Burden of Responsibility

The Most Rev. James P. Shannon, 48, has a reputation for being a thinking man's bishop. A former president of the College of St. Thomas in St. Paul, with a doctorate in history from Yale, Shannon marched at Selma and has been an outspoken critic of the Viet Nam war. Auxiliary Bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis since his consecration in 1965, he has served as deputy head of communications for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops; he was the conference's press spokesman last fall when the U.S. bishops defended Pope Paul VI's encyclical on birth control.

Last week, though, it became clear that Shannon is on the other side of the argument. A confidential letter he had written to the Pope dissenting from the encyclical became public, and he was reported to have submitted his resignation. The reason for his resignation, according to Religion Editor Willmar Thorkelson of the Minneapolis Star, who broke the story, was Shannon's inability to accept the prohibition of contraception as stated in Humanae Vitae.

According to Thorkelson, Shannon wrote the Pope last September: "In my pastoral experience I have found that this teaching is simply impossible of observance by many faithful and generous spouses, and I cannot believe that God binds men to impossible standards. In seeking to counsel such persons, I have found myself resorting to all sorts of casuistry and rationalization in the hope that I might keep faith both with Your Holiness and with the people of God who seek my help. I must now reluctantly admit that I am ashamed of the kind of advice I have given some of these people, ashamed because it has been bad theology, bad psychology and because it has not been an honest reflection of my own inner convictions."

Shannon has been the favorite prelate of many U.S. Catholic progressives. Thoughtful and articulate, he has thought of himself as a bridge between radicals and conservatives in the church; yet his own liberal views may well have prevented him from getting his own diocese. After Shannon appeared in an NBC documentary discussing tensions in the church, Los Angeles' crusty James Francis Cardinal McIntyre complained to the U.S. hierarchy, reportedly calling Shannon's, tolerance for change an "incipient schism."

In Santa Fe last week, where he is teaching literature at St. John's College on leave from his archdiocese, Shannon refused to confirm or deny the reports of his resignation but did explain his letter to the Pope. "A bishop is not just resolving these questions for himself," he said. "He is asked to give counsel to others. His burden of responsibility is greater than that of the individual Catholic." Shannon himself hopes to continue to teach at St. John's College through the summer. If and when the Pope accepts Shannon's resignation as Auxiliary Bishop of St. Paul and as pastor of St. Helena's Church in Minneapolis, he will remain a bishop--but without portfolio. As for the birth control controversy, his challenge to the encyclical makes it clear that the issue is not dead. Indeed, one Vatican rumor has it that Pope Paul is preparing yet another encyclical on the subject.

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