Silence Speaks: Teilhard de Chardin, Yves Congar, John Courtney Murray, and Thomas Merton

by Robert Nugent

Silence Speaks presents the stories of four internationally recognized 20th-century Catholic theologians and their conflicts with Church authority over their ideas and writings. Each of these men became subject to disciplinary actions that included a prohibition from teaching and writing for various periods of time. Each of them endured critical opposition for their theological insights on ecumenism, war and peace, evolution, the role of laypeople in the Church, and freedom of religion. Despite being “silenced” and suffering internal spiritual crises, each man remained obedient to the Church and ultimately enjoyed at least partial vindication of his views. Readers will find here in one volume a wealth of information gleaned from many sources. †

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 3, 2011

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite my background in Irish studies, I remain woefully unknowledgeable about Catholic theology and practice. I'm trying to make up for it through my reading. (In the past, I made the mistake of obtaining books that were catechetical but completely inaccessible to non-Catholics. Better to get more popular books!) Silence Speaks concerns four Catholic theologians, Teilhard de Chardin, Yves Congar, John Courtney Murray, and Thomas Merton, who were all silenced and disciplined by the Vatican for writings that were considered dangerous, "ambiguous," or "confusing to the faithful." All four theologians were members of religious orders (two Jesuits, a Dominican, and a Trappist) who had taken vows of obedience. All four chose to stay within their orders and submit to being silenced. All four found creative ways, however, to disseminate their ideas outside of published books and articles or public speeches. Thus, when the climate within the Church changed, their ideas could be embraced. Three of the four lived to find re-acceptance within the Church so that they could influence Church policy and theological doctrine. This view of obedience and silence as being simultaneously resistant and non-passive is deeply moving and given me a much better understanding of Catholic belief and practice. One question is whether such a form of subversion or resistance could exist outside the parameters of the Catholic church. It is possible, but I suspect the dynamics would actually be far different. The Catholic Church, it seems, is a highly unique institution. The prose in this volume is spare and direct, which makes a great impact.
Another dilemma which comes to mind is whether silence-as-resistance is the appropriate response in regard to social justice or human rights, e.g. women's and LGBTQ rights. Many within the church seem to be trying to pressure the church from within while also practicing obedience and silence. There are two questions here really: 1) Will obedience and silence be effective in the long term?, and 2) Is it ethically or morally right not to speak out on behalf of others' rights?

[Mark Summers · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The chapters in this book are revised and expanded versions of essays that ... previously appeared in other journals.'