Richard Shields Fails to Deliver

Vincent J. Curtis

2 June 2016

Richard Shields, PhD, teaches at the Faculty of Theology of St. Michael's College in Toronto.  He wrote an article for the Hamilton Spectator, published this day, headlined: "Catholic values and good education policy: An oxymoron?"  The article concerned the decision - so far - of the Halton Catholic School Board not to include specific protection against bullying in Board policy for 'LGBTTIQ' persons, in Shields' formulation.  After a lot of to-ing and fro-ing he comes down as critical of the Halton Board on the grounds that what is being asked really doesn't matter, and it is more important to be seen well in progressivist lights than to stand up for some 'obscure' Catholic teaching or other.

As an attack from the Catholic perspective of the Halton Catholic School Board, the article written by theologian Dr. Richard Shields was a shocking failure.  As a professional theologian, one would have expected clarity and cogency in argument, but instead we got soft-soap, a fog of verbiage, and downright error.

The outstanding example of error is found in his statement that, “Policies rooted in generosity, rather than obscure Church teachings, bring Catholic practice closer to the light of truth.”  From the Catholic perspective, Church teachings, however obscure, are the light of truth, and policies rooted in generosity that bring practice away from that teaching go the way of error, not towards the truth.

The anti-bullying business could have been handled incisively starting with the teaching of “Love thy neighbour as thyself.”  That teaching covers bullying not just against the LBGTQWERTY flavors of the month, but against any individual.  An ethic founded on chop-logic, as secular humanism is, needs regular updates to keep in fashion with the times, whereas an ethic founded upon a principle does not.  Bullying per se is forbidden in Catholic teaching, not just bullying against members of a certain group.

Dr. Shields fails to observe the distinction between empty words on paper and actual practice.  Laws against criminal assault and murder do not prevent criminal assault and murder, and words against bullying will not prevent bullying either.  It is the conscience that must be changed - in Catholic schools by Catholic teaching, something he seems to deprecate, holding it is “inviolate.”

Dr. Shields fails to understand that the God of Catholics is both a God of Love and a God of Truth, and that no amount of Love can change the Truth.  The anti-bullying business is just another brick in the wall of normalizing LGBTQWERTY behavior.  No amount of Love can change the Truth that behavior characteristic of LBGTQWERTY is not normalizable in the scholastic sense.  Dr. Shields argues that somehow Catholic institutions should dream their way past this Truth by thinking only of Love.

I would have expected from a theologian a clear and incisive attack upon, or a cogent defense of, the action of the Halton Board.  We got neither.  We got error.

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