Would You Sign This?

In July 2025, three respected traditionalist/conservative theologians lost their longstanding professorships at Detroit’s Sacred Heart Major Seminary. Archbishop Edward Weisenburger (installed in March) dismissed Ralph Martin, Ed Peters, and Eduardo Echeverria for what some claim was their disloyalty in questioning the previous pope’s pastoral writings, specifically Amoris Laetitia and Fiducia Supplicans. Others, including me, see their dismissal as evidence of a progressive double standard, since institutions rarely discipline progressive-leaning theologians and clergy who openly dissent from Church teaching.

I will not rehash that debate here. Instead, I want to ask a new question—what should serve as grounds for discipline or termination in Catholic institutions and schools? The Church already provides guidance in the Oath of Fidelity on Assuming an Office to be Exercised in the Name of the Church (1989). Canon Law 833 requires bishops, pastors, seminary professors, and others who teach or govern in the name of the Catholic Church to take this oath.

The oath states its demands clearly, makes the commitment public, and imposes serious consequences for breaking it.

If asked, would you sign this oath?

Oath of Fidelity

I, N., in assuming the office of ………, promise that in my words and in my actions I shall always preserve communion with the Catholic Church.

With great care and fidelity I shall carry out the duties that bind me toward the Church, both universal and particular, in which, according to the provisions of the law, I have been called to exercise my service.

In fulfilling the charge entrusted to me in the name of the Church, I shall hold fast to the deposit of faith in its entirety; I shall faithfully hand it on and explain it, and I shall avoid any teachings contrary to it.

I shall foster the common discipline of the entire Church and insist on the observance of all ecclesiastical laws, especially those contained in the Code of Canon Law.

With Christian obedience I shall follow what the Bishops, as authentic doctors and teachers of the faith, declare, or what they, as those who govern the Church, establish. I shall also—with due regard for the character and purpose of my institute—faithfully assist the diocesan Bishops, so that the apostolic activity, exercised in the name and by mandate of the Church, occurs in communion with the Church.

Consequences for Breaking the Oath

Loss of Position — You forfeit any office or role requiring the oath.
Loss of Teaching Mandate — Professors of theology lose their right to teach in Catholic institutions.
Ecclesiastical Penalties — Persistent public rejection of Church teaching can result in suspension or even excommunication.
Moral Responsibility — Breaking the oath constitutes a grave matter before God, given its sacred and public nature.

For the record, the three theologians mentioned earlier received only removal from their positions. Considering this fact, the case against them appears extremely—and laughably—weak.

Some Telling Questions

Would you sign this oath without hesitation?
If not, which part would challenge you—and why?
Can someone publicly dissent from definitive Catholic teaching and still honestly sign this oath?
If required to sign it to teach, govern, or minister in the Church, would you comply?
Should those unwilling to sign it hold offices in the Church?

Final Thoughts…

Some non-Catholics, Protestants, or nonbelievers may view taking such an oath as unnecessary or even strange. In thinking so, they fail to grasp the seriousness with which the Catholic Church regards truth, especially revealed divine truth. Because such truth concerns the eternal destiny of souls, the Church insists that those teaching it embody care and fidelity in every aspect of their instruction.

Given this context, requiring the Oath seems a reasonable request.

What do you think?