Bryce
The Second Semester
Chapter 42 - Taking Stock
Over the next two weeks things continued to go smoothly. On Wednesday there was a brief meeting of the Executive Committee of the GLBT Club, whose purpose was to certify the results of the electronic vote on changing the name of the organization. The officers and other members examined the results, which gave about a 55% majority in favor of the change. In consequence, Vice-President Felicity Gaines, with the assistance of at-large member Gayle Swinford, was given the task of shepherding the name change through the campus bureaucracy. This made the female members of the organization very happy, and did not matter one way or the other to Bryce or Damon.
In Bryce’s history class, Dr. Dickinson spent this time discussing the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain. He discussed the importance of a flexible social structure for the success of this development, a social structure which allowed for the rise of individuals of talent and energy. There might still be a class structure, but the classes were porous, so successful members of the middle classes could, over a generation or so, be accepted into the upper classes. He pointed out the difference between the traditional concept of class and that which began to take root in consequence of the social changes wrought by the Industrial Revolution. Traditionally, class referred to background, pedigree, owning land, having a coat of arms. The right to bear arms initially referred to the right to a coat of arms as much as the right to carry weapons. For one thing, only the upper classes were allowed to carry weapons. Increasingly, however, class came to refer to one’s economic status more than to any other factor. Even today, however, in Great Britain the notion of class is not as crassly commercial as it is in America. Some people will never be class, no matter how much money they have.
Dr. Dickinson discoursed on some of the examples of the new entrepreneurs, among whom his clear favorite was Josiah Wedgwood, who was not only a creative artist in his own right, and an extremely successful entrepreneur, but also a man who cared for his workers, treating them as people, not as economic counters.
A further class session was devoted to the economic theories which sought to explain the changing conditions of the age. The earliest major thinker was the Scottish philosopher Adam Smith, who published his ground-breaking work, An Enquiry into the Wealth of Nations in the memorable year 1776. Smith described in clear terms his theory that there were “laws of nature” regulating economic activity just as there were in such disciplines as physics and chemistry. In this, Smith was very much a part of the entire Enlightenment outlook. The primary “law of nature” he propounded was the law of supply and demand. Dr. Dickinson pointed out that the economic world Smith describes is a pre-industrial world, even though his theories were taken up with enthusiasm primarily by the proponents of the new industrial economy. In a later generation, these theories would be called by the French phrase laissez faire, meaning the government should stay out of business, and allow the economy to develop on its own. While it’s true Smith argued against governmental interference, what those supposed disciples failed to note is that he did so in order to avoid monopolies, as monopolies could exist in the pre-industrial economy only by royal charter.
It was of interest to Bryce how the ideas of one man, intended for one purpose, could be taken over for others for quite different purposes. He doubted that Henry Ford, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, or Hamilton Fiske, leading supporters of the doctrine of laissez faire in American history, were enemies of monopolies.
The Georgian Era in British history did not correspond exactly to the Eighteenth Century. Beginning in 1714 with the accession of George I, it spilled over into the early Nineteenth Century with George III, he of the American Revolution, who did not die until 1820, and then his son, George IV, for another seven years. By then, Great Britain was the world’s first industrial power.
On Sunday the pregnancy of Kathy, Kyle Sandoval’s girlfriend, was a major topic of discussion. By this time, she was five months along and definitely showing. She seemed pathetically grateful for the acceptance extended to her by the Sandovals and all the others in the Olive Garden lunch bunch. Her parents were not so accepting, constantly putting her down not only for getting pregnant, but for her choice of boyfriend. Kyle was barely tolerated when he visited. The Collins family might be Catholic, but they had not absorbed much of the social teaching of the Church. They were quite certain that the Sandovals must be illegal immigrants and welfare cheats, just because they were of Hispanic origin. In fact, the Sandovals had been in this country for four generations by the time one got to Kyle, and they were economically better off than the Collinses. Kathy’s family held similarly biased views of blacks and Orientals, reflecting their working class background more than their religious heritage. On one Sunday, Kathy said, “This is one of the few times each week I can relax and enjoy myself without fear of being harassed.” That was really sad. Bryce noted that she was due in September, so he expected to be back in Clifton at the time. He made a mental note to get the new mother and baby something really special, to show acceptance, and to blot out as much as possible the negative associations which would inevitably be present. It had already been decided in the Sandoval family that, when the baby was born, he would be raised by the Sandovals, out of fear of neglect and emotional abuse if raised in the Collins family. They knew by this time that the baby would be a boy, which pleased Kyle no end. While not yet certain, they favored the name Carlos, which was the name Kyle used in his persona as a waiter at El Rincon Latino.
“I understand that getting pregnant at this stage of things is not a good idea,” Kathy said, “but we did not plan this. I think half the kids in school have sex, and sometimes things just don’t work out the way you think they will.”
“You’re having a child because God wants you to. Be happy about that. I don’t know why some people think they have to make something like this as unpleasant as possible,” Bryce said.
Kathy kissed him.
“Hey, watch it. That’s my girlfriend,” Kyle said, as he grinned broadly showing his appreciation for Bryce’s support.
At the soup kitchen, DeShawn and Malcolm showed their appreciation of more pleasing weather by showing up in a variety of outlandish costumes. On one Sunday, they both had shorts which began about where their legs joined their torsos, and came down to within a few inches of their shoes, and t-shirts which were several sizes too big, and came down to mid thigh. Bryce commented that the shirts were a good idea, as no one wanted to see their underwear. But the boys had a reason for their wear. They used it as props to entertain the clients at the soup kitchen, going through a routine they had developed in a rap style, describing their clothing, and how it was all hand-me-downs from older brothers. No wonder nothing fit, and kept falling off at embarrassing moments. Then the boys allowed their pants to fall to their ankles, and ran off clutching their pants, pretending to terminal chagrin. They had the patrons at the soup kitchen in stitches, and the workers as well. Bryce rewarded them with double pay that Sunday.
During the following week, Damon raised a question about the role of the pope, saying he had his doubts about this guy who was supposed to be always right.
“That’s not quite the way it works,” Bryce protested.
“No? I thought you guys believed the pope was infallible – couldn’t make a mistake,” Damon said. “So, what is it that you believe?”
“It’s true that the First Vatican Council proclaimed the doctrine of papal infallibility,” Bryce began.
“That’s not the same as this Council you Catholics are always talking about, right?” Damon asked for clarification.
“No. The one most people seem to talk about is the last general council, which took place back in the 1960s. That was the Second Vatican Council. The First Vatican Council took place in 1869 and 1870. I kind of wish they had not adopted this decree on papal infallibility, but they did. Historically, the only time the popes used their authority was to approve or disapprove the decisions of general councils. There have only been two unquestionably infallible papal decrees independently of a council. The first was the decree of Pius IX on 8 December 1854 entitled Ineffabilis Deus, which established the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady. The other was that of Pius XII on 1 November 1950 entitled Munificentissimus Deus, which did the same for the doctrine of the Assumption of Our Lady. Neither of these doctrines are what you might call central to the message of salvation proclaimed by Jesus, but they do reflect the faith of the Church over many centuries. The only problem I have with them is they make relations with other churches more difficult. The Orthodox do not disagree with the doctrines, but disagree with the unilateral proclamation by the pope. The Protestants have a hang-up about Our Lady, which I have never understood. They have no problem with ordaining woman, but will not honor the mother of God. I think it’s a leftover from sixteenth century propaganda.”
“Okay, that’s a lot of information,” Damon said, “but I still don’t know what you Catholics do believe.”
“Sorry. By now you should know that I tend to get involved in historical sidetracks. Well, the decree Pastor aeternus of the First Vatican Council lays down several conditions for a papal pronouncement to be infallible. The pope has to speak formally in his official capacity as Christ’s Vicar on Earth, that is, he must speak ex cathedra. He must make it clear that he intends what he says to be a binding doctrine on all the faithful. It must be something directly related to matters of the faith and morals of the faithful. And finally, it must be proclaimed in union with the entire church. Those are a series of pretty limiting conditions,” Bryce pointed out.
“So your guy in Rome could not just wake up one morning and decide that the earth was created in 4004 B.C.” Damon deduced.
“Nope. No way. Something like that, other than a media disaster, would also violate most of the criteria for infallibility. Speaking ex cathedra takes some preparation, and speaking in union with the whole Church even more. Besides, that’s not a matter of faith or morals,” Bryce insisted.
“It is for some people,” Damon insisted.
“Yeah, I guess it is. But not for us Catholics. I think we learned something from the business with Galileo, which was never a matter of doctrine, by the way. Anyway, the age of the earth is a matter for science, not religion. All that concerns religion is that in the long run, God is responsible for everything. How he chose to do it is not really important.”
“What’s this ex cathedra thing you mentioned twice?” Damon asked.
“Ex cathedra refers to an official pronouncement. The cathedra is the official chair or throne of a bishop. Consequently, the church where that chair is located is called a cathedral, although some people use the term merely to mean a large church. Speaking ex cathedra or from the throne, means speaking in one’s official capacity, not just in an ordinary manner, and especially not just off the cuff. We sometimes say the pope sits in the chair of St. Peter, meaning his role as the successor of the leader of the Apostles, and the magnificent monument glorifying the authority of the popes, created by Gian-Lorenzo Bernini, and located in St. Peter’s, which we will see this summer, is called the “Cathedra Petri,” or chair of Peter.
“So, if I understand you correctly, all this stuff coming from Rome about gays being unnatural and disordered is not infallible,” Damon pushed, getting to his real concern.
“No. I discussed this with Father Miller at some length last semester. It’s a matter of discipline, not doctrine, and on such matters the individual conscience is the final authority, always provided you’re being serious and not just trying to justify what you want to do anyway. I wouldn’t recommend any kind of public attack on the Church hierarchy, any more than I would on the ROTC program or on Clay Hall. Extremism and in-your-face confrontations seldom result in lasting resolutions of problems,” Bryce insisted.
“I already agreed with you on avoiding extremes, so I guess it applies here as well as in those other categories,” Damon conceded. “This papal infallibility thing is a lot less than I thought it was.”
“That’s because some people make it a lot more than it really is. That seems to serve the agendas of both those who want to support the pope and those who want to attack him, which ought to cause us to pause and consider what is being said here,” Bryce decided.
Saturday, 1 May, was another trash pick-up day for the fraternity, and so once again Bryce and Damon turned out at 7:00 in the morning to do their civic duty. At least it was cooler then than later in the day. This time, they witnessed a near accident when a woman who was talking on her cell phone pulled into another lane right in front of an on-coming vehicle. There were squealing brakes, blaring horns, and skidding tires, but, with the windows up and air conditioning on, at least the expletives undeleted were not heard by the fraternity guys.
On Sunday there were lots of rumors floating about. Isobel Sandoval reported over lunch that she heard from at least three separate sources that the new pastor who would take office on 1 July was Father Timothy Fenwick, the priest who had been so popular with the congregation when he substituted in the past for the current pastor. Those same rumors had it that Father Payne, the current pastor, was being sent to a parish in the suburbs which catered to the well heeled. His lack of ability in the pulpit would not matter, as no one paid attention anyway. A lot of those people were more concerned with fitting into the affluent upper middle class to which their economic status entitled them than with being Catholic. They tended to pay more attention to what was said at the Rotary meeting, or on television, than what was said in a sermon.
The semester was coming to a close. Wednesday would be the last day of regular classes, followed by the traditional ‘study week’ and then final exams. Before that, however, at the Sigma Alpha Tau meeting on Tuesday, officers would be elected for the following year. Since the withdrawal of Harry Dwyer, there was no real opposition to Curtis Manning for the presidency, but several of the other positions had interesting races underway. Although approached, Bryce declined to run for office, having in mind his continuing obligations to what was now the LGBT Club. But, somewhat to his own amazement, Damon found himself running for the office of Pledge Master. If successful, he would be responsible for shepherding next year’s class of pledges through the semester long process of initiation. His opponent was Phil Cecil, the stentorian theater major who could dominate an audience every time he opened his mouth. There were also two candidates for the other offices. Bob Balducci, the current Treasurer, announced his candidacy for the office of Vice-President. He explained that he would be a senior next year, so he wanted an office which would not require much work. For that, Curtis socked his shoulder, and threatened, “Just wait.” Running against Bob was Casey Sondheimer, a rather quiet student who was quite knowledgeable about computers, but was thought to have been a supporter of the attempt of Dwyer and Cary Blaine to reverse the more open acceptance represented by Bryce and Damon. With Bob not seeking to succeed himself as Treasurer, that office was now open, and two candidates announced themselves. One was Keith Hamilton, who had been Bryce’s second mentor last semester, and had been very helpful after a rough start with his first Big Brother. His opponent was Tony Baker, the member who made negative comments about Damon at one of the dances earlier in the semester. No contest as far as Bryce and Damon were concerned. Finally, there was the office of Secretary. Terry Hoffman announced his candidacy to succeed himself, while he was opposed by Beau Lyle, another freshman who clearly had ambitions, like Damon.
Damon talked about his continuing desire to be that “hot shot” lawyer he had so frequently mentioned when he and Bryce were first becoming acquainted. Running for office was part of his overall picture of himself as someone helping to bring about desirable change. Of course, Bryce not only pledged his support, but also did a lot of campaigning, talking to other brothers, lauding Damon’s abilities, and his outgoing personality, which would make relating to new pledges easy and comfortable. Damon spoke of inclusiveness and acceptance, but also of civility and fraternity. “We can all get along if we give it a chance,” he reiterated throughout the weeks of campaigning. To his credit, Phil Cecil never said a negative thing about Damon, and made no attempt to appeal to the anti-gay or anti-black sentiments of a few of the brothers. It was a gentlemanly campaign, conducted in a spirit of civility on both sides, for which Damon was especially grateful.
On the other hand, both Sondheimer and Baker made equivocal comments, and dropped hints which the guys found disturbing. They used the phrase “a return to time-tested standards” when talking about fraternity activity and membership. This sounded a lot like what Blaine had been hawking before that effort blew up. Of course, it was no longer acceptable to come out publically against blacks and gays, but the message was there. It did not take long for Bryce and Damon to settle on their own slate for voting purposes. Curtis would definitely get their vote. Even though he was running unopposed, a poor showing would get his years in office off to a weak start. Then, it would be Bob Balducci for Vice-President, Terry Hoffman for Secretary, Keith Hamilton for Treasurer, and, of course, Damon Watson for Pledge Master. The only office over which they wavered a bit was that of Secretary, but in the end they decided that Terry deserved a victory for his senior year, whereas Beau, as a freshman, would have another chance next year.
The voting was by paper ballot, with three tellers appointed to do the counting who were acceptable to all the candidates. At the beginning of the meeting, each candidate got five minutes to make his case, with a timer strictly enforcing the time limit. Then the balloting took place, with the tellers withdrawing to another room to do the counting. While that was going on, the regular business of the fraternity was conducted, including preparations for the traditional end-of-semester party on the Friday which fell between the last regular class and the beginning of final exams. Once most of that had been taken care of, the tellers returned with the results of the balloting.
To no one’s surprise, Curtis was elected as the new President. To his great satisfaction, he received an overwhelming courtesy vote. It was decided not to disclose the actual numbers, but only to announce the winning candidate, so then Bob Balducci was proclaimed the victor in the contest for Vice-President, Terry Hoffman in that for Secretary, Keith Hamilton in the race for Treasurer, and Phil Cecil in that for Pledge Master. No sooner had the results been announced than both Damon and Beau went to congratulate their victorious opponents. Both guys were freshmen, and knew they would have new opportunities in the future. Besides, as Damon confided later to Bryce, it was good for him to learn to accept defeat graciously. In the projects, you vowed revenge and cried foul. Only reluctantly, and with considerably less class, did Casey and Tony then congratulate their successful opponents. The new officers were then sworn in, and pledged to work for the benefit of the entire brotherhood, beginning with a killer party on Friday. That brought a cheer from the assembly.
Thursday was the first day of the so-called ‘study week.’ Bryce wondered how much studying would get done before next Monday, at the earliest. It seemed odd not to have classes or other scheduled activities to attend. Even his study groups determined to delay their last session until next week. In a pensive mood, Bryce drove over to St. Boniface, and entered the quiet church. He sat, not so much praying as allowing his mind to wander in a quiet and comfortable atmosphere. He was approaching the end of his first year in college. An awful lot had happened during that year. Perhaps most significantly, he had accepted the fact that he was gay, and had made real progress in reconciling that with his Catholic faith. This had involved many sessions with Father Miller, the campus minister, last semester, and continued study on his own up to the present. As a result, his understanding of and appreciation for his faith was expanded and deepened. There remained tensions with the public position of the hierarchy on gay sex and gay unions, but he felt he could ignore that and still remain a good Catholic. Despite the media attention to this issue, and the anguish the hierarchy’s position had caused someone like Marc Rimbault, essentially driving him from the Church, this was not really a matter of essential doctrine, something which must be accepted in order to remain Catholic in good conscience.
The next most important thing, and one for which he daily thanked God, was his relationship with Damon. At first glance, they seemed to have precious little in common, but somehow it worked. Maybe it was a case of opposites attracting. They seemed to complement each other perfectly. Bryce was aware that he tended to get pedantic on occasion, and also to go off on tangents, mostly historical ones, when asked his opinion. He grinned to himself, and decided it was well that he had chosen a career as a college teacher. He would never make it in the world of business. But Damon brought him back to earth when he got too far from the practicalities of a situation. While Damon had a very limited background, he still seemed to have a sense of ground roots solidness to his outlook, which served both of them well on numerous occasions. Bryce had no doubt whatsoever that Damon was a grace bestowed on him by a good God, and he never ceased thanking God for this.
Less tremendous, but still important, Bryce found that his decision to major in history, with the goal of someday teaching at the university level, had been a good one. He admired Professor Dickinson greatly, and found his classes interesting and satisfying. He enjoyed the work of the mind. Learning something new, gaining a new insight into already known facts, gave him a mental thrill just as intense as any physical sensation.
Finally, this year had been important for his membership in Sigma Alpha Tau fraternity. After his unsettling experiences during high school, it was good for him to find that he could find enjoyment and satisfaction in social exchanges with a variety of personalities from a variety of backgrounds. It helped determine what we all had in common, and what was peculiar to the individual. Even the clashes were valuable lessons in human relations.
On the whole, Bryce decided it had been a good year, a very good year.