Editor,
The patronizing attitude of correspondents like Matt Gallegos, in his July 16 letter to the editor, is all too typical of the Catholic Church. This smugness, based on the church's assumption of possessing superior truth, should be reason enough to spurn its offer of an endowed chairperson. For true intellectual discourse cannot exist in such an atmosphere poisoned by arrogance any more than ecumenical dialog can, as the response to Pope Benedict's recent dismissal of other churches as "defective" illustrates.
I would welcome the church in an academic setting if there were any reason to have confidence in its intellectual honesty. Since the Archbishop will have a say in who occupies the new chair, there are definitely strings attached. I do not object to scholarly studies of the Catholic Church, but just how objective can they be with the church footing the bill?
Having majored in history, I am well aware the university system began in the monasteries and of their great contributions. So what? Intellectual progress didn't stay there, but moved out into the world because it needed freedom to flourish. The greatest progress occurred in precisely those institutions which were most free.
In any case, the church's contributions can be properly studied in an ordinary medieval history class. Why should there be any need for ecclesiastical input or approval unless they're teaching theology instead?
And as I mentioned, the Catholic Church already has a strong institutional presence on campus, where they are free to teach whatever they want. Why is that not enough for them?
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Frankly, I hope if the church is allowed a place in academia, that every other religious group and cult demands representation. How about creation science for physics credits? Degrees in Scientologist psychology? Advanced studies in applied jihad?
Where do you draw the line?
Of course, I exaggerate, though it might make faculty meetings more interesting.
In any case, historically, the Catholic Church has only been in favor of freedom of religion for themselves. But like any religion, their agenda is not that of the University's, and the University should have no part in promoting it. There's little enough academic freedom these days; in my view, accepting this offer is taking a big step backward into medieval darkness.
Jay Nelson
UNM alumnus
