Conceptions of Authority in Roman Catholicism: A Seminar and Call for Papers
An Initiative of the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies at USC
Submission Deadline: January 30, 2026
The 2021-2024 Synod on Synodality revived an ecclesial focus on collaboration, co-responsibility, and leadership in a Roman Catholic Church shared by men, women, lay people, religious, and ordained ministers, together. Its Final Document appeals for research and dialogue on “progress made in promoting the laity’s access to positions of authority and to decision-making processes” (paragraph 102) while acknowledging, too, that bishops, priests, and deacons feel “overwhelmed by the expectation that they are required to fulfill every need” (paragraph 74) and that “women continue to encounter obstacles in obtaining a fuller recognition of their charisms, vocation and place in all the various areas of the Church’s life…to the detriment of serving the Church’s shared mission” (paragraph 60).[1]
The inevitable necessity of authoritative decision-making in the Catholic tradition compels deeper consideration as to where such authority lies, how it gets exercised, its limits, and its proper expression in a ‘synodal’ Church. While the Synod introduced new forms of deliberation and consultation to areas of governance and decision-making at the highest levels of the Church, the theological, ecclesiological, and sociological underpinnings of such structural and procedural changes have received less attention. The Church has a strong theology of synodality with roots in Scripture, ecclesiology, history, and tradition; does it have a similar theology for the exercise of authority in a synodal Church?
Invigorated by such timeless questions in a timely moment, we invite scholars and scholar-practitioners from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds—theological, sociological, historical, legal, and more—to a dialog and seminar June 23-25, 2026 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains.
The seminar will be designed to share, reflect upon, and deliberate participants’ initial drafts of papers that engage new and varied perspectives on conceptions of authority in, of, and for the Catholic Church. We welcome topics such as how new understandings of authority may redistribute responsibility in the Church; comparative looks across cultures and religious or apostolic Christian traditions; the meanings and manifestations of vocation; obstacles and opportunities for decision-making in a synodal church; and how sociocultural contexts influence understandings of ecclesial authority. What theological, canonical, or practical implications (or pitfalls) does the call for synodality infer for the life of the Church?
Qualitative, quantitative, and theoretical approaches are welcome, as are synthetic reinterpretations and agenda-setting pieces. Graduate students and international scholars as well as faculty, researchers, and practitioner-scholars in various career stages and settings are welcome to apply.
The Conceptions of Authority in Roman Catholicism (CoARC) seminar aims to (1) speak thoughtfully into ongoing conversations regarding lay and ordained roles in the Church; (2) respond to structural conditions of a priesthood currently stymied in meeting all ministerial needs; and (3) bridge otherwise silo-ed vantage points in social science, history, theology, and practice. The seminar will also serve as a foundation for an edited volume and future public conversations on conceptions of authority in contemporary Roman Catholicism.
Click here to learn more about the event and submission process.
