''Mater si, magistra no'' (literally "Mother yes, teacher no") is a

macaronic Macaronic language uses a mixture of languages, particularly bilingual puns or situations in which the languages are otherwise used in the same context (rather than simply discrete segments of a text being in different languages). Hybrid words ...

phrase that means

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

s need not follow all the teachings of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, particularly in regard to economic justice or the rights of workers. It was originally in direct response to the

papal The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

encyclical An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally from ...

Mater et Magistra ''Mater et magistra'' is the encyclical written by Pope John XXIII on the topic of "Christianity and Social Progress". It was promulgated on 15 May 1961. The title means "mother and teacher", referring to the role of the church. It describes a ...

'' of 1961, as a reference to the then-current

anti-Castro The Cuban dissident movement is a political movement in Cuba whose aim is to replace the current government with a liberal democracy. According to Human Rights Watch, the Cuban government represses nearly all forms of political dissent. Backgrou ...

slogan, "Cuba sí, Castro no."

History

The original use was focused on the Church's 1960s teachings on

social policy Social policy is a plan or action of government or institutional agencies which aim to improve or reform society. Some professionals and universities consider social policy a subset of public policy, while other practitioners characterize soci ...

but Roman Catholic publications such as the ''

New Oxford Review The ''New Oxford Review'' is a magazine of Catholic cultural and theological commentary.Ronald Lora, William Henry Longton, ''The conservative press in twentieth-century America'', Greenwood Publishing Group, 1999, p. 20/ref>Mary Jo Weaver, ''Bein ...

'' and the ''

National Catholic Reporter The ''National Catholic Reporter'' (''NCR'') is a progressive national newspaper in the United States that reports on issues related to the Catholic Church. Based in Kansas City, Missouri, ''NCR'' was founded by Robert Hoyt in 1964. Hoyt want ...

'' have described it as a slogan for "' pick-and-choose Catholicism" or for those who have a "deep love for the faith and tradition, coupled with skepticism about ecclesiastical authority and its claims to special wisdom." The phrase is often attributed to

William F. Buckley, Jr William Frank Buckley Jr. (born William Francis Buckley; November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American public intellectual, conservative author and political commentator. In 1955, he founded ''National Review'', the magazine that stim ...

; although it was first published in Buckley's ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief i ...

'', the phrase was actually coined by

Garry Wills Garry Wills (born May 22, 1934) is an American author, journalist, political philosopher, and historian, specializing in American history, politics, and religion, especially the history of the Catholic Church. He won a Pulitzer Prize for Genera ...

during a telephone conversation with Buckley. Russell Shaw says the phrase "helped set the stage for the self-righteous dismissals that greeted the 1968 publication of

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

's encyclical ''

Humanae Vitae ''Humanae vitae'' (Latin: ''Of Human Life'') is an encyclical written by Pope Paul VI and dated 25 July 1968. The text was issued at a Vatican press conference on 29 July. Subtitled ''On the Regulation of Birth'', it re-affirmed the teaching of ...

''", and later

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

's ''

Laudato si' ''Laudato si (''Praise Be to You'') is the second encyclical of Pope Francis. The encyclical has the subtitle "on care for our common home". In it, the pope critiques consumerism and irresponsible development, laments environmental degradatio ...

'' on the environment.Shaw, Russell. "Give the pope's encyclical a chance", ''The Arlington Catholic Herald'', May 22, 2015
/ref> It became the expression of a knee-jerk antipathy to church teaching

hich Ij ( fa, ايج, also Romanized as Īj; also known as Hich and Īch) is a village in Golabar Rural District, in the Central District of Ijrud County, Zanjan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also ...

spread to other areas where dissenters happened not to like what was taught.

Cultural impact

* When ''

Commonweal Commonweal or common weal may refer to: * Common good, what is shared and beneficial for members of a given community * Common Weal, a Scottish think tank and advocacy group * Commonweal (magazine), ''Commonweal'' (magazine), an American lay-Cath ...

'' published

Eamon Duffy Eamon Duffy (born 1947) is an Irish historian. He is a professor of the history of Christianity at the University of Cambridge, and a Fellow and former president of Magdalene College. Early life Duffy was born on 9 February 1947, in Dundalk, I ...

's negative review of Wills's 2000 book ''Papal Sin'', the caption on the front cover read "Mater Si, Wills No". *''National Review'' editor

Priscilla Buckley Priscilla Langford Buckley (October 17, 1921 – March 25, 2012) was an American journalist and author who was the longtime managing editor of ''National Review''. Biography Buckley was born in New York City. She was the third of 10 children of ...

subsequently regretted having published the phrase, stating in 2005 that it had "got (National Review) into lots and lots of trouble ... over lots and lots of years".

References

{{Reflist

External links

John XXIII: Mater et Magistra (Critical Comments Selected by Gerald Darring)
from the Theology Library of

Spring Hill College Spring Hill College is a private, Jesuit college in Mobile, Alabama. It was founded in 1830 by Michael Portier, Bishop of Mobile. Along with being the oldest college or university in the state of Alabama, it was the first Catholic college in the ...

Latin religious words and phrases Catholic Church in the United States Criticism of the Catholic Church 1961 neologisms