Timothy Radcliffe, former Master General of the Dominican order and a widely respected spiritual guide, author, and lecturer, delivered an important talk at the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress in early April on the subject of polarization in the Church. An edited version of the printed text and spoken word appeared in the May 5 issue of the National Catholic Reporter under the title, "Overcoming discord in the church."

Two years ago, Father Radcliffe had given a similar talk at the annual convention of the National Federation of Priests Councils in Atlanta, Georgia. I found the talk so stimulating that I did a series of three columns on it. The NCR published them in a single abridged form, with a subsequent rejoinder by Radcliffe himself.

The reason for his rejoinder was that I had been critical of some aspects of his talk. He had spoken, for example, of the gap between church teaching and the views of many ordinary Catholics without acknowledging the possibility that the gap exists, not simply because of a lack of understanding on the laity's part or a failure on the hierarchy's part to communicate its teachings effectively, but because many ordinary Catholics regard certain teachings as wrong.

He also spoke of the need for dialogue between opposed factions in the Church as the necessary remedy for polarization. In his Los Angeles talk he calls it "conversation," because "dialogue" is a word favored by those he labels as "Kingdom Catholics" (liberals or progressives to most observers). I pointed out two years ago that dialogue needs a level playing field if it is to work, and at present such a playing field does not generally exist in the Church.

Conservative bishops (or what he would now refer to as Communion Catholics) hold a disproportionate amount of power that makes real brotherly and sisterly conversation impossible, for all practical purposes. And why is their power disproportionately greater than the laity's and clergy's? Because the pattern of episcopal appointments during John Paul II's pontificate unduly favored candidates of a decidedly conservative frame of mind.

Commendably, Father Radcliffe has continued to advocate measures to heal whatever divisions still exist within the Catholic Church. He has done so in his latest book, "What Is the Point of Being a Christian?" (Continuum International), and in his Los Angeles talk on April 1, where once again he shared with listeners and readers alike much wit, wisdom and depth of spirituality. His views clearly arise from a well-spring of reflection and, undoubtedly, much prayerful concern.

It is because I respect him so much that I do him the honor --- and I hope that he and others will see it as such --- of taking his views seriously enough to engage them critically.

In his Los Angeles talk Father Radcliffe quoted a former student of mine to the effect that, because polarization is strangling the Church's ability to be "genuinely evangelical or missionary," it is a "luxury" that the Church can no longer "indulge or even tolerate."

Implied in the observation is an assumption that the Catholic Church is dominated at present by two relatively equal factions, and that, so long as they are fighting one another, nothing constructive can get done.

I see no evidence, however, that polarization of a co-equal type exists in the Catholic Church. There are differences in theological, pastoral, devotional and canonical approaches, to be sure, but it is not a 50-50 situation. The number of Catholics who continue to wage a rear-guard action against Vatican II is relatively small, while their counterparts on the far left have, for all practical purposes, moved to the margins of the Church or have abandoned it altogether. The latter create hardly a blip on the ecclesiastical radar screen.

The overwhelming majority of Catholics are in the broad middle --- some moderately liberal (call them Kingdom Catholics, if you like), and some moderately conservative (call them Communion Catholics, if you will). Such Catholics may disagree with one another on specific issues, but they are not constantly at one another's throats.

On the contrary, in those dioceses where there is a moderately conservative bishop (by far the majority today) or a moderately liberal bishop (an ever-shrinking minority), laity and clergy alike work hand in hand in fulfilling the mission of the Church through a vast array of ministries and pastoral programs.

Only in those dioceses where a bishop who operates --- mentally, emotionally and pastorally --- outside of the broad center of Catholicism do we find any "strangulation" of missionary and evangelizing activities. One such diocese, Kansas City-St. Joseph, was featured in the May 12 issue of NCR.

Father Richard P. McBrien is the Crowley-O'Brien Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame.