs stopped using the Center as a meeting place. They claim that, as a school, the Center no longer fulfills its original function.

Three months after the Center became a school, the theological dispute began. Its place of origin was "From the Housetops," a quarterly magazine published by the Center since 1946, which contained contributions from Father Feeney's followers. The offending article was titled "Sentimental Theology," and it was written by Fakhri Maluf, then assistant professor of Theology at Boston College, for the September, 1947, issue.

The Overt Act

The article contained the statement, "The sharp weapons of Christ are being blunted, and the strong, virile doctrines of the Church are being put aside in a conspiracy of silence." Maluf went on to say,

"While talking to a Catholic Group recently, I was shocked to a realization of what is happening to the faith under the rising wave of liberalism. I happened to mention casually the Catholic dogma, 'There is no salvation outside the (Catholic) Church. Some acted as though I were uttering an innovation they had never heard before, and others had the doctrine so completely covered with reservations and vicious distinctions as to ruin its meaning and destroy the effect of its challenge. In a few minutes, the room was swarming with slogans of liberalism and sentimentalism. Taken in their totality and in the manner in which they were used and understood by the utterers these slogans constituted an outlook incompatible with the Catholic faith and with the traditions of the Church."

Some of the slogans mentioned were, "Salvation by Sincerity," "Membership in the Soul of the Church," "Don't Judge," "Don't Disturb the Good Faith of the Unbelievers," and "It is Not Charitable to Talk about Hell or to Suggest that Anybody May Go There."

Maluf cited the late Franz Werfel, author of "The Song of Bernadette," as an example of someone who had investigated the Church and had publicly admitted that its doctrines were the primary influence of his life, and who had never been baptized a Catholic. Maluf said Werfel must be in hell unless he was baptized on his death bed.

From the appearance of this article two years ago until the whole matter burst into the headlines on April 13, 1949, the controversy was kept a secret by Father Feeney and other Catholic officials. Recently, however, the facts of the intervening period have become known.

The Reply

In January 1948 Archbishop Cushing, in complete disagreement with "the no salvation outside the Church" theory set forth in "From the Housetops," is reported to have asked the editors of the quarterly to submit all manuscripts to the Chancery (the Archbishop's office from which he manages the affairs of the archdiocese) before publication. It is further reported that Father Feeney refused outright to submit to this censorship.

The Priest denies this. He told the CRIMSON that the Chancery actually "tried to hinder publication by asking him to submit anything he 'was worried about.'" This, he claims, he was glad to do. He said he always submitted his own works, but he felt he was as competent as any other priest to censor his student's articles.

Father Feeney accused Monsignor Augustus Hickey, of St. Paul's Church and Vicar General of the archdiocese, of ordering him in the name of the Archbishop to suspend publication of "From the Housetops." Maluf, according to Father Feeney, asked for a written order from the Archbishop to that effect along with the reason for its issuance. Monsignor Hickey reportedly left the Center never to return with the written order. The Chancery neither confirms or denies this story on the grounds that Archbishop Cushing has issued his last public statement on the matter last April.

Father Feeney got into trouble with his immediate superior, the Provincial or head of the Boston branch of the Society of Jesus in September of 1948. He was ordered by the Provincial in August to take up duties as a professor at Holy Cross College by September. He never went. This was reported in the September 8 issue of "The Pilot," the official archdiocesian magazine and the report was signed by Father John J. McEleny, S. J., Provincial.

Father Feeney does not deny this. He points out, however, that ordinarily Jesuits do not receive orders at a time of the year when they have already made all their winter commitments. It was for this reason that Father Feeney appealed the order. With his appeal, he said, he asked why he was ordered to Holy Cross so abruptly. The answer came back, according to the priest, that he was teaching "the wrong doctrine." He then asked what the wrong doctrine was so that he "might not repeat it in his teaching at Holy Cross." Neither this appeal nor Father Feeney's doctrinal question has ever been answered, Father Feeney reported. He went on to say that "the authorities were afraid to go on record with the statement that 'salvation outside of the Church is wrong doctrine.'"

Now that the "battle" was joined, with both branches of the Church concentrating on St. Benedict's Center and the doctrine it promulgated, "From the Housetops" came out in December of 1948 with an article by Raymond Karam presenting the complete doctrine of "no salvation," the reasons for believing it, and its historical background. In this article, entitled "Liberal Theology and Salvation," the author quoted several popes, two saints, and the Athanasian Creed.

This, the first clear and fully documented statement of the belief held by the members of St. Benedict's, was duly referred to the Jesuit Seminary at Weston. In due course the answer came in the form of a short and scholarly paper issued for the benefit of Boston College by Father Philip J. Donnelly, S. J., professor of Dogmatic Theology at Weston. "Some Observations on the Question of Salvation Outside the Church," which was reprinted in "From the Housetops," answered St. Benedict's Center to the satisfaction of the Church, though not to the satisfaction of the Center.

Claim and Counter Claim

In the Spring issue of "From the Housetops," Karam referred to Father Donnelly's answer by saying "a weaker defense of theological opinion could not be found," and went on with a point-by-point rebuttal. This issue of "From the Housetops" disappeared from the newsstands in Harvard Square on April 20. There has not been a subsequent issue printed.

Meanwhile, Father Feeney, who had publicly endorsed the magazine his Center published, had encountered further difficulties. Last January, one month after Karam's original article in "From the Housetops," Father Feeney was dispossessed of his "faculties" without any public notice. That meant that he no was no longer allowed to hear confession, say mass, or perform any of the functions of a Catholic priest.

On April 13, the controversy flared into the newspaper headlines. There professors from Boston College and one teacher from the Boston College High School had been fired by Father William J. Keleher, S. J., president of Boston College, for "preaching in and out of class matters of doctrine that should have been left in the hands of competent theologians; matters contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church; and ideas leading to intolerance and bigotry."

The night of the thirteenth these four men went to the newspapers and accused Boston College of teaching a heresy, namely: "that there might be salvation outside of the Catholic Church; that a man might be saved without admitting that the Roman is supreme among churches; and that he might be saved without submission to the Pope."

April 13 was the Wednesday preceding Easter. The authorities of the Church were unable to answer this charge of heresy until the following Monday, as Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday intervened. Before the Archbishop could reply Father Feeney publicly supported the fired men.

The Battle in the Newspapers

Archbishop Cushing made his first public announcement on April 18. It appeared in the form of a signed decree in the Boston papers, which said in part: "Because of grave offenses against the general laws of the Catholic Church. The Rev. Leonard Feeney, S. J., has lost the right to perform any priestly functions, including preaching and teaching of religion.

"Any Catholics who frequent St. Benedict's Center, or who in any way take part in or assist its activities forfeit the right to receive the sacraments of penance and Holy Eucharist."

Archbishop Cushing also was "thus obliged to reveal the unhappy fact that Father Feeney has been defying the orders of his legitimate superiors for more than seven months, and since January 1 has not possessed the faculties of his archdiocese."

That afternoon Father Feeney announced that he believed his present silencing was "totally invalid." There the matter rested except for a statement by the Archbishop that the headlines were no place to settle a question of doctrine.

Four days later the Boston papers reported that Vatican authorities said Archbishop Cushing was within his rights in "silencing" Father Feeney and described the disciplinary action as valid. These same authorities described the conflict as a purely local one to be decided by local authorities (the Archbishop). In case of an appeal the matter could be decided by a congregation of the Holy Sec. But the Archbishop had already spoken, and so Father Feeney appealed the decision.

The answer to the appeal came from Rome this month. It apparently went against Father Feeney. The answer, according to the Boston Herald, "used severe terms of censure against both the priest and his group." The Herald went on to say, "The Supreme Congregation of the Holy Office, which safeguards the faith and morals, had its decision approved by the Holy Father on July 28. The decision adjured the group to return to the Church at the peril of their souls."

The complete text of the decision was written in a letter signed by Archbishop Marchetti-Salvagianni and sent to Archbishop Cushing. Excerpts from it appeared in the "Pilot." According to the United Press Father Feeney denounced the excerpts as having been edited so as to detract from his side of the argument and build up the Archbishop's position. He was reported by the UP to have refused to go to the Chancery to read the full text of the letter and to have denied admittance to the priest the Archbishop sent to St. Benedict's to transmit the letter.

The Chaplain of St. Benedict's has denied ever reading the entire letter; he says he was offered only excerpts.

The Next Stop

Father Feeney is currently waiting for and "ex cathedra" pronouncement ("infallible pronouncement") from the Pope on the current dogma to be followed. He has announced that he has no intention of harming the Church, and will certainly recant. "In any event,' 'he says, "I will remain a true Catholic always."

That is the way the "Boston Heresy Case" stands now. Both sides accuse the other of heresy and back up the accusation with historical references proing their points to their respective satisfaction.

Father Feeney, believing firmly that there is no salvation outside of the Catholic Church and that any other doctrine is a misinterpretation of the true dogma, has built St. Benedict's Center up from a recreation hall to a school. His scholars join in "bull sessions" like those of the early days and answer students' questions with certainty. Father Feeney said they answer questions the average college student would not be willing to put to a priest.

St. Benedict's Charity

St. Benedict's Center under the administration of Father Feeney considers that it is doing a charity to those Catholic students who want to have the dogma of their Church clarified. "Students are too intelligent to listen to the mumbo jumbo of the interpretations--the saying of one thing in Latin and another in English," Father Feeney says. "They want their Church principles made as clear to them as the wording of the Constitution of the United States."

St. Benedict's Charity

St. Benedict's Center is, indeed, clarifying a set of principles for those students who choose to follow them, though these principles are vigorously disputed by the Archdiocese. Father Feeney is setting forth his own clarification through his scholars in their informal meetings and through the public lectures that begin tonight.

But besides his Catholic followers, Father Feeney's lecture series will also reach an audience of non-Catholics, who, according to St. Benedict's doctrine, can only obtain salvation through conversion and baptism. If these meetings can persuade non-Catholics to enter the Church, then the lecture series will, according to Father Feeney's theology, be saving souls from hell.

Salvation

The remainder of the archdiocese headed by Archbishop Cushing follows the wording of the official interpretation of Catholic dogma which is found in a book revised every ten years called "The Baltimore Catechism." The most recent revision of this work occurred last April during the height of the controversy, though there was no connection between the two. The relevant part of the Catechism says in effect that all that possess God's grace, even if they are not actual members of the Church, are considered as belonging to the soul of the Church and thus can achieve salvation.

The controversy over interpretation may soon come to a final settlement, when and if the Pope issues an "ex cathedra" statement. If the Pope rejects Father Feeney's doctrine, the Archbishop will not be able to allow the priest to go on leading souls into the ways of "bigotry and intolerance."

Meanwhile, Father Feeney begins his public meetings, and the next move is up to the Archbishop