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Amid JPII Institute controversy, Benedict XVI meets with recently dismissed professor

August 5, 2019 CNA Daily News 1

Vatican City, Aug 5, 2019 / 01:08 am (CNA).- Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI met last week with a recently dismissed professor of moral theology at Rome’s Pontifical John Paul II Institute, amid ongoing controversy regarding recent changes to the Institute.

Benedict XVI invited Monsignor Livio Melina to meet with him in on Aug. 1, a source close to Melina told CNA.

The pope emeritus “wanted to receive Prof. Mons. Livio Melina at a private audience. After a long discussion of the recent events at the Pontifical Institute John Paul II, he granted his blessing, expressing his personal solidarity and assuring him of his closeness in prayer.”

Melina, who was president of the John Paul II Institute from 2006 until 2016, was dismissed from the institute after the recent promulgation of new statutes, or rules of order, for the graduate school, and a decision to eliminate the chair of moral theology which Melina held.

The new statutes were first called for in 2017, when Pope Francis announced he would legally refound the Institute, and broaden its academic curriculum, from a focus on the theology of marriage and the family to an approach that will also include the study of the family from the perspective of the social sciences.

After new statutes were approved last month, students, alumni, and faculty have raised concerns about the role of faculty members in the institute’s new governing structure, about the reduction of theology courses and the elimination of some theology disciplines, and about the dismissal of some faculty members, including Melina and Fr. Jose Noriega.

Faculty members have told CNA they do not object to the pope’s desire to expand the school’s mission or approach, but say that the administrators responsible for implementing that mission have acted unfairly.

The pope emeritus has a long history of collaboration with the Institute.

Benedict XVI “has always closely followed the work of Msgr. Melina in the chair of fundamental moral theology,” Fr. Juan José Pérez-Soba, a professor of pastoral theology and the director of international research in moral theology at the Institute, told CNA.

Pérez-Soba told CNA that then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who was later elected Pope Benedict XVI, wrote to commend Melina’s work in moral theology in 1998, and participated in a 2003 conference on the encyclical Veritatis splendor, organized by Melina’s academic department at the John Paul II Institute.

“At that conference, Cardinal Ratzinger delivered a lecture, subsequently published, explaining the renewal of moral theology after the Second Vatican Council. According to Ratzinger, Veritatis splendor was written to develop the full potential of the moral vision of Vatican II, especially Gaudium et Spes. Veritatis splendor expresses a morality ‘not conceived as a series of precepts,’ but as ‘the result of an encounter from which derive corresponding moral actions.’” the priest added.

The priest explained that in his 2003 lecture, Cardinal Ratzinger outlined an approach to morality “where it is seen that ‘the affirmation of absolute commandments, which prescribe what is intrinsically evil, does not mean submitting to the slavery of prohibitions, but opening to the great value of life, which is illuminated by the true good, this is for the love of God himself.’”

“In the light of this importance that Ratzinger gave to fundamental morals in the Institute, the suppression of the chair of fundamental morals and the dismissal of Livio Melina takes on new light,” the professor said.

“This set of changes now appears as a search to change the moral paradigm. There seems to be a desire to discard objective morality, which affirms the truth about the good to which man is called, following Veritatis splendor. And it seems intended to open a process of review of all sexual morality from subjectivism, starting with Humanae vitae.”

Pérez-Soba added that during several visits to the Institute during his pontificate, Benedict XVI spoke of the school’s importance.

In a 2006 speech, Benedict “pointed out two key features of the Institute’s mission: first, to teach how marriage and family belong to the core of the truth about man and his destiny; and, second, to show that the revelation of Christ assumes and illuminates the depth of human experience. The enormous number of families who, having studied at the Institute, attended this audience, was a sign of great pastoral fruitfulness in the teaching of John Paul II,” the priest said.

More than 250 students and alumni of Rome’s John Paul II Institute have signed a letter expressing their concern about the school’s new statutes, and the dismissal of Noriega and Melina. The letter expresses concern that current students will not be able to complete the academic programs in which they are currently enrolled, and the faculty dismissals have taken place without due process.

On July 31, Fr. Jose Granados, the Institute’s vice-president, told CNA that “the identity of the Institute is seriously threatened,” and called for administrators to resume discussion with faculty members about the approach to implementing Pope Francis’ call for an expansion of the school’s approach.

The Catholic Herald reported Aug. 2 that Institute administrators told a reporter that “the institute remains desirous of giving exhaustive responses, but asks a few weeks’ time in the month of August in order to formulate adequate responses.”

 

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After John Paul II Institute students publish letter, president defends changes

July 30, 2019 CNA Daily News 2

Vatican City, Jul 30, 2019 / 01:37 pm (CNA).- The president of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute said Tuesday that despite recently published objections from students and alumni, he believes changes at the school are a move in the right direction.

Speaking July 30 to Vatican News, Msgr. Pierangelo Sequeri aimed to respond to a recently published letter, signed online by more than 250 students and alumni of the Institute, expressing concern about the dismissal of some faculty members, about new norms for governance and administration, and about shifts to the school’s curriculum, which will soon eliminate a chair in fundamental moral theology amid a new focus on the social sciences.

“We want to express our greatest concern: the loss of the formational approach, and therefore, of the identity of the Pontifical Theological Institute John Paul II,” the student letter, dated July 24, said.

“Many students have expressed their immense concern after the unexpected publication of the new statutes and the new program of studies for our new Institute, together with the sad news of the expulsion of two professors whose chairs have a central role in the formation offered by the institute,” the students added.

Sequeri said that a change to the Institute’s curriculum and direction, called for by Pope Francis in 2017, and delineated explicitly in recently approved statutes, “responds to the great impulse of Pope Francis, who encouraged the Institute from the outset to equip itself with all the tools necessary to fulfill the mission entrusted to it since its creation of John Paul II, in the new context in which the Church lives its bonds of love in the context of the transmission of human life and of the Christian faith that pertain to marriage and the family, according to God’s plan.”

“New tools mean instruments of knowledge: not only in the sphere of the so-called sciences and human rights, but also theological and pastoral studies, which must more closely be united to one another. New tools also mean adequate resources for updated information and practical training (international considerations, pastoral counseling, comparative law, family mediation, etc.). The meticulousness in the transparent and deep adherence to the richness of Catholic tradition and the authoritative magisterium, however, obviously does not represent an innovation,” he said.

Regarding the concerns of students and alumni, Sequeri said he had only been recently notified of “the arrival of a letter, signed by several dozens of ‘students and former students’ (we have had thousands, of course) which expresses concern about the possibility of losing the solid training guaranteed by the Institute and about their uncertainty concerning the passage and coordination of the new teachings.”

Its organizers say the letter was sent by email on July 25 to Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, the institute’s grand chancellor, and to Sequeri, and by registered mail on July 26.

“I am a little surprised that the letter, addressed to me (and to Archbishop Paglia) has been made public even before the recipients gave feedback and had time to respond. In any case, many communications relating to legitimate requests for information and reassurance are already being fulfilled, at the same pace as the ongoing definition of the process. It will be my responsibility, of course, to draw up a final answer, based on the real data of all the formalities in full operation,” Sequeri added.

On the website publishing their letter, students of the John Paul II Institute say they have not yet received assurance that they will be able to continue in the academic programs they began, and that the dismissal of two theology professors suggests they will not be able to do so. They also expressed concern about whether dismissed faculty members had been treated with due process.

The students noted in particular the dismissal of two professors of theology: Msgr. Livio Melina, the school’s long-time president, and Fr. Jose Noriega, DJCM.

In a July 29 press release, the Institute said that Melina was dismissed because his chair in fundamental moral theology was discontinued, and that Noriega was being let go back because his position as superior of his small religious community is “incompatible” with his duties as a professor. Noriega has served as his community’s superior for 12 years; his term as superior concludes in January 2020.

Sequeri told Vatican News that although some students have raised concerns about the Institute’s direction, others “have already written expressing confidence in the renewal and expansion of research and training in theological-pastoral and anthropological-cultural fields,” at the Institute.

Sequeri lamented the controversy surrounding changes to the Institute’s identity.

“The polemics, more or less malicious, that in this regard, try to involve the many students that look with trust to the project of a truly ‘Catholic’ knowledge and formation, obviously cultivate other interests. They are not the ones of John Paul II, not the ones of Pope Francis, not the ones of the Institute.”

“Love must banish fear, communion must overcome distrust, and the beauty of our common cause must prevail over personal interests,” he added.

On their website, the students said they do not wish to cause discord.

Their aim, they wrote, is to share “objective facts based on the situation, without making judgments or considerations that could harm or go against the unity of our Church or against the image of the Holy Father, Pope Francis.”

The students added that they published their letter online to “inform the public about the serious situation that our Institute is now experiencing. Our wish is also to ask for justice and to see our rights and those of our professors guaranteed in a clear way.”

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John Paul II Institute responds to student and faculty criticisms

July 29, 2019 CNA Daily News 2

Vatican City, Jul 29, 2019 / 04:00 pm (CNA).- The Pontifical John Paul II Institute issued a statement Monday, defending recent changes at the school. But some students and faculty members say that explanations do not address the full picture of issues at the theological institute.

“The academic project of the new Institute, approved by the Congregation for Catholic Education, is designed as a widening of reflection on the family, and not as a replacement of themes and topics. Such expansion, showing even more the centrality of the family in the church and in society, confirms and relaunches with new vigor the original and still fruitful intuition of St. John Paul II,” the July 29 press release said.

The statement aimed to respond to concerns raised by students, alumni, and faculty members of the Institute following the recent approval of its new statutes, or governing documents. The new statutes were called for in 2017, when Pope Francis reestablished the institute, broadening its focus from theology to include “family sciences.”

The Institute was initially founded in 1981 as a center for the study of Christian anthropology and theology, especially in light of the philosophical ideas expressed in Pope St. John Paul II’s “Love and Responsibility,” and the set of his teachings that eventually came to be called the “Theology of the Body.”

When Pope Francis legally refounded the Institute two years ago, he said he hoped its work would be “better known and appreciated in its fruitfulness and relevance.”

Adding a focus on the social sciences, he said, would be an expansion of “the field of interest, both in terms of the new dimensions of the pastoral task and the ecclesial mission, as well as in the development of human sciences and the anthropological culture in such a crucial field for the culture of life.”

The July 29 press release acknowledged that while a chair of fundamental moral theology at the school will no longer exist, changes made to the institute’s curriculum are intended to ensure that “moral doctrine of marriage and family,” and “theological ethics of life,” remain a part of the institute’s coursework.

Fundamental moral theology is already required in the “first cycle” of theological studies required for admission to the Institute’s graduate programs, the press release said.

But a professor at the Institute told CNA that scholarship in the field of fundamental moral theology has been a long-standing part of the school’s identity, and that other subjects also covered in the first cycle, such as Christian anthropology, remain a part of the Institute’s curriculum.

The professor, noting that Humanae vitae is not expressly mentioned in the Institute’s new statutes, said that the school’s chair of fundamental moral theology was established at the Institute’s inception, at the insistence of the school’s founder, Pope St. John Paul II.

“It is important to know that in the old statutes of 2011, based on a few words from Ratzinger about the Institute’s contribution to fundamental moral theology, explicit mention of fundamental moral theology was included,” the professor added.

Regarding concerns raised about faculty dismissals, the press release said that because of its partnership with the Pontifical Lateran University, the Institute has reduced its number of course offerings, and therefore not retained some professors, “according to a policy of consistency and economy.”

Some professors may be eligible for rehire, according to the future faculty needs of the Institute, the press release said.

Among those no longer included among the Institute’s permanent faculty is Monsignor Livio Melina, who held a chair in fundamental moral theology and served as the Institute’s long-time president. The press release said that Melina would no longer hold a permanent faculty position because the chair in moral theology “no longer exists.”

Also dismissed is Fr. Jose Noriega, DCJM, a professor of moral theology at the institute.

Noriega is the superior general of the Disciples of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, a Spanish religious community of 24 professed members. The press release said that Noriega could not continue on the faculty because of a provision in canon law which forbids holding two ecclesiastical positions which are “incompatible.”

Noreiga’s term as superior general of the Disciples of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary ends in January 2020.

Noriega has served as superior for 12 years. The priest told CNA that during his years as superior, including three years under the Institute’s current administration, the issue has not been raised to him by anyone at the Institute.

Noriega also said that there is no proof that his faculty position is “incompatible” with a leadership position in his religious community. He noted that during the time he has held both positions, he also served as editorial director of the Institute.

The press release took issue with reports that a new hiring process will be centralized in the office of the Institute’s Grand Chancellor, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, noting that “the appointment of new permanent teachers must be done through an open competition.”

Such a competition, according to the statutes, is judged by a commission constituted by the institute’s president, a faculty member, and an external member nominated by the Grand Chancellor or a vice-chancellor. Tenured faculty members can veto the commission’s decision by a two-thirds majority.

The faculty member told CNA that because the chancellor appoints the Institute’s president, the composition of faculty hiring commissions remains subject to his influence and control, noting that only one member of hiring commissions, the one appointed by the faculty, would have independence from the administration’s preferences and intentions.

“Analysis of the statutes shows that the concentration of power in the hands of the Grand Chancellor is true,” the professor told CNA.

The June 29 statement also disputed reports that 150 students had signed expressing concern about the direction of the school. The statement said that only a few representatives of the students had signed the letter, which “asked for explanations about the innovations taking place.”

“All students were promptly informed of the news and reassured, in accordance with art. 89 of the statutes, about the three-year validity of the old curriculum. Everyone will be given the opportunity to choose between old and new systems and to draft any new plans of study.”

The faculty member said that while the Institute has told students they may continue in their preferred curriculum, changes to course offerings will make that impossible for those students who wish to continue with the Institute’s traditional theological offerings.

One of the letter’s organizers told CNA that, to date, 246 students and alumni have added their signatures to the letter through a website set up for that purpose. Organizers say they intend to publish the letter in the coming days.

A student at the Institute, herself among the authors of the letter, told CNA that while students received communication from the Institute’s administrators before they sent their letter, they have received no response to their concerns.

“We students have expressed our reactions of pain and our request for clarification, addressing the academic authorities, to understand, to know what is going on; to express our support to the professors that have been fired overnight –and it is the time to say it, by an academic institution only because they were spiritual and cultural heirs of John Paul II, only because they believe in the teachings regarding marriage and family from Humanae vitae.
 
With the new order and the new statutes, we don’t have changes that have been shared and agreed upon, but replacements and expulsions. We are witnesses to a true coup d’etat; it is not an integration and alignment of new courses and professors to what already exists and works, but instead the end of an era, with the expulsion of serious and thoughtful persons,” she added.

 

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