Battling Heretics in the Seminary, or Protest at Your Own Risk

A few commenters on my Exhortation below have challenged me to clarify my statement that we need young men called to the priesthood to battle dissenting professors in our seminaries. The primary objection to this assertion seems to be that these young men, following my advice, will end up either "flying under the radar" as closeted orthodox believers in order to survive or booted out of seminary for being troublemakers and end up "damaged goods."

My initial response to this objection was to argue that my students here at UD are fully aware that courage requires prudence. One does not do battle courageously and do it imprudently. I hold to this still. But I also concede that not everyone reading my Exhortation understands the connection between courage and prudence. There is a real chance a zealous young man might decide to do battle with a dissenting seminary prof and do so imprudently, and thus find himself bounced out on his ear. My own experience with the liberal professoriate proves that there is nothing more illiberal than a liberal with a PhD, power, and with whom one disagrees.

Another reader in a private email pointed out that since I received my theological education in schools run by my Order (Aquinas Institute in St. Louis and Blackfriars Hall, Oxford University), I had a very different experience than most seminarians. I concede this as well. Most of my profs were Dominican friars and sisters. There is a different dynamic when you are being taught by people with whom you will be spending the rest of your life! I would point out, however, that religious order seminarians rarely get to choose their seminaries. I think this is probably the case with diocesan seminarians as well. One commenter made the point that young men answering the call to priesthood need to exercise prudence in choosing a diocese or religious community so that he is not put in a position of having to battle anyone. All is can say to this is: good luck with that! Seriously, there might be two seminaries in this country where the entire faculty is acceptably orthodox (and my definition of "orthodox" is more expansive than most!).

Given all that, let me say this: if you are an orthodox (notice I didn’t say conservative!) young man in a seminary and you find yourself confronted by a professor obstinately teaching error or dissenting from well-established Church teaching, you have several options:

1). Be quiet, take notes, tell him/her what he/she wants to hear. Get through it knowing that you don’t have to believe any of their nonsense!

2). Politely question and offer respectful critique. Emphasis on respectful.

3). If the dissenting prof uses the rhetoric of freedom or diversity when defending his/her right to dissent, then ask him/her how he/she feels about students dissenting from his/her dissent. Most will say, "Bring it on!" Most of those won’t mean it. See #’s 1 and 2.

4). Offer intelligent opposition in writing assignments, but leave the public debate to more adventurous souls. Dissenters can usually take a little opposition in written form. It’s being called out in front of the class that riles them.

5). Couch your opposition to their dissent in strictly Thomistic terms: "It would seem that your understanding of the Trinity leads us to X, Y, and Z. I wonder if you could help me see how your understanding of the Trinity could avoid X, Y, and Z?" Simple statement of fact or possible conclusion.

6). Open defiance is really not an option with liberal or conservative dissenters. Both have security issues and your opposition will be couched in terms of a "formation issue." I found that most of my opposition—always polite, intelligent, humorous, and exactly correct! (HA!)—was reported as "anti-female" and "anti-laity;" in other words, I insisted on the Church’s teaching on the priesthood and sacraments.

7). I always counsel against using any form of liberal democratic protest against dissenting profs (petitions, pickets, et al). I know, I know, the irony is seductive, but it only draws attention to them and makes them think people really care what they think. Don’t add any rooms to their delusional castles.

Of course, as a last resort you could always listen, take notes, ask intelligent questions, ask the prof to lay out the consequences of his/her teaching, and actually learn something from their dissent. I mean, even if you just learn how not to dissent, it would be worth the effort!


Fr. Philip, OP