Authoritarianism as an ideal type

[Richard Dougherty]

Sanford Levinson wrote:

> With regard to Earl's request, let me ask how he (or any of the rest of you)
> respond to the following assertion/argument:
>
> 1)  The Catholic Church is an authoritarian institution, at least as compared to,
> say, the Southern Baptist Church.
>
> 2)  Pope John Paul II is, as compared to, say,   Pope John XXIII, an
> authoritarian Pope, as measured by such things as his emphasis on centralized
> control by the Vatican and his willingness to excommunicate those who deviate
> from the Vatican regards as central Church tenets.
>
> Would a Catholic (or anyone else) have a right to take offense at the above
> sentences, or to feel that I have engaged in "bad manners" in pointing these
> things out?   (Especially given that the latter analysis is often offered by
> professing Catholics, including, but not limited to, Garry Wills?)

Sandy:
Yes, a Catholic would have the right to take offense at such statements, for
exactly the same reasons Eugene has, I think cogently, suggested abandoning the
term "authoritarian" in legal analysis.  That the Church exercises authority does
not necessarily make it "authoritarian," and those like Wills who do want to use
such language do it precisely because they want to criticize the Church or John
Paul II.  I don't think I have ever heard someone sympathetic to the pope, or to
Bush, or to Clinton, or to anyone, refer to them as "authoritarian."  ("Well, yes,
but he's my authoritarian"?)  Unless Wills wants to identify himself or bishops he
likes as "authoritarian" as well, the moniker gets us nowhere; once he does accept
the mantle, it becomes relatively useless in analysis.

Apropos of the question of John Paul's "authoritarianism," I would want to ask the
same questions Eugene asks: in what way(s) is he authoritarian?  What examples of
supposedly authoritarian behavior can we put on the table to talk about?  Who has
he excommunicated, and for what reasons?  Until we can begin to assess such
questions, the assertion is simply that, an assertion.  In other words, the use of
the term doesn't really get us anywhere, and I take it, absent more, is not the
reason most (?) people subscribe to the list.

Richard Dougherty
University of Dallas