Hundreds of students at the University of Dallas are questioning the
idea of courses for a new degree in pastoral ministry being taught by
teachers from the School of Ministry who have publicly disagreed with
Church teaching.
Concerns about the new undergraduate major--scheduled to be launched
next year--were initially raised in a recent article written by Dr.
Patrick Fagan, director of the Marriage and Religion Research Institute
(MARRI) at the Family Research Council.
Fagan wrote a column for “The Catholic Thing” expressing concern that
the courses may be taught by faculty members from the university’s
School of Ministry rather than the undergraduate theology department.
Fagan cited multiple instances in which School of Ministry faculty
members have deviated from Catholic teaching on topics including
homosexuality, priestly celibacy and women’s ordination.
He also noted that several teachers rely solely upon textbooks by
authors who challenge Church teaching on important modern topics such as
euthanasia and moral relativism, as well as who oppose Eucharistic
adoration as outdated as unnecessary.
In addition, he drew attention to an acknowledgement by Dean Brian
Schmisek that after a pre-hire screening process, no system exists
within the School of Ministry to ensure that its teachers adhere to the
Magisterium of the Church.
Fagan, who describes himself as the “proud father of five UD alumni
children,” called for the university to investigate before moving
forward with the program. If they do not, he cautioned, “I and many like
me will be telling like-minded parents to send their children
elsewhere.”
News of the article spread rapidly. Within hours of its release on
March 2, a Facebook group to oppose the decision had grown to include
more than 350 members, drawing largely from the university’s
undergraduate population of about 1,350 students.
“It is becoming evident that the School of Ministry is being led by
people who have publicly expressed views that conflict with important
and fundamental beliefs of the Catholic Church,” said senior Katie
Prejean. “I’m worried about the future of the school.”
Prejean said that the strong student response was an indication of
commitment to Catholic teaching. “Such a negative reaction is coming out
of this because we are truly opposed to it,” she explained.
Pam Beeler, a current student in the School of Ministry, told CNA
that Dr. Fagan’s article “raises legitimate concerns” about the
orthodoxy of the department’s faculty.
Beeler, who graduated with her undergraduate degree from UD in 1987,
is required by the diocese to take additional graduate level classes at a
Catholic university in order to continue teaching theology in a
Catholic high school. Because she lives several hours away, she is
completing the degree online.
Beeler said that while her professors in the undergraduate program
had proven dedicated to Church teaching, her current experience with the
School of Ministry teachers has raised questions in her mind that the
school is “not in keeping with what is going on at the rest of the
university.”
Alumni and parents joined students in voicing their concerns. An
online petition generated more than 200 signatures overnight and grew to
over 300 the next day.
In addition, the university’s president, Thomas
Keefe, received more than 100 e-mails on Wednesday evening. In response,
he called a forum on Thursday to discuss the matter with the students.
At the forum, Keefe described the incident as a “miscommunication.”
He told students that their concerns were “unfounded” and that Fagan’s
article was a misrepresentation of the facts.
“It was intended to scare you. It was intended to raise fear within
the constituent group to stop the pastoral ministry degree,” he said.
Keefe said that the instances cited had been taken out of context or
were from the past. “It was at one time, a decade ago, appropriate in
this Church to talk about women’s ordination,” he said.
The president said that everything in Fagan’s article would be
investigated, but he declined to answer students’ questions regarding
the incidents and faculty members mentioned in the article.
“This has nothing to do with individuals,” he said, explaining that
students could arrange a private meeting with him if they still had
concerns.
Keefe said that the people referenced in the article had been deeply
hurt. “They don’t deserve it,” he remarked. “They have devoted their
life to the Church. Now maybe not the way you all think they should, and
maybe your theology is different, but their sacrifice is every, every
bit as compelling as anyone else’s.”
“There are some very talented people in the School of Ministry who
are undervalued and underknown here,” said Keefe, adding that he would
like to see the undergraduate college work more closely with the School
of Ministry in the future.
“One of the problems that we’ve had, I believe, before I came here,
is we allowed the School of Ministry to exist, but we kept our distance
from it,” he said. “Now we’re actually going to invite them to the
table, and we’re actually going to break bread with them, and we’re
going to find out that they are people of good faith, working hard.”
Keefe explained that decisions have not yet been made on who will
teach the pastoral ministry classes next fall. Bishop Kevin Farrell of
Dallas will be responsible for approving teachers in the new major,
although he will not oversee the program.
“I guarantee you, no heretical teachings will take part in the pastoral studies degree program,” Keefe stated.
In a video message, Bishop Farrell also responded to the Dallas
community. He began by explaining that he had asked the university to
develop a pastoral ministry major because of the need for additional
help in the parishes of the diocese.
The bishop then acknowledged that concerns about fidelity to Church
teaching in the new program had been raised.
He assured the people of
the diocese that he will always be “deeply concerned” about the
“Catholic identity and the Catholic structure that is given in this
degree program.”
“That is my responsibility. I do not take it lightly,” he said.