I think, finally, one has to laugh. I refer to the 130 theologians from Germany and Austria who have signed a petition for reform of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. This core group is now rumored to be seeking signatories from other countries. Thirty years ago this would have been alarming. Now it seems like a bad joke that everyone has heard before.
What the theologians want is exactly what those who don’t accept the authority of the Church always want: a more “open” process complete with “peer review”. In other words, they want to be judged by others who are doing the same things they are doing, and they don’t want to submit to the judgment of the Church. This is not only an odd way to determine whether theological thought is faithful to Divine Revelation; it also reverses the very
methodology of theological study.
