Avant-propos - Studia Moralia

THE BASIC GOODS THEORY AND REVISIONISM 185
the listening pole entails several dimensions. First, as Catholic
theologians, they must listen to the magisterium and its authoritative
teaching as the Holy Spirit guides it. This is so because
the magisterium is not just another source or authority for theologians.
It is a religious authority. As such, it is to be trusted because
Christ has promised that he will not abandon his Church
to error. 50 Those who are in positions of authority within the
Church have been promised the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and
this fundamental truth does not allow the theologian to view the
authority of the magisterium as an equal, much less a competing
authority, among others. Second, theologians must listen to
the Holy Spirit guiding them in their own spiritual journey. This
journey includes all dimensions of their lives, including scholarship.
There is a scholarly pneumatology within the theological
discipline. (Indeed, I would see the call to be a theologian as a
vocation, just as the call to be a priest, married, or celibate is a
vocation. One is not limited to a single vocation in life.) Third,
theologians must listen to their own scholarship and research,
including all the sources of moral knowledge, and must try to
discern the truth in community in light of that scholarship. In
light of these three components, theologians must speak. Dissent
is not the purpose of the listening process, but can certainly
be a component of this process when there are serious reasons
for questioning noninfallible magisterial teachings. Revisionist
theologians, in fact, dissent on a very narrow range of ethical issues.
Their dissent, however, has attracted a disproportionate
amount of attention. In other words, the issues on which there
is dissent are rather miniscule in comparison to the agreement
between theologians and the magisterium. For its part, the magisterium,
both bishops and pope, must engage in much of the
same processes of listening, as do theologians. Granted that the
magisterium is promised the guidance of the Holy Spirit, as are
the faithful as a whole, the Holy Spirit can only do so much. The
work of the Holy Spirit produces its effects through finite and
50 See JOSEPH KOMONCHAK, “Authority and Magisterium,” in WILLIAM W.
MAY, ed., Vatican Authority and American Catholic Dissent: The Curran Case
and its Consequences (New York: Crossroad, 1987) 103-14, at 110-11.