The Golden Dome at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. (Wikimedia Commons/Michael Fernandes)
Editor’s note: This article was published in the May 26, 1990, issue of
America.
When the word “crisis” is applied to Roman Catholic theology in the United States, it usually refers to tensions between theologians and the Vatican. Beyond the headlines, however, there are developments going on in departments of theology and religious studies at Catholic colleges and universities that merit more attention than they have received. In a recent issue of
America (2/3/90), Thomas F. O’Meara, O.P., called attention to how “we are nearing a state of emergency in Catholic theological life in the United States.” He shows the need for more and better doctoral programs in Catholic theology. There are simply “no programs in many properly Western Christian and Roman Catholic areas.” Theology departments are woefully underfinanced in both their teaching functions and, es