Academic freedom, church law, and the medieval university

A glance at the April 20 issue of Commonweal: Academic freedom, church law, and the medieval university

Even in medieval times, Roman Catholic scholars did not practice an ideal of complete subordination to ecclesiastical authorities, writes Jean Porter, a professor of ethics at the University of Notre Dame. Ms. Porter argues that this is an important fact when considering Ex corde Ecclesiae, which is about to start requiring Catholic theologians to obtain a mandatum, or approval of their teachings, from the local bishop.

She argues that while medieval scholars were clearly concerned with accountability, “they also defended freedom to conduct research and teaching as they saw fit.” She notes that from their inception, universities’ most persistent source of tension was internal. “The masters of arts, primarily the philosophers, fought for the independence and autonomy of their discipline, while theologians attempted to keep philosophical speculation within ‘proper’ bounds.” Scholastic theologians took seriously the parameters set by Christian dogma, says Ms. Porter, but helped formulate Christian thought “in a context in which a wide diversity of views was considered as a matter of course.”

The medieval balance between freedom and accountability is closer to a modern ideal of academic freedom than many would suspect, she contends. Ex corde could undermine the freedom of the individual scholar, says Ms. Porter. In the Middle Ages, the diversity of scholasticism prevented the boundaries of doctrine from becoming “strangleholds.” Today, she says, “the academic freedom exercised by theologians serves a similar indispensable function.”

The article is not online, but information about the magazine may be found at http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/

Background article from The Chronicle:

• Bishops Release a Draft of Guidelines for Roman Catholic Theologians (12/8/2000)