John Allen has put up so many posts on the Catholic Theological Society of America conference that he is essentially "liveblogging" it.  He has a fascinating one up today on an address by the outgoing President of the CTSA, Daniel Finn of St. Johns University in Collegeville, Minnesota.  Finn made some comments that are sure to roil the waters:

Public statements by the Catholic Theological Society of Americacriticizing the Vatican and the bishops have done us damage, thebodys outgoing president said today, concluding that the prerequisiteto fostering dialogue is making fewer public statements defendingourselves against ecclesiastical power.

The price has been too high compared to what we have gained, saidDaniel Finn of St. Johns University in Collegeville, Minnesota. Iwish we were not facing this trade-off, but I believe we are.

Finn made clear that he was not trying to stifle criticism, but saidthat in the future, such statements should come from individualtheologians, perhaps with others signing on, but not in the name of theCTSA.

One of the interesting points that Finn made was that the public statements have exacted a steep internal cost by driving more conservative theologians away:

They felt no longer welcome, out of a sense that theyre on themargins of a group that pokes funs at Vatican shortcomings and puts theCTSA name on statements they do not endorse. They feel its not theirgroup, he said.

I dont know that well ever get those folks back, but there is a long future of others to come, Finn said.

Instead, Finn argued, the CTSA should be the place where Catholic theologians of all perspectives come to do their theology.

Our church is wracked by divisions caused by ideologicalsimplicities on all sides, and we need broader dialogue in the churchthan we have today, Finn said. In the CTSA, all theologians shouldfeel respected, and a majority should not employ the mechanics ofmajoritarian democracy to produce statements that the minority wouldfind offensive and leave.

There is an old joke about academic politics being so vicious because the stakes are so low, but Finn seems wise enough to realize that the stakes for Catholic theology are quite high indeed.  There is certainly blame to go around with respect to the estranged relationship between theologians and the episcopacy.  Finn's willingness, on behalf of the theological community, to be self-critical should be welcomed.  One hopes it will also be reciprocated.