Summary: Avery Dulles, The Craft of Theology, ch. 10. University Theology in Service to the Church

Summary: Avery Dulles, The Craft of Theology, ch. 10. University Theology in Service to the Church

It is very obvious that theology plays an important role in the search for a synthesis of knowledge and dialogue between faith and reason. Theology goes further from search for meaning to bringing a perspective and an orientation not contained within their own methodologies. It is no doubt that the golden age of university theology contributed enormously to the faith and catholic doctrines. Universities like Paris and Oxford, produced the greatest speculative theology of the age, and also the great minds that came out from there has enriched the church with their ever-green thoughts. Thomas Aquinas theology has contributed a lot in the teaching if the doctrine on Trinity also the theology of Duns Scotus helped in the development of Mariology and many of them to mention. The university faculties of theology has manifested itself also in assisting the church in matters of church governance.

The history of catholic university theology suffered a great deal of declination in the eighteenth century but it was revived around the nineteenth century. With this revival saw the rise of some universities in close alliance with the papacy. One of which is the Gregorian university which has enriched the Catholic university theology department with their apologetic literature.

Due to the weakness experienced in the Catholic university faculties in the nineteenth century, John Henry Newman saw the necessity of defending the very existence of theology as a university discipline. He argues that since university is an avenue that gives universal knowledge, theology being a branch of knowledge should be taught in university and where theology is neglected, other discipline tends to fill in the missing gap. From this period, some countries like the United States, Germany Belgium et cetera started erecting their own colleges and universities.

In comparing the theology taught in catholic seminaries and that of the university, the difference is clear. The seminary is generally oriented towards the formation of future clergy. Thus, it is more on teaching rather than pure research. It is also specially aimed at equipping the students for the specific tasks in the priestly ministry. But university theology has a better research orientation. In there, it may accommodate varieties of people with different religious traditions and then concentrate on open and unsolved questions that cannot be settled by a mere appeal to authority. With these, catholic theology in university is seen as seedbed of new and exciting development.  

The danger of teaching catholic theology in universities is that it tends to become rather detached from the church and from pastoral concern, this may expose it to adopting scepticism, positivism and similar errors. But Dollinger, a German historian, posits that true theology must not panic when scholarly inquiry threatens to annihilate what has been regarded as unassailable truth. But Pope Pius IX reacted to this by stating that catholic scholars are bound to to reverently submit to the doctrinal decisions of the Roman congregations and respect the authority of the scholastic theologians of previous centuries. With this controversies, Vatican II resolved it by positing that the various branches of knowledge are to exercise freedom in their principles, methods for scientific investigations. This freedom does not entail detachment from the scripture, tradition, or ecclesiastical authority.