united front against the Turkish threat in eastern Europe. Cajetan, who was nearing the end of his term as General Master of the Dominicans, was sent to Augsburg to plead Leo’s cause with the gathered princes and nobles of the Empire. At the same me, however, the controversy srred by Luther’s teaching about indulgences was slowly making its way through official channels in Rome. Since Cajetan was going to be in Germany anyway, it was thought good to have him interview the troublesome monk and remand him to Rome if necessary. This story is told very well by Jared Wicks S.J. in his book Cajetan Responds, which offers translaons of Cajetan’s major wrings dealing with Reformaon issues. Protestant painngs of this event (like the one on the next page) tend to depict it as a dramac clash between the heroic young rebel and the representave of the old, corrupt, official church: “Here I stand, I can do no other!” But Luther did not say that at Augsburg, if he said it at all. That story belongs to the 1521 Diet of Worms. The meeng at Augsburg was much less dramac. It revolved around two fairly technical quesons in scholasc theology, which Cajetan had idenfied as receiving problemac (Continued on page 2) Francesco de Vio of Gaeta, also known as Cardinal Cajetan (1469- 1534), was a talented theologian, philosopher, bishop, and biblical commentator. From 1508 to 1518 he was Master General of the Dominican Order, also known as the Order of Preachers. If not an inspiring leader, he was at least competent and honest and concerned to correct abuses that had crept into the Dominicans over me. Anglicans will be interested to know that in the early 1530’s he was asked his expert opinion on a certain English king’s request to have his marriage annulled. Cajetan argued that the relevant Old Testament texts did not support Henry’s claim that his marriage to Catherine had been invalid. Cajetan was certainly a conservave and supporter of tradional Catholic teaching, but he was by no means a reaconary. Although trained in scholasc methods, he knew enough about the new humanism to insist that interpreters should refer to texts in their original languages wherever possible. As a theologian, Cajetan is best known for his commentary on Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologia; indeed for a long me his was the official Catholic interpretaon of that great work. In the tweneth century Cajetan’s reading of Thomas came in for heavy cricism, not least from Éenne Gilson, who founded the Ponficial Instute for Medieval Studies here in Toronto. The cricism is that Cajetan taught a rather stac and unbiblical substance- ontology, treang both creatures and God as “kinds of thing,” rather than seeing creatures as exisng in God by way of parcipaon. Theologians such as Gilson and Henri de Lubac thought Cajetan had badly misread Thomas. Intellectual fashions change. Some Catholic philosophers now think Cajetan was more right than Gilson. However that may be, it is undoubtedly true that he was a man of immense intellectual giſts, well equipped for his encounter with Luther at Augsburg in October, 1518. The Imperial Diet of Augsburg inially had nothing to do with the “case of Luther.” Rather, it had been convened to consider Pope Leo X’s ambious and potenally expensive plan to create a Cardinal Cajetan, Theologian and Reformer [?] - Joseph Mangina Monday, October 2, 2017 Volume 33, Issue 4 MORNING STAR Faculty: Principal Bp. Stephen Andrews Room 103, x3521 AD Director Marion Taylor* Room 227, x3542 BD Director Glen Taylor Room 218, x 3541 Librarian/AD Coord. Tom Power Leonard Hall, x3526 Permanent Faculty: Annette Brownlee Room 233, x3540 Terry Donaldson Room L304, x3537 Alan Hayes Room L302, x3532 Ann Jervis Room 232, x3539 David Kupp Room 231, x2561 Wanda Malcolm* Room L303, x2557 Joseph Mangina Room 231, x3523 Judy Paulsen Room 229, X3534 Ephraim Radner Room L301, x3533 Peter Robinson* Room 225, 3529 Christopher Seitz Room L305, x3551 Permanent Part-Time Faculty: Marilyn Draper Catherine Sider Hamilton * on sabbatical Fall 2017
Transcript
united front against the Turkish threat in eastern Europe. Cajetan, who was nearing the end of his term as General Master of the Dominicans, was sent to Augsburg to plead Leo’s cause with the gathered princes and nobles of the Empire. At the same time, however, the controversy stirred by Luther’s teaching about indulgences was slowly making its way through official channels in Rome. Since Cajetan was going to be in Germany anyway, it was thought good to have him interview the troublesome monk and remand him to Rome if necessary. This story is told very well by Jared Wicks S.J. in his book Cajetan Responds, which offers translations of Cajetan’s major writings dealing with Reformation issues.
Protestant paintings of this event (like the one on the next page) tend to depict it as a dramatic clash between the heroic young rebel and the representative of the old, corrupt, official church: “Here I stand, I can do no other!”
But Luther did not say that at Augsburg, if he said it at all. That story belongs to the 1521 Diet of Worms. The meeting at Augsburg was much less dramatic. It revolved around two fairly technical questions in scholastic theology, which Cajetan had identified as receiving problematic
(Continued on page 2)
Francesco de Vio of Gaeta, also known as Cardinal Cajetan (1469-1534), was a talented theologian, philosopher, bishop, and biblical commentator. From 1508 to 1518 he was Master General of the Dominican Order, also known as the Order of Preachers. If not an inspiring leader, he was at least competent and honest and concerned to correct abuses that had crept into the Dominicans over time. Anglicans will be interested to know that in the early 1530’s he was asked his expert opinion on a certain English king’s request to have his marriage annulled. Cajetan argued that the relevant Old Testament texts did not support Henry’s claim that his marriage to Catherine had been invalid. Cajetan was certainly a conservative and supporter of traditional Catholic teaching, but he was by no means a reactionary. Although trained in scholastic methods, he knew enough about the new humanism to insist that interpreters should refer to texts in their original languages wherever possible.
As a theologian, Cajetan is best known for his commentary on Thomas
Aquinas’s Summa Theologia; indeed for a long time his was the official Catholic interpretation of that great work. In the twentieth century Cajetan’s reading of Thomas came in for heavy criticism, not least from Étienne Gilson, who founded the Pontificial Institute for Medieval Studies here in Toronto. The criticism is that Cajetan taught a rather static and unbiblical substance-ontology, treating both creatures and God as “kinds of thing,” rather than seeing creatures as existing in God by way of participation. Theologians such as Gilson and Henri de Lubac thought Cajetan had badly misread Thomas. Intellectual fashions change. Some Catholic philosophers now think Cajetan was more right than Gilson. However that may be, it is undoubtedly true that he was a man of immense intellectual gifts, well equipped for his encounter with Luther at Augsburg in October, 1518.
The Imperial Diet of Augsburg initially had nothing to do with the “case of Luther.” Rather, it had been convened to consider Pope Leo X’s ambitious and potentially expensive plan to create a
Cardinal Cajetan, Theologian
and Reformer [?] - Joseph
Mangina
Monday, October 2, 2017 Volume 33, Issue 4
MORNING STAR
Faculty: Principal Bp. Stephen Andrews Room 103, x3521 AD Director Marion Taylor* Room 227, x3542 BD Director Glen Taylor Room 218, x 3541 Librarian/AD Coord. Tom Power Leonard Hall, x3526 Permanent Faculty: Annette Brownlee Room 233, x3540 Terry Donaldson Room L304, x3537 Alan Hayes Room L302, x3532 Ann Jervis Room 232, x3539 David Kupp Room 231, x2561 Wanda Malcolm* Room L303, x2557 Joseph Mangina Room 231, x3523 Judy Paulsen Room 229, X3534 Ephraim Radner Room L301, x3533 Peter Robinson* Room 225, 3529 Christopher Seitz Room L305, x3551 Permanent Part-Time Faculty: Marilyn Draper Catherine Sider Hamilton * on sabbatical Fall 2017
answers in Luther’s writings. The first question—not surprisingly—had to do with indulgences. The most influential theological accounts of indulgences said that the church was authorized to grant them on the basis of the “treasury of merit,” acquired by Christ and the saints—a kind of infinite bank account of grace. Luther had a far more limited view of indulgences. He didn’t deny the church could grant them, but saw this simply as part of the church’s normal exercise of penitential discipline. We can see here an
(Continued from page 1) early hint of Luther’s ongoing battles with Rome over Papal
authority.
But it was the second question that was the more interesting, and fraught with theological difficulties. It might be put this way: when you go
to confession and the priest absolves you, how can you know that the absolution has been effective? That your sins are in fact forgiven? Luther said: you can know this because faith trusts in God’s promise! Faith clings to Christ, who is present to me in the sacrament and in the confessor’s words absolvo te (“I absolve you”). Here God humbly stoops down to meet me and forgive me my sins. What could be more certain than that?
The trouble was, Cajetan did not see it that way. He saw
Luther’s insistence on receiving the sacrament in faith as an unheard-of innovation, one that essentially told people they had the power to absolve themselves—to be certain of their status before God. As a good Thomist, Cajetan had a much more restrained understanding of faith as assent to divine truth and the church’s teachings. It is fair to say that he had never encountered anyone who talked about faith quite the way Luther did, using the Pauline idiom of radical trust in the gospel of Christ. No doubt Cajetan read his Bible, but he did not “speak Bible” as Luther had learned to do through his study of the Psalms and other biblical texts.
Before we rush to criticize Cajetan, it is important to recognize that he had a point. The subsequent history of Protestantism is full of instances where people arrogantly claim all kinds of things about themselves on the
(Continued on page 3)
Editorial (cont’d)
Page 2
MORNING STAR
Admin Staff: Accountant Sophia Chen Room 105, x3522 Business Office Peter Patterson Room 106, x3549 Paul Patterson Room 107, x3546 Chaplain Annette Brownlee Room 233, x3540 Communications Patricia Paddey Room A10, x3548 Connie Chan Room A10, x3590 Development Rob Henderson Room 102, x3538 Shelley McLagan Room 101, x3524 Peter Herriman Room 101, x2559 Front Desk Andy Witt, x3535 Indigenous Ministries Julie Golding Page Room A10, 4001 IT Matt Glandfield Basement, x3531 Maintenance David Durance Paul Mason Basement, x3543 Principal’s Office Karen Baker-Bigauskas Room 104, x3521 Registrar/Admissions Barbara Jenkins Room 226, x3530 Sean Otto Room 228, x3525 Jon Clemens/Rachel Lott Room 230, x3547 Residence Don Lane Scruggs x3030 Wycliffe Serves! Steve Hewko Room A10 Bonnie Kung Room A10, x2558 Karine White Room A10, x2558
LIBRARY DROP-IN SESSIONS Wednesdays in September/October 2017
October 4, 2017
12 noon-12.30 p.m. Electronic Resources for Bible Study
12.30-1 p.m. Compiling a bibliography
October 11, 2017
12 noon-1 p.m. Ask Me Anything You Like!
Location: Graham Library Classroom
No Sign-Up Necessary. Just Drop-In.
Can’t Make It? No problem. Just email me or drop by the Graham Library
own lights, he was being utterly traditional and theocentric.
Of course, Luther also thought he was being theocentric. The certainty he found in penance was not based on his own estimate of himself, but on the promises of God. It is God-in-Christ of whom we can be certain; therefore the penitent can go away with a joyful heart and an eagerness to serve the neighbour. Faith means union with Christ through glad acceptance of the gospel. It is God’s promises we count on, and not our own strength—not even the strength of our faith.
“Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief.”
Luther, I think, stood on good biblical ground with his teaching about divine promise and the utter trustworthiness of divine promise, available to us in the Word and the Sacraments. This is an aspect of Luther’s doctrine we should have no difficulty celebrating in this Reformation anniversary year. But we should also be mindful of the ways in which that doctrine can be misunderstood. In many modern churches, Catholic as well as Protestant, the word “faith” is often employed in
Page 3
VOLUME 33, ISSUE 4
grounds that they “have faith.” Faith, so understood, is about the self and its freedom from all worldly obligations, including the obligation to serve the neighbour. Hence Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s argument in Discipleship about the dangers of “cheap grace,” amounting to a permission to keep on sinning. From this perspective, one can understand why Cajetan was cautious about Luther’s innovative teaching. He rightly saw that talk about faith too easily becomes a covert way of talking about the self. By his
(Continued from page 2) ways the Reformers would have found unrecognizable. It can frequently sound like a vague trust that things will “come out all right,” or (even worse) as the power of positive thinking. Both Cajetan and Luther would have been horrified. Let us learn from Luther to believe boldly in the promises of God in Christ, and from Cajetan to temper our boldness with the humility that comes of a life ordered to the love of the triune God.
1 2 Writing Workshop - Not your Grandma’s Gram-mar
3 MP: Daniel Choi
4 WE: J. Bergstrom Pr: J. Bergstrom (Dio. of Dallas)
5 MP: E. Radner
6 7
8 9 Thanksgiving Day (College closed)
10 MP: David Smith
11 WE: A. Ryrie Pr: A. Ryrie
12 MP: A. Jervis EP: Joan Morris Principal’s Dinner
13 Scripture & Theology Collo-quium
14
Scripture & Theology Collo-quium
15 16 Writing Workshop– Logic—How to make sense
17 MP: Joan Morris
18 WE: PWRDF Panel on Gender & Int’l Dev.
19 MP: +S. Andrews
20 21
24 25 26 27 28 29 Board Mtg.
30
Coffee Hour
is back!!
Coffee/tea will
be available in
the Reg Soward Reading Room
each Monday—Thursday @
10:30-11:30 a.m. Brought to you
by the Alumni Assoc.
Refectory Hours
Monday—Friday
7:15 a.m.—Open for
Continental Breakfast
7:30-8:30 a.m.—Breakfast
served
9:00 a.m.—Refectory closes
1:00-1L30 p.m.—Lunch
served
2:00 p.m.—Refectory closes
6:00-6:45 p.m.—Dinner
served
7:00 p.m.—Refectory closes
Saturdays
11:30-12:30—Brunch served
1:00 p.m.—Refectory closes
5:30-6:15 p.m.—Dinner
served
6:30 p.m.—Refectory closes
Coffee Hour
Monday—Thursday
10:50-11:10 a.m. in the
Reading Room (sponsored
by the Alumni Association)
Office Hours
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Principal’s Office—8:00-4:00 M-Th
Development Office—9:00-5:00 M-F
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Reformation Events @ Wycliffe
September 25 – Free 12-week Online Course Of Passion, Politics, Power and Protest: Rediscovering the Reformation October 11- Afternoon Talk by Professor Alec Ryrie, University of Durham How the Reformation Made Our World (And It's Not Done Yet) October 12– Principal’s Dinner “500 Years After the Reformation, Where is Protestantism Going Next?” – Speaker: Alec Ryrie October 13 – One-Day Reformation Conference The Bible and Mission in the Wake of the Reformation With Alec Ryrie, Carl Trueman, Eckhard Schnabel and Cheryl Peterson November 22 - A Celebration in Song of Hymns Inspired by Reformation Ideals Now Thank We All Our God: Hymns of the Reformation and the Rise of Congrega-tional Singing
