Last week we learned that the
“cause” for Fulton Sheen’s canonization has been suspended. This was a surprising and disappointing
development, even to non-Catholics who would like to see such a great thinker
and champion of justice honored.
Nor is this the first time such a thing has happened to
Sheen. ’Way back in 1927 or so, not too
long after Sheen was appointed to the Catholic University of America, he
managed to incur the wrath (or, more likely, the jealousy) of Monsignor John A.
Ryan, credited with being “the” guy for social justice in the United States,
and who ruled the theology department of Catholic U. with an iron hand. At first Ryan contented himself with making
the usual academic trouble for Sheen, gossip, innuendo, you know, academic
politics as usual.
Matters came to a head, however, when the new rector of
Catholic University refused to approve the appointment of Ryan’s handpicked
successor at the school of theology, Dr. Francis Joseph Haas (1889-1953), until
Dr. Haas obtained a Doctor of Divinity (D.D.). The rector had decided all
professors in the school of theology must have a D.D. in order to maintain
academic standards.
Big deal, right? So
what, you say? You dreamer.
Ryan was outraged at this flouting of his personal
authority by a mere rector of the university.
He circulated a petition against the rector that he intended to submit
to the bishops of the United States, and demanded that every professor in the
school sign it.
You guessed it. Sheen
refused to sign. As he described the situation,
“I
thought it was unfair to send to the bishops an accusation against the rector
of the university when the rector of the university had never been given a
hearing. I suggested: ‘Before sending out the letter why not call in the
rector, read to him the accusations you have made and give him a chance to
respond. If he cannot, then send the letter, but I will not sign the document
without giving [the rector] the right to answer.’” (Fulton J. Sheen, Treasure in Clay, p. 45.)
Sheen’s refusal to accuse the rector without giving the
rector the chance to respond or defend himself was all the excuse Ryan needed.
As Sheen related,
“The
next day there appeared on the bulletin board of the School of Theology a
notice to the effect that all of the classes of Dr. Fulton J. Sheen had been
suspended in the School of Theology. [The rector] knew the reason — namely,
because I had defended him. He then transferred me to the School of
Philosophy.” (Ibid., 45-46.)
This suspension could have been the end of Sheen’s
career. As it was, it was pretty much
the end of it in academia, but he went on to bigger and better things . . .
fortunately for us.
So, another suspension?
And we don’t really know the reason?
It may not be anything to worry about — a subject we’ll start discussing
in the next posting in this series.
