An Interview with Fr. Vito Tomás Gómez García, OP, Master of Sacred Theology (Magister in Sacra Theologia)
The degree of Master of Sacred Theology “is a great stimulus that obliges me to offer to the Order in the Church all my efforts, with the purpose of continuing to work for the sowing of the Gospel in society,” says Brother Vito Tomás Gómez García, OP. He received this title from the Master of the Order in 2022. The following interview was granted to the media of Ordo Praedicatorum:
Magister in Sacra Theologia[i]
What does it mean to you to have received the degree of Master in Sacred Theology from the Master of the Order?
I must thank the whole Order of Preachers, in the person of the Master for the countless graces I have received beginning with my entrance to the minor seminary of my Province of Aragon and which continue today in the new Province of Hispania. The Order has given me the help of people, opportunities and means, without which it would have been impossible for me to follow in the footsteps of St. Dominic and of so many other models and intercessors of the Dominican Family. Looking to the future, it is a great stimulus that obliges me to offer to the Order in the Church all my efforts, with the purpose of continuing my commitment to the sowing of the Gospel in society.
In your opinion, what is the Order’s current theological contribution to the Church and the world?
Our brother St. Thomas wrote in his defence of the Dominicans as a new religious family in the Church, which, as we know, was opposed by the academic authorities of the time, that he intended, first of all, to imitate Jesus Christ in his integrity and thus to offer the way of the Gospel to mankind. This is, in short, the programme for our theological work: developing the possibilities and the means received from God in our particular time and place. The Order is called to offer the Church a profound reflection on the divine mystery and on the mystery of man in a society which must be open to transcendence, to God who manifests himself in the merciful love of the Incarnation of his Son and in the unfailing companionship of the Holy Spirit. I believe that the theological contribution that the Church needs from us is scholarship which draws from the sources of Revelation and from a familiarity with the Christian thought of the different epochs, and which also considers the philosophical and historical aspects of humanity. The progress made in the past is a commitment for our study in modern times. On the other hand, we now have means at our disposal that would hardly have been dreamt of by the generations that preceded us. Just one example: today it is possible to consult from our simple cells works that fill the space of many libraries and, furthermore, to know in which libraries the bibliographic collections that help our work are to be found. Our theological work, forged in community through prayer and life, must have a solid foundation, even in the case of articles or essays. Books, however, still have grea value as the fruit of continuous research.
In the light of the theology of marriage, what should be the response of the Order and the Church to the challenges facing the family today?
We come into existence in the bosom of a family and must consider it as our first school of life. It is there that we receive the means for our physical and mental development, as well as for our religious, cultural and interpersonal development. The family normally incorporates us into the Church and society, into general education and education in the faith. It is always our home with all that this means. Our reflection must be directed towards the theological foundations of the sacrament of marriage, using the method already outlined for theological work in general. It goes without saying that the topics of marriage and the family urgently call for reflection and pastoral care in society today. It is the family that sustains society, and society depends on the values it embodies.
How can the Sacrament of Reconciliation help young people today?
From the theological viewpoint, which embraces the human being in his or her relationship with God and with others, we must start from the fact that we are born with a need for reconciliation. Our full re-encounter with God normally takes place through the Sacrament of Baptism, or through the mysterious extra-sacramental channels provided by the merciful power of God when we are unable to receive it. Let us recall the words of the Second Vatican Council in the constitution Lumen Gentium n. 16: “Nor does Divine Providence deny the helps necessary for salvation to those who, without blame on their part, have not yet arrived at an explicit knowledge of God and with His grace strive to live a good life.” At the baptismal font not only does every stain of sin disappear, but the fullness of grace is given to us which will be developed through the virtues and gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a necessary aid for all the baptised in order to maintain and increase grace in us. Those in theological and pastoral roles must work so that health may reign in the mystical body of Christ. Reconciliation is a sacrament that brings the necessary strength needed to overcome many obstacles to the life of grace and that can even have physical repercussions. The pastoral care of children and young people must emphasise the means instituted by God to travel the path of life with spiritual health and strength.
Would you like to add anything?
Related to the previous answer, I would like to share this reflection. In the middle of the 13th century the General Chapter prescribed that all our communities possess a copy of a book entitled: De modo docendi pueros. This work, which describes how to teach children, was written by Brother William of Tournai, OP. (A student edition of this manuscript was made in Indianapolis, USA in 1955.) Here are some thoughts gleaned from it: Teaching is the fruit of love; it must extend to manners and science. What is received in youth is retained with great firmness until the end of life. It is the duty of parents to educate their children so that neither one nor the other is lost. Teachers should be of good character. Among bad teachers, especially the miserly one is to be avoided, who, disregarding the progress of the children, thinks more of hoarding money than of instructing and training his pupils. The children must be instructed in faith, morals and science. Faith is like the good root of the soul. The whole family is to be instructed, both sons and daughters, servants and handmaids. The family is to be clean, blameless, faithful to its neighbour, humble and submissive to God. Thus pastoral care through and in the field of education was, from the beginning, something very much our own; St. Thomas made this clear in several of his works.
Vito Tomás Gómez García was born in Villacorta (Spain) in 1943. A son of the Province of Hispania, he was professed in the Order of Preachers in 1960. He obtained his Licentiate in Theology in 1968. He then obtained a Licentiate in Ecclesiastical History in 1971 and a Doctorate in 1989 at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome with a thesis published in full, entitled “Cardinal Fr. Manuel García y Gil, Bishop of Badajoz and Archbishop of Zaragoza (1802- 1881)”. He was a lecturer at the San Vicente Ferrer Faculty of Theology in Valencia from 1971 until he became Emeritus Professor in June 2013. He has taught courses on the History of Dogma, History of Ecclesiological Currents in the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, General Scientific Methodology and History of the Church in its different stages, specialising in the Modern and Contemporary Periods. He was Secretary and Director for several years of the yearbook “Escritos del Vedat”, and of the journal “Teología Espiritual”, both publications of the San Vicente Ferrer Faculty of Theology of Valencia, Section PP. Dominicans. For twelve years he was Postulator General of the Causes of Saints of the Order of Preachers with residence in Rome. He is currently Promoter of the Causes of Canonisation of the Province of Hispania and Professor of the History of St. Dominic and of the Order of Preachers in the Novitiate of the same Province in Seville.
[i] Master of Sacred Theology is an honorary degree granted by the Master of the Order at the recommendation of the General Council in accordance with certain requirements. The title dates back to 1303, when Pope Benedict XI, a Dominican, created it so that the Order of Preachers could grant the faculty of teaching theology. Today it is an honorary and exclusively academic title, but it is the highest recognition of excellence in the sacred sciences within the Order of Preachers
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