Bishops Adopt Regulations On Catholic Colleges' Lessons The Controversial Rules Require, Among Other Things, That Theologians Gain A Bishop's Approval.

WASHINGTON — The National Conference of Catholic Bishops yesterday overwhelmingly adopted controversial rules by which local bishops may exercise oversight over the theology taught at Catholic colleges in their diocese.

Despite skeptical concerns of the faculty and presidents of some U.S. Catholic teaching institutions, the document containing the rules, Ex Corde Ecclesiae, asserts the right of a local bishop to credential theologians who teach at Catholic colleges and universities.

The guidelines, nine years in the making, are aimed at safeguarding the Catholic identity of the nation's approximately 230 Catholic colleges and universities. The action is highly significant because some theologians have criticized official policies and promulgated speculative theologies at variance with basic Catholic doctrines, such as that the Crucifixion might not have been in atonement for the world's sins, or questioning papal authority.

Although the document approved yesterday by a vote of 223-31 is less stringent than a draft presented for study at last year's conference, the new version also stipulates that upon appointment, a university president must swear fidelity to Catholic church teaching.

It recommends that, where feasible, the president and a majority of a board of trustees be Catholic. It stipulates that trustees, faculty and staff be informed at their appointment of the school's Catholic identity and mission, and calls on all faculty to "exhibit academic confidence . . . and respect for Catholic doctrine."

The document also asserts that "Catholic students have a right to receive from a university instruction in authentic Catholic doctrine."

Perhaps the most controversial idea is the stipulation that "Catholics who teach the theological disciplines are required to have a [written] mandatum granted by a competent ecclesiastical authority," that is, the local bishop. The mandatum asserts that the theologian has pledged to "teach in communion with the Church" and promised not to present his or her own variant opinions as authentic Catholic teaching.

"There is this apprehension as to how this is going to be implemented by us bishops," Archbishop John G. Vlazny of Portland, Ore., told his fellow bishops gathered at the Hyatt hotel near Capitol Hill. Although Archbishop Vlazny said he fully supported the document, he warned: "There are those who wonder, are we going to Big Brother?"