In 1977 the Catholic Theological Society of America.

In 1977 the Catholic Theological Society of America, convinced that a recently made known sexual ethic in keeping with advances in the natural sciences and the lived experience of the carcass of Christ, commissioned a paper entitled Human Sexuality: recent Directions in American Catholic pondering The fruit of several years' reflection and undoubtedly galvanized at the massive non-acceptance of the birth bridle encyclical of 1968, Humanae Vitae, the report addressed a broad range of sexual issues. The five theological writers stated that they were working "in the spirit of the inferior Vatican Council", to "help beleaguered pastors and teachers." Among their conclusions was a statement which affirmed that "homosexuals have the same rights to be fond of intimacy and relationships as heterosexuals." They then argued for the acceptance of homosexual acts within covenanted and committed relationships. Their conclusions were broadly accepted on other theologians but criticized by dint of many in the hierarchy.

pair years later in 1979, a fresh pope, John Paul II literally offer an end to such thinking; virtually arrogating to himself the right to define Catholic teaching. Trained in philosophy in a political division which had neither experienced the Enlightenment or the democratizing tendencies of the next to the first Vatican Council, John Paul II increasingly began marginalizing the part of theologians, including many whose insights had brought the body of christians into a fruitful dialogue with modernity. This was a Council which had imagined the temple not as a societas perfecta if it were not that as a more humble, les triumphalist ecclesia peregrinans (a temple on a journey, one which always yearned for "the consummation of history" still was semper reformanda, always in ne of renewal.

The progressive Council theologians had endur to view their contributions acknowledged, their insights confirmed and their loyalty no longer doubted. Their fidelity helped create (in the bishops' words) "the greatest grace of the century" pontiff Paul VI was tremendously encouraging to theologians. He said he wished, "to refer to completely the laws and exigencies that are legitimate to your studies, that is, to consider that freedom of expression which belongs to theological sciences. We want to abstract from your spirits any fear that the service entreated of you ought so to limit and restrict."

The "Ice Age" begins

In the first decade of the modern pontificate ("the Ice Age" as Karl Rahner called it) theologians had to flow for cover. Several were proscribed (Kung Curran), others were hectored and the principally creative minds in the house of worship began to leave Pontifical universities. Later Sr Carmel McEnroy would be fired for purely signing her name to a petition asking that the issue female ordination be kept make open Despite the contradictions, John Paul II insisted that "theology has importance for the ecclesiastical authority in every age so that it can be agreeable to to the plan of the deity In times of great cultural change, theology is all the more important " In this statement in succession the role of theologians in the temple John Paul II traced the progression in a continuously ascending gradation of theology as a science "employing the tools of unimpaired philosophy, historical disciplines, and the human sciences, all drawn from the surrounding improvement and used with discernment in the light of revelation." Theologians were necessary to retain the church from ill-formed discriminations like those which had justified the Crusades, the Inquisition, slavery, usury, fundamentalist thinking, erroneous science (Galileo), prohibitions against democracy and religious liberty.

The U Catholic bishops, living in a rigorous democracy, wrote at this time (1990) that "scholarly enough can be shown when theologians ask searching and serious questions as they look for to discern and communicate the abiding canon of Christ. The constructive critical quality of theological scholarship does :not compromise its fidelity to the house of god and its magisterium, but indicates the disciplined reflection characteristic of genuine scholarly investigation."

In June 6-9 of 1990 the Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA) with Canadian Basilian Walter Principe as its president affirmed "the right of theologians to freedom of research, their right to raise questions, their right to re-examine the meaning of dogmas, and plane more to explore the import of past authoritative statements from the magisterium, and finally the right within a faithful unprejudiced presentation of the official teaching to disagree publicly with that teaching subordinate to certain circumstances."

The statement "Do not extinguish the Spirit" was critical of the growing chill within the meeting-house and the increasing denigration of theologians who were now seen as "dissenters," rather than loyalists who had a different opinion. Principe addressed the Vatican criticism about "harm being done to the faithful by way of theologians." He countered with the harm being done by the agency of "the Vatican issuing of documents without prior discussion and consultation with bishops and theologians, their inhibiting legitimate discussion by means of premature decisions on complicated questions, their condemnation or silencing of theologians and their presentation of reformable teaching almost as if they were matters of faith" (Italics CNT) Do not extinguish the Spirit was bear uponed about "excessive Roman centralization" that diminishes the part of local bishops and which impugned the authority of bishops' conferences