Moyra Doorly and Aidan Nichols, OP, discuss ecumenism, "hierarchy of truths"

Moyra Doorly and theologian Fr Aidan Nichols (both of whom have written books published by Ignatius Press) have been carrying on a dialogue in the pages of The Catholic Herald for the past year or so; their discussion has focused primarily on Vatican II, modernism, liturgy, and, now, ecumenism. Doorly writes:

Now, everyone says that Vatican II produced no new teachings or defined any new doctrines. But did it introduce new ideas and ways of thinking not defined as doctrines but practically written in stone anyway? Because the Decree on Ecumenism states: "The sacred Council exhorts ... all the Catholic faithful to recognise the signs of the times and to take an active and intelligent part in the work of ecumenism" (para 4). And "in certain circumstances, such as in prayer services 'for unity' and during ecumenical gatherings, it is allowable, indeed desirable, that Catholics should join in prayer with their separated brethren" (para 8). Far from adhering to a "false Christianity", Protestants are termed "separated brethren" by Vatican II.

Furthermore, the Decree on Ecumenism contains another new idea, one which Pope Pius XI denounced. Catholic theologians are told that in ecumenical dialogue they "should remember that in Catholic doctrine there exists an order or 'hierarchy' of truths, since they vary in their relation to the foundation of the Christian faith" (para 11).

Wasn't the "hierarchy of truths" an idea proposed by the modern theologian Yves Congar? Isn't this what Pope Pius XI warned against when he referred to "that distinction which some have seen fit to introduce between those articles of faith which are fundamental and those which are not fundamental ... as if the former are to be accepted by all, while the latter may be left to the free assent of the faithful" (para 9).

Because however you explain it, the term "hierarchy of truths" will be taken to mean that some truths are more significant than others. The 1970 document Reflections and Suggestions Concerning Ecumenical Dialogue (part IV, para 4b), suggests how this new idea can be understood. "For example, the dogma of Mary's Immaculate Conception ... presupposes, before it can be properly grasped in a true life of faith, the dogma of grace to which it is linked and which in its turn necessarily rests upon the redemptive incarnation of the Word."

But the dogma that Mary, Mother of God, was conceived without original sin, is a teaching accessible to everyone. Why complicate matters in a pastoral context when, combined with the term "hierarchy", the result is bound to be that this dogma will be sidelined in ecumenical dialogue? Pope Pius XI pointed to the error of putting aside differences in order to achieve a common set of beliefs. Is the Immaculate Conception to be put aside so as not to upset Protestants?

Read the entire exchange.

I can appreciate to a certain degree the concern over the term, "hierarchy of truths," being misunderstood, but I think that significance, or even validity, is being confused in the quote above with dependence, or relationship. This is why the Decree on Ecumenism states that various truths "vary in their relation to the fundamental Christian faith." This is quite different from saying that some truths must be accepted and other truths are optional, since that is not a matter of relationship between truths, but a judgment about whether something is actually true or not true. And this is so because the subject at hand is Catholic doctrine ("When comparing doctrines with one another..."), and there are no "optional" Catholic doctrines.

Saying the Rosary, which is a devotion, is optional; you don't need to say the Rosary to be a good Catholic. (Which should be distinguished, it should be noted, from believing the doctrinal statements contained within the Rosary.) But belief in, say, sacramentals, is not optional, yet it would be foolish to think or argue that sacramentals are foundational to the doctrine of the Trinity, or to the Incarnation; on the contrary, one cannot really begin to understand sacramentals until you've grasped some basic facts about the Trinity, the Incarnation, the salvific work of Christ, sin, salvation, the sacramental economy, and grace. Understood rightly, then, the hierarchy of truths is not an impediment to explaining Catholic doctrine, but a logical and helpful means to showing the real and vital relationship between Catholic doctrines. Perhaps the analogy of a house and its structure is helpful: every part of the house—cement, wood, roofing, etc.—is integral to the house being a house, but without a foundation and a basic frame, the particulars of plaster, tiling, plumbing, and so forth would not matter. You wouldn't build a house on roof tiles, but you also wouldn't have a house without roofing.

Douglas Bushman, S.T.L., wrote an excellent piece, "Understanding the Hierarchy of Truths," which is worth quoting from at length:

Here the Church recognizes that the way to agreement regarding disputed points of doctrine is the way of faith itself, grounded in essential truths about God and Christ. The hierarchy of truths also has application in the Church’s catechetical activity: "This hierarchy does not mean that some truths pertain to faith itself less than others, but rather that some truths are based on others as of a higher priority, and are illumined by them. On all levels catechesis should take account of this hierarchy of the truths of faith."

These truths may be grouped under four basic heads: the mystery of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Creator of all things; the mystery of Christ the incarnate Word, who was born of the Virgin Mary, and who suffered, died, and rose for our salvation; the mystery of the Holy Spirit, who is present in the Church, sanctifying and guiding it until the glorious coming of Christ, our Savior and Judge; and the mystery of the Church, which is Christ’s Mystical Body, in which the Virgin Mary holds the preeminent place" (General Catechetical Directory, no. 43).

This text excludes a misunderstanding, summarized by Cardinal Schönborn: "the ‘hierarchy of truth’ does not mean ‘a principle of subtraction,’ as if faith could be reduced to some ‘essentials’ whereas the ‘rest’ is left free or even dismissed as not significant. The ‘hierarchy of truth . . . is a principle of organic structure.’ It should not be confused with the degrees of certainty; it simply means that the different truths of faith are ‘organized’ around a center" (Introduction to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, p. 42).

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) employs the hierarchy of truths, linking it to the teaching of Vatican I on the mutual connections among the mysteries or articles of faith (no. 90). Vatican I taught: "If reason illumined by faith inquires in an earnest, pious and sober manner, it attains by God’s grace a certain understanding of the mysteries, which is most fruitful, both from the analogy with the objects of its natural knowledge and from the connection of these mysteries with one another and with man’s ultimate end" (Dei Filius, Ch. IV).

Following the Church’s Creeds, the CCC identifies the Trinity as the central mystery of Christian faith and "the source of all the other mysteries of faith, the light which illumines them" (no. 234). Finally, the recent General Directory for Catechesis (GDC) states: "All aspects and dimensions of the Christian message participate in this hierarchical system" (no. 115). It goes on to mention: the Christocentric nature of the history of salvation; the Trinitarian structure of the Creed; the centrality of the Paschal Mystery, and therefore of the Eucharist, in the sacramental system; the primacy of the two commandments of love of God and neighbor in Christian moral teaching; the way the Lord’s Prayer is a "summary of the Gospel" and sum of all petitions. For Pope John Paul II, "The truth that God is Love constitutes as it were the apex of all that has been revealed . . . . This truth illumines the whole content of divine revelation" (Gen. Audience, Oct. 2, 1985). God is Himself love (1 Jn 4:8), and this love is fully revealed in Jesus Christ.

Read the entire essay.

Finally, the example of Mary is a good case in point. As I, while still an Evangelical Protestant, studied Catholic theology and doctrine, I was (as are most Protestants) concerned and/or puzzled by various Marian doctrines. What I began to realize was that I could not rightly appreciate and comprehend the Church's teachings about Mary unless I saw them in their proper context, which was, first and foremost, in light of her relationship with her Son: "Mary's role in the Church is inseparable from her union with Christ and flows directly from it" (CCC, 964). In other words, all that Mary was and is and always will be, flows from the source, the Incarnate Word, and that any attempt—whether purposeful or not—to separate Mary from that relationship would effectively pervert or undermine the truth about her. Marian doctrine, in other words, is rightly ordered to Christology. And so authentic ecumenical dialogue about Marian doctrines should first focus on the person of Jesus Christ before moving on to the Immaculate Conception, etc.