Catholic Theological Society of America Newfeed

J.J. Mueller, S.J. - d. March 5

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 16:30:38 GMT

The CTSA remembers and prays for Rev. John J. Mueller, S.J., who died on March 5th.

Eternal rest grant unto J.J., O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

CTSA Contributions:

J.J. Mueller (Convener), "Presidential Panel on Undergraduate Teaching: Teaching Evil and Hope", Proceedings vol. 50 (1995).

J.J. Mueller (Convener), " Presidential Panel on Undergraduate Teaching: Teaching Jesus Christ to Undergraduates", Proceedings vol. 49 (1994).

J.J. Mueller (Convener), "North American Theology: Examined "An American Classic Revisited: John Courtney Murray's We Hold These Truths", Proceedings vol. 43 (1988).

J.J. Mueller (Convener), "North American Theology: On Bellah's Habits of the Heart", Proceedings vol. 42 (1987).

Jesuit (USA Central and Southern Providence) Obituary written by Steven A. Schoenig, S.J., Socious (March 13).

Saint Louis University Obituary "J.J. Mueller, S.J.: 1945-2026"
John J. “J.J.” Mueller, S.J. (A&S ’69, Grad Ed ’70), a longtime professor of theology, died March 5, 2026. He was 81 years old, a Jesuit for 62 years and a priest for 50 years. (USA Central and Southern Province.

Mass of Christian Burial was held on March 21at St. Ignatius Hall

Notes of condolence may be sent to:

Mr. Steve Mueller (a former Jesuit of the Missouri Province)
2095 Fairway Circle
Hudson, OH 44236

Sr. Cathy Mueller, S.L.
7250 West 21st Ave.
Lakewood, CO 80214

Online Lecture: Simone Weil - Dialectical Mysticism

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 15:26:03 GMT

Online Lecture: Simone Weil - Dialectical Mysticism

Event Details

Date: March 25, 2026
Time: 5:15–6:45 p.m. CET / 11:15 a.m.–12:45 p.m. CDT
Location: Aula XI, Pontificio Ateneo Sant’Anselmo or online via Zoom
Zoom link: Participate here

See https://www.anselmianum.com/it/news/1698-online-lecture-simone-weil-dialectical-mysticism

Breaking Boundaries in Theology: In Conversation with Roger Haight, S.J.

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 15:20:00 GMT

Breaking Boundaries in Theology:
In Conversation with Roger Haight, S.J.
Saturday, April 11 (CET: 4 - 5:30 p.m.; EST 10 - 11:30 a.m.)

11.04.2026: Online Book Launch and Discussion: RaT Series Volume 40

The Research Centre RaT and the Catholic Theological Society of America cordially invite all interested parties to the online book launch of RaT series volume 40, Breaking Boundaries in Theology. In Conversation with Roger Haight SJ (Brill/Schöningh 2025), published in December 2025 in open access. Edited by: Andreas Telser, Annette Langner-Pitschmann, Barnabas Palfrey, Sebastian Pittl und Sibylle Trawöger.

When: 11.04.2026, 04-05:30 p.m. CET (10–11:30 a.m. EST)
Where: Online via zoom: https://univienna.zoom.us/j/67184322940?pwd=skPZbOErz1x6T19b6EQaZixP4Q9Iw0.1

Meeting-ID: 671 8432 2940

Code: 344404

Response: Michael Maloney, Ph.D. (Seton Hall University)

Moderated by: Lisa Holsberg, Ph.D. (Fordham University)

Organised in Cooperation with: Catholic Theological Society of America

Link to the publication (Open Access): https://brill.com/edcollbook-oa/title/72372

DISTANCE LEARNING Programmes in Catholic Theology, Durham University, UK

Karen Kilby — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 12:52:52 GMT

Explore Catholic Theology at one of the world’s leading departments

The Distance Learning programmes in Catholic Theology, led by Durham University’s Centre for Catholic Studies (CCS), are designed so that participants can work through material at their own pace, studying equally well in any time zone and in many different life situations, alongside work, ministry, family or caring obligations.

In addition to the Postgraduate Certificate , the Postgraduate Diploma , and the MA , students can enrol for a single module: ‘Catholic Theology: A Preliminary Tour’, and NEW FOR 2026/27 single modules in Catholic Social Thought and Practice and High Medieval Franciscan Theology .

Further details are available at Distance Learning - Durham University including videos from current students .

The CCS offers scholarships to support students on these distance learning programmes. Full information can be found at Funding - Durham University .

If you have any questions about these Distance Learning programmes, please contact the CCS Manager - theresa.phillips@durham.ac.uk

Please do share details of this opportunity with those who may be interested, both near and far.

William (Bill) R. Burrows - d. March 3

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 14:32:12 GMT

The CTSA remembers and prays for William (Bill) R. Burrows who died yesterday, Tuesday, March 3.

Eternal rest grant unto Bill, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

CTSA members will remember Bill for the many years he was the Managing Editor of Orbis Books.

Bill earned the STL in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University (1972) and the PhD from the University of Chicago (1987).

Contributions to the CTSA Proceedings follow:

Burrows, William R. and Margaret E. Guilder, O.S.F., Basic Christian Communities: Pluralism and Unity, CTSA Proceedings, vol. 39.

Burrows, S.V.D., William R., A Response to Michael Amaladoss [on Christian Mission in Asia], CTSA Proceedings, vol. 56 (2001).

Funeral will be held at Graymoor (Friars of the Atonement) in Garrison, New York on Saturday, March 21, at 10:30AM, followed by lunch.

The Vatican and Women Deacons, by Phyllis Zagano (New Publication)

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 17:54:54 GMT

Congratulations to Phyllis Zagano on the publication of her book The Vatican and Women Deacons (Orbis Books, May 2026).

The question of women in the ordained diaconate arose in the early 1970s at a Synod of Bishops. It was subsequently considered by three iterations of the International Theological Commission as well as two pontifical commissions. The examination of these events demonstrates the complexity of restoring women to the ordained diaconate.

The Synod on Synodality took up the question again, asking for a review of the research. The November 2025 release of a summary report of a Vatican committee, although read as a rejection of the ordination of women to the diaconate, affirms that the question is open for future discernment.

As a result of the Synod on Synodality, the fact that the question is still open for resolution is now part of Magisterial teaching.

Global Sisters Report: A Project of NCR

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 16:31:59 GMT

Global Sisters Report, an independent, international news publication that covers the lives and works of Catholic women religious around the world have recently launched a new weekly series, Theologians’ Corner. Theologians' Corner features reflections on the Sunday scripture readings written by women theologians from across the globe. The goal is simple: to bring thoughtful, accessible theological insight into conversation with the weekly reading.

You can find GSR’s Theologians’ Corner here: https://www.globalsistersreport.org/gsr-series/theologians-corner/stories

Latest issue of Concilium on "Pain and Solace: A Theological Investigation"

Kim S. Mendoza — Sun, 22 Feb 2026 14:27:51 GMT

As part of the mission of Concilium: International Journal of Theology to "provide a meeting place for a global conversation inviting diverse perspectives on important theological issues," we are pleased to share our latest issue on "Pain and Solace: A Theological Investigation" edited by Geraldo Luiz De Mori, Margareta Gruber, Silvia Martínez-Cano, Cesar Kuzma, Stan Chu Ilo, Jonas Hagedorn.

We hope this issue contributes meaningfully to ongoing theological discussions and fosters deeper engagement across our international scholarly communities. We are also grateful for the editors and contributors of this issue, some of which are members of the society.

CONTRIBUTIONS

Part 1. Theological-interdisciplinary Reading of Pain and Solace

Pains and Suffering – When Compassion and Consolation get Serious
JEAN-PIERRE WILS

Pain and Consolation in the Old Testament
RIVALDAVE PAZ TORQUATO

Pain and Consolation from the Perspective of John
ESTELA ALDAVE MEDRANO

Pain and Suffering: Finding Solace in a Vital Church
STAN CHU ILO

Part 2. Religious practices

Pain can bring Healing
CLEMENS SEDMAK

To Live “in Favour of the Human Being” (Saint Irenaeus AH IV 8:2)
ROSA RUIZ ARAGONESES

Pain and Consolation in Ignatian Spirituality
EDUARD LÓPEZ HORTELANO

Part 3. Pain and Solace from an Ethical-pastoral Perspective ‘Injustice that cries out to Heaven.’

Suffering – Complaint – Hope in existential ethical Perspective
HANS-JOACHIM HÖHN

To Defeat Pain. The Lightness of the Posthumanist Dream
JAVIER DE LA TORRE

Pain and Consolation
MARTA LÓPEZ ALONSO

Talamak na Pananakit: Exploring the Connections Between Chronic Pain, Environmental Activism, and Inspiring Stories of Solidarity
JEANE C. PERACULLO

Accompanying Victims Through Art. A Strategy for Reconstructing Connections
DAFNE AÍDA ZAPATA PRATTO

Theological Forum

Dicastery of Culture and Education’s International Congress on The Future of Theology: Legacy and Imagination’
MAEVE LOUISE HEANEY

Read the Editorial here.

***

Concilium is available in English, German, Italian, Spanish, and publishes five issues annually.

As a peer-reviewed journal, Concilium is indexed in ATLA DB (English, German), Index Theologicus (German), and Index Religiosus Brepolis (German).

***

Follow our social media channels: https://linktr.ee/ConciliumINT

Bernard P. Prusak - d. 1/18/26

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 13:35:25 GMT

The CTSA remembers and prays for member Bernard P. Prusak who died on January 18, 2026.

Eternal rest grant unto Bernard, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May the souls of the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen

CTSA Proceedings Contribution

Theology of the Local Church in Historical Development (Seminar Paper), CTSA Proceedings, Vol. 35 (1980).

Obituary (click here)

Mass of Christian Burial

Saturday, January 24, 2026
11:00 AM

St. Thomas of Villanova Church
800 Lancaster Ave.
Villanova, PA 19085

Burial of Cremains

Saturday, January 24, 2026
12:30 PM

Calvary Cemetery
235 Matsonford Rd.
West Conshohocken, PA 19428

Walter E. Conn d. 2-2-26

Mon, 09 Feb 2026 17:16:33 GMT

The CTSA remembers and prays for Walter E. Conn who died on February 2, 2026.

Eternal rest grant unto Walter, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Walt taught at Villanova University and served as the editor of Horizons, the journal of the College Theology Society. The CTSA remembers him for his contributions to theology and the Society.

Joann Wolski Conn, Walter E. Conn, Developmental Psychology: From Moral Theology to Spirituality, CTSA Proceedings Vol. 40, 1985.

Walter E. Conn, The Role of Women in Theology: Two-handed Theology, CTSA Proceedings Vol. 38, 1983.

Obituary - click here to read

Funeral - February 12, 2026
St. Anastasia Church
3301 West Chester Pike
Newtown Square, PA 19073
Visitation 9:30 - 10:30 a.m.
Mass 10:30 a.m.

Condolences may be sent to Dr. Joann Wolski Conn, in care of the
Donahue Funeral Home, 3300 West Chester Pike, Newtown, PA 19073

Mar. 12-13: Conference on the Rule of Law and the Common Good

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 12:12:34 GMT

The Rule of Law and the Common Good:
An Emerging Synergy between
Legal Theory and Catholic Social Thought
March 12 - 13, 2026
Boston College

The rule of law is under stress, both in the United States and around the globe. What can we do to support it? We invite you to attend a conference designed to address this question.

The “Rule of Law and the Common Good: An Emerging Synergy between Legal Theory and Catholic Social Thought” will be held in Gasson 100 on March 12-13, 2026.

Legal scholars and CST experts will be in constant conversation about threats to and necessary protections for the rule of law. Theologians speaking include Patrick Reardon, SJ (Campion Hall), Michelle Becka (Würzburg), and Anna Rowlands (Durham). Legal scholars include Jed Purdy (Duke), David Luban (Georgetown), and Mary Ellen O’Connell (Notre Dame).

Please register through the Eventbrite website for the sessions you wish to attend. In addition, please consider assigning your students to attend one or more sessions! Space is limited, so act quickly! We would love to welcome you to the conversation!

All the best,

Gregory Kalscheur, SJ
Dean, Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences

Cathleen Kaveny
Libby Professor, Law School and Theology Department

CTSA Member Meghan J. Clark Quoted in "Sisters Use Corporate Investments to Push for Reform"

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 15:30:58 GMT

CTSA member, Meghan J. Clark, is quoted as an expert in this US Catholic article, “Sisters use corporate investments to push for reform.”

Sisters use corporate investments to push for reform

Shareholders advocacy enables Catholic sisters to hold companies accountable and leverage real change in a way that supports the common good.

By e Pews

Renée Roden

Published January 27, 2026

Read Article Here (click here)

Human. A Reality Put to the Test (Sat., 1/31) [Response by Anthony J. Godzieba]

Mon, 19 Jan 2026 15:02:41 GMT

January 31st, 2026: Online Book Launch and Discussion:
JRAT Supplementa Volume 5

„Modernity values human dignity and autonomy, but its commitment to self-realization is unsustainable and neglects the common good, which is lost in the ›anonymity‹ of technology and economics. Lost are both truly creative individuality and productive social relationships. Sequeri examines contradictions in our ›common humanity‹: the power of desire, the excesses of tragedy, modalities of cooperation, and the manifestations of diversity […].“ (excerpt from the book cover)

The Research Centre RaT and the Catholic Theological Society of America cordially invite all interested parties to the presentation of the latest volume in the JRAT Supplementa series, published in open access: “Human. A Reality Put to the Test” (Brill/Schöningh 2025) by Pierangelo Sequeri, translated by James M. Crowley.

When: January 31st, 2026, 4–5:30 pm CET (10–11:30 am EST)
Where: Online via zoom: https://univienna.zoom.us/j/69001859213?pwd=auJME6vLBjfIVvOdxNQgqYgzvcdgWI.1

Starting with a presentation of the book by the author (Istituto di Giovanni Paolo II, Rome), the event also includes a response by Prof. emeritus Anthony J. Godzieba (Villanova University, Pennsylvania), followed by a discussion with the audience.

Moderated by: Kurt Appel and Noemi Call.

Organized in cooperation with the Catholic Theological Society of America.

Link to the publication (Open Access): https://brill.com/display/title/62121

African Political Theology Webinars: Statecraft (Th. 1/22 Series Begins)

Mon, 19 Jan 2026 14:59:42 GMT

African Political Theology Webinars: Statecraft

Thursday, January 22, Noon (Eastern US / 5pm UK / 6pm Nigeria)

A dialogue between Dr. Isaac Kekemeke (Vice-Chair, All Progressives Congress) and Dr. Chammah J. Kaunda (Academic Dean, Oxford Centre for Mission Studies).

To Register: bit.ly/PTNjan22

Dr. Kekemeke is a leader of Nigeria’s governing party, board chair of the Nigerian Postal Service, and an attorney. Dr. Kaunda, a Zambian scholar, is the author and editor of several scholarly books on Christianity in Africa. This event will be moderated by Father Fidelis Olokunboro, Visiting Assistant Professor of Theology at Villanova University.

The first in a series of dialogue webinars on African political theology organized by the Political Theology Network in partnership with Villanova’s Center for Political Theology.

--------------------------

Rev. Fidelis A. Olokunboro, Ph.D.

Visiting Assistant Professor,

Theology and Religious Studies,

Villanova University

John R. Wilcox - d. 1/1/26

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 19:24:33 GMT

CTSA remembers and prays for member John R. Wilcox (d. 1-1-26).

Eternal rest grant unto John, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

A Memorial Mass honoring Dr. Wilcox's life will be held:

Saturday, May 9th, 11:00 a.m.

St. Gregory the Great Church
85 Great Plain Road
Danbury, CT 06811

Obituary

Congratulations to Stan Chu Ilo, Mary Boys, David Turnbloom, and A.E. Orobator on their recent publications.

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 15:41:15 GMT

Stan Chu Ilo, Where Is God? An African Theology of Suffering and Smiling

https://orbisbooks.com/products/where-is-god-in-africa-a-theology-of-suffering-and-smiling?_pos=2&_sid=dd188a33c&_ss=r

Mary Boys, Blessing of a New Dawn: Reorienting Christianity's Relationship to Judaism

https://orbisbooks.com/products/blessing-of-a-new-dawn-reorienting-christianitys-relationship-to-judaism?_pos=1&_sid=6807cfd4c&_ss=r

David Turnbloom et al., (IS HE A MEMBER?): Liturgy in the Shadow of Trauma: Reckoning with the Roman Catholic Sex Abuse Crisis

https://orbisbooks.com/products/liturgy-in-the-shadow-of-trauma-reckoning-with-the-roman-catholic-sex-abuse-crisis?_pos=2&_sid=7493eed71&_ss=r

A.E. Orobator, SJ, editor, African Synodal Theology: A Tall Tree is as Strong as its Roots

https://orbisbooks.com/products/african-synodal-theology-a-tall-tree-is-as-strong-as-its-roots?_pos=1&_sid=ac45735e2&_ss=r

Distance Learning Programmes in Catholic Theology, Durham University, UK

Karen Kilby — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 14:51:53 GMT

Explore Catholic Theology at one of the world’s leading departments

In addition to the Postgraduate Certificate , the Postgraduate Diploma , and the MA , students can enrol for a single module: ‘Catholic Theology: A Preliminary Tour’ , and NEW FOR 2026/27 single modules in Catholic Social Thought and Practice and High Medieval Franciscan Theology .

Further details are available at Distance Learning - Durham University including videos from current students .

The CCS offers scholarships to support students on these distance learning programmes. Full information can be found at Funding - Durham University.

If you have any questions about these Distance Learning programmes, please contact the CCS Manager - theresa.phillips@durham.ac.uk

Please do share details of this opportunity with those who may be interested, both near and far.

Conference Announcement: "Mapping the Field of Jewish-Christian Relations"

Daniel Joslyn-Siemiatkoski — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 19:18:27 GMT

The modern academic study of Christian-Jewish relations has existed for more than a century. Yet it is also a complex interdisciplinary field whose subject areas and methodologies have not yet been fully defined in a comprehensive way, resulting in fragmented conversations among scholars. The "Mapping the Field" conference proposes to delineate the current contours of the academic study of Christian-Jewish relations. This conference will excavate a range of subjects, disciplines, and methods that exist within the field’s contemporary expression while also remaining open to the ethical and moral concerns that frequently motivate scholars’ work in it.

Hosted by the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning at Boston College March 15-17, 2026, this event will occur in person and via live stream.

For information, speakers, and registration, please go to the conference website here or directly to: https://events.bc.edu/event/mapping-the-field-of-jewish-christian-relations-hybrid-conference

CTSA 2025 Proceedings (vol. 79)

Mon, 08 Dec 2025 16:30:37 GMT

The CTSA 2025 Proceedings (vol. 79) are now available for public access. They are accessible via the CTSA's Proceedings website page. Also on this page is a link to order a print edition of the volume.

On behalf of the CTSA Board of Directors and the membership, we offer our sincere thank you to Kevin Brown for his amazing work as editor of the CTSA Proceedings.

Conceptions of Authority in Roman Catholicism: A Seminar and Call for Papers

Mon, 08 Dec 2025 14:07:37 GMT

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.

Congratulations to Jean-Pierre M. Ruiz on His Appointment as the SBL's next Vice President!

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 19:46:00 GMT

Congratulations to CTSA member Jean-Pierre Ruiz! At its November 2025 Annual Meeting in Boston, MA, the Society of Biblical Literature elected CTSA member Jean-Pierre M. Ruiz, S.T.D. as its next Vice-President. He will take office on January 1, 2026, and will serve as Vice-President until he succeeds to the office of President on January 1, 2027.

New Concilium issue (2025/4) on "New Frontiers in Christian Comparative Theology"

Kim S. Mendoza — Tue, 02 Dec 2025 16:19:14 GMT

As part of the mission of Concilium: International Journal of Theology to "provide a meeting place for a global conversation inviting diverse perspectives on important theological issues," we are pleased to share our latest issue on "New Frontiers in Christian Comparative Theology" edited by Catherine Cornille, Albertus Bagus Laksana, John Baptist Antony, and Léonard Katchekpele.

Contributions

Part One: Historical and Theological Foundations of Comparative Theology

The Several Origins of Comparative Theology - FRANCIS X. CLOONEY, SJ

Comparative Theology and Systematic Theology - KLAUS VON STOSCH

The Comparative Theology Debate about the Theology of Religions - KRISTIN BEISE KIBLINGER

Part Two: Current Topics in Comparative Theology

Hindu-Christian Comparative Theology Today - REID B. LOCKLIN

New Directions in Buddhist-Christian Dialogue - THOMAS CATTOI

Christian-Confucian Comparative Theology Today - STEPHANIE M. WONG

Islamic-Christian Comparative Theology Today - AXEL M. OAKS TAKACS

Expanding Frontiers in Jewish-Christian Comparative Theology - DANIEL JOSLYN-SIEMIATKOSKI

Africana-Christian Comparative Theology: Challenges, Opportunities and Perspectives - BARNABÉ HOUNGUEVOU

Part Three: New Approaches in Comparative Theology

Critical, Contextual Approaches to Comparative Theology - MICHELLE VOSS

Subaltern Approach to the New Comparative Theology - GNANA PATRICK

Theology After Ritual: Embodied Practices and the Future of Comparative Theology - MARIANNE MOYAERT

Non-Textual Approaches to Comparative Theology - TRACY SAYUKI TIEMEIER

Theological Forum

Vale Rev. Professor Anthony (Tony) J. Kelly, CSsr (1938-2024) - ROBYN HORNER

Read the Editorial here.

***

Concilium is available in English, German, Italian, Spanish, and publishes five issues annually.

As a peer-reviewed journal, Concilium is indexed in ATLA DB (English, German), Index Theologicus (German), and Index Religiosus Brepolis (German).

***

Follow our social media channels: https://linktr.ee/ConciliumINT

CTSA Remembers and Prays for Sr. Jamie T. Phelps, OP - d. 11/22/25

Mon, 24 Nov 2025 15:32:35 GMT

The CTSA remembers and prays for longstanding member and member of the Board of Directors (1990 - 1992) Sr. Jamie T. Phelps, OP - d. 11/22/25. Awarded the Ann O'Hara Graff Award in 2010.

Eternal rest grant onto, Jamie, O Lord
and let perpetual light shine upon her.
May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Theological Contributions to the CTSA

Convener, “The Black Subject in the Post-Modern World: Africana Theologies in Dialogue”, CTSA Annual Convention (Proceedings vol. 61, 2006).

Convener, “HIV/AIDS and the Bodies of Black Peoples: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue”, Black Catholic Theology, CTSA Annual Convention (Proceedings vol. 60, 2005).

“A Response to Francis X. Clooney”, CTSA Annual Convention (Proceedings vol. 58, 2003).

Convener, “Contemporary Black/Womanist and Hispanic/Latino/a Theologies in America: A Dialogue—Session I”, Black Catholic Theology, CTSA Annual Convention (Proceedings vol. 57, 2002).

Presenter and Co-Convener, “Liberation and Communion as the Raison d’etre of Missio Ad Gentes”, Black Catholic Theology, CTSA Annual Convention (Proceedings vol. 56, 2001).

Panelist and Moderator, “Theological Anthropology from the Margins Part III. Discussion of the Impact of Race, Culture, Class and Gender on Theological Anthropology”, Black Catholic Theology, CTSA Annual Convention (Proceedings vol. 53, 1998).

Convener, “Rivers of Nihilism, Streams of Hope: Theological Responses to Cornel West’s Race Matters”, Black Catholic Theology, CTSA Annual Convention (Proceedings vol. 50, 1995).

Respondent, “A Critical Response to D’Angelo’s Christology, with a Prolegomenon to a Womanist Christological Reconstruction”, CTSA Annual Convention (Proceedings vol. 49, 1994).

Methodology”, Black Catholic Theology: Methodology, CTSA Annual Convention (Proceedings vol. 46, 1991).

Convener, “D. Providence and Histories: African American Perspectives with Emphasis on the Perspective of Black Liberation Theology”, CTSA Annual Convention (Proceedings vol. 44, 1989).

Convener, “Women and Power in the Church: A Black-Catholic Perspective”, CTSA Annual Convention (Proceedings vol. 37, 1982).

-----------

NEWS RELEASE by the Adrian Dominican Sisters (11/24/25)

Sister Jamie T. Phelps, OP, Theologian, Advocate for Social and Racial Justice, and Black Catholic Studies Pioneer, Dies at 84

November 24, 2025, Adrian, Michigan – With great sadness, the Adrian Dominican Sisters announce the death of Sister Jamie T. Phelps, OP, PhD, a theologian, preacher, social worker, social and racial justice advocate, and passionate promoter of Black Catholic Studies and the gifts of Black Catholics to the Church. She died at the Dominican Life Center in Adrian, Michigan, on November 22, 2025.

In her early years of ministry, Sister Jamie served as an elementary school teacher and then psychiatric social worker. Her passion for racial and social justice and love of the gifts of Black Catholics to the Church led to years of engagement in advocacy for racial equality, theological studies, and the formation of Black Catholic leaders. She was a founding member of the National Black Sisters’ Conference and one of the founders of the Institute for Black Catholic Studies (IBCS) of Xavier University of Louisiana. Sister Jamie served as a consultor to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) as they wrote their pastoral letter on racism and was a longtime active member of the Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA).

“The significance of Sister Jamie Phelps’ pioneering scholarship and strategic administrative ability cannot be overstated. She has made a substantive, radical, and creative difference in how we Black Catholics think of ourselves, think of God, think of Church, and think of Black theology,” said Dr. M. Shawn Copeland, Professor emerita, of Boston College’s Theology Department, who collaborated with Sister Jamie at the Institute for Black Catholic Studies and in the Black Catholic Theological Symposium (BCTS) for more than 45 years. Copeland continued: “Sister Jamie’s theological work is intellectually imaginative, demanding, passionate, and uncompromising; moreover, it is grounded in rigorous historical research, balanced in exposition and analysis, nuanced in judgment. She will remain a major force in the thematization of Black Catholic Theology.”

“Sister Jamie is one of our giants – a mother, a teacher, a scholar, and a faithful daughter of the Black Catholic Church,” Father Kareem R. Smith, President of the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus (NBCCC), wrote when offering prayers for Sister Jamie. “Through her witness, her voice, and her decades of service, she has helped shape our theological imagination and has strengthened our commitment to serve our people with courage and love. Many of us stand on her shoulders.” Father Kareem was taught by Sister Jamie at IBCS while a seminarian.

“The Adrian Dominican Sisters have been deeply blessed by Sister Jamie’s joyful, challenging, and transformative presence among us, calling us to fully live Gospel imperatives in our Dominican sisterhood,” said Congregation Prioress Elise D. García, OP. “She was a Dominican preacher through and through who played an indelible national leadership role in raising up Black Catholic Studies as an essential field of study for all Catholics. Her love and passion for the common good of all God’s people are an enduring legacy – calling us all to keep carrying on.”

In a December 2016 interview with The National Catholic Reporter’s Global Sisters Report, Sister Jamie offered her own perspective on her life’s work. “As a Black Catholic Dominican and theologian, I have been gifted with a specific worldview that allows me to interpret the Gospel in a way that speaks to diverse cultures and racial-ethnic groups so that the meaning of the Gospel for their lives, their city and the world becomes evident,” she said. “My social identity as a doubly marginalized person in society gifts me with the perspective of oppressed and poor people.”

Sister Jamie was born on October 24, 1941, in Mobile, Alabama, to Alfred and Emma (Brown) Phelps. The family migrated to Chicago, where Sister Jamie was taught by Adrian Dominican Sisters in elementary school and graduated from the Josephinum Academy in 1959.

She entered the Adrian Dominican Congregation on September 8, 1959, and was received as a novice on August 4, 1960, taking the religious name of Sister Martin Thomas. She professed first vows on August 5, 1961, and final vows on August 5, 1966, becoming the first Black Sister in the Congregation.

Embracing the Dominican tradition of study, Sister Jamie earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Siena Heights College (University) in Adrian in 1969, a master’s degree in social work with a focus on group sequence, from the University of Illinois-Chicago in 1972, a master’s in theology from St. John University in Minnesota in 1974, and a doctorate in systematic theology from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., in 1989.

In the first 10 years of her ministry, Sister Jamie taught at four elementary schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago. On obtaining her degree in social work, she ministered as an Illinois State-certified psychiatric social worker, first at Mercy Hospital and then at Chicago Child Care Society in Chicago.

After earning the PhD in theology, Sister Jamie taught at the Catholic Theological Union (CTU) in Chicago from 1986 to 1998. During her tenure there, she founded and directed CTU’s Augustus Tolton Pastoral Ministry Program, which prepares lay people for ministry to Black Catholics. From 1998 to 2003, she held a visiting, then tenured professorship in Theology at Loyola University, Chicago. During the Spring Term of 2002-2003 academic year, she served as Distinguished Visiting Professor of Theology at the University of Dayton.

While pursuing her doctoral degree, Sister Jamie participated in the first meeting in 1978 of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium, and little over a decade later, in 1991, played a decisive role in restructuring the BCTS as a national learned interdisciplinary professional society for Black Catholic scholars holding doctoral degrees in theology and related fields. The BCTS encourages the teaching, discussion, and analysis of Black Catholic religious and cultural experience in Church and society and supports the development and publication of Black Catholic theology. Sister Jamie served as Convener of the Symposium from 1992 to 2001.

Sister Jamie has been associated with the Institute for Black Catholic Studies since its inception in 1980, serving as a major consultant to the late Reverend Dr. Thaddeus

Posey, O.F.M., Cap., who was the founding Director of the Institute. The Institute for Black Catholic Studies is a degree program in pastoral studies offered during summer sessions at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans. Since 1989, Sister Jamie served as a member of the Master of Theology degree faculty; from 1994 to 2000, she also was the Associate Director for the Institute’s graduate degree program; and from 2003 to 2011, she served as the Director of the Institute and Katherine Drexel Professor of Systematic Theology at Xavier University.

“The purpose [of the IBCS] was to provide education for Blacks and non-Blacks to do effective ministry in the Black Catholic community,” Sister Jamie explained in an August 2023 interview. To do this, she said, “you need to know the history and culture of that community and the social and cultural circumstances. … The fact that the Institute is still living suggests to me that this is something that God wanted to happen to guarantee an improved ministry in the Black Catholic community.” In 2022, the Adrian Dominican Sisters endowed a fund for student scholarships at the IBCS as an act of reparation for and acknowledgment of the Congregation’s past complicity in the nation’s history of racial injustice. It is named the Sister Jamie T. Phelps, OP, PhD Scholarship Fund.

After leaving Xavier University in 2011, Sister Jamie continued her ministry as a theologian, writer, and preacher. She was a Visiting Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame during the 2012-2013 academic year. During her retirement in Chicago, Sister Jamie continued her work in theological research, writing, and consulting. She has written and lectured extensively on African American Catholics, the nature and mission of the Church, religion, human rights, evangelization, and Christology. She is the editor of Black and Catholic – The Challenges and Gifts of Black Folk: Contributions of African American Experience and Thought to Catholic Theology and co-editor with Cyprian Davis, OSB, of Stamped with the Image of God: African Americans as God’s Image in Black. Sister Jamie continued her preaching and teaching roles when she moved into the Dominican Life Center at the Adrian Dominican Sisters Motherhouse Campus in 2019 and was active in the life of the Motherhouse community.

Sister Jamie has been nationally recognized with various honors, including:

The Harriet Tubman Award, given in 1999 by the National Black Sisters’ Conference, honoring a member who “through her ministry is an advocate for Black people.”

The Ann O’Hara Graff Memorial Award, given by the Women’s Consultation in Constructive Theology of the Catholic Theological Society of America, honoring a woman whose accomplishments include liberating action on behalf of women in the Church and/or broader community, in 2010.

The “How Beautiful Are Their Feet” Award, given in 2016 at the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, a national network of progressive African American faith leaders and their congregations.

An honorary doctorate in 2016 from Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, a graduate school in the Dominican tradition.

Recognition as “Mother of the Institute for Black Catholic Studies” at the IBCS commencement in August 2023.

Honored in March 2025 during the Catholic Theological Union’s Harambee celebration, which supports the Augustus Tolton Pastoral Ministry Program.

Sister Jamie will be remembered during a visitation from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. on December 2 in the gathering space of St. Catherine Chapel, followed by a Vigil Service at 7:00 p.m. in St. Catherine Chapel. A funeral Mass will be offered in St. Catherine Chapel at 10:30 a.m. on December 3. Prayers of Committal will follow in the Congregation Cemetery. Those who cannot attend in person may watch the Vigil Service and Funeral

Mass via livestream at https://adriandominicans.org/Live-Stream.

# # #

The Dominican Sisters of Adrian, a Congregation of about 350 vowed women religious and 180 Associates, traces its roots back to St. Dominic in the 13th century. The Sisters minister in 15 states, the Dominican Republic, Norway, and the Philippines. The Congregation’s Vision is to “seek truth, make peace, reverence life.”

Contact: Barbara Kelley, OP
Office of Communications
517-266-3591
bkelleyadriandominicans.org

ADRIAN DOMINICAN SISTERS
1257 East Siena Heights Drive
Adrian, Michigan 49221-1793
www.adriandominicans.org
Adrian Dominican Sisters

--------------

ANNOUNCEMENT THAT WAS MADE to THE BLACK CATHOLIC THEOLOGICAL SYMPOSIUM (BCTS) LIST-SERVE (11/23/25).

I wish to share with members of the BCTS the news of Sr. Jamie T. Phelps, OP transition to eternal life today. She passed after recent knee surgery and a contracting sepsis which she never recovered from. Her family, nieces, were with her at the time of her transition and her remaining brother had the opportunity to talk with her via phone, before her passing. Last month, Sr. Jamie celebrated her 84th birthday.

Those of us who dearly loved her and were grateful for her mentoring are experiencing profound sadness but we are assured that she is now being welcomed home by the holy ancestors from the BCTS and IBCS. - her spiritual director, Fr. Cyprian Davis, her sisters in religious life from IBCS and BCTS, Sr. Pat Haley & Sr. Thea Bowman and so many others. I am assured that she is now dancing and experiencing the joy of returning home and seeing her mother, sisters, brothers and other family members and dear loved ones.

We are grateful for the sacrifices she made as one of the founding members of BCTS, IBCS and as Founding Director of the Augustus Tolton Pastoral Ministry Program at Catholic Theological Union. A graduate from Catholic University of America where she received her PhD in systematic theology, she taught as a member of the faculty of Catholic Theological Union in the 1980s - mid 90s, as well as Loyola University of Chicago, Notre Dame University and Xavier University of Louisiana. In her teaching, scholarship, writing and mentorship she sacrificed to continually respond to the needs of Black Catholics. Her scholarship as a systematic theologian who focused her research and writing in ecclesiology and the Black Experience has been invaluable for some many of us who continue to teach and research.

She attended the first BCTS in 1978, later was instrumental in reconvening the BCTS in the 1980s to become its convener, and later in 1990, she became the first Black Catholic member of the board of trustees of the CTSA (Catholic Theological Society of America. She is the author of numerous articles of ecclesiology and Black Catholic theology and religious experience, having edited the book Black and Catholic: The Challenge and Gift of Black Folk (Marquette University, 1997) and co-edited with Cyprian Davis Stamped With the Image of God: African Americans as God's Image in Black (Orbis, 2004).

Joint CBA / CTSA Reception at the SBL Annual Meeting (Sun., Nov. 23)

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 15:55:20 GMT

The CBA warmly welcomes all members and friends to our annual reception in Boston, held in conjunction with the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) Annual Meeting. Join us for an evening of collegial conversation, light refreshments, and networking on Sunday, November 23, from 8:00–10:00 p.m. (ET) at the Boston Marriott Copley Place – Grand Ballroom Salon F (110 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02116, United States).

This year’s reception is offered in partnership with the Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA), reflecting our shared commitment to fostering dialogue and collaboration across the theological and biblical disciplines.

A brief 15-minute program will be held during the reception to highlight the CBA’s upcoming grant opportunities, initiatives, and events for the upcoming year. We look forward to reconnecting with colleagues, celebrating recent accomplishments, and welcoming new members to our community.

Francis Schusslet Fiorenza Harvard Memorial Service This Thursday

Francis X Clooney, SJ — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 14:42:13 GMT

The service will be held in the Williams Chapel in Swartz (Andover) Hall, HDS, 2pm this Thursday. It will also be live-streamed at the link below. Frank Clooney SJ

Memorial Service for Professor Francis Fiorenza

When	Thursday, November 20, 2025, 2 – 5pm
Where	Williams Chapel, Braun Room
Sponsor	Office of Academic Affairs, Religious and Spiritual Life
Contact	kgwhitacre@hds.harvard.edu

Details	Service from 2 pm to 3:30 pm in Williams Chapel with a reception to follow from 3:30 pm to 5 pm in the Braun Room.
Link	harvard.zoom.us…

Congratulations to Diana Villegas on the Publication of Two Books in 2025

Fri, 31 Oct 2025 16:27:46 GMT

Catherine of. Siena, Selected Letters. Selected, introduced and translated by Diana L. Villegas. Classics of Western Spirituality. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2025.

The trade book is a book of meditations and spiritual exercises based on passages from Catherine’s letters, Growing in Love with Catherine of Siena. Also Paulist, 2025

Congratulations to Thomas Weinandy on his new book "Jesus Being Jesus"

Thu, 30 Oct 2025 17:43:21 GMT

Thomas G. Weinandy, OFM, Cap., Jesus Being Jesus, The Catholic University of America Press, Nov. 2025.

Luke was a Gentile and physician. Though not one of Jesus’ initial Jewish disciples, Luke was a traveling companion of Paul. As with the Old Testament and the Gospels, Luke provides the theological and ecclesial significance of the historical events he is narrating. In so doing, he accentuates what the risen and ascended Jesus is doing through the Holy Spirit by means of the nascent church, primarily through Peter and Paul. Although the book is entitled the Acts of the Apostles, the Holy Spirit is the primary actor throughout its entirety.

Luke is traditionally believed to be the author of both the third Gospel as well as the Acts of the Apostles. As Luke, in his Gospel, first wrote "an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, concerning the truth of the gospel," so he now writes what has taken place after Jesus’ departure. Thus, the Acts of the Apostles is a continuation of a historical narrative. The Gospel contains what Jesus historically said and did until his Ascension into Heaven. Acts is the historical narrative of what followed upon Jesus’ ascension and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost that gave birth of the Church, and the first preaching of the Good News.

If in Luke’s gospel account one finds Jesus becoming Jesus through his saving actions which culminate in his death and resurrection, in the Acts of the Apostles, one finds the risen Jesus being Jesus through the preaching and actions of the apostolic church. Jesus continues to enact his name, YHWH-Saves. Such saving words and actions are particularly within the evangelistic ministry of Peter and Paul.

https://www.cuapress.org/9780813240213/jesus-being-jesus/

In Person / Virtual Event @Loyola University Chicago on Dilexi Te

Thu, 30 Oct 2025 17:36:27 GMT

In person / Virtual Event - Monday, November 3, from 5:30 - 7:00 pm [CT], the Cody Chair Loyola University Chicago, is hosting a conversation about Pope Leo's new letter on poverty, Dilexi Te. Panelists Dr. Susan Haarman, Associate Director and Service-Learning Program Manager at LUC's Center for Engaged Learning, Teaching, and Scholarship; Dr. Hille Haker, Richard A. McCormick, S.J., Chair of Catholic Moral Theology; Dr. Claire Noonan, Vice President for Mission Integration at LUC; and Dr. Michael Okińczyc-Cruz, Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership. Registration for zoom at https://lnkd.in/eE9-xyUc

Re: Third International Franciscan Studies Conference, Durham, UK, 14 to 16 April 2026

Karen Kilby — Thu, 30 Oct 2025 12:00:55 GMT

The Centre for Catholic Studies at Durham University are pleased to announce registration is now open for the forthcoming international Franciscan Studies conference:

‘Life and Love Transfigured: Exploring New Horizons in the Franciscan Tradition’

Tuesday 14 to Thursday 16 April 2026

Durham, UK

The aim of the conference is to bring together people from different walks of life – academic and non-academic, religious and lay – who have a deep love for St. Francis of Assisi, the Franciscan tradition, and the abiding relevance of the Franciscan charism for the modern world.

Confirmed speakers / preacher include:

Fr Casey Cole, OFM (Digital Evangelist and Creator of Breaking in the Habit podcast)
Prof Richard Cross (University of Notre Dame, Indiana)
Fr Dr Michael Cusato, OFM (Scholar-in-Residence, St. Bonaventure Friary, NY)
Br Richard Hendrick, OFM Cap (Capuchin Franciscan Province of Ireland)
Prof. Daniel Horan (St Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana)
Dr William Hyland (University of St Andrews)
Prof. John McCafferty (University College Dublin)
Dr Darleen Pryds (Franciscan School of Theology, University of San Diego)

Further details, including the draft schedule and details of how to register can be found at https://www.durham.ac.uk/research/institutes-and-centres/catholic-studies/about-us/events/the-third-international-franciscan-conference---april-2026/

The standard conference package including registration, refreshments, and conference meals is £150. (A reduced student package is available at £115.) Delegates are asked to book their own accommodation, as required. Details of some accommodation options are available on the website.

Registration closes on Sunday 22 March 2026. Places are limited so please book early to avoid disappointment.

Please direct any queries about this conference to the CCS Manager, Theresa Phillips – theresa.phillips@durham.ac.uk

Francis X. Clooney, S.J., Inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in the Humanities and Arts Class under Religious Studies

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 13:28:44 GMT

Congratulations to Francis X. Clooney, S.J., CTSA Past President; Parkman Professor at Harvard Divinity School, who was recently inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in the Humanities and Arts class under Religious Studies. He now shares this honor with other Jesuits in the Academy’s history—John LaFarge, S.J., Walter Ong, S.J., Karl Rahner, S.J., John O’Malley, S.J., and George MacRae, S.J.

"Professor Francis Clooney Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences", Harvard Divinity School, 4/28/25. (Induction October 2025).

Congratulations to Mary Kate Holman on the Publication of Marie-Dominique Chenu: Catholic Theology for a Changing World

Thu, 16 Oct 2025 13:45:07 GMT

Congratulations to Mary Kate Holman on the Publication of Marie-Dominique Chenu: Catholic Theology for a Changing World (Notre Dame Press, 2025).

Marie-Dominique Chenu demonstrates how this once condemned theologian influenced the major shifts of twentieth-century Catholicism and reveals the relevance of his thought for contemporary theology.

In 1942, historian Marie-Dominique Chenu was removed from his teaching position at Le Saulchoir, the French Dominican school of theology, and his groundbreaking new publication was placed on the Catholic Church’s Index of Forbidden Books. Yet only two decades later, the Catholic hierarchy embraced many of his ideas at the Second Vatican Council. Although Chenu’s pioneering work helped to usher in a new era, his influence on the Catholic Church remains overlooked and underexplored.

Drawing upon extensive new archival research, Mary Kate Holman provides a captivating account of Chenu’s life and how his theology contributed to the church’s opening to the modern world and shaped the next generation of theologians. Holman presents the distinctive elements of Chenu’s theology, identifies his major contributions to contemporary Catholic theology, and proposes a constructive retrieval of his thought for a renewed ecclesiology in the twenty-first century.

Oct 7th--27th Annual Louis J. Luzbetak Lecture on Mission and Culture (in person & on Zoom)

Kevin P. Considine — Mon, 06 Oct 2025 14:20:51 GMT

On Tuesday October 7th at 4pm (CST), Catholic Theological Union presents the 27th Annual Louis J. Luzbetak Lecture on Mission and Culture.

Kevin Considine, Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology and Director of the Schreiter Institute for Precious Blood Spirituality, will present:

Orthopathema: A New Lens for Mission as Ministry of Reconciliation in the Decade to Come

Pope Francis invoked the image of the Church as “field hospital” in a world that is facing ever-expanding threats to human dignity and the common good. This was a reminder that the missio Dei calls for radical hospitality, compassion, and embodied care with whatever skills and resources are available and appropriate within a specific context. Consequently, the vision of Mission as a Ministry of Reconciliation needs to grow from being rooted in orthopraxis to include orthopathema; from “right practice” of ministry to also encompass a way of “right suffering” that has two goals: the “sinned-against” not only survive the aftermath of violence but are empowered to flourish in the future; the “sinned-against” find healing so as to not perpetuate further harm similar to how they themselves were harmed. In the decade to come, this expanded understanding of Reconciliation and Mission through orthopathema will become essential for global Christianity to remain good news to the world.

The Lecture is Free and Open to the Public. Please register on the event webpage to receive the Zoom Link

One Body & Many Voices (Schillebeeckx Symposium)

Fri, 03 Oct 2025 15:28:09 GMT

One Body and Many Voices: The Future of The Church, Democracy, and The Legacy of Edward Schillebeeckx’s Theology in An Age of Crisis

10–11 June 2026

La Salle Retreat Center
2101 Rue De La Salle Dr
Wildwood, MO 63038

The last decade has seen an immense change in the theological and political landscape of the entire world. The climate crisis continues unabated; economic inequality has grown as new technologies have in many cases enabled instability rather than prosperity and development; the abuse crisis continues to plague the church and the early optimism of Pope’s Francis’s first years has faded. Although Francis enacted reforms of the curia and opened processes of synodal dialogue, that work was left unfinished with his death on Easter Monday, 2025. The church now has its second Pope from the Americas and first ‘American’ pontiff in Leo XIV. At the same time, war in Europe and the Middle East remains a constant source of anxiety combined with the increasing shift in global politics away from the liberal status quo and towards more radical forms of right-wing authoritarianism.

In this challenging situation, the experiences of negativity and suffering are evident, in part due to the reality that we face, and in part due to the perception of the world that is shaped by media, politics, and technology. However, within every experience of negativity, the potential for contrast and ultimately the experience of God is also present—an experience of grace which orients us towards action and change. The work of Edward Schillebeeckx continues to be instructive here, particularly in his many theological reflections on epistemology, ecclesiology, and the openness of the church to the challenge of the God, the Living One.

Schillebeeckx more specifically speaks of God’s presence in history, precisely as a history that includes sin, suffering, and abuses of power: “It can be both in the everyday events of our history and in its dramatic events, including the crucifixion, though it is never fused with this history nor does it coincide with it.” (Church, 220) In our context, the presence of God has to be sought, named, called out, and identified in order to reveal the liberating potential of the gospel at work in the church and in the world.

This symposium will reflect on the challenges and opportunities of the present moment as well as the continuing importance of Schillebeeckx’s theology for the contemporary context and for the future. The symposium invites participants to work from Schillebeeckx’s foundational insights as a starting point for their own reflection and as threads to be weaved into a future-oriented theology that can meet the challenges of the day. We therefore invite papers focusing on, but not limited to, the following topics:

One and Many – Ecclesial Democracy and a Synodal Church
Theopolitics, Authoritarianism, Threats to Democracy, and Eschatological Ideology Critique
Global Church and Local Faith – The Challenges of Ministry in Differing Ecclesial Contexts
Foundational Methodology and the Question of Theological Truth in a Post-Truth World
Grace, Conflict, Contrast – The Faithful and the Prophetic Voice of the Church

Please submit abstracts of no more than 250 words by email to Dr. Elizabeth Pyne (epyne@mercyhurst.edu) by 1 November 2025.

The day-and-a-half-long Symposium will take place at the La Salle Retreat Center, located about thirty minutes from downtown St. Louis. Further information regarding food, lodging, and costs will be forthcoming.

In Memory of Fr. Roger Haight (In-person & Virtual Event)

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 15:04:16 GMT

"In Memory of Fr. Roger Haight, S.J."
April 30, 1936 - June 19, 2025
Union Theological Seminary

Union Theological Seminary invites friends, colleagues, and the wider community to gather in remembrance of Roger Haight, S.J., on Tuesday, October 7, 2025. Fr. Haight, who entered eternal life on June 19, served on Union’s faculty for twenty-one years. He was cherished not only as a pioneering and courageous theologian, but also as a generous mentor, a wise teacher, and a person of profound spirituality and compassion. His scholarship shaped theological discourse across the globe, while his kindness left an indelible mark on generations of students and colleagues.

The memorial service will be held at 6:00 p.m. (EDT) in James Chapel, with livestream access provided for those unable to join in person. A reception will follow the service. Guests may enter through the Claremont Avenue entrance or the main entrance at 3140 Broadway. Parking is available at the iPark Garage (645 W. 120th St., under Riverside Church), located a short walk from James Chapel.

A livestream for the event will be available at: https://utsnyc.edu/blog/event/roger-haight-memorial/

To RSVP for the event visit "Roger Haight Memorial RSVP Page"

Date & Time:

Tuesday, October 7, 2025
6:00 PM EST
James Chapel, Union Theological Seminary
90 Claremont Avenue, New York, NY 10027

Dominican Theology and Practice Conference (Feb 27-28) - CFP

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 15:22:42 GMT

Dominican Theology and Practice: The Past 100 years
Friday, February 27 - Saturday, February 28, 2026
Albertus Magnus College, New Haven, CT

Call for Papers

Article "The Least of These" Commonweal's October Symposium on Mental Illness and the Church

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 14:44:18 GMT

Tobias Winright, Peter Fay and Meg Kaveny, "The Least of These", Mental Illness & the Church: A Symposium on Serving the Least of These (Commonweal Magazine 9/24/25).

https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/mental-illness-church

The article grew out of the CTSA's 2025 Convention session "The Least of These: People Suffering from Mental Illness, Law Enforcement, and Innovative Responses Selected Session" (Convener: M. Cathleen Kaveny):

The Least of These: People Suffering from Mental Illness, Law Enforcement, and Innovative Responses Selected Session

Convener: Cathleen Kaveny, Boston College
Moderator: Shaun Slusarski, Boston College

Presenter: Peter Fay, Villanova University
“Catholic Social Teaching and the Mentally Ill”

Presenter: Tobias Winright, St. Patrick's Pontifical University
“Just Policing and the Mentally Ill”

Presenter: Meg Kaveny, Behavioral Response Team, Portland Police Bureau
“An Innovative Partnership: Social Workers and Police Officers”

Congratulations to Kevin Considine on the Publication of "Analogy of the Wound: A Theology of Communication for Healing and Social Transformation"

Kevin P. Considine — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 12:04:44 GMT

Congratulations to CTSA member Kevin P. Considine on the publication of his second book Analogy of the Wound: A Theology of Communication for Healing and Social Transformation (Bloomsbury/T&T Clark, Sept. 16, 2025).

This book explores communication as a way of salvation for the sinned-against, sinners, and all of creation through an analogy of the wound. Rooted in Jesus' praxis of healing, this theology can assist in recognizing, understanding, and interpreting the harmful residue that remains in the aftermath of violence to repair human dignity and work for the common good. The author weaves together insights from methods of contextual theologies, the wisdom of Black and Womanist Theologies, Korean diaspora theologies of 'han', psychologies of trauma and moral injury, and the Catholic tradition of analogy to arrive at a unique synthesis: moments of salvation can be found in carefully communicating woundedness in the midst of building beloved community. Although the dissimilarities in our woundedness may always be greater than our similarities, the similarities convey truth and meaning and hold the possibility of the church living as Christ's wounded and resilient Body. We aid each other's healing in right relationship.

Congratulations to Judith Merkle on the Publication of "The Vows of Religious Life in a Secular Society"

Tue, 16 Sep 2025 14:10:11 GMT

Congratulations to CTSA member Judith A. Merkle on the publication of her book The Vows of Religious Life in a Secular Society (Bloomsbury, Sept. 18, 2025).

This book investigates religious vows, shedding light on the type of faith that can sustain humanity in secular times. It examines the personal impact of religious life as well as its potential to foster a sense of completeness within society at large.

Unbelief in today's society can be partially rooted in the shallowness of the sort of religion that the secular can abandon. Such a religion, characterized as magical, shallow, illusory, or rooted solely in external rituals, lacks the depth required to thrive in a secular society. It fails to address the profound aspects of human existence, the authentic freedom of the spirit, and the enduring obedience of faith.

This study of religious vows uncovers their deeper meanings in light of these challenges. It invites us to consider whether religious life, despite contemporary criticisms, can be seen as "touching wholeness". This book does not only delve into the theological foundations of these vows but also key areas which impact their understanding and living in new contexts. It surveys sociological landscapes and goes beyond to encompass shifts in science, psychology, theology. Religious life in this sense is part of the renewal of the church, as well as an agent in it.

By focusing briefly on each vow, Judtih A. Merkle illustrates how religious life serves as a bridge connecting the secular and the sacred. It is a life focused on love of God and service of others which is a witness to the coming of Kingdom of God, and values which truly matter in contemporary society.

Livestreamed Funeral Mass for Rev. James Alan Coriden

Mary Ann Hinsdale, IHM — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 18:24:24 GMT

The Funeral Mass of Rev. James Alan Coriden was held on September 6, 2025 at St. Raphael Catholic Church, Rockville, MD. The eulogy was given by Jim's dear friend, Johann Klodzen and Rev. Charles Curran presided and gave the homily. The service was lived streamed on You Tube. You can access it here:

https://www,youtube.com/watch?v=u0808AK0xCY

It was my proud honor to present our Society's John Courtney Murray Award to Jim in 2011 when I was president. In addition to Jim's valued scholarly and pastoral contribution as a canonist to us and to the Church, he served as a humorous inquisitor for the Treasurers' reports at our annual CTSA Business meetings. May he rest in peace and rise in glory!

Harvard Memorial Service for Francis Fiorenza

Francis X Clooney, SJ — Mon, 08 Sep 2025 21:12:04 GMT

On Thursday, November 20 from 2 pm to 3:30 pm, a memorial service will be held for Francis Schüssler Fiorenza, in the Williams Chapel, Swartz (Andover) Hall, HDS, Cambridge MA. A reception will follow in the Braun Room from 3:30 pm to 5 pm. All are welcome. More information forthcoming, about possible live-streaming of the service, etc.

"The Meaning of Being Human: Synodal Considerations" Eds. E. Miranda and C. Traina

Thu, 21 Aug 2025 15:17:32 GMT

Congratulations to Elsie Miranda, Cristina Traina and Susan Ross on the publication of their book "The Meaning of Being Human: Synodal Considerations" (Paulist Press, Sept. 2, 2025). Forward by Susan A. Ross.

This collection of essays explores the meaning of being human as beloved creatures of God in the context an ever-evolving creation. As baptized members of the body of Christ the authors of these essays explore themes raised by the global synod, with particular attention to Theological Anthropology, and the capacity of God’s Spirit and Grace to break into our ordinary lives to manifest goodness, beauty, and divine love in the world. (Paulist Press, 2025)

William P. Roberts - d. 7/25/25

Wed, 30 Jul 2025 14:17:00 GMT

The CTSA remembers and prays for longstanding member William P. Roberts, who died on Friday, July 25.

Eternal rest grant unto Bill, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Bill's theological contributions to the CTSA include the following available within the CTSA Proceedings:

Bernard Cooke's Contribution to Theology (vol. 59) 2004.

Obituary highlighting Bill's life and accomplishments

Francis Fiorenza - d. Wed., 7/23/25

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 13:27:04 GMT

The CTSA remembers and prays for longstanding member Francis Fiorenza, who died today, Wednesday, July 23.

Francis Fiorenza served as the CTSA's President in 1985 – 1986 and as a member of the CTSA Board of Directors (1975 – 1977).

Eternal rest grant unto Francis, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Francis Fiorenza's theological contributions to the CTSA include the following available within the CTSA Proceedings:

Rahner's Ecclesiology: Jesus and the Foundation of the Church--an Analysis of the hermeneutical Issues (1978, Vol. 33).
Nineteenth Century Theology (1983, Vol. 38).
Presidential Address ~ Foundations of Theology: A Community's Tradition of Discourse and Practice(1986, Vol. 41)
he Security and Insecurity of Faith (1973, Vol. 28)
The CTSA and the Proposed Schema on Catholic Universities (Correspondence; 1986, Vol. 41)
Critical Social Theory and Christology (1975, Vol. 30)
The Jesus of Piety and the Historical Jesus (1994, Vol. 49).
Political Theology as Foundational Theology (1977, Vol. 32)

Francis Fiorenza on His Esteemed Teaching Career, the Pluralization of Theology, and Studying with the 'Stars of the Stars' (Harvard Divinity School, 7/29/21); Accessed on 7/28/25 at <<https://www.hds.harvard.edu/news/2021/07/29/francis-fiorenza-his-esteemed-teaching-career-pluralization-theology-and-studying-stars>>.

Committal Service ~ Thursday, July 31in Cambridge
(See below for local attendance)
Rite of Christian Burial / Interment Service will be live streamed via Zoom at 10:00 a.m.

Jul 31, 10:00 a.m. https://drew.zoom.us/j/96604452641
• View details & RSVP https://calendar.app.google/jzUayZWGatv3W5Yf7

Committal Service - Join Zoom Meeting

https://drew.zoom.us/j/96604452641

Meeting ID: 966 0445 2641

One tap mobile

+13052241968,,96604452641# US

+13092053325,,96604452641# US

Local attendees ~ Address of Cambridge Cemetery

Cambridge Cemetery

76 Coolidge Avenue CAMBRIDGE, MA 02138

2025 Immigrant Integration Convening [Sept. 14 & 16]

Thu, 24 Jul 2025 17:02:01 GMT

Invitation to Supporting Migrants and Refugees: Finding Hope in a Time of Peril

In these perilous times for our immigrant brothers and sisters, the Center for Migration Studies will bring together the Catholic and migrant-serving community for our annual 2025 Immigrant Integration Convening from September 14 to 16 at Fordham University.

View the agenda, speakers, and event information

Speakers will discuss the immigration challenges of today, as well as how to respond to harsh immigration policies and support immigrant communities.

Our speakers include thought leaders such as The Rev. James Martin, editor at large at America; Michele R. Pistone, professor of law at Villanova University and the director for the Strategic Initiative for Migrants + Refugees; and Father Bryan N. Massingale, professor of theological and social ethics at Fordham University.

SimonMary Aihiokhai's CFPs for a special issue of Religions

Tue, 22 Jul 2025 15:18:06 GMT

As guest editor of the journal Religions, CTSA member SimonMary Aihiokhai invites members to respond to a call for paper for a special issue of the journal.

Click here to access a PDF of the Call for Papers

"Mission and Vision: Stephen Bevans and Catholic Theology" by James Keane, AmericaMagazine

Tue, 08 Jul 2025 13:28:12 GMT

Piece written by James T. Keane, AmericaMagazine.org "Mission and Vision: Stephen Bevans and Catholic Theology" (June 24, 2025).

KAICIID International Fellows Programme 2026

Thu, 26 Jun 2025 13:27:04 GMT

Dear colleague in peacemaking and dialogue,

The International Dialogue Centre - KAICIID is pleased to announce a call for applications to its 2026 International Fellows Programme.

I hope you will consider sharing this among your networks or members.

The KAICIID International Fellows Programme is an international capacity-building and professional development programme designed to bring together religious leaders, educators, and practitioners from diverse religious and cultural backgrounds worldwide. The Programme is designed to connect and cultivate a network of leaders committed to fostering peace in their communities through interreligious and intercultural dialogue.

Since its launch in 2015, the Programme has equipped more than 550 Fellows from nearly 100 countries with the dialogue skills needed to promote mutual understanding and cooperation between diverse religions and cultures in a global world. We have had Fellows from 17 global religious and faith traditions, and dozens of denominations or movements within those.

In 2026, we are excited to call two international cohorts.

The "International Cohort" is open to all applicants globally, with a preference for those in higher education, community or religious leadership, or policy development that impacts religions and religious communities.
The "Youth-Focused Cohort" specifically invites staff and volunteers of international, regional, or national youth-focused agencies, organizations, and networks. It is not limited to youth applicants.

The deadline for Applications is 31 July.

Information and the link to the application can be found here:

KAICIID Fellows Programme | KAICIID

Frequently Asked Questions are answered here:

International Fellows Programme - Frequently Asked Questions | KAICIID

My team is available for questions from applicants at Fellows@kaiciid.org, and if you have any questions for me please do not hesitate to reach out directly.

Thank you,

Andrew

__________

Prof. Andrew (A.J.) BOYD
Senior Programme Manager, Fellows
Programmes Division

The International Dialogue Centre – KAICIID

Rua Castilho 52

1250-071 Lisbon

Portugal

Mobile: +351 925 238 095

E-Mail: andrew.boyd@kaiciid.org

CTSA 2025 Memorial Service Recording from June 13, 2025, Available for Viewing

Wed, 25 Jun 2025 19:05:17 GMT

A recording of the CTSA's 2025 Memorial Service (June 13, 2025) held at the annual convention is now available for viewing via the CTSA Obituary website page.

Call for abstracts: Edited volume: God loves kitsch!

Marc Rugani — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 20:12:41 GMT

Call for abstracts: Edited volume: God loves kitsch!

Co-editors: Sarah Richter, PhD and Laura Elizabeth Shea, PhD

What kind of art does god like? Such a question begs another – which god? In the case of the Christian God of modern America, the answer would be kitsch, of course!

Religion in the United States is intimately entwined with kitsch, from the chapel in Carthage, Missouri, adorned with murals reminiscent of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel but featuring Precious Moments figurines, to readily available votive candles depicting celebrities as saints. Despite lacking the Benjaminian “aura” of a relic or in-situ painting or sculpture, religious kitsch possesses a unique ability to invest mass-produced objects with spiritual significance on a large-scale.

In 1939, Clement Greenberg scorned kitsch as low-quality, mass-produced visual material divorced from true aesthetics and the goals of art, primarily driven by economic and social factors. By following this line of thought, kitsch, like religion, has been boxed out of serious consideration in modern and contemporary art despite its undeniable presence. James Elkins has observed that that while the art world welcomes “’religious art’ by people who hate religion… there is no place for artists who express straightforward, ordinary, religious faith.”[1] More current work by Erika Doss has shown how art history has ignored or tamped down the religious inspirations that undergirded the work of several highly influential modern artists.[2] In response, this volume aims to take both kitsch and its religious makers and users seriously, delving into the intersections of kitsch, spirituality, culture, and politics in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

We are interested in critically analyzing how the divine is portrayed, commercialized, and consumed through a broad lens of kitsch, prompting questions such as:

· How does kitsch facilitate and/or supplement spiritual devotion?

· When is kitsch a serious agent of power and influence?

· Can kitsch ever act as a critique of religious or institutional establishments?

· How has kitsch been racialized, regionalized, and/or weaponized?

· Which religious ideas are expressed through kitsch, and when does kitsch mis-represent religious ideas?

· How are syncretic religious traditions expressed through kitsch?

· What is kitsch’s role as a source of joy and communal celebration?

· Which items become beloved by many, and who makes them?

· Is there a place for kitsch in art history?

We welcome papers that engage with an expansive view of kitsch, considering mass produced items and handmade religious objects that are repeatedly displayed, re-worked, or include visual associations and/or tropes from religious kitsch. While the volume’s focus will be on Christian-inspired art made in and/or circulated in the United States, we welcome comparative approaches that address additional regions and religious beliefs.

Please submit a 200-word bio, 300–400-word abstract, and 1-2 images for a future 5,000 – 7,000-word essay to GodLovesKitsch@gmail.com by June 30.

[1] James Elkins, On the Strange Place of Religion in Contemporary Art (Routledge, 2004): 115.

[2] Erika Doss, Spiritual Moderns (The University of Chicago Press, 2023).

Laura Elizabeth Shea, PhD

Associate Professor, Art History

Fine Arts

100 Saint Anselm Drive

Manchester, NH 03102-1310

LShea@anselm.edu

Roger D. Haight, S.J. - d. 6/19/25

Thu, 19 Jun 2025 22:25:01 GMT

The CTSA remembers and prays for longstanding member Roger D. Haight, S.J., who died today, Thursday, June 19.

Roger Haight was awarded the prestigious John Courtney Murray Award in 2023 (Citation). He served as the CTSA's President in 1994 – 191995 and as a member of the CTSA Board of Directors (1986 – 1988).

Eternal rest grant unto Roger, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Roger Haight's theological contributions include the following available within the CTSA Proceedings:

Homily: A Liturgy of Gratitude and Resilience, (special issue, 2020).

Presidential Address: Fifty Years of Theology (1995)

CTSA Fiftieth Anniversary Toast (CTSA 50th Anniversary Commemorative Section)

Co-convener and presenter, Comparative Spirituality Selected Session (2013)

Convener, Theological Education as a Theological Program (Panel, 1985).

Co-convener, Liberation and Feminist Themes in Edward Schillebeeckx's Church: The Human Story of God (1991).

America's piece on Roger Haight in honor of him receiving the CTSA's John Courtney Murray Award follows:

James T. Keane, Roger Haight’s Lifetime of Theological Achievement, America (June 13, 2023)

Photo of Roger with "all his student cheering him on at the John Courtney Murray Award banquet two years ago. Such a joyful moment." (Beth Johnson):

DEATH NOTICE

Let us pray in thanksgiving for the life of our brother

Fr. Roger D. Haight, S.J.

who was called to eternal life on Thursday, June 19, 2025, at Saint Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, N.Y.. Roger was born on April 30, 1936, in Glen Ridge, NJ, entered the Society of Jesus on July 30, 1954, at Saint Andrew on Hudson, and was ordained on June 15, 1967, at the Fordham University Chapel. He pronounced his final vows at DeNobili College in Pune, India, on August 15, 1977.

Wake:

Tuesday, June 24, 3:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Chapel of Murray-Weigel Hall

Prayer Service at 7:00 p.m.

Funeral Mass:

Wednesday, June 25

9:30 a.m. Viewing, 10:30 a.m. Funeral

St. Ignatius Church

980 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10028

Burial: Jesuit Cemetery, Auriesville, NY

Notes of Condolence may be sent to Roger’s sister-in-law:

Mary Emma Haight

459 Passaic Ave., apt. 212

West Caldwell, NJ 07006

As we remember with gratitude all that God has done through Roger’s life of service to the Church and the Society, we are reminded of our privilege and obligation to offer Masses and prayers for his eternal repose.

Postdoctoral Research Associate in Catholic Social Thought and Practice, Durham University, UK

Karen Kilby — Mon, 09 Jun 2025 08:31:25 GMT

The Centre for Catholic Studies (CCS) in the Dept. of Theology and Religion at Durham University, UK, is seeking to appoint a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Catholic Social Thought and Practice to work with Prof. Anna Rowlands, the St Hilda Professor in Catholic Social Thought and Practice.

This is a 3-year research post and full details can be found at

Job Description - Postdoctoral Research Associate in Catholic Social Thought and Practice (25000616)

The deadline for applications is Friday 4 July 2025.

Please share details of this post widely via your relevant networks.

Jill Raitt - d. May 27

Sun, 08 Jun 2025 20:46:41 GMT

The CTSA remembers and prays for longstanding member Jill Raitt, who died on Tuesday, May 27.

Eternal rest grant unto Jill, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon her.
May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen

Jill Raitt's theological contributions to the Society include serving as the convener of the following, which are accessible via the CTSA Proceedings.

“The Vocation of the Theologian: Crossing Boundaries”, Proceedings vol. 58, (2003).

Her obituary is available here:

https://www.millardfamilychapels.com/obituaries/Jill-Raitt?obId=42663250

and a feature from her local newspaper follows:

https://www.columbiamissourian.com/obituaries/missourian_life_story/jill-raitt-fought-for-her-seat-at-the-table-then-made-room-for-others/article_3c8ec215-dcf1-4e6b-87c7-4ef09b864c7c.html

Gary Riebe-Estrella, SVD - d. 6/2/25

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 20:25:35 GMT

The CTSA remembers and prays for Gary Riebe-Estrella, SVD, who died on Monday, June 2, 2025.

Eternal rest grant unto Gary, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

The following remembrance was provided to the CTSA by member Carmen Nanko-Fernandez, Catholic Theological Union:

On Monday, June 2, 2025, at the Divine Word Residence in Techny, IL, Latino theological educator, theologian, professor, and mentor Gary Riebe Estrella, SVD passed away at the age of 79. A longtime member of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States (ACHTUS), Gary served as president twice, first in 1996-97 and again in 2009-10.

A member of the Divine Word Missionaries, Gary was one of the first graduates from the Catholic Theological Union. In 1992, he earned his STD in Teología Practica from Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca. In 1993 he returned to his alma mater in Chicago assuming teaching and administrative roles. He became the first Latino Dean at CTU and among the first Latin@s in the USA at a theological school to rise to this position. He served as the Vice President and Academic Dean of CTU for twelve years from 1996-2009. During that time, he was instrumental in creating a racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse faculty.

Gary’s activism, his early experiences in pastoral work with Latin@ communities, and his decades of scholarship and leadership in theological education resulted in various opportunities throughout his ministry to work with religious orders, organizations, and higher education as a consultant in areas of diversity, formation, and theological education. His publications in the area of Latin@ theologies and ministries are numerous, and establish Gary’s place as one of the first CTU religious alums to make a mark in Latin@ theologies and ministries.

Live funeral coverage on on June 7 via YouTube

Welcome to CTSA’s Newest Board Members!!!

Nancy Pineda-Madrid — Mon, 02 Jun 2025 05:37:29 GMT

On Tuesday, May 27, 2025, CTSA had its Annual Business Meeting, this time online (“Zoom”). We had a full agenda, and the reports related to this Business Meeting remain available to all members. As is our tradition, we voted for a new Vice President and two new Board Members.

Please join me in congratulating . . .

Vice President Kevin Burke SJ

Professor of Theology; Vice President of University Mission; Department of Religious Studies; Mission Office Regis University

Board Member C. Vanessa White

Associate Professor; Tenured Faculty; Spirituality and Pastoral Ministry
Catholic Theological Union

Board Member Daniel Scheid

Associate Professor, Director of Undergraduate Studies, Department of Theology
Duquesne University

Final Meeting of the Consultation on the Sexual Abuse Crisis

Cristina Traina — Tue, 27 May 2025 14:42:05 GMT

For its last CTSA consultation session on the sex abuse crisis, the Consultation has planned a reflective discussion of two important questions: 1) methodologically, how can or should the sex abuse crisis change our ways of doing theology? and 2) practically and structurally, how do we ensure that this question remains robust and lively in the CTSA, and in Catholic theology generally?

In preparation for the session, we invite you to download and read the two short essays and the Examen in the session Dropbox folder. They are in the “Session materials” subfolder; the Examen is below as well. In addition, we invite you to visit the “Additional resources” subfolder and download the list of suggested further readings.

Even if you do not have the opportunity to look over any of the materials before the session, please come! Your insight is essential to ensuring ongoing theological engagement with this issue.

Sincerely,

Julia Feder, Daniel Horan, Stan Chu Ilo, Megan McCabe, Cristina Traina

Consultation Committee

Examen

Because some of us are not directly involved in the sex abuse crisis as perpetrators or victims, and we may not address sexuality directly in our scholarship, we may feel that we have had no role in the crisis and that theological and moral responses to it need not affect our corner of the profession in the future. Thus, we may not have reflected adequately on the ways in which our own theological habits and our practices as a guild have helped to facilitate this crisis, to perpetuate it, or to diminish its importance. We invite you to reflect on the questions below.

Does my own work encourage a focus on the rehabilitation and forgiveness of the sinner to the detriment of attention to the care and rehabilitation of the sinned-against? Of potential future victims of sin?

Have I used the ideas of trauma and moral injury too generally, diminishing their precision and impact?

Who and what are the credible sources with which I do and teach theology? Do I treat the witness of children, gender queer persons, women, or people of color as less credible than others’ accounts?

What interpretive frameworks do I apply to scripture and theology? Do any of them impose psychological or gendered grids that might lead me to diminish the impact of, or explain away, abuse?

Have I thought adequately about how oppression, trauma, and wounds of all sorts might affect my vision of sin, grace, virtue, eschatology, sacramental theology, exegesis, and other theological questions?

Does my theology treat sins involving sex as either more significant or less significant than other classes of sins?

Do hiring, promotion, and colleague and student mentoring practices in my department create power imbalances that encourage abuse or that blame victims?

Do my writings or style of teaching promote greater deference to ordained scholars than to lay scholars?

Daniel Maguire - d. 5/21/25

Fri, 23 May 2025 13:23:02 GMT

The CTSA remembers and prays for Daniel Maquire, who died on Wednesday, May 21.

Eternal rest grant unto Dan, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Dan's contributions to the CTSA include the following, which are available via the CTSA Proceedings:

"Human Sexuality: The Book and The Epiphenomenon", Proceedings, Vol. 33 (1978).

"A Response (II) to Doctor Noonan", Proceedings Vol. 27 (1972).

Link to Obituary. A funeral service will most likely be held in the summer of 2025.

Photo courtesy of Marquette University.

CCS Public Lectures (Franciscan Studies)

Thu, 22 May 2025 15:33:14 GMT

The CCS Public Lectures – as part of the Franciscan Studies Summer School 2025

The Centre for Catholic Studies at Durham University is hosting two online public lectures, as part of our Franciscan Studies Summer School. Our guest speakers are Professor John McCafferty and Sr Margaret Carney.

Although registration for the Summer School is now closed, the public lectures remain open for booking. Those who have already registered for the Summer School will automatically be sent the joining link for these lectures.

CCS Public Lecture: Professor John McCafferty (UCD)

‘Sandals, Spaniards and Scotus: Defending Francis and his Friars 400 Years After his Death’

Wednesday 11 June, 6pm BST Online

Tickets: £5, free to those registered on Week 1 of the Franciscan Studies Online Summer School

Booking via Eventbrite: https://bit.ly/3EB3dDG

John McCafferty is a Professor of History at UCD and a Honorary Professor at CCS Durham. His research is concerned with religious change in early modern Ireland and Britain with special reference to the role of the Franciscan family. He is General Editor with James Kelly of the Oxford History of British & Irish Catholicism (2023). He is Chair of the Irish Manuscripts Commission and Director of the Mícheál Ó Cléirigh Institute. He is also President of the Board of the Collegium Sancti Bonaventurae (Quaracchi), Rome.

CCS Public Lecture: Sr Margaret Carney

‘Francis of Assisi, Francis of Rome and a Church Re-Imagined’

Wednesday 18 June, 6pm BST Online

Tickets £5, free for those registered on the Franciscan Foundations for Moral Theology course as part of the Franciscan Studies Online Summer School.

Booking via Eventbrite: https://bit.ly/3EIpYp2

The synod on synodality ushered in a vision and an exercise leading to a dramatic re-centering of the Catholic Church. What is the “through line” connecting the magisterium of Pope Francis to the renaissance in Christian life created by the charism of St. Francis of Assisi? Eight centuries separate the two. Are we guilty of magical thinking when we try to connect their remarkable impact?

For any queries about the two online public lectures, please email ccsfranciscan.admin@durham.ac.uk.

Wendy M. Wright, d. 5-19-25

Tue, 20 May 2025 16:27:30 GMT

The CTSA remembers and prays for longstanding member Wendy M. Wright, who died on Monday, May 19.

Eternal rest grant unto Wendy, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon her.
May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen

Wendy Wright's theological contributions to the Society include serving as the convener of the following, which are accessible via the CTSA Proceedings.

Convener, Spiritual Habits for the Cultivation of Ecological Virtue, Spirituality Topic Session, CTSA Proceedings 72 (2017).

Convener, Mary in Global and Contemporary Perspective: Mary in Ecumenical and Interfaith Perspective, CTSA Proceedings 67 (2012).

The following information was provided to the CTSA via the Department of Theology and Christian Spirituality Program at Creighton University.

Wendy Mae Wright, 78, of Santa Barbara, California, passed away from cancer on May 19, 2025 at her home while surrounded by her husband and three adult children.
Wendy was born on March 5, 1947, in Burbank, California, the only child of Walter Wright, a jeweler and peace activist, and Elizabeth “Betty” Wright, a writer and civic volunteer.
After an early adulthood spent training and performing as an actress and singer, Wendy moved to Santa Barbara in 1974 in a period of personal and theological inquiry to attend the Religious Studies program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. It was there that she met Roger Bergman, of Kansas. They married on June 21, 1977, at the Old Mission in Santa Barbara.
Wendy and Roger had three children: Emily Frances, born 1977; Elizabeth June, born 1983; and Charles Walter, born 1985.
After obtaining her PhD from UCSB in 1983, Wendy embarked on a notable career as a professor and writer of Christian spirituality. Her areas of expertise included the history of Christian spirituality, particularly the Salesian tradition, Catholic devotional traditions, and the spirituality of family life. She served for almost thirty years as Professor of Theology at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, and later as Affiliate Faculty at the Oblate School of Theology’s Institute for the Study of Contemporary Spirituality. She was the author of seventeen books and over sixty academic articles. She also enriched many people’s spiritual lives as a long-time spiritual director and cantor.
Wendy was a devoted mother and grandmother and an avid hiker and lover of nature and the arts. Upon her retirement from full-time teaching, she and Roger moved back to Santa Barbara, where they lived in the beautiful surroundings of the home she had inherited from her parents.
Wendy is survived by her husband Roger; her three children Emily, Elizabeth, and Charles; her six grandchildren Evelyn Elizabeth, Oliver Hastings, Elliot Franklin, Cecilia Lola, Anabel Mae, and Miriam Carmen; her son-in-laws Ryan Shelstad and Clark Baechle, and daughter-in-law Alexi Motta.

Wendy Wright was also an Affiliated Faculty Member at the Institute for the Study of Contemporary Spirituality, Oblate School of Theology.

A funeral mass will be held on Thursday, May 29 at 10:30am at the Old Mission-Santa Barbara, followed by a reception.

Memorial gifts may be made to:

Cancer Foundation of Santa Barbara, which supports the Ridley-Tree Cancer Center: https://cfsb.org/support-local-cancer-care/giving/
Visitation Monastery of Minneapolis: https://www.visitationmonasteryminneapolis.org/support-us/”

An invitation to a Pentecost Novena for Pope Leo XIV, his papacy and our world

Margaret Mary Moore — Tue, 20 May 2025 00:22:44 GMT

The Pentecost Vigil Project invites you to join us on May 30-June 7 at 7pm eastern daylight time on zoom to pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We are inviting Catholic organizations, groups and networks across the US and Canada to join together in friendship and solidarity in response to the call of Pope Leo to courageously face the challenges confronting us at this time in history. All are welcome! Please visit our website to register:

www.pentecostvigilproject.org

Sincerely, Margaret Mary Moore

Distance Learning MA in Catholic Theology

Karen Kilby — Thu, 15 May 2025 11:10:26 GMT

In addition to the Postgraduate Certificate , the Postgraduate Diploma , and the MA , students can enrol for a single module. Students with a BA or BSc who have not studied Theology or a related discipline before, are able to apply for the single module, ‘Catholic Theology: A Preliminary Tour’ and proceed to the MA following its successful completion. Further details are available at Distance Learning – Durham University including videos from current students.

NEW BURSARY FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR 2025-26 – The Janet Erskine Stuart Scholarship Fund, funded by the Society of the Sacred Heart (RSCJ), intended primarily to support teachers or chaplains. Applications are especially invited from:

Teachers of RE wishing to pursue an MA to enhance the quality of their subject knowledge.
Teachers of any discipline who wish to retrain to teach RE.

Other bursary funds are also available. Full information can be found at CCS Bursary for Distance Learning 2025-26 - Durham University

If you have any questions about the Distance Learning programmes or bursaries, please contact the CCS Manager - theresa.phillips@durham.ac.uk +44 (0) 191 334 3952.

Ladislas "Les" Orsy, S.J. - d. 4/3/25

Tue, 13 May 2025 13:56:34 GMT

The CTSA remembers and prays for longstanding member Ladislas "Les" Orsy, S.J., who died on Thursday, April 3.

Les Orsy was awarded the prestigious John Courtney Murray Award in 1999.

Eternal rest grant unto Ladislas, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Jesuits USA East, Remembering Jesuit Father Ladislas "Les" Orsy (April 3, 2025)

INSeCT ~ General Assembly Report (Dec. 8-13, 2024) Rome, Italy

Tue, 13 May 2025 13:18:00 GMT

INSeCT ~ General Assembly Report
December 8 - 13, 2024
Rome, Italy

Please find here the final report of INSeCT General Assembly.

Linh Hoang, OFM, PhD
President, INSeCT
CTSA Liaison to INSeCT

“Habemus Papam!” – “We have a pope!”

Nancy Pineda-Madrid — Fri, 09 May 2025 08:00:04 GMT

On May 8, 2025, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, O.S.A., 69, was chosen as the 267^th pope. He chose the name Leo, making him Pope Leo XIV.

Pope Leo XIV was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois to parents of French, Italian, and Louisiana Creole (African, French, Haitian, and Spanish) descent. He holds a Doctorate and a Licentiate in Canon Law from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas - Angelicum (Rome); a Master of Divinity from Catholic Theological Union (Chicago); and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Villanova University (close to Philadelphia). He speaks Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, and English. He also reads Latin and German. He was ordained a priest in 1982 at the age of 27 in the Order of Saint Augustine, a religious order with a charism of contemplative prayer, a practical love for all others especially the poor, and an ardent pursuit of truth. In 1985, at the age of 30, as an Augustinian missionary, he was sent to Peru where he has lived for much of his adult life, serving there early on as a pastor, and as a seminary teacher in Trujillo in the northwestern part of Peru. From 1998 - 2001, he returned to Chicago, serving as Prior Provincial of his religious order. Then, in 2001, he was elected Prior General of the Augustinians and lived in Rome until 2013. Pope Francis named him Bishop of Chiclayo, Peru in 2014 where he served until 2023, the year he became a Cardinal. In 2023 he moved back to Rome when Pope Francis named him President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, and Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, a position which oversees the selection of new bishops worldwide.

Pope Leo is an American in the most expansive sense; he is a citizen of Peru as well as of the United States. His significant Latin American background represents a continuity with Pope Francis, an Argentinian. Pope Leo is known as a bridge-builder, as a good listener, as a pastor first, and, as such, he is perceived to be a pope who will likely favor continuity with the reforms initiated by Pope Francis. He is said to share Pope Francis’ views on migrants, the poor, and the environment as well as his commitment to synodality, a promising means for addressing divisions in the U.S. Catholic Church.

Pope Leo’s choice of the name “Leo” is telling, signaling his commitment to social justice. The previous Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903) is often recognized as the father of Catholic social justice, largely owing to his groundbreaking 1891 encyclical, Rerum Novarum. This encyclical, and others that followed, transformed Catholic teaching by launching what is now known as Catholic Social Teaching. Rerum Novarum focused on issues of social inequality and social justice, claiming that workers have rights as well as obligations. It was critical of both capitalism and communism.

In addition, the choice of “Leo” may also signal a connection to the first Pope Leo, Leo the Great (440-461), whose theological work on the divine and human natures of Jesus Christ helped the Church deepen its understanding of the Incarnation, laying the groundwork for the Council of Chalcedon. In addition, this Pope Leo was known as a Western leader and peacemaker, convincing Atila the Hun, who had been plundering northern Italy, not to attack Rome in 452.

By taking the name “Leo,” perhaps our new pope is locating himself within the tradition of these predecessors.

Long live the Pope Leo XIV!

Nancy Pineda-Madrid

President, Catholic Theological Society of America

Join the CTSA pop-up choir in Portland!

Layla Karst — Fri, 09 May 2025 06:19:28 GMT

Good music is part of what makes our CTSA liturgies so special and we need your help to make it happen! All members are invited to join the choir for our Saturday evening liturgy in Portland. The more voices the merrier--all are welcome.

Do you play the flute, violin, or cello? Join the ensemble!

Please contact CTSA Liturgical Liaison, Layla Karst, at layla.karst@lmu.edu for more information.

National Catholic-Muslim Dialogue, USCCB, Covenant with Earth Research Paper & Essay Competition

Tue, 06 May 2025 13:30:47 GMT

Our Covenant With Earth

The Climate Generation Speaks

STUDENT RESEARCH PAPER & ESSAY CONTESTS

Awardees will receive a cash prize
and the opportunity to publicly present their work

The National Catholic-Muslim Dialogue (NCMD) of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB) is thrilled to announce the Covenant with Earth research paper and essay competition that explores the topics and concerns raised in Laudato si: Care of our Common Home (https://www.laudatosi.org/the-letter/encyclical-letter/) and Al-Mizan: Covenant for the Earth (https://www.almizan.earth ). We invite high schoolers, undergraduate students, and graduate students to share your perspective on Catholic and Muslim responses to the ecological crisis and pathways of thought and action toward care for the earth. Essays could include such themes as:

The Human Legacy of the Ecological Crisis
Integral Ecology as an Ecological Ethics
Eco-Justice: A Shared Vision of Muslims and Catholics
Pathways to Living the Covenant of Earth with Integrity
Economic and Ecology: Renewed Commitments to the Common Good.
Ihsan: ‘Doing the Beautiful’
‘Care for Our Common Home’
Living the Covenant
Lessons Learned from Local Actions
Best Practices for Communities and Organizations
Environmental Justice as Intergenerational Justice
Nurturing an Ecological Culture as Giving Witness to the Goodness of God’s Creation

Research Paper Competition (for Graduate and PhD students)

Eligibility: Students pursuing Master of Arts, Master of Divinity, Ecclesial Degrees (STL, STD), Islamic Ijaza in various fields, Public Health, Public Administration, Business Administration, Political Science, International Studies, Economics, Social Work, or Ph.D students in these and related fields.

Submission Guidelines:

2,000 words, Double-Spaced, 12 pt Font
Microsoft WORD or PDF
Style: Turabian or Chicago Manual

Prize:

Cash prize: $750
Public Presentation: Winner will present their work in a public forum held in Washington, D.C. on September 10, 2025. The National Catholic Muslim Dialogue Group of the Unites Stated Catholic Conference of Bishops and Catholic University of America will host the event.

Essay Competition (for High Schoolers and Undergraduates):

The essay can be non-fiction or fiction (eco-fiction, climate fiction) drawing from the themes suggested or other perspectives raised by the documents Laudato si and Al-Mizan

Eligibility: High School and Undergraduate College Students (Two separate awards)

Submission Guidelines:

450-600 words, Double Spaced, 12 pt. Font
Microsoft WORD or PDF

Prize:

Cash prize: $150
Public Presentation: Winner will present their work in a public forum held in Washington, D.C. on September 10, 2025. The National Catholic Muslim Dialogue Group of the Unites Stated Catholic Conference of Bishops and Catholic University of America will host the event.

All entrees must be original work. All resources used must be properly cited in footnotes or bibliography. Citations are not included in the word count. AI-generated work is not invited to be entered into the contest, and if entered, it will be subject to disqualification

DUE July 18, 2025

Email Entrees to: acirelli@usccb.org
Anthony Cirelli, Ph.D., Associate Director
Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

The Contest is sponsored by The Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs (CEIA) of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB), NCMD Muslim Group, Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Cross, Notre Dame, IN.

Merton Society Meeting - Early Bird Registration Closes Soon

Christopher Pramuk — Thu, 01 May 2025 17:04:44 GMT

Dear colleagues,

A reminder that the 19th General Meeting of the International Thomas Merton Society (ITMS) is meeting June 19-22 at Regis University in Denver, under the theme, "The Calligraphy of Snow and Rock and Sky: Thomas Merton and the Spirit of Place." Early-bird registration ends May 15. ITMS meetings are marked by a wonderful spirit of fellowship, eclectic offerings (scholarship, poetry, journaling, film, prayer) reflecting Merton's capacious spiritual and theological vision. Please consider joining us!

Chris Pramuk

https://merton.org/2025/default.aspx

Mary Gerhart - d. 4/22/25

Thu, 01 May 2025 13:42:28 GMT

The CTSA remembers and prays for longstanding member Mary Gerhart, who died on Tuesday, April 22.

Eternal rest grant unto Mary, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon her.
May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen

Mary Gerhart's theological contributions to the Society include the following, which are accessible via the CTSA Proceedings.

M. Gerhart & Allan Melvin Russell. “Metaphoric Process”

“Theology, Science, and Gender: Advances in Feminist Consciousness”

“The Ironic Mode of Religious Imagination in Heinrich Boll”

Mary Jane Gerhart Obituary

David W. Tracy - d. 4/29/25

Thu, 01 May 2025 13:33:20 GMT

The CTSA remembers and prays for longstanding member David W. Tracy, who died on Tuesday, April 29.

David Tracy was awarded the prestigious John Courtney Murray Award in1980. He served as the CTSA's President in 1976 – 1977 and twice as a member of the CTSA Board of Directors (1974 - 1976 and 1977 – 1979).

Eternal rest grant unto David, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

David Tracy's theological contributions include the following available within the CTSA Proceedings:

Response to “Meaning and Characteristics of an American Theology”

“Evil and Hope: Foundational Systematic Perspectives”

Response to Professor Connelly-II

Presidential Address: “Grace and the Search for the Human: The Sense of the Uncanny”

“A Response to Gregory Baum”

“Why Orthodoxy in a Personalist Age?”

Call for Papers: Life and Love Transfigured: Exploring New Horizons in the Franciscan Tradition, Durham UK, 14-16 April 2026

Karen Kilby — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 13:54:55 GMT

Call for Papers and Workshop Proposals

Life and Love Transfigured: Exploring New Horizons in the Franciscan Tradition

A Conference to Mark the 800^th Anniversary of the Death of St. Francis of Assisi

Tuesday 14^th to Thursday 16^th April 2026, Durham University, UK

To mark the 800^th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi, the Centre for Catholic Studies (CCS) at Durham University will hold its third international Franciscan Studies conference. The Transitus of Saint Francis in 1226 completed the Poverello’s earthly life. Successive generations have interpreted and carried forward the witness and teachings of the Saint and his early followers. This conference seeks to celebrate and share the fruits of this legacy against new horizons, addressing contemporary challenges and concerns.

The aim of the conference will be to bring together people from different walks of life – academic and non-academic, religious and lay – who have a deep love for St. Francis of Assisi, the Franciscan tradition, and the abiding relevance of the Franciscan charism for the modern world. The conference will be held at locations in Durham itself as well as at Ushaw College, a former Roman Catholic Seminary a few miles outside of Durham.

The conference will consist of academic panels and plenary lectures by world leading scholars of the Franciscan tradition, as well as public talks by those working in contemporary Franciscan evangelisation, workshops on the Franciscan way of life and Franciscan ministry, ecumenical worship, and opportunities for fellowship and communal reflection.

The conference will have three main strands: (1) Franciscan theology and philosophy; (2) Franciscan history; and (3) Franciscan spirituality, aesthetics, and evangelism. The conference organisers welcome papers from researchers in fields including, but not limited to, Franciscan theology, Franciscan history, Franciscan science, Franciscan literary studies, Franciscan philosophy, Franciscan spirituality, the Poor Clare and wider female Franciscan traditions, the Franciscan Tertiary tradition, Franciscan ecumenism and interreligious dialogue, Franciscan art, poetry, and music, Franciscan education, Franciscan liturgical thought and practice, Franciscan economic and political philosophy, as well as Franciscan ministry and Franciscan contributions to peace studies, outreach, and pastoral-social work.

Confirmed speakers include:

Fr Casey Cole, OFM (Digital Evangelist and Creator of Breaking in the Habit podcast).

Prof. Richard Cross (University of Notre Dame, Indiana)

Fr Dr Michael Cusato OFM (Scholar-in-Residence, St. Bonaventure Friary, NY)

Prof. Daniel Horan (St Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana)

Dr William Hyland (University of St Andrews)

Prof. John McCafferty (University College Dublin)

Dr Darleen Pryds (Franciscan School of Theology, University of San Diego)

Prof. Lydia Schumacher (Kings College London)

We invite proposals for 20-minute papers. Panel proposals consisting of three speakers are also encouraged.

We also invite proposals for 90-minute workshops offering a space for delegates to come together to discuss issues or subjects important to Franciscans, e.g. ministry, outreach, issues relation to community life, the Franciscan voice in the church, etc.

Please submit proposals for papers or workshops (c. 200 words) via the form at https://forms.office.com/e/s06nt9CrNW by 30 October 2025 at the latest.

Contact for any queries: Dr William Crozier – william.e.crozier@durham.ac.uk

Truth-Telling: Perils and Possibilities for Social Healing

Kevin P. Considine — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 21:33:22 GMT

On May 8-May 9, 2025, The Schreiter Institute at Catholic Theological Union will convene Truth-Telling: Perils and Possibilities for Social Healing-- The Third Annual Symposium on a Praxis of Reconciliation. The two day Symposium is free and bimodal (in person and on Zoom) and please register so we can plan accordingly.

PRECIS: Truth-telling is essential for interpersonal and social healing from trauma and moral injury. It also is a perilous endeavor because if the disclosure of truth cannot be heard, believed, or understood by a listener then the wound will become worse and healing nearly impossible. The symposium looks at the perils and possibilities around various kinds of truth-telling in diverse contexts and through several mediums

KEYNOTE: Maka Akan Najin Black Elk (Oglala Lakota)

SYMPOSIUM PRESENTERS:

Chioma Ahanihu, SLW
Kayla August
timone davis
David Matz, CPPS
Karen Ross
Jung Eun Sophia Park, SNJM
Daniel Scheid
Marvin Wickware

May 8-9, 2025

ONLINE + IN-PERSON
Catholic Theological Union
5416 S. Cornell Ave, Chicago IL 60615

Visit ctu.edu/events to register for this event and to learn more about our other upcoming events and programs.

You can also contact Kevin Considine: kconsidine@ctu.edu

A Muslim remembrance of Pope Francis

Amir Hussain — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 19:09:36 GMT

Greetings all. I had this piece come out in America, the national Jesuit magazine. It’s my reflection as a Muslim on the passing of Pope Francis, and I thought you’d like to see it:

https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2025/04/25/pope-francis-muslim-remembers-250472

Frank Clooney, SJ: elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Andrea Vicini, SJ — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 12:07:19 GMT

Our colleague Frank Clooney, SJ, CTSA President during 2022-2023, has been elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, in the category of Religious Studies. The Academy was founded in 1780, and its list of members includes presidents, scientists and humanities scholars, artists and musicians. As it says at its website, “the American Academy of Arts and Sciences honors excellence and convenes leaders from every field of human endeavor to examine new ideas, address issues of importance to the nation and the world, and work together ‘to cultivate every art and science which may tend to advance the interest, honor, dignity, and happiness of a free, independent, and virtuous people.’” Frank will be inducted into the Academy at a ceremony in October of this year.

Nancy Pineda-Madrid, President, CTSA - Pope Francis, RIP

Nancy Pineda-Madrid — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 23:49:00 GMT

April 24, 2025

Dear CTSA Colleagues and All Who Mourn the Passing of Pope Francis:

CTSA grieves the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis and expresses gratitude for his leadership marked always by dialogue, inclusivity, catholicity, a global vision, synodality, and the enduring communal search for truth. He encouraged a theology of encounter that fosters greater intimacy with the people, taking account of their joys and sorrows. Notably, he invited our particular interest in the condition of people who live amidst the peripheries of our world. Both his annual recent visit to prisoners on Holy Thursday, and his July 2013 trip responding to the cry of refugees in Lampedusa, bookended his ceaseless grace-filled vision, personal character, and spiritual depth. He encouraged theologians to be shepherds who take on the smell of the sheep, and to recognize the need today to envision the church as a “field hospital,” a place of healing for all who are wounded in body, soul, heart, and mind. Indeed, Francis often spoke of the Eucharist as not a prize for the perfect, but, as food and nourishment for those who need it. He envisioned the sacrament of reconciliation as an experience not of desolation but of consolation.

As a leader of theologians, Francis’ 2023 apostolic letter, Ad Theologiam Promovendam (“On Promoting Theology”) urged, “To promote theology in the future, we cannot limit ourselves to abstractly re-proposing formulas and schemes from the past. Called to prophetically interpret the present and to see new itineraries for the future, in the light of Revelation, theology will have to deal with profound cultural transformations, aware that: “what we are experiencing is not simply an era of change, but a change of era.”” (#1) and he further taught us, “A synodal, missionary, and “outgoing” Church can only correspond to an “outgoing” theology” (#3). In more recent remarks addressing theologians, and also signaling his theme for our current 2025 jubilee year, he preached that theology is a “significant and necessary ecclesial ministry . . .because it is part of our Catholic faith to explain the reason for our hope to all those who ask (cf. 1 Pet 3:15). And we know that hope is not an emotion or a feeling, but the very person of Jesus, who is himself “the way, and the truth and the life” (Jn 14:6).” (Greeting of His Holiness Pope Francis to the Members of the International Network of Societies for Catholic Theology (INSeCT), Friday, 10 May 2024)

His deep understanding of the ministry of theology again showed a freshness in another recent set of remarks addressing theologians from around the globe. Francis shared “This is a journey you are called to undertake together, theologians of both sexes. Here I think of an episode in the Second Book of Kings. During the restoration of the Temple in Jerusalem, a text came to light; perhaps it was the first edition of Deuteronomy, which had been lost. A priest and several scholars read it, as did the king. They sense its importance but did not understand it. So the king decided to give it to a woman, Huldah, who immediately understood its meaning and helped the group of scholars – all men – to grasp it (Cf. 2 Kings 22:14-20). There are things that only women understand, and theology needs their contribution. An all-male theology is an incomplete theology. We still have a long way to go in this direction.” (Address of His Holiness Pope Francis to Participants in the International Congress on the Future of Theology, 9 December 2024)

Francis once remarked that when he thinks about theology, he thinks about light, about light that illuminates faces, people, the color of our world, so that the light of Christ and his Gospel may shine ever more brightly. May his memory continue to light the way.

Rest in peace, Francis.

Y por favor, ruega por nosotros,

Nancy Pineda-Madrid

CTSA President

Online Lecture Series on Sarah and Hagar

Edward Hahnenberg — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 17:30:00 GMT

Sarah and Hagar in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Traditions

From their first appearances in the Hebrew Bible through innumerable (re)interpretations in subsequent millennia, the figures of Sarah and Hagar have provoked reflection on the life cycle, fertility, conception, and childbirth; resource allocation, inheritance, and enslavement; sustaining life in precarious environments; group solidarity and partition; sex, gender, and ethnicity; and imagined relations between human and non-human entities, gods, angels, and demons. Across historical epochs and geographic regions, Sarah and Hagar have been like mirrors in which individuals and communities have found meaning and support.

The project comprises an ongoing series of lectures and discussions, and is expected to culminate in the publication of an edited volume to complement previous work in Claudia D. Bergmann and Thomas R. Blanton IV., eds, Imitating Abraham: Ritual and Exemplarity in Jewish and Christian Contexts (Brill, 2025).

Thomas R. Blanton and Claudia D. Bergmann welcome participation in and contributions to the ongoing lecture series, and proposals for articles to be included in the planned volume. All those interested in the myriad ways in which the legacies of Sarah and/or Hagar are drawn upon in Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, and in literature, poetry, art, music, and media from antiquity to the present are welcome to participate in the project. To propose a lecture or article contribution for the project, please contact Claudia D. Bergmann (cdb@mail.uni-paderborn.de) or Thomas R. Blanton IV (tblanton@jcu.edu). More information (including Zoom links to upcoming sessions) available at tinyurl.com/sarahagar

UPCOMING SEMINARS:

Hagar in Biblical Texts

April 23, 2025, 1:30-2:30pm ET, Zoom

Papers by Claudia Bergmann and Thomas R. Blanton IV

Hagar in Islam

May 7, 2025, 1:30-2:30 ET, Zoom

Papers by Zishan Ghaffar and Semiha Topal

Linh Hoang, Pres., INSeCT ~ April 2025 Letter to INSeCT

Wed, 23 Apr 2025 14:06:02 GMT

Below is Linh Hoang's letter to INSeCT. Linh serves as both President of INSeCT and as the CTSA representative to INSeCT.

-----------------------

April 2025

Dear INSeCT Friends,

As we start this Easter season, we are visited by the death of Pope Francis. It is a moment of sadness for his death and also of joy as we reflect on his contribution to the Church. There are tributes coming from all sectors of the world about what he has done and what his legacy will mean. He is the “first Pope” in many different ways and all of that just enhanced his unique style of leadership in the universal church. In an whatsapp chat, many of you spoke about his contribution already and what his pontificate meant and will mean to the Church. I just wanted to send my own words to reflect on how he engaged with theologians and Catholic higher education around the world. As theologians, we know that our engagement is threefold—to the academy, to society and to the Church. At times, our interaction with the Church may be strained but never forgotten. At our last general assembly in December 2024, we were invited by the Holy See to engage in a conversation about the future of theology. Many of us were involved with this conversation and left inspired by how the Pope directly addressed us. We took this conversation further by making our research theme for the next three years about the future of theology through our own unique perspectives as theologians: The Future of Theology: Disrupting the Past and Generating a New Vision.

When Pope Francis first appeared on the balcony of Saint Peter’s Basilica, he asked the faithful people to pray for him. This humble act set the stage for his pontificate and the stance that the Church should take. The act of praying is grounded in a faith that seeks understanding. We know that clearly as seekers who want to understand through our faith rather than just settling on knowledge making.

As Pope Francis rests in peace, we pray for him. Then we continue to pray for the work that has been given to us to do. We ask for prayer to reflect on the future of theology within our academy, society and Church. We ask for prayer as we anticipate a new pontiff in the Church. We ask for prayer as we encourage each of our particular society’s engagement with INSeCT’s theme. And, we ask for prayer for each of us as we continue to do the mission given to us to do.

Peace and good,

Linh Hoang OFM

President, INSeCT

Al Bertrand, Georgetown U.P. - d. 4/20/25

Tue, 22 Apr 2025 20:54:53 GMT

Letter from Soyica Diggs Colbert, Interim Provost, Georgetown University, to the community:

Dear Colleagues,

By way of Vice Provost Jeff Urbach, we learned of the sad news of the passing of Al Bertrand, Director of Georgetown University Press. I recognize how challenging this news will be for members of our community. I encourage you to visit Every Hoya Cares for mental and spiritual well-being resources.

Let us hold Al’s family and friends in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. Please see information about Al’s time at Georgetown below.

Sincerely,

Soyica Diggs Colbert
Interim Provost
____

It is with sadness that the Office of the Provost shares news of the passing of Alfred “Al” Bertrand on April 20, 2025.

A distinguished figure in academic publishing, Al joined Georgetown University Press in 2018, bringing with him a wealth of experience from his tenure at Princeton University Press and John Wiley & Sons in Oxford. Al held a master's degree in classics from Princeton University and a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Chicago.

Al brought a wonderful enthusiasm for ideas, books, and publishing to Georgetown. He established the first Faculty Editorial Board and reached out to many people across the university to share his excitement about the Press. Through his vision and leadership, Al diversified the publishing portfolio to expand the scope and variety of books that the Press publishes, adding books that reach beyond academics and connect us more deeply to the university, the broader Washington, DC community, and readers around the world. He brought his publishing enthusiasm to Georgetown students through the Press’s expanded internship program, taking great pride in mentoring a new generation of publishing professionals. We are grateful for his service to the Georgetown community.

Beyond his professional achievements, Al was deeply committed to social justice. He was a mentor in the Georgetown Community Scholars program and is remembered by his colleagues and friends for his kind spirit and dedication to his family and friends.

Al is survived by his wife, Claire, and children, Eve and Jamie. He will be deeply missed. We will share additional information about a memorial service when it becomes available.

Institute for Black Catholic Studies, Xavier University of Louisiana - Please share the Word!

Kathleen Bellow — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 20:24:27 GMT

The Institute for Black Catholic Studies (IBCS) is a school of ministry that meets summers on the campus of Xavier University of Louisiana. Established in 1980 as an immersion learning experience, the Institute offers a 3-week Graduate Theological Program and Continuing Education/Enrichment Programs with offerings in three 1-week modules.

The multicultural and intergenerational student body consists of laypersons, religious and clergy, pastoral ministers and scholars. Faculty members are experienced, experts in their respective fields of ministry or scholarship.

The 2025 dates are June 29-July 18. For more information, visit www.xula.edu/ibcs.

Consider a Jubilee Year investment in the IBCS - graduate or continuing education studies supported by a rich community life of prayer, worship and cultural activities!

Members' Spring Publications (Orbis Books)

Wed, 02 Apr 2025 15:31:32 GMT

Members Spring Publications (Orbis Books) ~ Congratulations!

Ilia Delio and Andrew Davis, ed., Whitehead and Teilhard: From Organism to Omega

https://orbisbooks.com/products/whitehead-and-teilhard-from-organism-to-omega?_pos=3&_sid=59224ed89&_ss=r

Roberto Goizueta, Caminemos con Jésus: Toward a Hispanic/Latino Theology of Accompaniment 30^th anniversary edition

https://orbisbooks.com/products/caminemos-con-jesus-reprint?_pos=1&_sid=bffd165c3&_ss=r

Daniel Horan, A White Catholic's Guide to Racism and White Privilege

https://orbisbooks.com/products/a-white-catholic-guide-to-racism-and-white-priviledge?_pos=1&_sid=7b681cfe3&_ss=r

Christian Krokus and Habib Zanzana, eds. Christian de Chergé : Spiritual Writings

https://orbisbooks.com/products/christian-de-cherge?_pos=1&_sid=98a1d4b67&_ss=r

Christina Lledo Gomez, and John Sheveland, eds. Vulnerability and Flourishing

https://orbisbooks.com/products/vulnerability-and-flourishing-cts70?_pos=3&_sid=65f130e97&_ss=r

Paul Schutz, A Theology of Flourishing: The Fullness of Life for All Creation

https://orbisbooks.com/products/creaturely-flourishing-a-new-theology-of-creation?_pos=2&_sid=4199b75d4&_ss=r&variant=49699836920109

Ashley Theuring, Sacrifice Lost: The Dark Legacy of the Cross

https://orbisbooks.com/products/sacrifice-lost-the-dark-legacy-of-the-cross?_pos=1&_sid=12eb0b61f&_ss=r

An invitation: 1933+ Germany. Are we repeating history?

Margaret Mary Moore — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 01:45:59 GMT

Register and see the details for this webinar series at: www.CatholicChurchReformIntl.org. 10AM eastern. Feedback welcome!

The dates are April 9, 23 and May 7, 21.

Resources from "Sanctuary and Solidarity: Catholic Theology in the Face of Mass Deportation"

Tue, 01 Apr 2025 14:33:09 GMT

Thank you to the Virtual Events Committee members MaryKate Holman, Eli McCarthy and SimonMary Aihiokhai for coordinating last evening's event Sanctuary and Solidarity: Catholic Theology in the Face of Mass Deportation. Panelists were Leo Guardado, Tisha Rajendra, and Brett Hoover. We are grateful for their witness and wisdom. Thank you.

Precis: Catholic Social Teaching strongly defends migration as a human right, a right which is under acute and heightened threat in our present political context. Our panelists will consider how Catholics can apply the principles of CST into actionable practice. In other words, how can we shift from theoretical to practical sanctuary and solidarity?

Resources from the Chat and Additional Resources

ACLU Know Your Rights: Immigrants' Rights
Colorado Rapid Response Network Home | CORRN
CTSA Proposing New Interest Group
Catholic Church Reform International
Corpeno, Xiomara. Immigrant Rights: How to Support Immigrant Communities During ICE Raids, (Convergence, January 22, 2025).
Letter of the Holy Father Francis to the Bishops of the United States of America (February 10, 2025).
Mass Deportation and the Teaching of the Church (Provided by B. Hoover)
McDonald, Matthew. Mass Deportations 'Incompatible With Catholic Docrtine,' Cardinal McElroy Says at His DC Debut (National Catholic Register, 2025)
National Immigrant Justice Center, Know Your Rights: If You Encounter ICE

Note: The event was not recorded.

Webinars: all are welcome

Meghan J. Clark — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 19:00:00 GMT

Three Webinars of interest:

March 17^th: Spotlight on HIV/AIDS & Global Health: Understanding Foreign Aid & What is at Stake

https://sju.webex.com/weblink/register/r4a97692e4433045f6e27c7ecbb834a83

2. Thursday March 27, 2-3:15pm (EST)
From the Field: Global Challenges to Religious Freedom:
A Conversation with Dr. Steve Schneck, Chair, US Commission on International Religious Freedom (speaking in his personal capacity)

Register link:

https://sju.webex.com/weblink/register/r1cc4b2ee6c1a082a9dc008088244e692
- 3. Friday April 11^th 12:15-1:30 pm (EST)
  What’s Going On: South Africa, Global Refugee Crisis, and US Politics
Panelists: Fr. Peter Knox, SJ, Jesuit Institute of South Africa
Dr. Anna Floerke Scheid, Duquesne University
Joan Rosenhauer, Executive Director (retired), Jesuit Refugee Service
Register link:
https://sju.webex.com/weblink/register/r474e79692ab3b197e31212d0ff1dc044

Summer Program for Graduate Students - Please share!

Kathleen Bonnette — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 18:52:36 GMT

The Georgetown University Center on Faith and Justice Summer Certificate Program builds on seminary and graduate students’ theological education to equip them with the moral vision and practical skills to engage their faith in civic life. Combining formative content such as workshops, expert panels, congressional meetings on Capitol Hill, and other experiences in the D.C. area, and integrating academic learning with practical application, the certificate program constitutes a transformative immersive experience that contributes to the formation of faith leaders. Credit options available.

Lawrence Cunningham - d. 2/20/25

Thu, 20 Mar 2025 20:00:21 GMT

The CTSA remembers and prays for Lawrence Cunningham who died on February 20, 2025.

Eternal rest grant unto Larry, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen

Memorial Reflection

Obituary

New Book: One God and Two Religions

Amir Hussain — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 18:33:17 GMT

Amir Hussain has published a new book with Fortress Press, One God and Two Religions: Christians and Muslims as Neighbors. With a foreword by Jack Miles, the book is an introduction to Islam and Muslims for a Christian audience, and is suitable as a text for university students.

For those interested, please use promo code ONEGOD20 to get a 20% discount. Books must be purchased at from the press at the link above, using the code ONEGOD20 at checkout. Does not include eBooks and is limited to the continental U.S.A.

"AI and Sin" book and webinar

Christopher Reilly — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 11:55:29 GMT

Christopher Reilly is pleased to announce the publication of his book AI and Sin: How Today's Technologies Motivate Evil as well as an online webinar in which he will will introduce the arguments and content of the book. The webinar (click here) is hosted by ITEST, the Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology, and will be held on Saturday, April 5 at 10:00 am (eastern). Prof. Jordan Joseph Wales will also speak on "Medieval Robots and the Theology of Technology."

Nathan Chase - d. 3/1/25

Mon, 10 Mar 2025 14:51:04 GMT

The CTSA remembers and prays for Nathan Chase who died on Saturday, March 1. Nathan became an active member of the CTSA in 2020. He was scheduled to present this June at the CTSA's annual convention with the One Baptism - One Church? Baptism, Belonging and the Contemporary Ecumenical Movement Select Session.

Eternal rest grant unto Nathan, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen

Obituary

Rich Penaskovic's Book Review on "The Truth About Immigration"

Wed, 05 Mar 2025 17:24:10 GMT

Book Review on Immigration

This article reviews the book, The Truth About Immigration: Why Successful Societies Welcome Newcomers, by Zeke Hernandez, (N.Y. St. Martin’s Press, 2025, $39.00). A committed Christian with five children, Zeke has voted for both Republicans and Democrats but does not belong to either party. His views go along “with different parties on different issues” (p.2).

Born in Uruguay, Zeke moved to Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Argentina as a youngster. He received his B.A. and M.A. at Brigham Young University and received his Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota. Presently, Zeke has a named Associate Professorship in Wharton’s management department at the University of Pennsylvania since 2013.

Both of my paternal and maternal grandparents on my father’s side came to the US around 1900 from the Austro-Hungarian Empire (today’s Slovak Republic) and in Italy on my maternal grandparents. In those days immigrants came to the US to have a better life than in their native countries. However, by 1924, the National Origins Act created the anti-immigration climate in America. National security and xenophobia caused the US to lose thinkers, entrepreneurs, scientists, and inventors.

After the 1924 quotas, there was a 69 % loss in patented inventions by US-born inventors, plus a 53 percent decline in patents by US companies. Since 1948, the US has educated millions of international students, although today bright students seem to be losing ground. For example, Canada allows skilled migrants to find a way or path to citizenship, whereas foreign students in the US have difficulties getting a work visa, concerns with the sociopolitical environment, and prefer to study in another country (p. 182).

There’s a link between national security and loss of talent. Erdal Arikan, a US trained engineer from Turkey studied information at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and California Institute of Technology in the 1980s. Unable to find neither an academic appointment nor funding in the US, Arikan returned to Turkey. Arikan helped Huawei (China’s telecommunication equipment giant), to make the jump from 4 G to 5 G in 2009. In 2013, Huawei “owned the vast majority of the patents that applied his ideas” (p. 183). Also, more than 50% of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Ph.D.s in the US are immigrants.

The dysfunctional immigration system remains a larger threat than rivalry from other countries. Surprisingly, the real security threat for the US is disallowing immigrants into the US. Unfortunately, fear and xenophobia tend to dominate our security in the US. By missing out on the best and brightest in the world means that we “fall behind in key technologies, products, and entrepreneurial ideas” (p.184).

Manufacturers in the US cannot find and keep workers. The National Association of Manufacturers estimates that two million positions would likely be unfilled by 2030. Many candidates fail to show up for job interviews. Some candidates balk at starting salaries although some of them have no demonstrable skills or any prior work history.

The North Carolina Growers’ Association (NCGA) has great difficulty finding natives to work on farms in North Carolina. The NCGA is one of the largest users of H-2A visas in the US for temporary farmworkers. To hire a migrant worker on an H-2A visa, an employer of the NCGA must prove that it attempted to make a “good faith” effort to hire a native worker.

The NCGA must also verify that it will pay the immigrant worker the same wage as a native worker. The NCGA ensures that it is not hiring immigrants to undercut natives in the labor market. In 2011, The NCGA issued 60,000 H-2A visas nationwide, yet found only seven native workers who would work on a farm. However, in 2021 more than 250,000 H-2A visas were issued, yet many native workers remained “allergic to farmwork” (p. 93).

Recently arrived immigrants are more likely to work in occupations demanding manual skills than native workers. In the US, immigrants represent 18% of the labor force and fill about 25% of the jobs in laundry services, 29% in food production, 32% in hospitality, 33% in agriculture, 36% in the manufacturing of clothes, and 45% of jobs in household services.

About 50% of adults in 2019 feel that immigration has no reflect on crimes in the US, and 7% feel that immigrants help reduce crimes. On the other hand, 42% of US citizens connect immigration with crime (p.162). Most people do not know this, but the Gallup poll does not track opinions concerning undocumented immigrants. The Pew Research Center does ask respondents and 26 % of the population argue that “undocumented immigrants are more likely than native citizens to be criminals, That perception is more common among Republicans (42%) than Democrats (12%).

To my surprise, Texas is the only state in the US to match its crime records to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), concerning the immigration status of individuals. The Texas study undertaken between 2012-2018 notes that relative to undocumented immigrants, US-born citizens are more than two times more likely to be arrested for violent crime, 2.5 times more likely to be arrested for violent crimes and over four times more likely to be rested for property crimes.

Between 1870 and 2020, immigrants have never had a higher rate of imprisonment than natives in the US. Why so? If one lives in the US, immigrants do not want to be kicked out of the US, because they came to America to have a better life than in their native country.

People in many countries desire to come and live in the US. Annually, 2,500 students, visiting scholars and employees come to Auburn University from over 100 countries around the world. This makes Auburn and Opelika cosmopolitan cities. Zeke Hernandez has certainly done his homework in writing this book. Zeke has summarized 449 books and articles. In doing so, he has done the world a service.

by Rich Penaskovic

Symposium on Reconciliation and Truth-Telling: Perils and Possibilities

Kevin P. Considine — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 19:21:44 GMT

On May 8-May 9, 2025, The Schreiter Institute at Catholic Theological Union will convene its Third Annual Symposium on Reconciliation--Truth-Telling: Perils and Possibilities. The two day Symposium is free and bimodal (in person and on Zoom) but you need to register here so we can plan accordingly.

Precis: Truth-telling is essential for interpersonal and social healing from trauma and moral injury. It also is a perilous endeavor because if the disclosure of truth cannot be heard, believed, or understood by a listener then the wound will become worse and healing nearly impossible. The symposium looks at the perils and possibilities around various kinds of truth-telling in diverse contexts and through several mediums

KEYNOTE: Maka Akan Najin Black Elk (Oglala Lakota)

SYMPOSIUM PRESENTERS:

Chioma Ahanihu, SLW
Kayla August
timone davis
David Matz, CPPS
Karen Ross
Jung Eun Sophia Park, SNJM
Daniel Scheid
Marvin Wickware

May 8-9, 2025

ONLINE + IN-PERSON
Catholic Theological Union
5416 S. Cornell Ave, Chicago IL 60615

Visit ctu.edu/events to register for this event and to learn more about our other upcoming events and programs.

You can also contact Kevin Considine: kconsidine@ctu.edu

Racism: Challenges to Being Church (Newly Published)

Tue, 25 Feb 2025 11:21:33 GMT

Congratulations Paulinus Odozor, CSSP, and Dorothy Mensah-Aggrey for their contributions to the Racism: Challenges to Being Church (Paulist Press, 2025).

This collection of essays by various church scholars from the African continent presents a unique perspective on racism and outlines the challenges that we all face in being Church. The issues addressed include the concept of structural sin, the importance of identity, the idea of power and influence, and the effects of racism on the entire church community.

11 Curriculum, Content, and Racism: The Need for a Paradigm Shift (Dorothy Mensah-Aggrey).
12 Racism, the Church, and Structural Sin (Paulinus Odozor, CSSp)

Law and Religion in Times of Crisis, Challenges, and Change Conference

Thu, 20 Feb 2025 14:28:53 GMT

Fordham University London Center - March 20, 2025
Theology and Canon Law Project
Law and Religion in Times of Crisis, Challenges, and Change.

Free Admission; In-Person or Virtual Attendance

For further information and to register, see www.tclp-project.com

CFP - Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations

Tue, 18 Feb 2025 17:50:24 GMT

Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations
CALL FOR PEER-REVIEWED PAPERS

The editorial board of Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations invites submissions for its current and future volumes. Interested authors are encouraged to contact the editors in advance. All papers will be subject to peer-review before acceptance for publication.

DISTANCE LEARNING Programmes in Catholic Theology, Durham University, UK

Karen Kilby — Fri, 14 Feb 2025 13:37:18 GMT

In addition to the Postgraduate Certificate , the Postgraduate Diploma , and the MA , students can now enrol for a single module . Students with a BA or BSc who have not studied Theology or a related discipline before, are able to apply for the core module, ‘Catholic Theology: A Preliminary Tour’ and proceed to the MA following its successful completion. The single module is also a standalone option for Continual Professional Development and general interest.

Further details are available at Distance Learning – Durham University

The CCS offer a Bursary Fund specifically to support students on these distance learning programmes – see CCS Bursary for Distance Learning 2025-26 - Durham University for information.

If you have any questions about these Distance Learning programmes, please do not hesitate to contact the CCS Manager - theresa.phillips@durham.ac.uk

Please do share details of this opportunity with those who may be interested, both near and far.

James (Jim) A. Coriden - d. Feb. 7

Mon, 10 Feb 2025 14:21:46 GMT

The CTSA remembers and prays for longstanding member and the 2011 Recipient of the John Courtney Murray Award James (Jim) A. Coriden who died on Friday, February 7.

Eternal rest grant unto Jim, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen

Awards:

Recipient of the John Courtney Murray Award for Theology in 2011,
Citation (June 11, 2011)

Fox, Thomas C., James A. Coriden Receives John Courtney Murray Award, National Catholic Reporter, June 11, 2011.

Recipient of the 1987 The Role of Law Award, The Canon Law Society.

CTSA Proceedings:

The Sacrament of Marriage—A Discipline in Search of a Theology (Seminar Paper) Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, 34 (1979).

Ecclesiology/Canon Law Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, 51 (1996).

(Convener) Peter and Paul Seminar Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, 61 (2006).

Jim's funeral arrangements are pending; a Celebration of Life will likely be held in the spring.

Th, 2/13/25 - Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Gustavo Gutierrez

Thu, 06 Feb 2025 16:21:21 GMT

Join IACS online this upcoming Thursday, Feb 13 at 9 a.m. (PT)/12 p.m. (ET), for a celebration of life and witness of Gustavo Gutierrez, the great Latin American theologian.

Sponsored by the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies (IACS) and the Las Casas Institute at Oxford University "In Memoriam: Gustavo Gutierrez" will be 75 minutes of stories of the man and his love of the Church, and analysis of his ongoing impact on Catholic theology globally and in Latin America.

Zoom

"Science, Art, and Christianity" by Rudolf Brun (Released 9/2024)

Sat, 01 Feb 2025 23:40:07 GMT

CTSA member Rudolf Brun invites you to access his e-book titled: Science, Art, and Christianity: A Contribution to Updating the Theology of Nature.

The downloadable book is free and available on Apple Books https://books.apple.com/us/book/science-art-and-christianity/id6714468651

and/or on Google Books: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=3mM3EQAAQBAJ&pli=1

Keith J. Egan - d. Jan. 29

Fri, 31 Jan 2025 17:02:43 GMT

The CTSA remembers and prays for longstanding member Keith J. Egan who died yesterday, Wednesday, January 22.

Eternal rest grant unto Keith, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen

Keith Egan served as convener of two sessions that are recording in the CTSA Proceedings archives:

Co-Convener Egan, K., & Dreyer, E. , “Seminar on Spirituality”, CTSA Proceedings 41, (1986).

Convener, Egan, K., “Historical Theology”, CTSA Proceedings 51, (1996).

The Society offers its condolences to the members of the St. Mary's College, University of Notre Dame, community.

Obituary - Kaniewski Funeral Homes, Inc.

Obituary - South Bend Tribune

Agnes Cunningham, S.S.C.M. - d. January 22

Thu, 23 Jan 2025 15:49:52 GMT

The CTSA remembers and prays for longstanding member Sr. Agnes Cunningham, S.S.C.M. who died yesterday, Wednesday, January 22.

Agnes Cunningham was awarded the prestigious John Courtney Murray Award in 2001. She served as the CTSA's President in 1977 - 1978; twice as a member of the CTSA Board of Directors (1969 - 1970 and 1978 - 1980); and as CTSA Secretary from 1970 - 1976.

Eternal rest grant unto Agnes, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon her.
May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen

The following work of Agnes Cunningham, S.S.C.M. are available via the CTSA Proceedings archives:

Cunningham, A. “The Ministry of Women in the Church” Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, vol. 24 (1969).

Cunningham, A. The Role of Woman in Church and Society. Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, vol. 28 (1973).

Kosnik, A., Modras, R., Schulte, J., Carroll, W., & Cunningham, A., Research Report: The CTSA Committee on the Study of Human Sexuality. Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, vol. 30 (1975).

Cunningham, A.. Presidential Address Theology for a Future Church: Science, Wisdom, Ministry. Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, vol. 33 (1978).

Cunningham, A., (Convener) Panel: Toward a Theology of Peace: Foundations of Christian Peace. Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, vol. 38 (1983).

Cunningham, A. (Convener) Modernity / Postmodernity: The State of the Question for Contemporary Catholic Theology. Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, vol. 46 (1991).

The following article was shared with the CTSA when Sr. Agnes Cunningham Professed for 80 years:

The CTSA offers its condolences to the Servants of the Holy Heart of Mary Community.

Link to Obituary and Funeral Arrangements

Subscription and Submission to Critical Theology

Sun, 19 Jan 2025 20:37:07 GMT

For over five decades, The Ecumenist, edited by Gregory Baum, published essays and reviews of books engaging societies, cultures, and churches in the North Atlantic hemisphere from an emancipatory perspective rooted in the gospel. In 2018, The Ecumenist revitalized its name to Critical Theology, to more accurately reflect its mission and values, and added two new editors. The journal continues to be published by Novalis and to produce four issues a year, which feature theological reflection with liberative intent and praxis. In 2023 the journal adopted an open-access online format. Subscriptions are now free. The website for the journal, along with back issues of The Ecumenist and Critical Theology, can be found at https://criticaltheology.net/.

If you share this theological orientation or are interested in it, please consider subscribing to Critical Theology or asking the library of your affiliated institution to subscribe. To register for a subscription, go to https://en.novalis.ca/products/critical-theology.

If you are interested in contributing an article or book review to Critical Theology, if you would like a book reviewed therein, or if you require further information, please contact Don Schweitzer at don.schweitzer@saskatoontheologicalunion.ca .

Deadline Extended ~ Faith in Fractured Times - Invite for Students to Submit Abstracts

Thu, 16 Jan 2025 23:00:34 GMT

Lumen et Vita, the graduate theological journal of the Boston College Clough School of Theology and Ministry, invites graduate students to submit abstracts for our 2026 Spring Conference titled, “Faith in Fractured Times.” The conference is scheduled for Saturday, March 14, 2026 on the Boston College Brighton Campus. Abstracts of 200-300 words should be submitted to this form by ~~Friday, January 23~~ extended to Monday, January 26. Selected presenters will deliver a 10-minute presentation followed by a 5-minute period for questions and discussion. All presentations will be given in person.

Our call for papers invites submissions from across disciplines. We welcome work that explores how people of faith navigate moments of rupture, disorientation, transition, polarization, or disunity. Papers may consider how historical, doctrinal, devotional, moral, biblical, literary, artistic, spiritual, pastoral, contemporary, or interpretive approaches—along with the embodied practices of everyday life—help bridge past, present, and future in fractured times. Papers are encouraged to address questions related to current fractures in our world or in the Church, but papers are not limited to contemporary research.

We encourage proposals from all fields, including (but not limited to):

Historical case studies of how communities or individuals have responded to periods of crisis
Theological or doctrinal reflections on fragmentation and hope
Liturgical, spiritual, or pastoral responses to fraction or rupture
Contemporary practices of faith and practical applications
Systematic theological explorations of fracture, unity, ecclesiology, sacramental theology, eschatology, or Christian hope
Biblical Studies: examinations of fracture, tension, exile, or discontinuity within Scripture and its interpretive traditions
Philosophical, literary, artistic, or cultural analyses from a faith perspective
Interdisciplinary or creative approaches that shed new light on the theme

We welcome students’ contributions and look forward to receiving their proposals.

Sam McCarthy

On behalf of the Lumen et Vita editorial team

Responding to Crisis: Reparative Reasoning in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Hybrid Conference)

Thu, 16 Jan 2025 14:24:17 GMT

2025 Corcoran Chair Conference

Responding to Crisis: Reparative Reasoning in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
Center for Christian-Jewish Learning, Theology
Boston College

Sunday, April 6, 2025, 1 - 6 p.m. (ET)

How do Abrahamic traditions respond to societal and religious crises? Conference sessions will examine such issues as climate change, sexual abuse, and dangerous technologies. Participants will raise such questions as: What religious groups lead efforts to address such crises? What assumptions and beliefs guide them? What skills and methods do they bring to this work? And what processes of investigation, reasoning, reflection, and testing can assess this work?

Corcoran Conference Panelists
Lisa Cahill (Boston College)
Boyd Taylor Coolman (Boston College)
Nauman Faizi (LUMS, The Lahore University of Management Sciences)
Kevin L. Hughes (Villanova University)
Daniel Joslyn-Siemiatkoski (Boston College)
Ruth Langer (Boston College)
Seyd Zainuddin Moulvi (University of Virginia)
Paul Murray (Durham University)
Peter Ochs (Boston College / University of Virginia)
Stephen Pope (Boston College)
Ilma Qureshi (University of Virginia)
Randi Rashkover (William & Mary University)
Matthew Tapie (Saint Leo University)
Jason Welle (Boston College)
Laurie Zoloth (The University of Chicago)

RSVP to attend in-person: Email cjlearning@bc.edu
RSVP to join virtually: Zoom registration

Recent Orbis Books Publications Written by CTSA Members

Tue, 14 Jan 2025 11:42:43 GMT

Christopher Vogt/Kate Ward, eds., Bothering to Love: James F. Keenan's Retrieval and Reinvention of Catholic Ethics

https://orbisbooks.com/products/bothering-to-love-james-f-keenans-retrieval-and-reinvention-of-catholic-ethics?_pos=3&_sid=112a8ff3e&_ss=r

Massimo Faggioli, Theology & Catholic Higher Education

https://orbisbooks.com/products/theology-and-catholic-higher-education-beyond-our-identity-crisis?_pos=1&_sid=483410bda&_ss=r

Roger Haight, Facing Race: The Gospel in an Ignatian Key

https://orbisbooks.com/products/facing-race-the-gospel-in-an-ignatian-key?_pos=1&_sid=96de91e2a&_ss=r

CTSA - M. Kathleen Flanagan, S.C. - d. 1-6-25

Tue, 14 Jan 2025 11:18:23 GMT

The CTSA remembers and prays for M. Kathleen Flanagan, SC, a former member of the Society.

Eternal rest grant unto Kathleen, O Lord
and let perpetual light sine upon her.
May she rest in peace. Amen.

Kathleen was a theology professor at the College (now University) of Saint Elizabeth, Convent Station, NJ. As a Sister of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, NJ., she was a member of the group that transcribed, annotated and published the collected writings of (St.) Elizabeth Bayley Seton. Kathleen died on January 6. (Sister Regina Bechtle, SC, CTSA member, 1/14/25).

Sister Kathleen Flanagan's Obituary

CTSA - Eileen Burke-Sullivan d. 11-30-24

Mon, 13 Jan 2025 11:53:41 GMT

The CTSA remembers and prays for longstanding member Eileen Burke Sullivan. The CTSA Board of Directors, the membership and I offer our condolences to her brother, Kevin F. Burke, S.J., Regis University, and family.

Eternal rest grant unto Eileen, O Lord
and let perpetual light shine upon her.
May she rest in peace. Amen.

Eileen Burke-Sullivan, S.T.D., professor emerita at Creighton University, died on November 30, 2024, and was buried at St. John's Church on the Creighton campus on December 7th. Eileen was a member of the CTSA during the years after completing her doctorate in 2003 and joining the Creighton theology department.

Eileen Burke-Sullivan's Obituary

Book publication

D Thomas Hughson, SJ — Fri, 10 Jan 2025 23:17:17 GMT

Thomas Hughson SJ published Neanderthal Religion: Theology in Dialogue with Archaeology, Foreword by Neil Ormerod (Wipf and Stock Pickwick Publications, 2024)

Gaza & Middle East: The Theologians’ Global Call and Responsibility

Nancy Pineda-Madrid — Tue, 07 Jan 2025 16:50:39 GMT

It is our pleasure to invite you to participate in the next WFTL webinar:

Gaza & Middle East: The Theologians’ Global Call and Responsibility

January 24th, 2025

11 AM- 1 PM EST

[English-Spanish – translation will be provided)

Speakers:
Dr. Kwok Pui-lan (USA)
Dr. Nicolas Panotto (Argentina/Chile)
Dr. Carlos Mendoza Álvarez (Mexico/USA)
Dr. Viola Raheb (Palestine/Austria)

The war in Gaza and the Middle East, ignited on October 7, 2023, has global repercussions far beyond geopolitics, intersecting with religion, neocolonialism, and biblical imaginaries. These realities raise urgent theological and ethical questions, demanding a global response.

Three non-Palestinian theologians will reflect on how Palestine intersects with their own theological work. Dr. Kwok pui-Lan will discuss the topic from a Asian and American perspective; Dr. Carlos Mendoza Alvarez will do the same, especially from a Mexican perspective; and then Dr. Nicolas Panotto, from an Argentinian and Chilean perspective. How do they figure out their theological responsibility to Palestine, the Middle East, Israel, and justice? In a Liberation perspective, how do they connect Palestine and their own contexts? Then, the Palestinian theologian, Dr. Viola Raheb, will assess what has been presented, exploring its relevancy for the people of Palestine.

REGISTER NOW https://bit.ly/GazaWebinarWFTL

PLEASE SHARE https://www.facebook.com/events/770515811926807

CTSA Catherine Mowry LaCugna Award / Receiving Member Submissions

Tue, 07 Jan 2025 16:03:19 GMT

Every year, the CTSA invites submissions for the Catherine Mowry LaCugna Award for the best academic essay by a new scholar. If you are a new scholar with an important contribution being made (or know of such a new scholar), please make sure the essay is included in the deliberations of the committee.

Submissions are due by midnight (Eastern) time on January 31, via the Catherine Mowry LaCugna Award Submission Form.

More information on the submission process, prize and criteria for selection can be found on the prize web page. We look forward to reading your work!

John Segun Odeyemi's new publication "The Mass: Through Him, With Him and In Him"

Mon, 06 Jan 2025 14:23:52 GMT

Congratulations to CTSA member John Segun Odeyemi on the publication of his book The Mass: Through Him, With Him and In Him (Released 1/7/25).

John Segun Odeyemi approaches the question of the Holy Mass (Eucharist) by a triadic system; Sacred Scriptures, the catechesis of Pope Francis on the Eucharist, and the voices of the most contemporary theological American minds. Even though there are many excellent works on the Eucharist from biblical times, through the Middle Ages to our time, his language, style and theological approach gives a fresh way into approaching this great gift. According to John Segun Odeyemi, at the very heart of the Church's understanding of the Mass is that it points us to heaven and draws heaven down to the world, a prelude to the banquet of life that is promised. Odeyemi pays particular attention to situating the actions that takes place at the celebration of the Mass, from the beginning to the end within the framework of the biblical understanding, especially from the Old Testament. this is not just another book on the Holy Mass, it is a book about the beauty, sanctity and grace of the sacrament which is also known as "the bread of life" and "food for the journey". (Citi of Books, 2025).

Amir Hussain Lecture "A Muslim Theologian Teaching at a Catholic University" 1/9/25 Livestream / In person

Fri, 03 Jan 2025 19:19:42 GMT

Amir Hussain, CTSA Member
Professor of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University

Lectures in Catholic Experience Presents
"A Muslim Theologian Teaching at a Catholic University"
Thursday, January 9, 2025, 7:30 p.m. (EST)
Livestream / In person

Amir Hussain, a Canadian Muslim with a dissertation on Muslim communities in Toronto, found himself some twenty years ago teaching at a Catholic university in Los Angeles. In 2009, he became the first non-Christian scholar to be tenured in his department (which was founded with the university almost 100 years earlier). He then served a term as chair of that Department of Theological Studies. In this presentation, Amir will talk about his journey, from graduate work in a secular department for the study of religion, to first teaching in a large public state university, and then seeking out a position in a Jesuit university’s theology department. He’ll also talk about why he, as a Muslim, couldn’t imagine a better place for him to thrive than at a Catholic university, and also about how non-Christians, not to mention non-Catholics, can contribute to the mission of Catholic universities.

Click here for further details on how to register or livestream the event.

CfP: Catholic Perspectives on the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda

Caesar A. Montevecchio — Thu, 02 Jan 2025 16:25:11 GMT

UN Security Council Resolution 1325, popularly known as the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda (WPS), was first adopted in 2000, making 2025 its twenty-fifth anniversary. The resolution, later supported by nine additional supporting resolutions, advances four key pillars: participation, protection, prevention, and relief and recovery. Women and girls are disproportionately impacted by violent conflict but are generally excluded from peace processes. The WPS resolutions aim to change that. They are good morality, as they expand the aperture for women’s representation and inclusion in peace and security processes. And they are also good policy, as women’s participation creates more constituents for peace and more durable peace.

This special issue of the Journal of Moral Theology invites essays examining the WPS through the perspective of the Catholic Church, in light of the WPS twenty-fifth anniversary. This may include analyses, criticisms, recommendations, connections, possibilities, or mappings, and it may include perspectives that are local, national, regional, or global.

Full information available here: https://jmt.scholasticahq.com/pages/51-call-for-papers

Invitation to write a book review for https://catholicbooksreview.org/

Pierre M. Hegy — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 22:58:49 GMT

Write a book review once or twice a year for intellectual growth. Invite your graduate students to write a review under your direction.

You select the book, I mail it to you, you send me the electronic review, and I post it (about 1,500 to 2,000 reviews posted since 1997). Write to Hegy@adelphi.edu/ Here is the list of books available in January 2025:

REDISCOVERING THE WISDOM OF THE CORINTHIANS. Paul, Stoicism, and Spiritual Hierarchy by Timothy Brookins (340 pp – Eerdmans.) [The “wisdom” of 1 Cor 1-4 refers to the Stoic philosophy that prevailed in Corinth; some members considered themselves as “wiser” philosophically and “superior” intellectually; this led to conflictive divisions. Paul refutes this philosophical interpretation of his teachings]

CATHOLIC DOGMATIC THEOLOGY: A SYNTHESIS. Book 3. On the Church and the Sacraments by Jean-Hervé Nicolas, OP (750 pp – CUA Press). [Translated from German. First published in 1985]

NATURE, GRACE AND SECULAR CULTURE. A Comparative Study of John Milbank and Joseph Ratzinger by Christian Irdi. (320 pp – Pickwick). [Milbank is the founder of Radical orthodoxy which takes a critical view on secularity and raises questions about reason and grace in the interpretation of modernity – as did Ratzinger]

ESSENTIAL VATICAN II. The Council for the Future Church edited by Christopher Bellitto (110 pp – Paulist Press). [An introduction to Vatican II for the younger generation. Each chapter on seven major documents is written by an expert and gives a summary of Vatican II and its aftermath]

MORAL DEBATES IN CONTEMPORARY CATHOLIC THOUGHT: PARADIGMS, PRINCIPLES, AND PRUDENCE BY James Bretzke, S.J. (228 pages -- Sheed and Ward)

Guiding principles to the basic issues of the death penalty, abortion, gender, immigration and border security, welfare, economics, and faithful citizenship.] DIGITAL COPY

WISDOM FROM THE GLOBAL SISTERHOOD edited by Srs. Joyce Meyer et al. (290 pp – Liturgical Press). [Ten years of articles from the Global Sisters Report about the work of women religious all over the world].

THE WAY OF THE HEART. The Spiritual Experience of André Louf by Charles Wright (290 pp – Cistercian Publications). [A. Louf was the abbot of a Dutch Trappist monastery who chose to be a hermit the last 10 years of his life, after a having played a prominent role in his order and the post-Vatican II church].

THE JESUIT DISRUPTOR. A Personal Portrait of Pope Francis by Michael Higgins (310 pp – Anansi Press). [Higgins was a Vatican reporter for many years. His portrait is descriptive. Two strong chapters on the sexual scandals and on Synodality].

OUR LADY OF LA ANG. History and Theology of a Vietnamese Devotion by Mary Kim Ahn Thi Tran (220 pp – Pickwick). [History and development of the pilgrimage. On inculturation and the title of Mary, Mother of the Church].

HANS KUNG. A REVALUATION edited by Paul Lakeland (200 pp – Paulist Press). [Eleven revaluations from a variety of perspectives: Susan Ross, Francis Clooney, Roger Haight, Mary Ann Hinsdale and others].

Conference in Leuven on Catholicity and the University

Stephan van Erp — Sat, 14 Dec 2024 09:52:53 GMT

In 2025, the Catholic University of Leuven celebrates its 600th jubilee. For this occasion, the XVth LEST-conference (Leuven Encounters in Systematic Theology) will address the challenges and opportunities for the future of the Catholic university. The conference is organised in collaboration with the Australian Catholic University. It will focus on the qualitative concept of catholicity in its plurality of forms and functions within the university.

The university: reconsidering its tasks and purpose

The university is an institution characterised by a specialisation of disciplines and a variety of methods. It is a ‘laboratory’ where arguments are advanced, experiments executed, histories explored, and conversations conducted. Sometimes this leads to surprising synergies and even syntheses, although a marriage of disciplines seems to be further out of sight than ever before. The university has become an organisation of research and instruction, shaped by interests, insights and values characteristic of ever more particular methods, theories, and political identities. It is therefore also an arena of intellectual and social power, where criteria of quality are applied and standards of accountability and purpose are set, and these are not always shared by the different branches of knowledge and fields of inquiry.

In a time of growing specialisation and pluralisation, one could conclude that the contemporary university is a multiversity: a convenient, mostly administrative collaboration between schools and research institutes, each having its own educational task and professional aim. Questions then remaining concern the nature and goal of learning and formation, and discovery and exploration. If the university is regarded a universitas magistrorum et scholarium, a community that searches for possibilities in the real, serves the public interest, and pre-pares for life in the future, then the question arises what the universitas of the university is: uniformity, universality, commonality, or something else?

Catholicity: thinking towards a qualitative wholeness

Catholic universities have formulated answers to this question in the past, and according to the task of the university, they should continually renegotiate these answers and reformulate new ones. The term ‘catholic’ could shape and inform these tasks. The etymological sense of the term ‘catholic’ is ‘according to the whole’ and refers to a quality of something being open to a wholeness that is greater than itself. It seems a good starting point for exploring the idea, function and task of the university, as a space of thinking together the particular and the common, the individual and the collective, and the self and the cosmos in a coordinated and dynamic, and mutually implicating way.

The history of catholicity in this sense, however, has frequently been one of instructive failures, most often privileging the universal over and at the expense of the particular, with the whole trumping the part. A solely and simplistically quantitative approach has not been the only or most fruitful way of thinking the term, despite being dominant in the popular imagination. In the patristic, medieval periods and again since the 19th century a more interesting theological family of qualitative or intensive senses can be perceived: these are understandings which emphasise the qualities of fullness, integrity, and wholeness, which fed into the serious broadening of ecumenical, interreligious, intercultural and secular encounter and dialogue following the Second Vatican Council.

Theology: reconfiguring its place in the university

Recent theological notions of catholicity, most notably in the ressourcement tradition, are marked by a heightened attention to alterity and different kinds of difference. As a consequence, catholicity has become an instrument for understanding the apophatic, conjectural, and future-oriented dynamic of fundamental relations, for example between reality and knowledge, God and the world, revelation and truth, faith and reason, and the Church and the churches. Can this nuanced, dynamic, and differentiated theological interpretation of catholicity serve as a model for understanding the complex synergy of the diverse branches of knowledge in the university, and their variety of relating to reality?

Theology has different positions and roles in universities worldwide. In some parts of the world, its confessional and traditional foundations are contested, while in other parts its search for understanding, wisdom and beliefs is valued and flourishing. In a multiversity of particularist identities and theories, theology could at best find its place in the margin of the academy and content itself with a supporting role of understanding meaning and life within specific religious traditions. In a university that seeks to reformulate the nature and purpose of formation and exploration, however, theology might well have to play a significant, lead-ing role in critically constructing and intermediating concepts employed in other academic disciplines, for example, the world, origin, nature, life, time, power, humanity, and so on. In a Catholic university, a theological expansion of catholicity could be instrumental to explain, not only what it means for a university to be distinctly, yet penultimately Catholic, but also what it means to be a university tout court, and thus be an example of a laboratory of culture, in pursuit of, and dedicated to the truth.

We welcome papers on the following subthemes:

Theological and philosophical notions of catholicity
Catholicity in ressourcement theology
Realizing catholicity through diverse charisms: the contribution of the religious orders and congregations
Qualitative catholicity and other concepts of the universal, fullness, or wholeness in academic disciplines
Theological and philosophical reflections on the university
The place of theology in the university
The organisation of knowledge: from hegemonic wholes to fragmented silos, artificial intelligence, and beyond
The role of unknowing and nescience in the academic disciplines
Current debates on the Catholic university: contextual, political, and religious issues
The role of power and identity in the university: dispute, debate, and dissent
The purpose of education: faith, formation, and flourishing
Papers of 20 minutes are invited on the conference theme
Please submit abstracts via the registration form on the website of LEST XV: https://theo.kuleuven.be/en/lest/lest-xiv/proposal-form
Deadline for submission is May 15, 2025
A selection of the papers will be published after peer review.

Jan. 10th Symposium on Women's Leadership in the Climate Movement, honoring Sr. Dorothy Stang SNDdeN; at the Gregorian and livestreamed

Laurie Johnston — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 15:33:52 GMT

"Women’s Leadership in the Climate Movement"
A symposium honoring the life of Sr. Dorothy Stang, SNDdeN (1931-2005)
Friday, 10 January 2025
15:00-17:00
Aula F007, Pontifical Gregorian University and on zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7652053630

Moderator: Fr. Prem Xalxo, SJ, Coordinator of the Joint Diploma in Integral Ecology and Associate Lecturer, Faculty of Theology, Pontifical Gregorian University
Welcome: Fr. Mark Lewis, SJ, Rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University
Opening remarks: Sr. Mary Johnson, SNDdeN, Ph.D., Congregational Leader
Panelists:

Sr. Maamalifar Poreku, MSOLA, Co-Executive Secretary of the Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation Commission, UISG/USG
Dr. Emilce Cuda, Secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America
Dr. Gianni LaBella, Professore Ordinario, Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia; Community of Sant’Egidio
Dr. Laurie Johnston, Professor of Theology, Emmanuel College, Boston; Community of Sant’Egidio

Organizers:
Sant’Egidio Foundation for Peace and Dialogue
Emmanuel College Department of Theology, Boston
Joint Diploma Program in Integral Ecology, Pontifical Gregorian University

Following the symposium, all are cordially invited to a Vespers service held by the Community of Sant'Egidio to honor Sr. Dorothy Stang at 20:00 at the Basilica of San Bartolomeo sull’Isola. A relic of Sr. Dorothy will be presented by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur for permanent installation and display in the Sanctuary of the New Martyrs. She will be the first woman from the United States to be honored in this way.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/165hAmEpueX_8-RO3teUIVTEd43kbcwlh/view?usp=sharing

CTSA Proceedings Published and Available for Order

B. Kevin Brown — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 03:35:44 GMT

As Mary Jane Ponyik noted in her recent email, Volume 78 of the Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America was published late last month and can be found here. If you would like to order a print edition of the this year's Proceedings--or any previous volume of the Proceedings--you may do so here.

Thank you to all of this year's contributors for their work to make this year's volume of the Proceedings a reality.

At the suggestion of the Board, I will continue to provide some data about the readership of the electronic version of the Proceedings periodically throughout the year. Those updates will be posted here, on the CTSA Newsfeed. If you have questions or comments about or suggestions for the Proceedings, please feel free to reach me at proceedings.ctsa@gmail.com.

Call for New Contributors at WIT: Women in Theology

Elissa Cutter — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 18:53:03 GMT

The academic blog WIT: Women in Theology recently announced a call for new regular contributors. We welcome applications from any women with graduate-level academic experience, including current graduate students. We are looking for women who engage "the Christian tradition in a theological way" and have a commitment "to the liberation of persons, particularly women, from all forms of oppression."

Regular contributors write at least 4 blog posts in a given calendar year. We are especially interested in women who might do comparative theology, as that is an area that the blog does not currently have a strength in, but all women are welcome to apply.

The initial application is due January 15, 2025 and consists of responses to four questions, submitted via email. If selected to move to the next round, we will ask for a sample blog post that we can use to evaluate your writing.

For more information about the initial application and our search, see: https://womenintheology.org/2024/12/01/are-you-a-woman-in-theology-wit-is-again-seeking-to-add-new-regular-contributors/

Lumen et Vita's 2025 Spring Graduate Conference: "Untold Stories"

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 14:56:10 GMT

Lumen et Vita's 2025 Spring Graduate Conference
"Untold Stories"
Saturday, March 15th, 2025

The theme is narrative theology and can include (but is not limited to) topics such as interfaith dialogue, underrepresented communities, and pastoral studies. Abstracts of 250 words are due on January 24th, 2025 and should be submitted to the link below:

https://forms.gle/XF3kt61GZiJ78qN5A

Invitation to attend half an hour earlier at next year's WCCT panel focused on indigenous issues

Cristina Lledo Gomez — Mon, 09 Dec 2024 04:24:17 GMT

The Women’s Consultation on Constructive Theology (WCCT) steering committee invites the membership of The Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA) to attend their pre-conference session at the 79th annual CTSA conference in June 2025, exploring the theme of “One Baptism” from indigenous perspectives. Given the theme and location of the conference which will be on the lands of the Multnomah, Wasco, Cowlitz, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Bands of Chinook, Tualatin, Kalapuya, Molalla peoples, and many other tribes, the WCCT committee believe it is important to platform indigenous voices. Our panelists will thus include two emerging indigenous scholars and an established feminist theologian as a respondent. We have also included a pedagogical aspect to the session to help grapple with emerging issues in the area. Because of this added component, the WCCT session will begin a half hour earlier than usual. That is, at 2:30pm rather than the usual 3pm. Therefore the WCCT pre-conference session for next year will be as follows:

Thursday

Panel 2:30pm - 4:30pm

Ann O'Hara Graff award 4:30pm - 5:00pm

Business meeting 5:15pm - 5:30pm

We hope to see you there!

Melicia Antonio, Elissa Cutter, Stephanie Edwards, Cristina Lledo Gomez, Margaret Mary Moore, Taylor Ott, Annie Selak

The WCCT leadership and steering committee

Write a book review for https://catholicbooksreview.org/

Pierre M. Hegy — Mon, 25 Nov 2024 14:15:52 GMT

You select the book, I mail it to you, you send me the electronic review, and I post it(about 1,500 to 2,000 reviews posted since 1997). Write to Hegy@adelphi.edu/ Here is the list of books available in December:

I PETER. Revised edition. Tyndale NT Commentaries. By Wayne A. Grudem (260 pp – IVP Academic) [First published in 1988. A long introduction about date and authorship, followed by a commentary of the various sections]

REDISCOVERING THE WISDOM OF THE CORINTHIANS. Paul, Stoicism, and Spiritual Hierarchy. By Timothy Brookins (340 pp – Eerdmans) [The “wisdom” of 1 Cor 1-4 refers to the Stoic philosophy that prevailed in Corinth; some members considered themselves as “wiser” philosophically and “superior” intellectually; this led to conflictive divisions. Paul refutes this philosophical interpretation of his teachings]

EUCHARISTIC RESERVATION. Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharistic Mystery Outside Mass. By Paul Turner (180 pp – Liturgical Press). [Commentary section by section on the new edition of Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharistic Mystery Outside Mass of 2024]

Together with

SOUNDINGS ON EUCHARIST AND PRIESTHOOD. BY Michael Dellaire (100 pp – Friesen Press). [Reflections from the context the Canadian ministry] These works can be reviewed briefly together or separately.

CATHOLIC DOGMATIC THEOLOGY: A SYNTHESIS. Book 3. On the Church and the Sacraments. by Jean-Hervé Nicolas, OP (750 pp – CUA Press). [Translated from German. First published in 1985]

GLOBAL CATHOLICISM. Between Disruption and Encounter. by Massimo Faggioli and Bryan Froehle (290 pp – Brill). [Global Catholicism as a new field. Up-to-date statistics. Chapters on governance, theology, and methodology]

REMARRIAGE IN EARLY CHRISTIANITY. By Andrew Das (320 pp – Eerdmans)

[Review of the Jewish and Greco-Roman sources and the witness of the early church]

Everyday Annunciations. On Learning to Say Yes

By Susan Swetnam (120 pp – Liturgical Press). [Swetnam recounts how she came to accept her husband’s death when contemplating Fra Angelico’s Annunciation. Using numerous stories of disrupted lives, she describes how to say “Yes” through six paintings of the Annunciation.]

ALL MY SPRINGS ARE IN YOU More Explorations of Great Biblical Texts. By Gerhard Lohfink (1934-2024) (320 pp – Liturgical Press). [The springs in Psalm 87 refer to Jerusalem to which all nations converge for justice and peace. Lohfink illustrates this theme through 50 short biblical reflections.]

WISDOM FROM THE GLOBAL SISTERHOOD. Edited by Srs. Joyce Meyer et al. (290 pp – Liturgical Press). [Ten years of articles from the Global Sisters Report about the work of women religious all over the world]

THE WAY OF THE HEART. The Spiritual Experience of André Louf. By Charles Wright (290 pp – Cistercian Publications). [A. Louf was the abbot of a Dutch Trappist monastery who chose to be a hermit the last 10 years of his life, after a having played a prominent role in his order and the post-Vatican II church]

BE TRANSFORMED. A Biblical Journey toward a More Just World. By Micah Kiel (130 pp – Liturgical Press). [Being transformed by the CSD of justice. Five chapters on transformation]

VIRTUE IN VIRTUAL SPACES. Catholic Social Teaching and Technology. By Louisa Conwill et al. (120 pp – Center for Social Concern). [Four chapters on CST on technology and one chapter on Twitter and Instagram]

THE ROMAN CURIA. History, Theology, and Organization. By Anthony Expo (250 pp – Georgetown University Press). [Overview of the history and development of the Curia up to its recent reorganization – the author is undersecretary in a Dicastery]

Distance Learning Programmes in Catholic Theology 2025-26

Karen Kilby — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 14:57:17 GMT

The Centre for Catholic Studies (CCS) at Durham University. UK offers a Distance Learning Programme in Catholic Theology.

The programmes are designed so that participants can work through material at their own pace, studying equally well in any time zone and in many different life situations, alongside work, ministry, family or caring obligations.

In addition to the Postgraduate Certificate, the Postgraduate Diploma, and the MA, students can enrol for a single module. Students with a BA or BSc who have not studied Theology or a related discipline before, are able to apply for the core module, ‘Catholic Theology: A Preliminary Tour’ and proceed to the MA following its successful completion. The single module is also a standalone option for Continual Professional Development and general interest.

Further details are available at Distance Learning – Durham University

The CCS offers a Bursary Fund specifically to support students on these distance learning programmes – see CCS Bursary for Distance Learning 2025-26 - Durham University for information.

If you have any questions about these Distance Learning programmes, please do not hesitate to contact the CCS Manager - theresa.phillips@durham.ac.uk

The recently published USCCB Pastoral Plan for Indigenous Ministry

Margaret Mary Moore — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 23:50:28 GMT

All are invited to join a webinar on Monday, Nov. 18th at 2pm EST featuring Fr. Michael Carson, Assistant Director of the subcommittee on Native American Affairs. The new document is called "Keeping Christ's Sacred Promise: a pastoral framework for Indigenous ministry." The Catholic Boarding School Healing and Accountability Project is the sponsor of this event. To register, visit: www.ahprojectusa.org.

Call for Papers - Legacies of Nicaea I and Vatican II

Conor M. Kelly — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 14:57:15 GMT

Papers are currently being accepted for an academic conference commemorating the 1700^th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea (325) together with the 60th anniversary of the closing of the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965). A collaboration between Milwaukee Catholic institutions and the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, the conference on "The Legacies of Nicaea I and Vatican II: An Inheritance Unfolding" will take place September 4–7, 2025 at Marquette University.

Paper proposals of no more than 300 words may be submitted using the online portal on the Legacies Conference website. Please note that papers related to Nicaea will be scheduled on Friday, September 5, and papers related to Vatican II will be scheduled on Saturday, September 6.

Paper topics may include, but are not limited to, the following:

The Council of Nicaea and its reception history
The Nicene Creed and other Christian confessions
Trinitarian theology and Christology in view of Nicaea
Athanasius, Arius, and "Arianism"
Orthodoxy and heresy in Christian tradition
Unity and schism in Church history
Constantine and Christianity in the Roman Empire
Ecumenical councils and the conciliar tradition
The Second Vatican Council and its reception history
The proceedings and documents of Vatican II
Liturgy and liturgical developments before or after Vatican II
Synods and synodality
The Church in the modern world
Ecumenism and ecumenical relations between the Catholic Church and other ecclesial bodies

Selected papers will be included in an edited volume of the conference proceedings.

The deadline to submit a paper proposal is March 1, 2025.

Memorial Mass for Fr. Gustavo Gutierrez OP - Univ. of Notre Dame

Nancy Pineda-Madrid — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 16:41:26 GMT

Notice from the Univ. of Notre Dame

The Office of the Provost has received word of the recent passing of Father Gustavo Gutiérrez, O.P., Professor Emeritus, Theology, College of Arts and Letters. We join with our colleagues across the university in sending our deepest condolences to the Gutiérrez family, community, and colleagues.

Father Gutiérrez will be remembered at a Memorial Mass at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the campus of Notre Dame on Monday, November 11, 2024 at 5:15 p.m. (Eastern Time). Our university president, Father Bob Dowd, C.S.C., will preside. The Mass will be live streamed on the regular Basilica daily Mass page: https://basilica.nd.edu/prayer-and-worship/watch-mass/.

Invitation to write a book review for https://catholicbooksreview.org/

Pierre M. Hegy — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 15:12:25 GMT

Write a book review for https://catholicbooksreview.org/

ZECHARIAH. In the series Wisdom Commentaries. By Leslie Hoppe (250 pp – Liturgical Press). [Historical-critical analysis of the text, chapter by chapter, in a feminist perspective]

I PETER. Revised edition. Tyndale NT Commentaries. By Wayne A. Grudem (260 pp – IVP Academic). [First published in 1988. A long introduction about date and authorship, followed by a commentary of the various sections]

REDISCOVERING THE WISDOM OF THE CORINTHIANS. Paul, Stoicism, and Spiritual Hierarchy. By Timothy Brookins (340 pp – Eerdmans. [The “wisdom” of 1 Cor 1-4 refers to the Stoic philosophy that prevailed in Corinth; some members considered themselves as “wiser” philosophically and “superior” intellectually; this led to conflictive divisions. Paul refutes this philosophical interpretation of his teachings]

CHRISTIANS AT HOME. John Chrysostom and Domestic Rituals in Fourth-Century Antioch. By Blake Leyerle (140 pp – Penn State University Press). [Drawing from Chrysostom’s sermons, the author describes the home devotions of the Antioch Christians.]

JESUS AND DIVINE CHRISTOLOGY. By Brant Pitre (360 pp – Eerdmans). [In the tradition of the study of the historical Jesus, Pitre shows that Jesus made claims of divinity for himself]

TRUST IN ATONEMEMNT. God, Creation, and Reconciliation by Teresa Morgan (240 pp – Eerdmans). [This book is a further development of the author’s theology of trust: in the NT and everyday life, with chapters on trust and suffering, trust after trauma, trust in creation, trust to forgive]

Together with

SOUNDINGS ON EUCHARIST AND PRIESTHOOD. BY Michael Dellaire (100 pp – Friesen Press) Reflections from the context the Canadian ministry] These works can be reviewed briefly together or separately.

CATHOLIC DOGMATIC THEOLOGY: A SYNTHESIS. Book 3. On the Church and the Sacraments. by Jean-Hervé Nicolas, OP (750 pp – CUA Press). [Translated from German. First published in 1985]

REMARRIAGE IN EARLY CHRISTIANITY. By Andrew Das (320 pp – Eerdmans). [Review of the Jewish and Greco-Roman sources and the witness of the early church]

The nineteenth-century salesian pentecost (Classics of Western Spirituality). edited by Joseph Boenzi (270 pp – Paulist Press). [The Salesian family, the Sisters and the Daughters of Francis de Sales, the Fransalians]

Everyday Annunciations. On Learning to Say Yes. By Susan Swetnam (120 pp – Liturgical Press). [Swetnam recounts how she came to accept her husband’s death when contemplating Fra Angelico’s Annunciation. Using numerous stories of disrupted lives, she describes how to say “Yes” through six paintings of the Annunciation.]

SOCIAL CATHOLICISM FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENRTURY? New Hope for Ecclesial and Societal Renewal. Volume 2. Edited by William Murphy Jr. (360 pp – Wipf and Stock). [Proposals for societal renewal on engaging topics like Christian humanism, post-neoliberalism, biophilic markets, new economics, race, the social media, cooperation beyond borders, pastoral leadership, after populism and polarization, etc.]

Hans Kung: A Re-evaluation

Paul F Lakeland — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 15:05:04 GMT

Edited by Paul Lakeland, an international collection of essays re-evaluating the legacy of Hans Kung. Authors include Hermann Haring, Karl-Josef Kuschel, Anthony Godzieba, Roger Haight, Mary McAleese, Susan Ross, Jakob Rinderknecht, Hille Haker, Frank Clooney, Johanna Rainer and Jonathan Keir. Available from Paulist Press.

Swiss theologian Hans Kung was the most controversial of the European Catholic theologians who emerged at the time of Vatican II. He gained attention for challenging papal infallibility, but he also wrote at length on other topics, including justification, Christian life, the existence of God, priesthood, the incarnation, global ethics and interreligious dialogue.

Published New Book

Rev John R Morris OP — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 22:00:06 GMT

John R. Morris, OP has recently published Jesus, the Person and the Mission: Searching for the Jesus of History. The publisher’s description of the book reads:

“This book is a search for the Jesus of history, the Jesus experienced by his disciples during his public life. Its objective is to discover the authentic words and deeds attributable to Jesus with historical certitude. It accounts for his Jewish religious background and the historical context in which he carried out his mission. Central to this work is Jesus’ relationship to his Abba and his personal understanding of his mission. Special attention is devoted to the major events and teaching of Jesus: his baptism, his miracles, his preaching and parables, and his Last Supper. The Jesus of history, the person and his words and deeds, are foundational for the faith of the early church and the written Scriptures that followed his death and resurrection. They are also foundational for contemporary faith."

It is the author’s conviction that contemporary Christology must consider the Jesus of history. The book can be ordered through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Yipf & Stock, the publisher.

Funeral For Fr. Gustavo Gutierrez OP - October 24 1:00pm Central

Nancy Pineda-Madrid — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 05:37:15 GMT

CTSA remembers the "father of liberation theology," Fr. Gustavo Gutiérrez, OP.

The funeral arrangements for Father Gustavo are attached. Note that the funeral Mass is tomorrow, October 24, at 1:00 in Lima (Central time zone). We have unofficial word that the funeral Mass will be live streamed on the Facebook page of the Instituto Bartolome de las Casas (https://www.facebook.com/Institutobartolomedelascasas/).

"Damos gracias a Dios por el gran legado que nuestro hermano Gustavo ha dejado a la Iglesia y la sociedad." -Fr. Rómulo Vásquez Gavidia, OP.

May Gustavo Gutiérrez rest in God's peace,

CTSA Fall 2024 Virtual Event: Teaching Catholic Theology in the Present Political Moment Recording

Wed, 23 Oct 2024 17:03:30 GMT

The video recording of the CTSA Fall 2024 Virtual Event, Teaching Catholic Theology in the Present Political Moment (Tuesday, October 22), is now available for viewing for CTSA members.

To access the video, navigate to the CTSA's website home page. Log into the website using your email address and member #. Then scroll to the bottom of the page where resources are posted. Select: CTSA Recorded Videos

Gustavo Gutierrez OP -- Que descanse en paz.

Nancy Pineda-Madrid — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 04:46:57 GMT

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

With great sorrow, tonight I write to let you know that our brother and friend Gustavo Gutierrez OP passed away this evening. We are grateful to God for his life, his friendship, and the enormous gift of his theological vision. I met Gustavo for the first time when I was 22 years old. He was personally influential in my decision to become a theologian. He helped me come to grips with the extreme contrast between wealth and poverty that I witnessed daily as a child growing up on the U.S.-Mexico border. Mil gracias Gustavo for your work on behalf of the poor and for your love of the people of God and of God’s coming reign. I do not have any further information at this time.

Mil gracias hermano Gustavo. Que descanse en paz,

Nancy Pineda-Madrid, CTSA President

Synod 2021 - 2024 Website Links of the General Secretariat of the Synod

Tue, 22 Oct 2024 16:21:53 GMT

General Secretariat of the Synod ~ Synod 2021 - 2024

Click here to access the website with links to the Vatican Newsfeed, Highlights, Documents, Synod News, Posts and more.

Gregory K. Hillis - d. 10/8

Fri, 18 Oct 2024 17:13:18 GMT

The CTSA prays for and remembers Gregory K. Hillis who died on October 8, 2024.

Eternal rest grant unto, Greg, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Tribute published by Americamagazine.com:

James T. Keane, "Gratitude, sorrow, suffering and mercy: R.I.P. Greg Hillis", America Magazine October 10, 2024 <americamagazine.org, October 18, 2024>.

Member Book Announcement

Laurie Cassidy — Fri, 18 Oct 2024 00:05:02 GMT

Laurie Cassidy's new edited volume, Praying for Freedom: Racism and Ignatian Spirituality in America is published by Liturgical Press and addresses the question, why do the Spiritual Exercises not change us as deeply as we hope? This is the haunting question that was raised at the recent general congregation of the Jesuits about Ignatius’s Spiritual Exercises and the question the contributors to this book explore and attempt to answer in the context of ongoing racial injustice in the United States. All of us who love and are engaged in Ignatian spirituality must also ask ourselves this same question. Contributors explore this question by examining how “color-blindness racism” determines our interpretation of the Spiritual Exercises in the United States. Animated by the grace of Ignatius's conversion experience these spiritual directors, theologians, and leaders in Jesuit ministries offer insightful scholarly and creative pastoral engagement of The Spiritual Exercises for the ongoing journey of conversion from racism and white supremacy in the United States. https://litpress.org/Products/E6792/Praying-for-Freedom

Scholarships and Bursaries in Catholic Theology and Catholic Studies at Durham University, UK

Karen Kilby — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 12:34:32 GMT

The Centre for Catholic Studies (CCS) at Durham University in the UK has opened applications for Scholarships and Bursaries in Catholic Theology and Catholic Studies for 2025/26.

In partnership with the Faithful Companions of Jesus (FCJ), the CCS is offering ONE FCJ Bicentenary Scholarship to a full-time or part-time MA or PhD candidate in Catholic Theology or Catholic Studies in the Dept of Theology and Religion at Durham University. The award includes full tuition fees (at the UK/Home rate) and a maintenance allowance of up to the UKRI level (pro rata) per annum.

Other tuition fee only awards, made possible by donations from the Congregation of Jesus, the Carmelite Nuns, the Hartley Trust, and individual donors, are also being offered for 2025-26.

Applications for the MA in Christian Theology (Catholic Studies) V8K607, and PhD’s in the following areas of Catholic Theology and Catholic Studies will be considered:

Constructive Catholic Theology;
Catholic Historical Theology;
Interpretation of Scripture in Catholic Tradition;
Catholic Social Thought and Practice;
The History of Catholicism;
Lived Catholicism;
Social-Scientific study of Catholicism;
Franciscan Studies.

If you are unsure whether your area of research would be considered, please do get in touch.

Full details of the awards available for 2025/26, including eligibility criteria and an application form, are available at Funding - Durham University

The closing date for applications for the FCJ Bicentenary Scholarship is Sunday 23 February 2025. New candidates for a postgraduate degree within the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University must also complete a standard DU application for postgraduate admission with all supporting documents by Sunday 2 February 2025. The closing date for all other awards is 1 June 2025.

If you have any questions about the CCS scholarships, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the CCS Manager – theresa.phillips@durham.ac.uk or 0191 334 3952.

Women Deacons and the Synod: A Conversation with Phyllis Zagano

Mon, 14 Oct 2024 15:53:46 GMT

Women Deacons and the Synod: A Conversation with Phyllis Zagano, Dr. Zagano provides a compelling, well-researched challenge to the Church to re-examine the historical and doctrinal basis for excluding women from the diaconate. She addresses the Synod’s potential to bring about meaningful change and poses a crucial question to the Church hierarchy.

Click on the blue font title posted above to access the recorded interview.

Matthew Howard, Executive Producer
Common Home TV

Congratulations Cathy Clifford!!!!!

Nancy Pineda-Madrid — Sat, 12 Oct 2024 09:56:34 GMT

Dear CTSA Colleagues

I am thrilled to share great news with you. As you may know, last October and this October, CTSA Vice President Cathy Clifford did serve and is serving as an official delegate to the Synod in Rome. Yesterday I learned that she was elected to serve on the Commission for the Drafting of the Final Document of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. This commission has 14 members, only two of whom are women and Cathy is one of them. Congratulations Cathy on your historic election!! Here is a link announcing the commission.

https://www.synod.va/en/news/commission-for-the-drafting-of-the-final-document.html

Also, if you would like to submit a comment to any of the 10 Study Groups, there is still time to do so. In this communique, Cardinal Grech invites all members of the church to make submissions to any of the 10 Study Groups, whose work will extend to at least June 2025:

https://www.synod.va/en/news/communication-from-the-secretary-general-of-the-synod-his-eminence-card-mario-grech.html

Nancy Pineda-Madrid, CTSA President

Spirituality in the Age of Dislocation by Jung Eun Sophia Park, SNJM

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 13:44:15 GMT

Dr. Jung Eun Sophia Park, SNJM, will be presenting on “Spirituality in the Age of Dislocation” next week on Tuesday, October 15. The 90-minute webinar begins at 7 p.m. EDT (UTC -4). A recording will be available after the live presentation for all registered participants.

Click here to register on our website.

Jung Eun Sophia Park, SNJM, is professor emerita at Holy Names University in California. Her academic interests are global justice and spirituality, postcolonial feminism, psychoanalytic theory, and mysticism. Park has authored many books, including A Hermeneutic on Dislocation as Experience, Conversations at the Well, Border-Crossing Spirituality and An Asian Woman’s Religious Journey with Thomas Merton.

People who live in the global world experience more dislocation and in-between spaces. The feeling of dislocation is linked to spiritual distress such as loneliness and anxiety, yet the in-between space functions as a leverage of spiritual force for transformation. This presentation explores various experiences of dislocation and examines multivalent meanings of in-betweenness. In reflecting on the nature of life as a pilgrim, seekers discover dislocation as a human experience, not just a phenomenon but an invitation to fully embrace life. The spirituality of dislocation includes creating hybrid identities, staying at every moment of life, and remaining in borderland with a simple heart of kindness and hospitality.

The webinar will consist of a presentation and an opportunity to engage with Dr. Park. You will be invited to offer your questions and comments by text to a moderator who will then bring them into conversation with the presenter.

I invite you to join us for this webinar and also to share this opportunity with colleagues and others who might be interested. Recordings of the previous events are available on the Webinars On Demand page of our website.

Margaret Brennan Institute on the Intersection of Faith and Culture

Virtual Event: Teaching Catholic Theology in the Present Political Moment

Nancy Pineda-Madrid — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 08:16:28 GMT

Join me in attending this consequential and timely conversation. Many thanks to Mary Kate Holman, SimonMary Aihiokhai, and Eli McCarthy for making this conversation possible. You can register below. I will see you there. Nancy Pineda-Madrid, CTSA President.

Virtual Event: Teaching Catholic Theology in the Present Political Moment

Tuesday, October 22nd, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. [ET]

This conversation brings together three scholars with politically-engaged research and teaching experience to explore resources and strategies for engaging challenging political conversations in Catholic theology courses, particularly during this election cycle.

An email was sent out yesterday to all members and theologians who have applied for membership to register to attend this event. A Zoom link will be sent out to the registrants on the morning of the event.

The Israel-Hamas War is now one year old

Nancy Pineda-Madrid — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 14:39:28 GMT

As our 2024 calendar turns to October 7, the war between Israel and Hamas is now one year old. Recent days have seen the terrifying escalation and expansion of this war with no end in sight. The number of human beings who have been brutally killed keeps rising, tens of thousands of Palestinians, mostly women and children, and roughly two thousand Israelis. As theologians and members of the CTSA, I ask that we consider Pope Francis' summon to prayer and fasting today. May the fighting and killing end now. May the seeds of peace be sown now.

Nancy Pineda-Madrid, CTSA President

Anne M. Clifford, CSJ - d. 10/2/24

Fri, 04 Oct 2024 12:31:10 GMT

The CTSA remembers and prays for longstanding member Sr. Anne M. Clifford, CSJ, who died on October 2, 2024.

Eternal rest grant unto, Anne, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon her.
May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Celebration of Anne's Theological Contributions to the CTSA:

Clifford, A. (2017). Pope Francis’ "Laudato Si’" On Care for our Common Home: An Ecofeminist Response. Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, 72. Retrieved from https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/ctsa/article/view/10090

Clifford, A. M. (2006), Convener. Theological Anthropology in Dialogue with Racial and National Identity. Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, 61. Retrieved from https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/ctsa/article/view/4840

Clifford, A. M. (2005). Science, Naturalism, and Resurrection—A Response to John F. Haught. Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, 60. Retrieved from https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/ctsa/article/view/4675

Clifford, A. M. (2005) Convener. Body Symbolism in Catholic Theology, Theological Anthropology. Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, 60. Retrieved from https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/ctsa/article/view/4722

Clifford, A. M. (2004), Convener. "What Is the Place of Sacrifice in Christian Identity?" and "How Are Sex, Sin and Grace to be Conceived in the Midst of the Church's Sex Abuse Crisis?" Theological Anthropology. Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, 59. Retrieved from https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/ctsa/article/view/2129

Clifford, A. M. (1997), Convener. Theological Perspectives on the Body, Theological Anthropology. Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, 52. Retrieved from https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/ctsa/article/view/4229

Clifford, A. M. (1996). Pneumatology in Theological Anthropology. Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, 51. Retrieved from https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/ctsa/article/view/4154

Sisters of St. Joseph, Baden Pennyslvania
1020 State Street, Baden, PA 15005

Prayer Viewings: Tuesday, October 8 from 1 p.m. to the close of Prayer Vigil, and on Wednesday, October 9 from 11 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. (Medaille Hall)

Prayer Vigil: Tuesday, October 8 at 6 p.m., Medaille Hall

Mass of Christian Burial: Wednesday, October 9 at 4 p.m., Sisters of Joseph Motherhouse Chapel

Anne M. Clifford, CSJ, Obituary

Invitation to write a book review for https://catholicbooksreview.org/

Pierre M. Hegy — Mon, 30 Sep 2024 14:06:18 GMT

Invitation to write a book review for https://catholicbooksreview.org/

You select the book, I mail it to you, you send me the electronic review, and I post it (about 1,500 to 2,000 reviews posted since 2001). Write to Hegy@adelphi.edu/ He is the list of books available in October:

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM. Theologian of the Eucharist By Kenneth J. Howell (320 pp – CUA Press) [“This volume explicates John Chrysostom’s Theology of the Eucharist by placing it in relation to many other aspects (of his theology)” p. 24. Numerous quotations followed by commentaries and explanations]

REDISCOVERING THE WISDOM OF THE CORINTHIANS. Paul, Stoicism, and Spiritual Hierarchy By Timothy Brookins (340 pp – Eerdmans [In 1 Corinthians 1-4 Paul condemns the internal divisions. The “wisdom” of 1 Cor 1-4 refers to the Stoic philosophy that prevailed in Corinth; some members considered themselves as “wiser” philosophically and “superior” intellectually; this led to conflictive divisions. Paul refutes this philosophical interpretation of his teachings]

THE FUTURE OF CATHOLIC BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION. Marie-Joseph Lagrange and Beyond Edited by James Prothro and Isaac Morales (340 pp – Eerdmans) [The need of a balance between a scientific and a spiritual-pastoral interpretation is traced back to the accomplishments of Marie-Joseph Lagrange, the founder of the biblical school of Jerusalem; it is discussed by 15 biblical scholars]

CHRISTIANS AT HOME. John Chrysostom and Domestic Rituals in Fourth-Century Antioch By Blake Leyerle (140 pp – Penn State University Press) [Drawing from Chrysostom’s sermons, the author describes the home devotions of the Antioch Christians.

THE MEANING OF SALVATION. Redemption and Hope for Today. First published in London in 1965 By Michael Green (1930-2019) (240 pp – Eerdmans) [This is a textual and historical analysis of salvation in its many meanings in the history of Israel, the Jews of the first century, and the teachings of John the Baptist, Jesus, the Evangelists, and Paul; in all cases salvation is hope in concrete situations.]

JESUS AND DIVINE CHRISTOLOGY By Brant Pitre (360 pp – Eerdmans)

[In the tradition of the study of the historical Jesus, Pitre shows that Jesus made claims of divinity for himself]

EUCHARISTIC RESERVATION. Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharistic Mystery Outside Mass. By Paul Turner (180 pp – Liturgical Press)[Commentary section by section on the new edition of Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharistic Mystery Outside Mass of 2024]

Together with

ONE ORDINARY SUNDAY. A Meditation on the Mystery of the Mass By Paula Huston (250 pp – Liturgical Press) [This book “began as an attempt to explain the mysterious power of the Mass in my own life” (xxiv). Much of it is autobiographical rather than scholarly. I do not know to what extent it is of academic interest] Short reviews will do.

CATHOLIC DOGMATIC THEOLOGY: A SYNTHESIS. Book 3. On the Church and the Sacraments. by Jean-Hervé Nicolas, OP (750 pp – CUA Press) [Translated from German. First published in 1985]

REMARRIAGE IN EARLY CHRISTIANITY By Andrew Das (320 pp – Eerdmans) [Review of the Jewish and Greco-Roman sources and the witness of the early church]

The nineteenth-century Salesian Pentecost (Classics of Western Spirituality) edited by Joseph Boenzi (270 pp – Paulist Press) [The Salesian family, the Sisters and the Daughters of Francis de Sales, the Fransalians]

WHILE I BREATHE, I HOPE. A Mystagogy of Dying by Richard Gaillardetz (200 pp – Liturgical Press)[Diagnosed with terminal cancer, Richard Gaillardetz wrote short reflections as a mystagogy to the approach of death and the mystery of God]

GIFTS FROM FRIENDS WE NEVER WANTED. Biblical Journeys of Grace. By Virginia Herbers (120 pp – Liturgical Press) [The unwelcome friends of failure, disappointment, and worries are sources of grace. This is illustrated by 10 characters of the NT]

Everyday Annunciations. On Learning to Say Yes By Susan Swetnam (120 pp – Liturgical Press) [Swetnam recounts how she came to accept her husband’s death when contemplating Fra Angelico’s Annunciation. Using numerous stories of disrupted lives, she describes how to say “Yes” through six paintings of the Annunciation.]

PAULIST PRESS ANNOUNCE APPOINTMENT OF PAUL MCMAHON AS PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER

Nancy Pineda-Madrid — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 16:01:50 GMT

September 10, 2024

Paul McMahon will be the first layperson to serve in this role in the 160-year history of the Catholic publishing company.

McMahon has recently served as Editorial Director of Paulist Press. He will succeed Paulist Father Mark-David Janus, who has served as President and Publisher since 2010 and will now assume the role of Publisher Emeritus.

“It is an honor and a privilege to be selected and appointed by the Paulist Fathers as the first lay President and Publisher of Paulist Press. I am aware that this appointment follows an amazing 160-year history of Paulist Fathers who have guided the vision of their founder, Fr. Isaac Hecker, CSP, in sharing the gospel of Jesus and the rich traditions of American Catholicism.

It is with a sense of pride that I build on the mantle of the Press’s most recent publishers: Frs. Kevin Lynch, Lawrence Boadt, and Mark-David Janus, who have each embraced the teachings of the Second Vatican Council by publishing books that resonate with the intersection of faith and contemporary culture. It is my hope and vision to collaborate with the Paulist Fathers, the board of directors, and the entire lay staff of the Press in building upon this impressive tradition and advancing the mission to meet the needs of our church and society.”

In appointing a lay President and Publisher, the Paulist Fathers demonstrate their strong commitment to lay involvement in their mission and ministry and to listening to the signs of the times as reflected in the Council and the teaching of Pope Francis.

Please pray for Gustavo Gutierrez, O. P.

Nancy Pineda-Madrid — Fri, 20 Sep 2024 19:29:15 GMT

Fr. Romulo Vasquez Gavida, OP, Prior Provincial in Peru, has asked that we keep Fr. Gustavo Gutierrez, OP, in our prayers. His health is fragile at this time. I have no further information. May our brother Gustavo know the healing love of God.

Nancy Pineda-Madrid

CTSA President

Natalia Imperatori-Lee is featured speaker on Sept 18@ 7pm EDT

Mary Ann Hinsdale, IHM — Wed, 11 Sep 2024 20:11:11 GMT

The Margaret Brennan Institute, a ministry of the Monroe, MI IHM Sisters, is sponsoring a webinar featuring CTSA member Natalia Imperatori-Lee on 9/18/24 @ 7:00 p.m. (EDT). The title of her presentation is "Stories We Tell: Latinix Narratives and the Future of Catholicism." It is free and open to the public. For further info and registration: (copy and paste in your browser):

https://margaretbrennaninstitute.org

May Dr. Sophie Pierog Rest In Peace

Nancy Pineda-Madrid — Fri, 06 Sep 2024 04:52:13 GMT

Dear CTSA Members,

I have sad news to share with you. In her January 2024 letter, then CTSA President Kristin Heyer announced the creation of the CTSA Tutti Fund, created for the purpose of defraying the costs of attending the annual convention for members who are experiencing financial precarity. The Tutti Fund came into existence because of the generous contributions of Dr. Sophie Pierog and her husband Tom, and their work with the Callaghan-Pierog Family Foundation, Inc. After the creation of the Tutti Fund, The Foundation made a second contribution to CTSA which Kristin Heyer announced during the convention’s business meeting. In 2024, the foundation enabled 7 members of the Society to attend our annual CTSA convention and participate in the John Courtney Murray SJ Banquet. In addition, the foundation’s contribution inspired some members to donate to the Society in support of the Tutti Fund. Sophie and Tom's generosity will continue to support and inspire the CTSA in 2025 and beyond. CTSA is grateful to Linh Hoang for securing this foundation’s contribution to CTSA.

Dr. Sophie Pierog, passed away on August 29, 2024, after a long illness. She was generous in many ways. Even after her official retirement, she continued her work as a medical doctor. Please pray or offer up a mass for Sophie Pierog and her family. If you wish to send condolences, you may address them to:

Rosemary Doran, Treasurer
The Callaghan-Pierog Family Foundation, Inc.

7408 Fifth Ave., Suite 2
Brooklyn, NY 11209

May Sophie rest in peace.

Nancy Pineda-Madrid, CTSA President

Interfaith Coalition Conference for Global Citizens

Leo D Lefebure — Thu, 29 Aug 2024 19:46:43 GMT

ICCGS-CoNGO Conference on Global Action on

Peace, Sustainability, and Prosperity

On August 26-27, 2024, the Interfaith Coalition Conference for Global Citizens (ICCGC) and the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CoNGO) co-hosted an international interreligious conference on “Global Action on Peace, Sustainability, and Prosperity” at the Church Center of the United Nations in New York City. The goal of the conference was “to pursue peace, human security, dignity, and planetary sustainability” through fostering collaboration and solidarity among religious communities in diverse contexts around the world.

Won Buddhists organized the ICCGC, which held its first international conference online in 2020 on the theme of “The Future of Religion after COVID.” Since that time, there have been online meetings in 2021 and 2022, as well as the first in-person meeting held in Seoul in August 2023, which featured the former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon as the keynote speaker.

This year the conference considered points of intersection between religious and spiritual leaders and issues of ecological concern, global governance, peacekeeping, global citizenship education, and multilateral collaboration. This conference will help to prepare for the United Nations Summit of the Future, scheduled for September 20-23, 2024.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the organizers issued a public consensus declaration: “A Call to Global Community and Action for a Just Peaceable, Inclusive, and Sustainable World.” This declaration calls for 1) Embracing Inclusivity and Respect for Diversity; 2) Advancing a Global Ethic of Peace and Justice’ 3) Protecting the Planet: Our Sacred Duty to Future Generations; 4) Empowering Future Generations Through Ethical Education and Civic Engagement; and 5) Strengthening Collaboration for Global Unity.

Members of the Catholic Theological Society of America and of the Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies Julius-Kei Kato and I, as well as other officers of SBCS, participated in planning and leading the meeting.

The website of the conference contains details about the program, including the various speakers and many of the papers that were presented.https://www.iccgc.kr/program.php

Pope finding strength to carry message of Catholicism to Asia, Oceania, on longest trip

Jonathan Y Tan — Thu, 29 Aug 2024 02:52:18 GMT

Jonathan Y. Tan, the Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan Professor of Catholic Studies at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, was interviewed by Voice of America (VOA) News' Adam Hancock on Pope Francis' upcoming papal visit to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and Singapore from September 2-13, 2024. “Pope Francis is seeking to shine a spotlight on, and remind the rest of the world about, struggling communities in Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste,” said Jonathan Tan, the Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan Professor of Catholic Studies at Case Western Reserve University. “They are coping with immense poverty, high illiteracy and unemployment rates, and the effects of climate change on island communities,” Tan told VOA. Less than 10% of Singapore’s population is Catholic which, according to Tan, presents the pope an opportunity to “encourage and empower minority Catholic communities” in the region.

Link: Pope finding strength to carry message of Catholicism to Asia, Oceania, on longest trip (VOA News, August 28, 2024)

Gerald O'Collins, SJ - d. 22 August 2024

Catherine E Clifford — Wed, 28 Aug 2024 19:53:32 GMT

The CTSA remembers Gerald O'Collins, SJ, who died on 22 August 2024 at the age of 93 in Parkville, Australia, following a long and distinguished career.

https://jesuit.org.au/vale-fr-gerald-ocollins-sj-ac/

Conference in honor of Jim Keenan, SJ

Kate Ward — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 15:31:09 GMT

All are invited to a conference in honor of James F. Keenan, SJ, Canisius Professor at Boston College, founder of Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church, and a recent John Courtney Murray award winner. The conference will take place in person at Boston College Friday, Sept. 13 and Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. The Friday portion only will be live-streamed. Schedule is available here; link to register (free) is here.

Fr. Keenan is not retiring--we are gathering to celebrate and honor his contributions while he is still active in leading our field. Please join us!

published new book

D Thomas Hughson, SJ — Fri, 16 Aug 2024 12:29:11 GMT

In July 2024 Thomas Hughson SJ published Neanderthal Religion? Theology in Dialogue with Archaeology, with Foreword by Neil Ormerod, available on Amazon and from Wipf and Stock. The back cover states, "Neanderthals are the most-researched extinct members of genus Homo. They have been gone for somewhere between 28 and 40,000 years, far beyond the reach of cultural memories. An expanding number of archaeologists follow physical evidence to conclude that Neanderthals are, and genetics confirms, co-human with us whose lineage emerged in Africa about 300,000 years ago. Are they are the same as us? No. " Ormerod comments that this "thought-provoking book on what it means to be human," appeals to archaeological evidence. The book discusses religion as spirituality realized in common and early revelation as animist experience of being-alive. The last chapter addresses "Neanderthals and Theological Tradition."

Feedback Requested by Terry Tilley - "Faith: What It Is and What It Isn't

Fri, 09 Aug 2024 15:39:19 GMT

Gentle colleagues:

Orbis Books and I want to revise my book, Faith: What It Is and What It Isn't (2010). It continues to be used in introductory courses in theology and religious studies.

In order to take advantage of your insights as I work this fall and winter on the revision, if you have used -- or are using the book in classes this fall -- could you email me at ttilley@fordham.edu and answer the following questions:

1. What items in the book need clarification or revision as they are hard for my students to grasp?

2. What items in any of the chapters seem superfluous or unclear?

3. Do you have any other comments or suggestions?

I will take each comment seriously and will thank you for your input in the acknowledgments unless you want me not to do so.

Thank you for your consideration.

Terry

Terrence W. Tilley, Professor Emeritus of Theology, Fordham University

Conference: Catholic Enlightenment in Europe, the Americas & Australia (1700-1840)

Mon, 05 Aug 2024 14:14:04 GMT

Center for Research on Global Catholicism Conference
Saint Louis University
September 20 - 21, 2024

The Catholic Enlightenment in Europe, the Americas and Australia (1700– 1840): Balancing Loyalties between State, Nationality, Citizenship, and the Global Church

The Enlightenment, it has now been established, was as much a religious phenomenon as it was a secular one. This conference brings together leading scholars from around the world to interrogate the ways in which Catholics, in particular, interpreted and extended Enlightenment ideas to rethink and reform society, politics, the economy, education, science, and the arts on a global scale.

Plenary Speaker:

David Sorkin, Yale University
Discovering the Catholic Enlightenment: a Personal Account

Co-sponsored by University of Münster, and Washington University, Saint Louis

Contact: crgc@slu.edu for further information

"Sustaining Vocations: Academic societies are more important now that ever," by Susan Bigelow Reynolds

Kristin Heyer — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 00:39:36 GMT

Susan Bigelow Reynolds' new essay on "Sustaining Vocations" in Commonweal outlines the significance of academic guilds today and the ways the CTSA and other conferences nourish theologians "between the times." She summons our acts of solidarity to enable one another to continue to participate as budgets shrink.

CTSA Vision Statement Input Requested

Kristin Heyer — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 00:24:57 GMT

ENVISION the CTSA at 100

Members: Please Share Your “Vision Statement” Responses and Ideas!

As part of its charge to assist in imagining and enacting a shared vision and strategic directions for the Society’s next 25 years, the CTSA Centennial Committee has provided three sample Vision Statements,* modeling different emphases:
1. The CTSA: Advancing theological scholarship and reflection in service of a changing Church, academy, and wider world.
2. The CTSA: Serving God's people by promoting theological wisdom, learning, and excellence.
3. The CTSA: Promoting theological wisdom, learning, and excellence in a spirit of service.

We invite and urge members to PLEASE LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!

Tell us which you like/prefer, or don’t like, and why. Feel free to suggest additional words, different wordings, or even an entirely different vision statement. Your input will be so helpful as the CC seeks to bring to the Board a widely supported vision statement in the coming months. To participate, you can either:

Submit your comments via the QR code on this sheet -->
or email comments to: Kristin Heyer, ‘24-’25 CTSA Past President

and Centennial Committee Chair, at heyerkr@bc.edu by August 31st. Comments will be compiled and shared with the Committee and the Board.

*What is a vision statement? This may help:

“A mission statement deals with “why” an organization exists, while a vision statement succinctly expresses “what” that existence will eventually look like. Primarily intended for members and stakeholders, a vision statement describes what an organization aspires to be in the longer-term . . . Part roadmap, part inspiration, … a vision statement helps give the organization shape and purpose.”

[from "22 Vision Statement Examples To Help You Write Your Own," BREX (https://www.brex.com/journal/vision-statement-examples)]

Thank you for offering your thoughts and feedback!

"'We are not saved alone': Catholic theologians engage the social dimensions of salvation" by David DeCosse, NCROnline

Wed, 26 Jun 2024 16:49:39 GMT

DavidDeCosse's piece "'We are not saved alone': Catholic theologians engage the social dimensions of salvation" ( @NCRonline 6/26/24), which highlights the CTSA's 2024 convention "Social Salvation" (June 13 - 16) is available online at https://www.ncronline.org/opinion/guest-voices/we-are-not-saved-alone-catholic-theologians-engage-social-dimensions-salvation.

Today: Dr. C. Vanessa White honored as CUERG Dintinguished Leader-Scholar

Stephanie Wong — Sat, 15 Jun 2024 18:56:25 GMT

The CUERG Distinguished Scholar-Leader Award honors a member of the CTSA whose work as a scholar-leader has contributed to or supported the theologizing of underrepresented and underrecognized communities in the academy, Church, and/or wider society.

This year's honoree, Dr. C. Vanessa White has been instrumental in calling for and modelling a more truly inclusive Church and academy in numerous settings.

During the academic school year, Dr. White serves as an Associate Professor in at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, teaching in the area of Spirituality and Ministry and serving as Director of the Certificate in Black Theology and Ministry. As her nominator wrote, "Vanessa has dedicated her life to leading important conversations in the fields of spirituality and pastoral theology, lifting up theological subfields that do not always receive the affirmation they should in contexts like the CTSA and other similar academic guilds." During her Summers, she serves as the Associate Director for Degree Programs for the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana – a program that has run for more than 40 years carrying forward its mission to form disciples for more effective ministry in the Black Catholic community, the Church and the community at large. During the institute and year-round, her work with college professors, Catholic clergy, and Black Catholic parishioners actively advances the CTSA’s mission of developing a mature understanding of faith among Christian communities.

In addition to this teaching and administrative service, Dr. White has been a leading voice in challenging both Church and academy to a fuller witness to God. A colleague writes of her role in conversations with the U.S. Conference of Catholic bishops, she "speaks with prophetic voice and ecclesial love, embodying the type of theologian that Pope Francis has encouraged during his pontificate: close to the people of God, attentive to those who live in the peripheries, and writing scholarship for the entire church, not just the learned minds." In addition, Dr. Vanessa White has been a formative guiding presence in the CTSA and CUERG itself, serving in key leadership roles Society and mentoring members who self-identify with underrepresented communities. She can be seen year after year accompanying junior scholars in different settings: sessions, plenaries, conversations, mentorship initiatives, and so on.

Leading in all these ways through her teaching and scholarship, formal administration and personal example, Dr. White has been a strong advocate for underrepresented communities and their theological reflection. Dr. White is constantly working as a theological educator with phenomenal commitment, and she deserves our esteem and gratitude.

John Dadosky's New Book

Fiona Li — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 12:43:58 GMT

John Dadosky recently published his book, "The Wisdom of Order: An Exploration of Lonergan's Method in Theology."

Taken from the University of Toronto Press:

"In 1972, renowned Canadian philosopher and theologian Bernard Lonergan published Method in Theology. Now, following the fiftieth anniversary of his landmark work, The Wisdom of Order presents the next step in advancing the thought of this significant religious theorist.

In addition to the previously compiled Collected Works of Bernard Lonergan, this book aims to provide an appreciation and exploration of Method in Theology. It analyses the first five chapters of the work with commentaries to help readers traverse Lonergan's thought more effectively and deeply. John D. Dadosky presents compelling exposition and observations to assist readers."

Book can be ordered through various bookstores, including University of Toronto Press and Amazon.

CTSA Readership Data

B. Kevin Brown — Tue, 11 Jun 2024 00:15:24 GMT

Last year the CTSA Board recommended that, following the publication of this year's volume of the CTSA Proceedings, I begin to share with the CTSA membership some of the Proceedings readership data that I share with the Board in my semi-annual editor's reports. Please find readership data for for the first five months of 2024 below. As a reminder, every volume of the CTSA Proceedings is available online at https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/ctsa/issue/archive.

Readership Data For January 2024

Total Article/Report Downloads: 9,425
Top Three Most Downloaded Articles/Reports
- Michael J. Cantley, "The Biblical Doctrine of Original Sin" (Volume 22 [1967]) - 202 downloads
- Ellen Leonard, "Experience as a Source for Theology" (Volume 43 [1989]) - 168 downloads
- Edward F. Hanahoe, "The Ecumenical Movement" (Volume 9 [1954]) - 162 downloads

Readership Data for February 2024

Total Article/Report Downloads: 11,365
Top Three Most Downloaded Articles/Reports:
- Michael J. Cantley, "The Biblical Doctrine of Original Sin" (Volume 22 [1967]) - 287 downloads
- William J. Hill, "Christ The Sacrament of an Encounter with God" (Volume 19 [1964]) - 200 downloads
- Ellen Leonard, "Experience as a Source for Theology" (Volume 43 [1989]) - 198 downloads

Readership Data for March 2024

Total Article/Report Downloads: 13,911
Top Three Most Downloaded Articles/Reports:
- Edwin G. Kaiser, "The Theology of the Resurrection of Christ" (Volume 14 [1959]) - 615 downloads
- Ellen Leonard, "Experience as a Source for Theology" (Volume 43 [1989]) - 345 downloads
- Michael J. Cantley, "The Biblical Doctrine of Original Sin" (Volume 22 [1967]) - 235 downloads

Readership Data for April 2024

Total Article/Report Downloads: 15,968
Top Three Most Downloaded Articles/Reports:
- James Helft, "The Historical Origins of Papal Infallibility" (Volume 35 [1980]) - 358 downloads
- Edwin G. Kaiser, "The Theology of the Resurrection of Christ" (Volume 14 [1959]) - 336 downloads
- Michael J. Cantley, "The Biblical Doctrine of Original Sin" (Volume 22 [1967]) - 234 downloads

Readership Data for May 2024

Total Article/Report Downloads: 11,793
Top Three Most Downloaded Articles/Reports:
- James Helft, "The Historical Origins of Papal Infallibility" (Volume 35 [1980]) - 258 downloads
- William J. Hill, "Christ The Sacrament of an Encounter with God" (Volume 19 [1964]) - 174 downloads
- Albert C. Labriola and George S. Worgul, Jr., "The Holy Spirit in Art: The Theological Bearing of Visual Representation" (Volume 51 [1996]) - 129 downloads

CFP - Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations

Thu, 30 May 2024 13:55:21 GMT

Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations is the journal of the Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations and is published by the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning at Boston College. The Journal publishes peer-reviewed scholarship on the history, theology, and contemporary realities of Jewish-Christian relations and reviews new materials in the field. The Journal also provides a vehicle for exchange of information, cooperation, and mutual enrichment in the field of Christian-Jewish studies and relations. SCJR is included in the following indexes: ATLA’s Full-Text Journal Index and Religion Database; the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ); EBSCO's Academic Search Complete (ASC), Historical Abstracts, America: History and Life, and Humanities International Index; Index to Jewish Periodicals; ProQuest Religion Database; RAMBI (Index of Articles on Jewish Studies); and RelBib (Bibliography of the Study of Religion).

The Journal may be accessed freely on the internet. Please visit the Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations website at www.bc.edu/scjr.

CALL FOR PAPERS

The editorial board of Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations invites submissions for its current and future volumes. Interested authors are encouraged to contact the editors in advance. All papers will be subject to peer-review before acceptance for publication.

Co-Editors:

Ruth Langer, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA
Professor of Jewish Studies
Associate Director, Center for Christian-Jewish Learning
ruth.langer@bc.edu

Kevin P. Spicer, CSC, Stonehill College, Easton, MA
Professor of History
kspicer@stonehill.edu

Managing Editor:
Camille Fitzpatrick Markey, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA
Associate Director, Center for Christian-Jewish Learning
scjr@bc.edu

Review Editor:
Adam Gregerman, Saint Joseph's University, Philadelphia, PA
Professor of Theology and Religious Studies
Associate Director, Institute for Jewish-Catholic Relations
agregerm@sju.edu

CUERG Distinguished Scholar-Leader Award: Dr. C. Vanessa White

Stephanie Wong — Tue, 28 May 2024 15:26:19 GMT

At the upcoming convention's CUERG luncheon, Dr. C. Vanessa White (Assoc. Prof. of Spirituality and Practice at Catholic Theological Union, and Director of the Certificate In Black Theology and Ministry) will be the recipient of the inaugural CUERG Distinguished Scholar-Leader award!

We will highlight her significant contributions to the Church, academy and wider society; and Dr. White will offer an address to the gathering at the 2024 CUERG Luncheon.

The CUERG leadership committee found it fitting to create the award at this time for two reasons:

First, CUERG has now existed for several decades as a consultatory advisory committee to the CTSA Board and as a network of intellectual and professional support for CTSA members from underrepresented or under-recognized ethnic and racial backgrounds. In the early years, the committee strove mainly to create possibilities of presence and thriving for minoritized scholars in the Catholic theological community. While this remains a key priority, CUERG is no longer new nor simply trying to find a place at the discursive table. Over time and through the concerted efforts of past leaders, CUERG has developed into both an institution within the convention (for instance, the annual CUERG Luncheon) and a professional community with a deepening sense of its particular history, struggles, and contributions to the Society as a whole. As CUERG continues to mature, it is valuable for CUERG to take stock and recognize all that has and is still unfolding in the Society’s efforts to theologize en conjunto (together), in a truly inclusive way.

Second, the CUERG committee desired to joyfully highlight the contributions of under-recognized teacher-scholars, noting their work as a gift to the wider academy and Church. Theologians working at the ethnic and racial margins of theological discourse have often tackled sobering and lamentable topics (for instance, the horrors of slavery, colonial campaigns, forced migration, systemic racism, etc.) and wrestled with the legacies of such structural inequities in the history of our own Church and academic discipline. Nonetheless, these and other myriad scholarly reflections should not be perceived as an encumbrance on the theological enterprise, but rather an aide and gift to Catholic theological thinking. Insofar as Church and academy can holistically address the realities that facing racially and ethnically minoritized Catholics, we are able to theologize better. This unfolding honesty and proficiency is a gift to treasure and celebrate!

David Hollenbach's new book

David Hollenbach — Tue, 28 May 2024 15:03:08 GMT

David Hollenbach has published a new book: Human Rights in a Divided World: Catholicism as a Living Tradition. It offers a comprehensive analysis of the challenges to human rights, suggesting that today’s global realities call for important developments rooted in Catholic ethics. This work of theological social ethics draws on a range of disciplines to address the question of whether human rights remain valid as universal standards for action in a multicultural, religiously pluralistic, and economically unequal world. It applies the proposed understanding of human rights to debated issues of today, including religious freedom, the rights of refugees, economic rights in the face of significant inequality, and the rights of women. Human Rights in a Divided World offers a clear path forward for the church and for all who are working to advance human rights.

Available through Amazon.

Call for Presenters: Fr. Clarence Rivers Symposium November 22-24

Elizabeth Groppe — Tue, 14 May 2024 01:08:12 GMT

The Archdiocese of Cincinnati is pleased to announce the upcoming "Seeking for a City" Symposium on Fr. Clarence Rivers and “What We Have Seen and Heard" November 22-24 at the University of Dayton's Curran place.

In-person presenters are sought for the Symposium at University of Dayton who will:

Thoughtfully synthesize our two guiding themes of the event—the impact of “What We Have Seen and Heard” and the life and legacy of Fr. Rivers—from their areas of expertise such as theology, liturgy, music, history, art, literature, catechetics, etc.;
Engage Symposium participants in active learning and reflection on these themes (workshops or presentations are sought, rather than papers);
Craft and deliver an in-person presentation offering innovative perspectives and scholarship on these themes, demonstrating their continued relevance;
Be a present and active participant in all Symposium events (Friday-Sunday morning) as possible. (Funds will be provided for travel; see below.)

Please submit a 300-500 word proposal for an interactive Workshop or Breakout session of approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes in length, along with a 100-word biographical statement, via email to Emily Strand emilykcstrand@gmail.com and Dr. Cecilia Moore cmoore1@udayton.edu.

Resources: Access to Fr. Rivers’ written works can be made available upon request.

Funding: Those selected for Workshops or Breakout presentations will receive funds for travel, paid accommodations, airport transportation and travel to the Mass in Cincinnati, as well as a modest honorarium.

Key dates:

Deadline for submissions: Monday, July 1, 2024

Notification of selected presenters: by Monday, July 29, 2024

For more information visit: https://catholicaoc.org/offices/african-american-pastoral-ministries

Pope Francis Greets INSeCT

Linh Hoang, O.F.M. — Mon, 13 May 2024 14:25:16 GMT

Several representatives from INSeCT met with Pope Francis in early May. The following letter from Francis dated May 10 expounds his support for and encouragement of theology in our global society. His recognition of the important work of theologians is strong but that more work still needs to be done. He restated three points that theologians need to consider: a creative fidelity to tradition, a cross-disciplinary approach and collegiality. You can read more of his letter here: https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2024/may/documents/20240510-insect.html

The attention given to INSeCT by Pope Francis is a start of a fresh relationship between INSeCT and the Holy See. There will be another meeting with the Education Dicastery in December 2024. This will build on the current energy of INSeCT to engage and to strengthen its relationship with the Holy See.

Conference: Teresa of Avila and Peacemaking in a Nuclear Age July 15-18

Elizabeth Groppe — Mon, 13 May 2024 14:04:41 GMT

Teresa of Avila and Peacemaking in a Nuclear Age

How can a 16th century mystic help people in the 21st century in making peace? Inspired by the work of Vilma Seelaus, O.C.D. who believed that Teresa’s spirituality could be a resource for creating peace today, this four-day seminar explores this question through presentations on Teresa of Avila’s life, communal conversation on Teresa’s writing, time for contemplative prayer and ritual. Teresa walked a way of peacemaking amid the patriarchal oppression of her time and offers a way to embody peace for human transformation in the urgency our times.

Conference Registration Costs

Event Registration: $200 per person (covers meals and events July 15-18) [Click Here For Registration]

Campus Housing: $198 per person (covers room in campus residence hall for three nights, July 15-18)

Registration closes: July 1, 2024

In addition to campus housing, there are two hotels on the campus of Saint Mary's College — The Inn at Saint Mary's and the Hilton Garden Inn — conference attendees traveling from out of town can elect to stay at one of those hotels if they so choose. Reservations can be made directly through the hotel website and staff.

Conference Format

To take up Teresa’s wisdom we will engage in communal lectio divina. The presentations, time for prayer and group reflection are to enable contemporary appropriation of Teresa’s classic texts for being peace in our time. During these four days, we will meet in small groups to discuss these materials in greater depth, in a contemplative rhythm of personal and communal reflection.

We recommend participants engage with Teresa’s writings as well as the work of Sr. Vilma Seelaus, O.C.D. in advance of the gathering. Upon confirmation of registration, each participant will receive access to these materials in preparation for the seminar.

Book launch: Toward A Synodal Church in Africa, Friday, May 17th

Margaret Mary Moore — Sat, 11 May 2024 18:34:40 GMT

Dear friends, this is an invitation to a "book launch" via zoom on May 17th at 15:00 Rome time and 16:00 Nairobi time. Stan Chu Ilo is one of the editors . Partners in the launch are DePaul University, Universitat Wien and Orbis Books.

Meeting Link: www.shorturl.at/dtHVS

Meeting ID: 876 4141 8506; Passcode: 963127

For the official flyer, you can contact Fr. Joe Healey,MM: joehealey@jghealey.com or Fr. Ikenna Okafor: ugo_divine@yahoo.com.

DISTANCE LEARNING Programmes in Catholic Theology – new single module option for October 2024

Karen Kilby — Fri, 10 May 2024 12:46:44 GMT

The Distance Learning programmes in Catholic Theology, led by Durham University’s Centre for Catholic Studies (CCS) in the UK, are designed so that participants can work through material at their own pace, studying equally well in any time zone and in many different life situations, alongside work, ministry, family or caring obligations.

NEW for 2024-25: In addition to the Postgraduate Certificate, the Postgraduate Diploma, and the MA, students can now enrol for a single module. Students with a BA or BSc who have not studied Theology or a related discipline before, are now free to apply to enrol for the core module, ‘Catholic Theology: A Preliminary Tour’ and proceed to the MA following its successful completion. The single module is also a standalone option for Continual Professional Development and general interest.

Further details are available at Distance Learning - Durham University

The CCS are offering a Bursary Fund specifically to support students on these distance learning programmes. The deadline for applications has been extended to 7 July 2024.

If you have any questions about the Distance Learning programmes, please do not hesitate to contact theresa.phillips@durham.ac.uk

Please do share details of this opportunity to those looking to do further study.

Mary L. Collins, OSB - d. May 2, 2024

Fri, 10 May 2024 09:33:31 GMT

The CTSA remembers and prayers for member Mary L. Collins, OSB who died on May 2, 2024.

May Mary's soul and the souls
of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God,
rest in peace. Amen.

Read Sr. Mary Collin's Obituary

Resources for Beginning Theology Professors

Fri, 03 May 2024 14:18:46 GMT

Boxed and ready to go are sets of resources for beginning theology professors to plan their own courses in the following areas:

Introduction to Theology

Doctrine of God

Ecclesiology

Mariology

Christ and World Religions

Foundations of Spirituality

Each set includes:

Sample Syllabus

Required Readings (hard copies)

Recommended Readings (hard copies)

Reference articles

Actual Course Textbooks

I'm in touch with several institutions, so first come, first served. I ask that you let me know which resources you would like sent to you, your mailing address, and how you plan to cover the cost of the mailing. An offering for the resources is voluntary. I ask only that the postage be covered.

Carla Mae Streeter, OP
Emerita
Aquinas Institute of Theology
23 South Spring Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63108
streeter@slu.edu
314-249-4499

Member Publications with Paulist Press - New in 2024

Thu, 25 Apr 2024 16:05:00 GMT

Cristina L. H. Traina, Finitude, Feminism, and Flourishing: On Being Mortal Like Everyone Else, Paulist Press (March 2024).

New Orbis Titles from CTSA Members

Wed, 24 Apr 2024 12:40:43 GMT

Stephen B. Bevans, Community of Missionary Disciples: The Continuing Creation of the Church

Catherine Clifford with Stephen Lampe, eds. Vatican II at 60: Re-Energizing the Renewal

Mary Frohlich, The Heart at the Heart of the World: Re-visioning the Sacred Heart for the Ecozoic Era

Elizabeth Johnson, Come, Have Breakfast: Meditations on God and the Earth

Chris Pramuk and William Hart McNichols, All My Eyes See: The Artistic Vision of Fr. William Hart McNichols

Antonio D. Sison, editor: Deep Inculturation: Global Voices on Christian Faith and Indigenous Genius

Joseph A. Bracken, S.J. - d. 4/13/24

Thu, 18 Apr 2024 13:46:24 GMT

The CTSA prays for and remembers longstanding member Joseph A. Bracken, S.J.

Eternal rest grant unto Joseph, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May he rest in peace. Amen.

Fr. Bob Hurd, S.J., Xavier University, wrote to a CTSA member the following:

We just got word from our Jesuit infirmary near Milwaukee that our prime Jesuit theologian/philosopher/writer, Fr. Joe Bracken, died this morning. He was 94 years old.

Joe kept up his interest in Whitehead and “process philosophy” long after he retired from Xavier’s theology department and the Brueggeman Center and was a great inspiration for all of us somewhat younger Jesuits. He was also rector of the University Jesuit Community for many years and a great lover of racquetball and tennis.

You may also read about Fr. Bracken at the Jesuits Midwest website page, where he is quoted as saying "Being a Jesuit has been such a blessing in my life. It has allowed me to pursue an occupation that isn’t immediately profitable, but one which I believe has value through advancing knowledge as well as faith.”

Funeral is set for April 26 at the St. Camillus Jesuit Retirement Center in Milwaukee; burial of cremains at Mt. Olivet Cemetery.

Cross-Guild Synodal Dialogues: May 6th + 8th

Kristin Heyer — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 20:39:51 GMT

Dear CTSA Colleagues,

I am glad many of you (69) had the opportunity to participate in the two listening sessions the USCCB team held with theologians last month. I now write with an opportunity for wider dialogue with other theologians across North American guilds in light of the synod (room for up to 600 participants across two sessions). Nancy Pineda-Madrid and I have been meeting with our counterparts in other Catholic theological guilds across North America again this year, and together with them we invite your participation in one of two cross-guild synodal dialogues next month. These will not be occurring within the structures of the synod on synodality consultation, but participants will engage questions in small groups that revisit some of the guiding questions of the synod on synodality in light of our own "successes and distresses" of teaching and studying theology in the church today. Please register via the link below for the session you wish to attend:

Interguild Synodal Dialogue
Time: May 6, 2024 02:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
https://bccte.zoom.us/j/97119609180
Meeting ID: 971 1960 9180

Interguild Synod Dialogue II
Time: May 8, 2024 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
https://bccte.zoom.us/j/93136893002

Here are the participating guilds: Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States, Academy of Catholic Theology, Black Catholic Theological Symposium, Canadian Theological Society, College Theology Society, Fellowship of Catholic Scholars and CTSA.

Thanks for considering our invitation to dialogue.

Kristin Heyer, CTSA President 2023-2024

May 9th - May 10th: Symposium on the Church as 'Field Hospital'

Kevin P. Considine — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 15:19:28 GMT

“Synodality as Field Hospital” is the theme for the Second Annual Schreiter Institute Spring Symposium on a Praxis of Reconciliation. The global Church is entering into a culmination of a unique synodal process meant to renew global Catholicism and create a “listening Church”. The presenters and attendees at this symposium will explore together how this synodal process can help bring about Pope Francis’ image of the Church as an authentic “field hospital” that tends to the wounds of creation in global and local contexts.

This unique gathering will convene scholars, theologians, artists, and practitioners in a public conversation about the challenges and possibilities for renewing the Catholic Church into a Field Hospital, through the Synodal process, that authentically attends to the healing of trauma and moral injury in God’s creation.

MARIA CIMPERMAN, RSCJ, will provide the keynote presentation on May 9th. The final session on May 10th will be an opportunity for all presenters and attendees to participate in a synodal “Conversation in the Spirit”

The Symposium can be attended in person or on Zoom. To Register or to find out more information: https://ctu.edu/event/schreiter-institutes-spring-symposium-on-a-praxis-of-reconciliation-synodality-as-field-hospital/?

Fellowship Opportunity, Master's Degree Required

Caesar A. Montevecchio — Tue, 09 Apr 2024 16:33:36 GMT

A great student opportunity to work with the Vatican. Master's Degree required. Applications due April 22.

Preparing the Future Research Fellowship on the Vatican’s engagement on peace, development, human rights, and ecology

September 1, 2024, to July 31, 2025.

This fellowship provides an opportunity for a qualified candidate to contribute to the work of the Holy See on peace, development, human rights, and ecology.

The fellow will be a research associate of the University of Notre Dame’s Rome Global Gateway and do research either with the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development or Caritas Internationalis (CI).

This fellowship is co-sponsored by Notre Dame’s Rome Gateway and Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, and the Catholic Peacebuilding Network, with the generous support of Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities.

It is part of a wider effort to develop a new generation of lay women and men to serve the Catholic Church in its mission of transforming the social order in light of the Gospel.

For more information and to apply: https://jobs.nd.edu/postings/34187

"Is Peace Possible in a World of Violence" - Recording for CTSA Members

Tue, 09 Apr 2024 15:12:33 GMT

CTSA Spring 2024 Virtual Event - Recording now available.
"Is Peace Possible in a World of Violence?"
Monday, April 8, 2024

Moderator: Susan Reynolds, Candler School of Theology

Panel: Heather M. DuBois, Boston College
Lilian Ehidiamhen, Katholic University of Leuven
Eli McCarthy, Georgetown University

In light of the violent conflicts around the world, what resources might the Catholic theological tradition offer to conversations about peacebuilding? Our panelists will draw on their expertise in just peace, conflict transformation, trauma studies, and nonviolent communication to help the CTSA membership think together about the role of our work in the face of global conflict and violence.

Recording: Now posted within Members Resources (CTSA Home Page); see bullet "Recorded Event Videos". The link will navigate members to a website page where they may view recorded event videos. Note: Members will be required to login to access the website page.

The Heart of God: An Interdisciplinary Colloquium to Celebrate the 350th Anniversary of the Apparitions of the Sacred Heart

Father David Gentry-Akin, PhD, STD — Sun, 17 Mar 2024 09:32:48 GMT

Join us for an interdisciplinary scholarly colloquium organized by the Académie Cor Iesu in Paray-le-Monial, France, from Monday, June 23 – Saturday, June 28, 2025 to celebrate the 350th Anniversary of the Apparitions of the Sacred Heart.

Beginning on December 27, 1673, St Margaret Mary Alacoque, a cloistered nun of the Visitation Monastery in Paray-le-Monial, reported experiencing the extraordinary graces of mystical visions in which she believed that the Risen Lord revealed to her his Sacred Heart and commissioned her with making known his “heart which has loved humankind so much … as to be consumed in its desire to show them his love.”

Although images of the Sacred Heart and pious devotions have abounded within and without the Catholic world for the past three and a half centuries, very little attention has been paid either to the history, spirituality, or theology of the “heart” of God before the 17th century, how the image has been received and has impacted the subsequent Catholic tradition, how the image is understood and received in ecumenical and interreligious contexts, or even how the image has impacted and been understood in scientific or cultural circles.

We welcome to this colloquium scholars from all disciplines, the leaders of institutions or religious congregations with a legacy of devotion to the Sacred Heart, as well as formation personnel who may have an interest in revisiting the tradition of this devotion and seeking to find ways of articulating it in a contemporary idiom. Attendance may be active or passive, and, for those seeking active participation, we are seeking scholarly papers that relate to the following broad categories: “The Heart of God in the Biblical Tradition”; “The Heart of God in the Theological and Spiritual Tradition before and after the Apparitions in Paray-le-Monial”, “The Heart of God in Art, Literature, and Theatre”, “The Heart of God in Science and Health Care”, “The Heart of God in Other Christian Traditions”, and “The Heart of God in non-Christian Religious Traditions.”

The colloquium is limited to no more than thirty people. Space is limited as the town will be full for the closing celebrations for the anniversary year, so to secure your place please contact us for an application form. A non-refundable deposit of $400 will be required on or before June 15, 2024. If you are interested in presenting a paper, please submit a 500-word proposal no later than December 15, 2024.

The participation fee of $2,000 includes single accommodation at a local classic European-style hotel and all meals from dinner on Monday, June 23 through breakfast on Saturday, June 28. Meals will feature some of the great food and wine of the Burgundy region where Paray-le-Monial is located. Each day will feature the opportunity to participate in the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours. The days will also include guided visits to the sacred sites of the town by Dr Robert White and local experts. All other meals, flights and transportation costs to be organized and paid for by each participant.

Please contact the director of the colloquium, Dr. Robert White, at robert.white@coriesu.com for more information or to register. To learn more about the Académie Cor Iesu, please visit our website.

Time-Sensitive Synodoal Invitation

Kristin Heyer — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 22:24:19 GMT

The CTSA has been asked to send delegates to an upcoming Synodal conversation convened by an ad hoc USCCB sub-committee (Peter Casarella of Duke University, Kristin Colberg of St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN, and Alessandro Rovati of Belmont Abbey University). They have been tasked by the USCCB Synodal Coordinating Committee with producing a brief report that summarizes the reflections of theologians in the United States on the Synod’s Interim Stage. The point of the departure is the Synod’s Synthesis Report, which makes reference to selected theological topics throughout.

Like the listening sessions in which our members participated last May and June at the invitation of Bishop Daniel Flores, the committee has also invited members from other North American theological guilds and will be following the listening session model (no recording of the sessions). They note that "together with the responses of the canonists, these gleanings will be integrated into a final USCCB interim report in preparation for the next session of the Synod in Rome," and that "other larger groups working on more generic questions like Ecumenical Concerns, Participation, Vocations, and Social Justice are also following this model within the same, very limited time frame." The session will be held Monday March 11, 7-9 pm ET, and Bishop Flores, head of the Synodal Team at the USCCB, will join as a participant in the session. With their apologies for the last-minute nature of the invitation (they received the task quite late in the game and then initially recruited smaller numbers but now have space for more) they strongly encourage your participation. To do so, please fill out the registration form by Friday, March 8^th: (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScW1ZnJJe2HEuLtC4Wnlqp_nNPHjNSDKMMbxqkLxTeqdSxA9w/viewform).

Thank you for considering bringing your theological expertise to bear in this way at this important juncture in the life of our church.

Anthony Kelly RSsC, RIP

Francis X Clooney, SJ — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 17:19:37 GMT

Celebrated Australian theologian Anthony Kelly RSsC passed away on March 4, 2024. The author of over 20 books dealing with fundamental topics in systematic theology as well as sacraments, ethics and ecology, he also wrote poetry and hymns. He was President of Yarra Theological Union (1980-1985, 1994-1997) and of the Melbourne College of Divinity (1984-1985). He was member of the International Theological Committee from 2004-2014. His intelligence was matched by his humor and his humanity, and he left a lasting mark on theology in Australia and beyond. (I was privileged to know Tony, but this notice is posted on behalf of CTSA member Catherine Cornille, a longtime close friend of Tony)

James L. (Jake) Empereur, S.J. - d. 2/24/24

Tue, 05 Mar 2024 14:36:00 GMT

Longtime CTSA member James L. (Jake) Empereur, SJ, died in the early morning hours of February 24, 2024, at St. Camillus Jesuit Community, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. He was 90 years old. Jake taught and published in the fields of liturgical and sacramental theology and Christian spirituality at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley and Graduate Theological Union for twenty-four years and then ministered and taught in the Diocese of San Antonio for twenty-seven years, where he had an instrumental role in the restoration of the historic San Fernando Cathedral. His numerous publications included La Vida Sacra: Contemporary Hispanic Sacramental Theology (with Eduardo Fernandez); Spiritual Direction and the Gay Personality; The Liturgy That Does Justice (with Christopher Kiesling); Models of Liturgical Theology; and Worship: Exploring the Sacred. (Written by Bruce T. Morrill, S.J.)

May Jake's soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Two Seminars of Interest to Students and Postdocs

Fri, 01 Mar 2024 18:35:14 GMT

The Thirteenth-Century Debates on Human Freedom seminar will take place at Schloss St Emmeram, Regensburg, Germany, from Wednesday, July 3, to Sunday, July 7, 2024. Organized by Institutum Studiorum Dominicanorum from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland and Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome in partnership with the Thomistic Institute, this seminar explores the thought of 13th-century philosophers and theologians on the nature of human freedom. We are looking for applications from graduate students and postdocs of various disciplines who have a serious interest in medieval thought. More information.

The Thomistic Institute’s Graduate Colloquium on Contemporary Thomistic Christology will take place at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC, from July 29 - August 3, 2024. Our graduate colloquia provide emerging scholars from various Ph.D. programs the opportunity to meet and collaborate with fellow young scholars. Additionally, participants can benefit from the wisdom and guidance of senior scholars. We are looking for applications from current Ph.D. students in philosophy, theology, and related fields. More information.

The application deadline for both events is March 15, 2024. Please disregard the application deadline listed on the Regensburg poster and webpage.

University of Dayton: Campus Ministry Graduate Assistantship Opportunities

Elizabeth Groppe — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 20:19:18 GMT

The University of Dayton is accepting applications for our Campus Ministry Graduate Assistant program. Campus Ministry GAs serve undergraduate students by journeying with them to cultivate faith, foster spiritual growth, and form Christian leaders through spiritual mentoring and discipleship, leading small groups, facilitating retreats, planning worship, coordinating service and justice initiatives, and more. Each GA has a unique ministerial portfolio, is mentored by a seasoned campus minister, and engages in a holistic ministerial formation. Assistantship covers tuition for the MA in Theology or Pastoral Ministry, room and board for 2 years, and a stipend. Positions are filled on a rolling basis, beginning in February.

The Russia Question Hosts Terrence Tilley on March 1 @ noon EST

Wed, 21 Feb 2024 17:49:18 GMT

Join Michael Ossorgin on the Russian Question with renowned scholar and theologian Terrence Tilley to discuss his book The Karamazov Case: Dostoevsky’s Argument for His Vision. Tilley’s book uncovers the polyphonic novel’s hidden layers, revealing religious, philosophical, and social insights. Tilley’s book transcends traditional approaches, offering a deeper understanding of unity, hope, and sacramental themes.

Orthodox Christian Studies Center events are free and open to the public

See The Russia Question

Taking Responsibility: Spring Webinars

Sonia da Silva Monteiro — Mon, 19 Feb 2024 22:49:51 GMT

Fordham's ongoing TR project – "Taking Responsibility: Jesuit Educational Institutions Confront the Causes and Legacy of Clergy Sexual Abuse" – is sponsoring two webinars this spring.

We hope you will consider joining us for one or both. Details below.

Part I: Memorializing Clergy Sexual Abuse-- March 18, 12pm-1:30pm ET

An interdisciplinary conversation about ethics, means, and the meanings of public memorials related to clergy sexual abuse.

In this webinar, three scholars will explore questions about whether, when, and how communities can contend–together, as communities–with the history and memory of the Roman Catholic clergy sex abuse crisis. With expertise in trauma studies, liturgy, theology, and history, our panelists ask about the ethics, means, and meanings of various efforts to remember clergy sex abuse, as well as those who suffered and defied it.

Part II: Whose Stories Are They? Catholic Sex Abuse Records and the Issue of Transparency-- April 10, 4:30pm-6pm ET

Springing from a recent legal settlement that promised an Abuse Documents Archive in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, this webinar asks questions about the meanings, limits, and promise of “transparency” in the effort to understand and ameliorate the Catholic clergy abuse crisis.

What is to be learned, gained, and achieved in opening up the archives of Catholic sex abuse? What kind of healing follows from transparency, if any? Beyond respecting the wishes of survivors who prefer privacy, are there any other limitations to consider? What does transparency have to do with Catholic theology or with the practices and disciplines of Catholic experience?

Join us as four experts–an archivist, a canon lawyer, a survivors' attorney, and an historian–tackle these and related questions.

Free and open to the public. Registration is required.

For additional information, please contact takingresponsibility@fordham.edu

Co-sponsored by the Department of Theology, Fordham and the Curran Center for American Catholic Studies.

M. Theresa Moser - d. 2/9/24

Tue, 13 Feb 2024 14:55:42 GMT

The CTSA remembers and prays for longstanding member M. Theresa Moser, RSCJ, who died early this morning, Friday, February 9. Theresa served as the CTSA Secretary from 2004 - 2013, and as interim secretary in 2018.

Eternal rest grant unto Theresa, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon her.
May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Villanova: Graduate Resident Ministry Program - MA tuition scholarship, housing provided, and $12K stipend

Stephanie Wong — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 18:29:57 GMT

Villanova U. is again accepting applications for our Graduate Resident Ministry program. If you know of current seniors or recent alums who may be discerning a path in ministry, please consider suggesting it to them. It offers mentoring in a variety of ministry experiences partially tailored to the interests of each student while also providing full-tuition for a 48-credit M.A. in Ministry and Theology, room & board for 2 years, and a $12K/year living stipend. The deadline for priority consideration is February 1^st, but applications received in March and April will still be considered.

CTSA Proceedings Readership Data

B. Kevin Brown — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 19:08:59 GMT

Last year the CTSA Board recommended that, following the publication of this year's volume of the CTSA Proceedings, I begin to share with the CTSA membership some of the Proceedings readership data that I share with the Board in my semi-annual editor's reports. Please find readership data for November and December 2023 below. As a reminder, every volume of the CTSA Proceedings is available online at https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/ctsa/issue/archive.

Readership Data For November 2023

Total Article/Report Downloads: 14,085
Top Three Most Downloaded Articles/Reports:
- Regina Wolfe, "Bioethics and Healthcare" (Volume 57 [2002]) - 101 downloads
- William C. Spohn, "Jesus and Ethics" (Volume 49 [1994]) - 81downloads
- Emily Reimer-Barry, "Another Pro-Life Movement is Possible" (Volume 74 [2019]) - 78 downloads

Readership Data for December 2023

Total Article/Report Downloads: 8,131
Top Three Most Downloaded Articles/Reports:
- Michael J. Cantley, "The Biblical Doctrine of Original Sin" (Volume 22 [1967]) - 178 downloads
- Ellen Leonard, "Experience as a Source for Theology" (Volume 43 [1989]) - 160 downloads
- William C. Spohn, "Jesus and Ethics" (Volume 49 [1994]) - 121 downloads
- Myles M. Bourke, "Rudolph Bultmann's Demythologizing of the New Testament" (Volume 12 [1957]) - 121 downloads

Orbis Books - Member's New(er) Publications

Wed, 10 Jan 2024 16:57:27 GMT

John Sheveland, editor, Theology in a Post-Traumatic Church

https://orbisbooks.com/products/theology-in-a-post-traumatic-church?_pos=1&_sid=72f402fd5&_ss=r

Richard Gaillardetz, Ecclesiology for a Global Church: A People Called and Sent, revised edition

https://orbisbooks.com/products/9781608339952?_pos=1&_sid=0d3867a69&_ss=r

Ilia Delio, The Not-Yet God: Carl Jung, Teilhard de Chardin and the Relational Whole

https://orbisbooks.com/products/9781608339921?_pos=1&_sid=b59d139de&_ss=r

Daniel Horan, Engaging Thomas Merton: Spirituality, Justice, and Racism

https://orbisbooks.com/products/9781626985445?_pos=1&_sid=2f387ba6f&_ss=r

Rosemary Carbine, Nevertheless, We Persist: A Feminist Public Theology

https://orbisbooks.com/products/nevertheless-we-persist-a-feminist-public-theology?_pos=1&_sid=43b825489&_ss=r

Leo Guardado, Church as Sanctuary: Reconstructing Refuge in an Age of Forced Displacement

https://orbisbooks.com/products/9781626985407?_pos=1&_sid=a34e6a87e&_ss=r

Baltimore Meeting Invitation: American Meteorological Society Committee on Spirituality, Multifaith Outreach, and Science

(Past member) — Fri, 05 Jan 2024 19:26:25 GMT

On behalf of the American Meteorological Society Committee on Spirituality, Multifaith Outreach, and Science (COSMOS), you are invited to: Bridging Spirituality, Faith, and Science for Weather and Climate Resilience: A Community Gathering, February 1st from 11am-2pm ET at the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor, with lunch: https://annual.ametsoc.org/index.cfm/2024/program-events/networking-and-events/events/cosmos-community-gathering/. This is a free and in-person only event (you do not have to register for the Annual Meeting to attend).

Contact: Erin Lothes or

Carlos J. Martinez, PhD, organizer

AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow | National Science Foundation

carlosjaviermartinez.com

@carlonimbus

Boston College Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) "Toward a constitutively Synodal Church" - March 2024 - English, Spanish, Portuguese and four more languages - Free!

Hosffman Ospino — Thu, 04 Jan 2024 10:50:01 GMT

The Formación Continua team at Boston College School of Theology and Ministry extends an invitation to participate in the upcoming Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) Toward a Constitutively Synodal Church, which will take place during March 2024. You can register now! (follow the link above). The course is an effort to invite Catholics throughout the world to learn more about synodality and prepare more intentionally for the Second Session of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops this year.

The project is firmly supported by major Catholic networks and organizations, several conferences of Catholic bishops, and theologians working in various academic institutions worldwide. The course will be offered simultaneously in seven languages, without cost and asynchronously. The previous two MOOCs on synodality developed by this team engaged more than 100,000 people in all continents.

Instructors/Speakers include Card. Jean-Claude Hollerich SJ, Timothy Radcliffe, OP, Piero Coda, Arturo Sosa, SJ, James Keenan, SJ, Gilles Routhier, Rafael Luciani, Alphonse Borras, Nathalie Becquart, XMCJ, Catherine Clifford, Hosffman Ospino, Serena Noceti, Phyllis Zagano, Dario Vitali, César Kuzma, Maria Cimperman, RSCJ, Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator, SJ, Carlos Schickendantz, Myriam Wijlens, Agenor Brighenti, among several others.

For any questions about the course, please reach directly to Dr. Rafael Luciani (rafluciani@gmail.com), theological consultant for the Synod on Synodality. Share the information with others who may be interested.

NCR Celebrates the CTSA’s fossil fuel divestment success and challenges more Catholic institutions to follow

Julia Brumbaugh — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 20:40:54 GMT

In an article published today, CTSA divestment leaders Dan DiLeo and Erin Lothes share the story of the CTSA’s journey to work with the investment company Aperio Group, which specifically aligns with the bishops’ value screens and includes a robust fossil fuel screen. The article is a valuable resource for advocating to our institutions the need for urgent divestment action on this critical whole-life issue, and it shows that it is possible to align investment portfolios with Catholic moral priorities, with the critical issue of Climate Justice at the fore. Please consider scheduling a meeting with decision-makers at your institutions to share this great news and to consider similar divestment action.

The impetus for fossil fuel divestment originated as a grassroots effort by CTSA members. The ad hoc Fossil Fuel Divestment Review Committee led the charge to this success. Now reconstituted as the Climate Justice Committee, on which I serve, together with Dan DiLeo, Chair, and Matthew Shadle, we will continue support the integration of our shared theological work in service to our common home.

Catholic teaching and US bishops' investment guidelines demand divestment. CTSA shows how. | National Catholic Reporter (ncronline.org)

INSeCT Survey Extended Submission Deadline to January 10

Thu, 14 Dec 2023 16:42:34 GMT

The International Network of Societies for Catholic Theology (INSeCT) will be meeting in Rome in 2024. As preparation for their gathering, they are collecting insight and research activities of members from the respective societies. The current INSeCT research project theme is "Decolonizing Theologies, Decolonizing the World." Linh Hoang, OFM, is CTSA’s new representative to INSeCT. He welcomes feedback and information from our membership.

Please access the survey via the following link: https://forms.gle/raQJeb5BYBw4Qmg37 .

Your input is invaluable in shaping the comprehensive global presentation envision for INSeCT’s general assembly. The deadline for completing this survey has been extended to January 10, 2024.

Judith Herman Reading Group

Julia Feder — Tue, 12 Dec 2023 17:03:23 GMT

The Center for the Study of Spirituality at Saint Mary's College (Notre Dame, IN) is hosting an online, interdisciplinary reading group for scholars to discuss Judith Herman's Truth and Repair: How Trauma Survivors Envision Justice this spring semester. We will be meeting for three Fridays beginning on January 12th at 1pm EST.

If you are interested in participating, please complete this registration form. I will follow-up with more details in the new year. Please feel free to extend this invitation to interested colleagues as well as your doctoral students.

We are also delighted to announce that the Center will be hosting a live webinar with Prof. Herman on Friday, March 8th at 7pm EST. The webinar will offer attendees the opportunity to ask Prof. Herman questions about her research. You do not need to attend the reading group in order to attend the webinar, though we hope that you will join us for both.

Institute for Black Catholic Studies 2024

Kathleen Bellow — Thu, 07 Dec 2023 23:11:05 GMT

Announcing the Institute for Black Catholic Studies

Summer Session: June 30-July 2024.

Established in 1980, the IBCS is a school of pastoral theology and ministry that meets in the summer on the campus of Xavier University of Louisiana. During the three-week semester, students are immersed in Black Catholic studies supported by a rich community life of prayer, worship, and culture. The Institute offers two tracks: the ThM Degree Program and the Continuing Education and Enrichment (C&E) Programs. For more information, refer to the 2024 Brochure at file:///C:/Users/kdbellow/Downloads/2024-IBCS%20brochure%20(3).pdf, go to the IBCS website https://www.xula.edu/ibcs/ or call the Institute office at 504/520-7691.

Franciscan Studies Conference: The Franciscan Tradition: Retrieval and Innovation, 12-14 March 2024, Durham, UK

Karen Kilby — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 08:12:17 GMT

Durham University’s Centre for Catholic Studies, in partnership with the Franciscans Families of the UK and Ireland, are pleased to announce registration is now open for the forthcoming international conference:

The Franciscan Tradition: Retrieval and Innovation

The Second International Franciscan Studies Conference.

Tuesday 12 – Thursday 14 March 2024

Durham, UK

Confirmed speakers include:

Margaret Carney, OSF (St Bonaventure University)

Johannes Freyer, OFM (University of San Diego)

Mary Beth Ingham, CSJ (Loyola University Maryland)

John McCafferty (University College Dublin)

William Short, OFM (University of San Diego, and Collegium Sancti Bonaventurae, Rome)

Giuseppe Buffon, OFM (Pontifical Antonianum University)

The draft conference schedule, and registration details can be found at https://tinyurl.com/354528pr

The standard conference package including registration, refreshments, and conference meals is £190. (Reduced student package at £160.) Details of accommodation options are available on the website.

Registration closes on 18 February 2024.

Please direct any queries about this conference to Brian Casey – brian.j.casey@durham.ac.uk

Applications Open for Distance Learning Programmes in Catholic Theology for 2024-25, Durham University

Karen Kilby — Mon, 27 Nov 2023 12:19:41 GMT

The Distance Learning programmes in Catholic Theology, led by Durham University’s Centre for Catholic Studies (CCS) and world leading Department of Theology and Religion, are designed so that participants can work through material at their own pace, studying equally well in any time zone and in many different life situations, alongside work, ministry, family or caring obligations.

Students can now enrol for 2024-25 for a Postgraduate Certificate, a Postgraduate Diploma, or the full MA. The programme is suitable both for those who have studied Theology before and for those who have a background in a related discipline, including for instance History, English, Law, or Philosophy.

The CCS are pleased to be able to offer a Bursary Fund specifically to support students on these distance learning programmes in 2024-25.

Full details of the programme are available at: https://www.durham.ac.uk/study/courses/v8k807/

If you have any questions about these Distance Learning programmes, please do not hesitate to contact theresa.phillips@durham.ac.uk

CTSA Proceedings Readership Data

B. Kevin Brown — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 23:41:17 GMT

Last year the CTSA Board recommended that, following the publication of this year's volume of the CTSA Proceedings, I begin to share with the CTSA membership some of the Proceedings readership data that I share with the Board in my semi-annual editor's reports. Beginning this month, I'll be sharing monthly readership data periodically on the CTSA Newsfeed. As a reminder, every volume of the CTSA Proceedings is available online at https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/ctsa/issue/archive.

Readership Data For September 2023

Total Article/Report Downloads: 18,206
Top Three Most Downloaded Articles/Reports:
- Michael J. Cantley, "The Biblical Doctrine of Original Sin" (Volume 22 [1967]) - 217 downloads
- Ellen Leonard, "Experience as a Source for Theology" (Volume 43 [1989]) - 214 downloads
- Francine Cardman, "The Praxis of Ecclesiology: Learning from the Donatist Controversy" (Volume 54 [2000]) - 160 downloads

Readership Data For October2023

Total Article/Report Downloads: 14,845
Top Three Most Downloaded Articles/Reports:
- Ellen Leonard, "Experience as a Source for Theology" (Volume 43 [1989]) - 267 downloads
- Michael J. Cantley, "The Biblical Doctrine of Original Sin" (Volume 22 [1967]) - 207 downloads
- Charles E. Curran, "Masturbation and Objectively Grave Matter: An Exploratory Discussion" (Volume 21 [1966]) - 206 downloads

Just Employment LMU

Tracy Sayuki Tiemeier — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 20:41:46 GMT

Loyola Marymount University's faculty senate and the College Council of LMU's Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts have endorsed motions to support a Just Employment Policy. This is in response to a plea by LMU Solidarity/Solidaridad, an umbrella social justice group comprised of students, staff, and faculty, to adopt a just employment policy along the lines developed at Georgetown's Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. See the Just Employment Project. Additionally, members of LMU's non-tenure track faculty have just gone public with their union drive. CTSA members who would like to support these efforts can contact LMU's https://president.lmu.edu/contact/office of the president.

"Envisioning Theology with Many Centres/Centers" (Online Conference & Book Launch)

Mon, 13 Nov 2023 11:45:59 GMT

"Envisioning Theology with Many Centres/Centers" &
Book Launch of Beyond the Analogical Imagination:
The Theological and Cultural Vision of David Tracy

Monday, December 5, 2023
Online Conference: 7:00 - 10:00 (Chicago)
Book Launch 12:30 (Chicago)

Over three decades ago, the North American theologian David Tracy (bn 1939) described theology as a “conversation between many centers” in a time when “the Western center cannot hold” anymore.

All are invited to hear three young theologians and philosophers of religion – Simone Kotva (University of Oslo), Isabella Bruckner (Pontifical Athenaeum of Saint Anselm, Rome), and Yin-An Chen (Cambridge Centre for Christianity Worldwide) – introduce their own visions of theology in a world of many centres/centers.

The meeting will also explore critically some implications of David Tracy’s own theological and cultural vision on this question in conversation with contributors to Beyond the Analogical Imagination: The Theological and Cultural Vision of David Tracy (Cambridge University Press, 2023).

Compered by the editors of this newly published volume (Barnabas Palfrey and Andreas Telser), this event is digitally hosted by the Research Center “Religion and Transformation in Contemporary Society” at the University of Vienna, and co-sponsored by the Lumen Christi Institute, Chicago.

Click here to access details.

Live Stream Funeral Link / Richard R. Gaillardetz - d. 11/7/23

Tue, 07 Nov 2023 15:50:25 GMT

The CTSA prays and mourns beloved member Richard "Rick" Gaillardetz, CTSA President in 2013 - 2014) who died early this morning.

Eternal rest grant unto Rick, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

The CTSA's Proceedings includes Rick's work:

The Francis Moment: A "Kairos" for Catholic Ecclesiology (Presidential Address, 2014).

Investigations regarding "When the Magisterium Intervenes": Exercise of the Magisterium in Contemporary Social and Ecclesial Contexts (2011, R. Gaillardetz, Convener and Moderator)

Re-imagining the Ecclesial / Prophetic Vocation (2010) by Catherine E. Clifford and Richard R. Gaillardetz

When the Magisterium Interenes... ( 2010, R. Gaillardetz, Convener)

"When the Magisterium Intervenes...": Investigations regarding the exercise of the Magisterium in Contemporary Social and Ecclesial Contexts (2009, R. Gaillardetz, Convener)

Wake & Vigil: Wednesday, November 15, 4 - 8 p.m
Gormley Funeral Home
Wake 4 - 7:15 p.m.; Vigil Service 7:15 - 8 p.m.

Funeral: Thursday, November 16, 9:30 - 11 a.m.
Live Stream Link: https://youtube.com/live/RJErTgxAkyo?feature=share
St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Church
28 Commonwealth Ave., Chestnut Hill

Reception: 11:15 - 2 p.m.
Gasson Hall, 140 Commonwealth Ave.

Marian Fellowships

Neomi D. DeAnda — Tue, 17 Oct 2023 13:49:35 GMT

MARIAN FELLOWSHIPS
The Marian Library and the International Marian Research Institute (IMRI) at the University of Dayton are accepting applications for short-term fellowships to support research and artistic creation using the Marian Library’s collections and the expertise of the International Marian Research Institute. These fellowships, made possible by a generous gift from the Marianist Province of the United States and additional support from the Marian Library and the International Marian Research Institute, illustrate the continued partnership between the Marian Library and IMRI to promote scholarship in Marian theology and related topics.
Application deadline for Summer 2024 fellowships: Monday, Jan. 15, 2024
Questions may be addressed to MarianFellowships@udayton.edu.

Information may be found at the following links:
https://udayton.edu/artssciences/ctr/imri/fellows/index.php

https://udayton.edu/marianlibrary/fellowships/index.php

Call for Papers: 2024 Center for the Study of Consecrated Life Symposium

Kevin P. Considine — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 17:54:48 GMT

CALL FOR PAPERS

April 18-19, 2024

"Moving Along the Arc: Women and Men Religious as Agents of Reconciliation and Transformative Action Towards a More Racially Just Church and World"

Last year, together with The National Black Sisters’ Conference (NBSC), the Center for the Study of Consecrated Life (CSCL) at CTU began a conversation about the role of religious life in dismantling racial injustice. CSCL collaborated with the NBSC on a webinar series and have only begun to scratch the surface of these topics. Now, we want to hear from you!

The original sin of racism in the United States is surging and those in consecrated life have a critical role to play in systemic healing through their own growth in becoming more strongly promoters of justice, opposing anti-racism, and through enabling others to do so through their ministries, and through programs dedicated to reparations. We invite papers that explore the intersection of racial/ethnic identity, anti/racism, social justice and religious life. We welcome submissions from both men and women religious.

CTU is blessed with an extensive network of educational institutions, religious orders, institutes, and nonprofit organizations focused on religious life. By emboldening this network in racial justice and reconciliation through this symposium, we can make an even greater difference.

The symposium will take place at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago on April 18-19, 2024 with a keynote presentation from Fr. Bryan Massingale, STD of Fordham University.

For consideration, paper proposals must be submitted to cahanihu@ctu.edu no later than November 30, 2023 containing the following information:

Author(s) name(s) and contact information
Year of Ph.D. or graduate student status
Title and an abstract no longer than 300 words

Click Here to Submit

Questions? Contact Director Chioma Ahanihu at cahanihu@ctu.edu

ABOUT THE CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF CONSECRATED LIFE
The Center for the Study of Consecrated Life serves as a theological, academic, and pastoral resource for engaging contemporary issues and realities in consecrated life today from a global perspective. The goal of CSCL is to dynamically engage in research and dialogue, and to support events, publications, and other programming that engages with religious life.

Durham University’s Centre for Catholic Studies opens applications for Scholarships and Bursaries for 2024-25

Karen Kilby — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 13:33:26 GMT

The Centre for Catholic Studies (CCS) at Durham University (UK) has opened applications for its Scholarships and Bursaries in Catholic theology and Catholic studies for 2024/25. Applications are welcome from home and international students. Available awards include:

Up to FIVE Faithful Companions of Jesus (FCJ) Bicentenary Scholarships for full-time or part-time MA and PhD candidates in Catholic Theology or Catholic Studies. Each award includes full tuition fees (at the UK/Home rate) and a maintenance allowance of up to £17,000 per annum (pro rata).
ONE three-year Louis Lafosse PhD Scholarship funded by the Sisters of the Religious of Christian Education. The award included full tuition fees (at UK/Home rate) and an annual maintenance grant of up to £13,850 per annum (pro rata).

The closing date for applications for the FCJ and Louis Lafosse scholarships is Sunday 18 February 2024. New candidates for a postgraduate degree within the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University must also complete a standard DU application for postgraduate admission with all supporting documents by Sunday 28 January 2024.

Full details of all the awards available, including eligibility criteria and an application form, are available at Funding - Durham University

Any queries, please contact theresa.phillips@durham.ac.uk

WFTL invite to Zoom Webinar "Current Situation and Challenges for the Palestinian People and Palestinian Liberation Theology"

Mon, 09 Oct 2023 16:38:53 GMT

Brandon Haskel, Assistant Coordinator, WFTL Secretariat, invites CTSA members, on behalf of the World Forum on Theology and Liberation (WFTL), to join the WFTL for an upcoming webinar focused on a crucial topic of global significance.

Event Details

Webinar Title: "Current Situation and Challenges for the Palestinian People and Palestinian Liberation Theology"

Date and Time: November 4th, 2023, Saturday

Bethlehem Time: 17:00 to 19:00 (5:00 PM to 7:00 PM)

Montreal/New York Time: 11:00 to 13:00 (11:00 AM to 1:00 PM)

Platform: Zoom

The World Forum on Theology and Liberation serves as a platform for convergence, encounter, and exchange among theologians worldwide who are dedicated to the principle of liberation in personal, regional, and international contexts. We are committed to fostering discussions, debates, and publications that align with our thematic axes and principles.

Event Description: For decades, the Palestinian people have endured a journey of oppression amid an Israeli colonization project that has impacted all dimensions of life in Palestine. In the midst of this permanent and structural situation, what are the more urgent concerns for the Palestinian people at the current time? As the ways of resistance have also encompassed spirituality through the development of Palestinian liberation theologies, how can the Palestinian experience of oppression and resistance inspire other liberation theologies across the globe?

Panelists:

Mitri Raheb, PhD: A prominent figure in Palestinian theology, Mitri Raheb has made significant contributions to this field. His insights and publications, such as "Faith in the Face of Empire: The Bible through Palestinian Eyes" and "The Politics of Persecution: Middle Eastern Christianity in the Age of Empire," are highly regarded.
Varsen Aghabekian, PhD: An expert in right-based community practice, Varsen Aghabekian has been actively engaged in NGOs working on various critical issues related to Palestine. Her publications, including "Palestinian Christians: Emigration, Displacement and Diaspora" and "The Saga of Survival: Armenian Palestinians, the British Mandate and the Nakba," have provided valuable perspectives.

Registration: English-to-Spanish translation will be available during the webinar, ensuring accessibility to a wider audience. To ensure your participation in this webinar, please register before the 25th of October through the following link: Webinar Registration

Human Rights in the Emerging Catholic Church, October 8-14, Rome

Margaret Mary Moore — Sun, 08 Oct 2023 17:25:45 GMT

This is an invitation to join us in person or via zoom. You can visit:

www.spiritunbounded.org

www.rootandbranchsynod.org

www.we-are-church.org and many other organizations.

You will hear speakers from around the world along with Sr. Joan Chittister and Dr. Mary McAleese. This is a lay-led synod in solidarity with the Synod of Pope Francis. We invite everyone to join in!

ACCU Story on CTSA Fossil Fuel Divestment

Daniel R. DiLeo — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 00:06:07 GMT

The Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU) has marked the release of Laudate Deum with a newsletter story on CTSA's fossil fuel divestment. Before you read the story, please take a moment and recognize those who helped make this achievement possible, especially:

Erin Lothes Biviano, past chair of the ad hoc Fossil Fuel Divestment Review Committee (since re-named the Climate Justice Committee), who has led CTSA's divestment discernment since 2013.
Executive Director Mary Jane Ponyik.
President Kristin Heyer and past Presidents Francis Clooney and Christine Firer-Hinze.
Matthew Shadle and Julia Brumbaugh, current Committee members.
Nancy Rourke, past Committee member.
John O'Shaughnessy, CFO for the Franciscan Sisters of Mary.
Treasurer Patrick Flanagan.
Thomas Massaro, Gina Wenzel Wolfe, and John Carr, who together produced the 2017 Abbreviated Fossil Fuel Investment Report.

CTSA Goes “All In”

By Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities Staff

https://shorturl.at/iCFQ2

The Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA) may have a modest endowment compared to that of universities, but they recently went “all in” when it came to following the Pope Francis’ lead on attending to the world’s climate.

The largest association of Catholic theologians in the world, the CTSA noted that there was no shortage of vendors offering to invest their endowment of less than $1 million in ways that met various social justice criteria, but few that “allowed us to provide 100% fossil fuel exclusions,” explained Kristin E. Heyer, president of their board of directors.

In 2022, the CTSA committed to divest from fossil fuels in fidelity to Laudato Si’, the Pope’s 2015 encyclical on care for the natural environment. Subtitled “On Care for Our Common Home,” the encyclical emphasized God’s gift of the world for our use and God’s extraordinary trust of placing it our collective care.

That commitment led to an extensive search for a firm that would offer the fullest range of ways to assure that “CTSA budgets going forward will reflect our commitment to the biosphere, its diversity, health, and sustainability,” noted Rev. Patrick Flanagan, CM, CTSA treasurer. “We recognize that a budget is a moral document that reflects who we are called to be.”

We finally found a firm that “allowed us to maintain and go beyond our ethical investing status quo,” Heyer noted. “They will use USCCB exclusionary screens and provide customized shareholder engagement opportunities, Catholic values proxy voting, and broad asset diversification. Our new firm will also offer positive screening for Catholic values, and, most directly relevant to our committee’s charge, will provide fossil fuel exclusions to enable our divesting from the Carbon Underground 200.”

The Carbon Underground 200 is a list of publicly-traded companies considered to have the greatest negative impact from profiting on their coal, oil and gas reserves.

“100 percent of our invested funds are now subject to these investment standards,” said Flanagan. “I am so grateful to be part of a learned society like CTSA that is so faithful Pope Francis’ 2015 papal encyclical, Laudato Si’. It is an historic moment in the life of CTSA.”

That commitment is all the more prescient in light of the Pope’s newest apostolic exhortation, “Laudate Deum,” released on October 4th, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. The document calls even more strongly for immediate action in light of the quickly worsening climatic conditions and obvious effects on some of the world’s most vulnerable populations.

“What is being asked of us is nothing other than a certain responsibility for the legacy we will leave behind, once we pass from this world,” the Pope enjoins, and then pleads further. “In conscience, and with an eye to the children who will pay for the harm done by their actions, the question of meaning inevitably arises: ‘What is the meaning of my life? What is the meaning of my time on this earth? And what is the ultimate meaning of all my work and effort?’”

Breaking Boundaries in Theology in Conversation with Roger Haight

Wed, 04 Oct 2023 18:01:16 GMT

Breaking Boundaries in Theology
in Conversation with Roger Haight
(Online International Conference)
Nov. 30th - Dec. 2nd

The conference offers an introduction to key elements from Haight’s extensive theological oeuvre, built up over 50 years. On three consecutive afternoons (CET) Haight will present papers on “Foundational Issues” (Nov. 30), “Creation and Spirituality” (Dec. 1), and “Religious Pluralism & Liberating Christology” (Dec. 2). Each paper is followed by responses from international scholars with various religious backgrounds. Following these responses, there will be the opportunity for short online public discussion and thereupon breakout room discussion for students only.

Click here for further details

Fr. David Burrell, CSC, RIP

Nancy Pineda-Madrid — Tue, 03 Oct 2023 01:38:11 GMT

Dear Colleagues

I write to share with you the sad news that on Sunday morning, October 1, Fr. David Burrell, CSC, passed away. He was a long-time and illustrious CTSA member, receiving the John Courtney Murray award in 2009. He was former Chair of the Theology Department at the University of Notre Dame. The Funeral Mass will be at 3:30 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, October 4, 2023 at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Notre Dame, Ind. You may also join us via livestream at https://livestream.holycrossusa.org. May perpetual light shine upon him and may his memory be eternal.

His obituary can be found here.

May he rest in peace,

Nancy Pineda-Madrid

President Elect

Call for Papers: “Authority and Its Discontents” (Villanova Grad Student Conference)

Stephanie Wong — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 21:36:43 GMT

Call for Papers: “Authority and Its Discontents”

March 15-16

Villanova University

Hosted by Fides Quaerens (Villanova doctoral students in the Dept of Theology and Religious Studies and Dept. of Philosophy)

Deadline for Submission: December 20, 2023

Featuring a roundtable discussion with: Vincent Lloyd and TBD

Fides Quaerens, the interdisciplinary philosophy and theology graduate student working group at Villanova University, invites graduate students and early career scholars to submit proposals and papers on the theme of “Authority and Its Discontents” for a conference to be held at Villanova University on March 15-16, 2024.

Narrating how authority goes wrong is a critical task. For this conference we seek creative approaches to the concept of authority, reckoning with its failures in a variety of intellectual traditions. What models for thinking differently about authority exist within these traditions, and what models must still be invented? What are the impediments to clearer articulations of how authority functions in individual, intellectual, social, and political life, and how can these be addressed? What are the connections and disconnections between how authority is imagined in intellectual work and the frameworks of authority structuring society, such as ‘family,’ ‘police,’ or ‘church.’ What other creative approaches to the concept of authority are useful? Papers might also explore related topics such as influence, force, law, sovereignty, inspiration, transference, or others, incorporating philosophical, theological, political, or other critical disciplinary approaches.

We invite topics from, but not limited to, the following areas:

Political Philosophy

Social Philosophy

Continental Philosophy

Political Theology

Philosophical Theology

Systematic Theology

Christian Ethics

Biblical Theology

Historical Theology

Psychoanalytic Theory

Deconstruction

Critical Theory

We welcome papers at all stages of development and see this as an opportunity to workshop new ideas and papers in progress. Abstracts should be no longer than 300 words. Full paper submissions are welcome. Final papers should be suitable for a 20-minute presentation, around 3000 words, followed by 10 minutes of Q&A. Proposals should be submitted to Nathaniel Grimes at nathaniel.grimes@villanova.edu and

prepared for blind review. With your submission, please include a cover page with the

presenter’s name, institutional affiliation, and contact information.

Acceptance notifications will be sent out in January 2024.

If you have any questions, please contact Jennifer Wang at y.wang@villanova.edu.

Please check our PhilEvents page for updates: https://philevents.org/event/show/115106

Thanks for your responses!

Francis X Clooney, SJ — Mon, 25 Sep 2023 00:56:13 GMT

Good evening. Two weeks ago I requested, on behalf of the Centennial Committee, your responses to the Report on the June 9 evening session. I and the committee are very grateful for your response — thus far about 52 of you responded to us, almost 23,000 words. As I told the Committee at our meeting on September 22, your ideas are very interesting and timely, in part confirming what is in the Report and in part adding importance nuances. I was very taken also with the personal insights in your statements - based on 50 or more years in the Society, or just one or two years, or some length of membership years in between. We are thinking together on these issues, which is so very important. I would like very much to respond to each of you who did write, but I am a bit overwhelmed with it all at the moment, and have to let this note count for now. But let me assure you that the entire Committee has all your responses, and the Board will receive them too, and we are going to continue reading them. Finally, if you did not write, and would have time to write now, please do! I would love to receive another 50+. Peace, Frank (fclooney@hds.harvard.edu)

WFTL Webinar “The Current Situation and Challenges for the Palestinian People and Palestinian Liberation Theology” – November 4, 2023

Rufus Burnett, Jr. — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 23:37:19 GMT

The WFTL officially invites CTSA members to register for our Webinar “The Current Situation and Challenges for the Palestinian People and Palestinian Liberation Theology” – November 4, 2023

Registration and panelist information below:

https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fumontreal.zoom.us%2Fmeeting%2Fregister%2FtZIpc-mrrz0uEtDkuwcRrd5g1ADJg66odDYR%23%2Fregistration&data=05%7C01%7Cbrandon.haskel-martinez%40umontreal.ca%7C9ea917a6c2bc4263defe08dbba07baf4%7Cd27eefec2a474be7981e0f8977fa31d8%7C1%7C0%7C638308314615109309%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=XykljL8tRoENXIFiAmsVPwS5X3iW%2BOzj6k5tLZuqiNc%3D&reserved=0

On November 4, the WFTL will present a webinar entitled:

Current Situation and Challenges for the Palestinian People and Palestinian Liberation Theology, with 2 noted experts from Palestine:

Dr. Mitri Raheb, A prominent figure in Palestinian theology, is the first president of Dar-al-Kalima University, in Bethlehem. He served as the pastor of the Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem from 1987 until 2017. He was the President of the Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land from 2011-2016. Among his publications: Faith in the Face of Empire: The Bible through Palestinian Eyes (2014). The Politics of Persecution: Middle Eastern Christianity in the Age of Empire. (2021).
Varsen Aghabekian, an expert in right-based community practice, engaged in many NGOs working in policy development, on matters of Al-Quds/Jerusalem, education, youth, women and management. Among numerous positions, she was elected the Commissioner General for the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights in January 2016. Among her publications : Palestinian Christians: Emigration, Displacement and Diaspora (2017). Middle Eastern Women: The Intersection of Law, Culture and Religion (2020). The Saga of Survival: Armenian Palestinians, the British Mandate and the Nakba (2023)

This webinar’s objective is not only to learn from Palestine and Palestinian theology of liberation, but also to explore how to connect this Palestinian context with other decolonial, theological work across the world, as represented in the WFTL. Your participation is important. This event will be in English, with a Spanish translation. Don’t forget to register, by October 25!

https://umontreal.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIpc-mrrz0uEtDkuwcRrd5g1ADJg66odDYR#/registration

CFP - Veritatis Splendor Three Decades On: Its Legacy for Our Times

Alessandro Rovati — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 00:11:01 GMT

The Journal of Moral Theology invites submissions of papers on the topic of “Veritatis Splendor Three Decades On: Its Legacy for Our Times” for a special issue edited by Jana Bennett and Alessandro Rovati. The full CFP is available HERE.

The editors are interested in gathering contributions from scholars with different theological formations and diverse backgrounds who can reflect on the fruits of the encyclical’s theological proposal, address the tensions that it left standing, and extend or critique its logic in light of today’s debates.

Australian Catholic University: drastic cuts across the humanities, including in theology and philosophy

Karen Kilby — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 07:28:09 GMT

The Australian Catholic University is proposing extraordinarily dramatic cuts across the humanities, including to philosophy and theology. Details can be found in the following locations:

https://www.abc.net.au/religion/miles-pattenden-acu-lament-catholic-university/102856898

Australian Catholic University cuts humanities | Times Higher Education (THE)

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/14/australian-catholic-university-condemned-over-totally-indefensible-cuts-to-humanities-programs?fbclid=IwAR22MOqUocmNhcdy5NK9095y6LhwWKtstmP-E3OVd-7FmJYsfwmzTUiyHPc

ACU is currently in a two week consultation period about these changes. The relevant union encourages people to sign the following petition:

https://act.newmode.net/action/nteu/acu-senate-dont-make-staff-pay-acus-overspending

It is also possible to write to senate@acu.edu.au to express a view on these developments.

Communities of Color and Clergy Sexual Abuse, Sept. 12 NCR essay

Christine Firer Hinze — Sun, 17 Sep 2023 19:41:41 GMT

Very thankful for the work by many CTSA (and American Catholic Historical Association) colleagues represented in this new essay in the NCR on the impacts of clergy sexual abuse on communities of color in North America.

Christine Firer Hinze

CTSA Proceedings Published and Available for Order

B. Kevin Brown — Wed, 13 Sep 2023 16:51:07 GMT

As Kristin Heyer noted in her Presidential Letter earlier this week, Volume 77 of the Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America is now published and can be found here. If you would like to order a print edition of the this year's Proceedings--or any previous volume of the Proceedings--you may do so here.

Thank you to all of this year's contributors for their work to make this year's volume of the Proceedings a reality.

At the suggestion of the Board, I will be providing some data about the readership of the electronic version of the Proceedings periodically throughout the year. Those updates will be posted here, on the CTSA Newsfeed. If you have questions or comments about or suggestions for the Proceedings, please feel free to reach me at proceedings.ctsa@gmail.com.

Call for Content: Catholic Re-Visions Blog

Mary Kate Holman — Wed, 13 Sep 2023 16:18:48 GMT

The Catholic Re-Visions Blog, affiliated with the Political Theology Network, welcomes proposals for content that critically engages the Catholic tradition and Catholic-adjacent questions and movements using a variety of approaches, re-(en)visioning what Catholicism is, implies, and does.

Please share widely with your networks, as we hope to reach a wide range of scholars and activists both within and beyond the academy.

More information and details can be found here: https://politicaltheology.com/catholic-re-visions-call-for-content/

Proposals will be accepted through October 13, 2023.

"Human Rights in the Emerging Catholic Church", Oct. 2023, Rome & Bristol

Margaret Mary Moore — Fri, 08 Sep 2023 02:53:03 GMT

I invite you to visit www.SpiritUnbounded.org and register for this lay-led synodal assembly via zoom or in-person in October in solidarity with the official synod in Rome. Early-bird registration ends Sept. 15th. There will be speakers from all 5 continents. The 5 key themes are: Ministry, Authority, Ethics, Clerical Abuse and Justice for the Other. Sr. Joan Chittister and former president of Ireland, Mary McAleese are keynote speakers. In response to Frank's request for feedback re. the future of CTSA, this could be an opportunity for us to become involved in shaping the emerging Catholic Church.

Centennial Committee Report

Tue, 05 Sep 2023 15:17:45 GMT

Dear Colleagues,

Greetings. I hope you all had a good summer, and that the new academic year, if you are teaching, is off to a good start.

I am writing to you now in my capacity as Chair of the Centennial Committee, and in follow-up to the Friday evening discussion we had in Milwaukee, “What Is the Future of the CTSA?”

All eleven groups at evening session had note-takers, and based on their input, Craig Ford, Jr. very ably prepared the attached report, an overview followed by the individual group reports. The Centennial Committee discussed the Report at our August 25 meeting, and strongly agreed that it was time to share the Report with all CTSA members. (We also expressed our great gratitude to Craig for his superb work.) The Report is attached.

As the next stage in this ongoing conversation, we earnestly request your feedback on the Report — elements and ideas that stand out, or that you strongly agree or disagree with, plus any ideas or questions you think are important but do not find in the Report. We hope you can help us to identify and highlight key points that should occupy our attention this year.

Please send your comments by email to me, as Centennial Chair, and I will collect them and share then with the Centennial Committee. If you can share your input by September 20, that would be ideal, since the Committee meets again on September 22.

Thanks very much, and on behalf of the Committee,

Frank

Major Themes Arising from the June 9, 2023
Evening Discussion on the Future of the CTSA

Five-Part Zoom Panel Series - "Synodality at the Parish Level: A Time for Reform"

B. Kevin Brown — Thu, 31 Aug 2023 00:04:16 GMT

You are invited to participate in a Zoom panel series, “Synodality at the Parish Level: A Time for Reform,” leading up to this October’s meeting of the Synod on Synodality. The series will run on Monday evenings, 6:00-7:30 p.m. PDT, from September 11 until October 9. It is co-sponsored by the Theology and Religious Studies Department of the University of Portland, the Master of Art's in Theology and Leadership Program at Gonzaga University, the Theology and Religious Studies Department at Saint Martin’s University, the office of the Vice President for Mission Integration at Seattle University, the Oregon Synod Committee, and Sacred Liturgy Ministries. CTSA members Catherine Punslan-Manlimos, Ramon Luzarraga, SimonMary Asese Aihiokai, Kevin Brown, and David Turnbloom have partnered with lay leaders from the Archdioceses of Portland and Seattle to plan this series.
Register for the series at this link: https://uportland.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jikZ0CKHTomwlKWeJKUgRQ#/
More information about each of the panels (listed below) and recordings of the panels after they take place can be found here: https://college.up.edu/theology/events-and-lectures/synodality.html

September 11: What is the Synod on Synodality?

Most Rev. Joseph Jude Tyson, D.D., Bishop of the Diocese of Yakima
Dr. Maureen O'Connell, LaSalle University, Philadelphia, PA

September 18: Synodality: Opportunities for Lay Leadership at the Parish Level

Shonna Bartlett, St. Ann's Parish, Spokane, WA
Dr. Corinna Laughlin, St. Jame's Cathedral, Seattle, WA
Sandra Barros, Seattle, WA
Dr. Lynn Strand, Our Lady of the Lake, Portland, OR
Dr. Valerie Chapman, St. Andrew's Parish, Portland, OR

September 25: Synodality and Radical Belonging

Anasofia Gutierrez, alumna of Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA
Kate Tyschper Seddon, University of Portland, Portland, OR
Carolina Curran, St. Mary's Academy, Portland, OR
Fiona Mullen, Holy Names Academy, Seattle, WA
Angelo Neri Alfonso, Seattle University, Seattle, WA

October 2: Learning from Synodal Communities

Bishop Laurie Larson-Ceasar, Bishop of the Oregon Synod, ELCA
Sr. Angela Hoffman, OSB, Prioress at St. Placid Priory, Lacey, WA
Cyprian Concigilio, OSB Cam, Prior of New Camaldoli Hermitage in the Diocese of Monterey, CA
Nathan LeRud, Dean at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Portland, OR

October 9: The Future of Synodality: A Renewal of Communion

Sr. Donna Ciango, OP, D. Min., Chancellor Archdiocese of Newark
Dr. Victor Carmona, University of San Diego, San Diego, CA
Dr. SimonMary Asese Aihiokhai, University of Portland, Portland, OR

Petition for CTSA Interest Group: "Gun Cultures and Violence" -- Please Sign

Reid B. Locklin — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 20:14:59 GMT

Many of us have become accustomed to the culture of gun violence in the United States and the apparent inability of elected officials to offer a lasting solution to this national epidemic. With this in mind, we wish to invite the Catholic Theological Society of America to undertake a three-year study of the inherent causes of gun violence in the country, in order to educate ourselves and the broader society to envision and enact a world free from this violence. You can access a copy of the interest group proposal here. We ask you to consider adding your name to a petition in support of the interest group. We intend to submit the document and the signatories to the CTSA Board to get an approval for a three-year interest group on "Gun Cultures and Gun Violence."

To sign the petition, please follow this link: CTSA Interest Group Petition -- Gun Cultures and Gun Violence

News from the WFTL/CTSA Liaison

Rufus Burnett, Jr. — Fri, 25 Aug 2023 14:44:36 GMT

Hello Members and Friends,
My name is Rufus Burnett, Jr. and I currently serve as a member of the WFTL/CTSA liaison. I am here to update you on some of the developments with the World Forum on Theology and Liberation.

During our time together in Minowaking (Milwaukee) the WFTL International Committee met and decided to join the WSF (World Social Forum) in Kathmandu, Nepal. Soon after that meeting, the Secretariat was notified that the WSF organizers decided to move the forum up by one month. The new dates are the 15th through the 19th of February 2024. This latest date is the second of two changes from summer 2025 to March 2024 and now to February 2024. As detailed in the liaison’s annual report (available here), the WFTL is no longer relying on the WSF to dictate its primary work and is building bridges with and beyond the WSF. The CTSA liaison is one of those bridges.

Over the course of the remainder of this year and next year, I will be posting regularly to inform the CTSA membership of this new chapter in the history of the WFTL as well as details about our participation with in the WSF 2024. One highlight is the WFTL’s new partnership with Palestinian liberation theologians.

On October 28, 2023 the WFTL will host a webinar entitled: “The Current Situation and Challenges for the Palestinian people and Palestinian Liberation Theology.”

The webinar seeks to take up the following question and will feature the panelists below:
What are the more urgent concerns for the Palestinian people in the current time? How do these concerns challenge and enrich theological reflection on liberation?

Panelists:
• Mitri Raheb is a prominent figure in Palestinian theology. He founded and is the first president of Dar-al-Kalima University, in Bethlehem. Rev. Raheb served as the pastor of the Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem from 1987 until 2017. He was elected as the President of the Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land from 2011-2016. Among his publications: Bethlehem Besieged: Stories of Hope in Times of Trouble (2004). Augsburg Fortress Publishers. Faith in the Face of Empire: The Bible through Palestinian Eyes. (2014). The Politics of Persecution: Middle Eastern Christianity in the Age of Empire. (2021).
• Varsen Aghabekian, an expert in right-based community practice (RBCP), has been engaged in several NGOs engaged in policy development, on matters of Al-Quds/Jerusalem, education, youth, women and management. She holds a Ph.D. in Administrative & Policy Studies-Education from the University of Pittsburgh/USA (1988) and a M.Sc. in Nursing Management from Indiana University/Purdue University (1983). Among numerous positions, she served as Manager of Capacity and Institution Building at the office of the President (2006-2009) and as the Executive Director of Jerusalem Capital of Arab Culture in 2009. She also was elected the Commissioner General for the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights in January 2016. Among her publications : Palestinian Christians: Emigration, Displacement and Diaspora (2017). Middle Eastern Women: The Intersection of Law, Culture and Religion (2020). The Saga of Survival: Armenian Palestinians, the British Mandate and the Nakba (2023).

Stay tuned for more information on the webinar and a coming opportunity for CTSA members to meet the WFTL Secretariat, the primary coordinating group of the WFTL.

Best,

Rufus Burnett
WFTL Liaison

ReplyForward

Urgent: Please sign and share, UCA Nicaragua

Maria-Pilar Aquino — Tue, 22 Aug 2023 21:16:34 GMT

On August 17, a judicial ruling by a court controlled by Nicaragua’s executive branch paved the way for the government’s definitive closure of the Universidad Centroamericana, administered by the Jesuits. In the preceding days, the government had frozen the university's bank accounts and assets, and suspended operation of its legal aid clinic and mediation center. Please see:, sign and share:

https://forms.gle/StjKw3JYJuVWBW31A

Book Club - Reading J. McGreevy's Catholicism: A Global History from the French Revolution to Pope Francis

Wed, 16 Aug 2023 14:10:35 GMT

The CTSA Book Club invites you to join them when they next meet on Wednesday, September 20th, at 7:00 p.m. (EST) / 4:00 p.m. (PST) to discuss John T. McGreevy's book Catholicism: A Global History from the French Revolution to Pope Francis. For the meeting, please read Part 1 "Revolution and Revival, 1789-18870", which includes chapters 1 - 4; there are a total of 105 pages to read. As you read, consider what you would like the group to discuss and prepare an engaging question to ask the group when we meet.

If you are able to join us, email Mary Jane Ponyik so she may be sure to provide you with the Zoom link when it is sent out to the group.

Happy reading and mark your calendars!

Teaching Tool: Faith, Feminism, and Being Unfinished: The Question of Women's Ordination

Annie Selak — Tue, 18 Jul 2023 17:06:28 GMT

The Georgetown University Women's Center is happy to share a recording of "Faith, Feminism, and Being Unfinished: The Question of Women's Ordination." This video features a panel of feminist theologians, ministers, thought leaders, and students discussing women's ministry in the Roman Catholic Church. CTSA members Teresa Delgado, Mary E. Hunt, and Annie Selak participated. The video and accompanying news articles can be found on the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs's website. We encourage CTSA members to use this as a teaching tool in the classroom and parish.

In a sequel to the first "Faith, Feminism, and Being Unfinished" event in 2018, the Georgetown University community gathered on DC Emancipation Day to explore the writings of moral theologian and CTSA member Anne E. Patrick, SNJM (1941-2016). A panel of theologians and thought-leaders discussed her 1975 essay “A Conservative Case for the Ordination of Women.” The conversation was in part a response to the October 2022 release of the Vatican synod document “Enlarge the Space of Your Tent,” which reflects a global call for inclusivity, including expanded roles for women in the church.

Terry Tilley's "The Karamazov Case: Dostoevsky's Argument for His Vision"

Fri, 07 Jul 2023 10:34:26 GMT

Terry Tilley has recently published The Karamazov Case: Dostoevsky's Argument for His Vision, Explorations at the Crossroads of Theology & Aesthetics, Volume I (London and New York: T. + T. Clark, 2023). Caryl Emerson, emerita from Princeton (translator of Mikhail Bakhtin, Problems of Dostoevsky’s Poetics) endorsed the book, writing, “It takes courage, delicacy, and extremely careful habits of reading to determine what Dostoevsky desired his readers to believe. Terrence Tilley brings those qualities to this sophisticated discussion of The Brothers Karamazov as a polyphonic faith text, neither dogmatic nor naïve but reasonable, communal and (as its author envisioned) transfigurative. For a limited "free" preview including the introduction that sketches the argument, see

https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=SYWwEAAAQBAJ&pg=GBS.PP1&source=ebookstore

Beyond Bakhtin, Terry utilizes Stanley Fish and John Searle as hermeneutical guides for breaking a long-standing stalemate about the argument (or lack thereof) in the book, an impasse rooted in a modernist, essentialist opposition of faith and reason; in contrast, he has identified a previously unseen argument with Kant and identify at least six different mentalités or forms of life described in the text.

CFP - Open Theology "Doubting Paul: The Legacy of the Dutch Radical School"

Thu, 29 Jun 2023 17:43:40 GMT

CALL FOR PAPERS

for a topical issue of Open Theology

DOUBTING PAUL: THE LEGACY OF THE DUTCH RADICAL SCHOOL

"Open Theology” (https://www.degruyter.com/opth) invites submissions for the topical issue "Doubting Paul: The Legacy of the Dutch Radical School" edited by Wolfgang Grünstäudl and Jacco Pekelder (University of Münster, Germany).

DESCRIPTION

This topical issue seeks to open a new perspective on one of the most controversial themes of New Testament Studies in Modern Europe: The rise and decline of the so-called “Dutch Radical School” (ca. 1850–1950). Unlike the mainstream of New Testament studies from the middle of the 19th century onwards, which recognized at least four (more often: seven) Epistles of the Apostle Paul as authentic, a small group of Dutch scholars (stemming from different cities, religious backgrounds and academic disciplines) claimed that there is no such thing as an authentic writing of Paul.

We are especially interested in the biographical, historical, political, social and religious background of these “radical” scholars, in their connections and conflicts with each other and in their national and international linkages and reception. In our view, this group consists of members with highly different profiles and we even wonder if it is justified and helpful to call it a “school”. Moreover, we are eager to learn which aspects of these scholars’ work might be of ongoing relevance for present historical and/or theological discussions.

We invite researchers to submit papers that contribute to the reflection about the history and legacy of the Dutch Radical School, especially in regard of its contribution to the intellectual history of the Netherlands as well as its place in the history of scholarship on Paul and his letters. Please note that the thematical issue is mainly interested in the treatment of Paul and his letters by the Dutch Radical School and not so much in questions surrounding the historicity of Jesus, although it will not be possible to clearly separate these two issues from one another in each and every case. Especially welcomed are papers that

study the biographical, historical, political, social and religious background of scholars associated with the Dutch Radical School (e.g., A. Pierson, A. D. Loman, W. C. van Manen, G. A. van den Bergh van Eysinga),
analyze connections and conflicts between those scholars (Is it helpful to speak of a “school”?),
utilize fresh approaches not yet used to analyze this topic (e.g., network analysis, cultural anthropology, sociology of knowledge, history from below),
identify and describe international relationships of Dutch Radicals inside and outside of Europe,
demonstrate the place of the Dutch Radical School within the broader context of the intellectual and religious history of the Netherlands, and
evaluate critically the historical, literary and exegetical arguments put forward by the Dutch Radical School in light of most recent research on Paul and Early Christianity.

Because "Open Theology" is published under an Open Access model, as a rule, publication costs should be covered by Article Publishing Charges (APC), paid by authors, their affiliated institutions, funders or sponsors. Authors without access to publishing funds are encouraged to discuss potential discounts or waivers with Managing Editor of the journal Katarzyna Tempczyk (katarzyna.tempczyk@degruyter.com) before submitting their manuscripts.

HOW TO SUBMIT

Submissions will be collected until January 31, 2024, via the on-line submission system at

http://www.editorialmanager.com/openth/

Choose as article type: Doubting Paul

Before submission the authors should carefully read the Instruction for Authors, available at:

https://www.degruyter.com/publication/journal_key/OPTH/downloadAsset/OPTH_Instruction%20for%20Authors.pdf

All contributions will undergo critical peer-review before being accepted for publication.

Further questions about content for this thematic issue can be addressed to Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Grünstäudl (gruenstaeudl@uni-muenster.de) and Prof. Dr. Jacco Pekelder (jacco.pekelder@uni-muenster.de). Financial questions should be directed to journal Managing Editor Katarzyna Tempczyk at katarzyna.tempczyk@degruyter.com. In case of technical problems with submission please write to AssistantManagingEditor@degruyter.com.

Graduate Student Opportunity - Mother Teresa Institute Academic Colloquium

Thu, 29 Jun 2023 17:04:06 GMT

Mother Teresa Institute Academic Colloquim
September 7-9 at The Catholic University of America

The Mother Teresa Institute is an outgrowth of the work and activities of the Mother Teresa Center, a non-profit organization established and directed by the religious family founded by Mother Teresa of Calcutta, the Missionaries of Charity. The mission of the MTI is to preserve, protect, promote, and develop the authentic legacy of Saint Teresa of Calcutta to the Church and to the world by providing resources to students, scholars and researchers who are interested in Mother Teresa, her life, charism and message.

As we advance the establishment of the MTI, we are seeking to engage with scholars who can help direct the future of Mother Teresa studies, particularly graduate students. We are delighted to invite applications from qualified candidates to share their perspective and insights studies at the MTI Colloquium on September 8, 2023, held at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

A maximum travel reimbursement of $200 will be offered to accepted students traveling a minimum of 50 miles from their institution.

To be considered, please submit your (1) completed application, (2) current curriculum vitae, and (3) one academic letter of reference to director@mtinstitute.org.

The deadline for submission is August 1, 2023.

Application

NCR "Anxiety at annual Catholic theology meetings amid higher education closure"

Wed, 21 Jun 2023 21:16:47 GMT

Heidi Schlumpf, Anxiety at annual Catholic theology meetings amid higher education closure, National Catholic Reporter, June 21, 2023.

Aquinas After 750 Years: Still the Common Doctor?

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 22:15:18 GMT

Aquinas After 750 Years: Still the Common Doctor?
September 14 - 16, 2023
Dominican House of Studies / Washington, D.C.

Registration: $65 (limited housing is available at an additional cost)

This conference is hosted by the Thomistic Institute, an academic research institute of the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies. Planned in commemoration of the 750th anniversary of Aquinas’s death, this three-day international conference will consider whether – and to what extent – Thomas Aquinas might still be considered the Common Doctor in contemporary theological and philosophical engagements.

The conference will feature 6 plenary speakers (see below) and a series of scholarly panels.

For more information and to register for the conference, please visit https://thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events/common-doctor.

Questions? Email thomisticinstitute@dhs.edu or call (202) 495-3871.

Plenary Speakers:

Prof. Therese Cory (University of Notre Dame)

Fr. Serge-Thomas Bonino, O.P. (Angelicum)

Prof. Joseph Wawrykow (University of Notre Dame)

Prof. Matthew Levering (University of St. Mary of the Lake)

Fr. Thomas Joseph White, O.P. (Angelicum)

Prof. Russell Hittinger (Catholic University of America)

America Magazine - Jesuit Roger Haight's Lifetime of Theological Achievement

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 13:40:41 GMT

James T. Keane, America Magazine, published "Jesuit Roger Haight's lifetime of theological achievement" yesterday, June 13, 2023. The link to the article is provided below.

https://www.americamagazine.org/arts-culture/2023/06/13/cbc-column-roger-haight-245477

Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe has a message for Catholic Theologians at CTSA

Ruben Habito — Wed, 14 Jun 2023 03:50:05 GMT

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

During our recent Annual Convention in Milwaukee last weekend, I was invited to listen to a talk given by Archbishop John Wester, of Santa Fe, to the contemplative practice community at Mountain Cloud Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Archbishop Wester spoke about the grave threat to our global community posed by our nuclear armament stockpiles, especially in the light of the heightening tensions between Russia, China, and the Western powers who are in possession of nuclear arms. He addressed me personally, as i had told him that i was attending our annual convention of Catholic theologians in Milwaukee, 400 strong, with open hearts and open minds, and he requested me to relay this message:

"Please consider, as among your tasks in theological reflection and education, calling attention to the current situation of our global community under threat of a cataclysmic disaster that can wipe out our lives and our entire future, should a nuclear war were to ensue. Please take steps to alert our fellow global citizens to the urgency of our task of putting a stop to this foolhardy way of conducting ourselves."

He reminds us that Pope Francis himself has taken this up as an urgent issue, warning of an "increasing risk of a nuclear conflagration," and condemning the very possession of nuclear weapons, calling on all of us to move toward a nuclear-free world. https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2017-12/news/pope-condemns-having-nuclear-weapons

Archbishop Wester has issued a Pastoral Letter to this effect, which may be accessed through this link: https://archdiosf.org/living-in-the-light-of-christs-peace

With warmest wishes, and with untold gratitude to all for the many gifts received during our recent gathering in Milwaukee,

Sincerely,

Ruben

(Ruben L.F. Habito, Perkins School of Theology, SMU, Dallas, Texas)

CTSA - New Summer Books by Members

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 20:33:02 GMT

Levand, Mark. Inclusion and Sexuality in Catholic Higher Education: Possibilities for Institutional Change (Routledge, June 2023).

Merkle, Judith. Sensing the Spirit: Toward the Future of Religious Life (Bloomsbury, June 2023).

NCR Highlights the CTSA 2023 Convention

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 19:31:06 GMT

Today, Tuesday, June 13, Heidi Schlumpf's coverage of the CTSA's 2023 convention highlights the conferment of the John Courtney Murray Award to Roger Haight, Susan Bigelow Reynolds as the recipient of the 2023 Catherine Mowry LaCugna Award. And Cecilia González-Andrieu as the recipient of the 2023 Ann O'Hara Graff Award. Heidi's articles are posted online at:

https://www.ncronline.org/news/theologian-roger-haight-honored-ctsas-john-courtney-murray-award

and

https://www.ncronline.org/news/gonz-lez-andrieu-honored-scholarship-mentoring-undocumented-students

Festschrift for Francis X. Clooney, SJ

Axel Marc Oaks Takacs — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 21:02:44 GMT

Greetings--

This morning at the Comparative Theology Reading group, the current president of the CTSA, Francis X. Clooney, SJ, was surprised with the announcement that a Festschrift in his honor will be published this November.

Co-editors Axel Takacs and Joseph Kimmel have worked with 44 contributors over the past two years on an edited volume in Frank's honor. It will be published with Wiley-Blackwell and available at the AAR this year.

You can learn more about the volume and peruse the table of contents in this promotional flyer. Here is an image of Frank with co-editors. Finally, here is a PDF of some pictures of Frank throughout the years.

The volume contains an introduction, preface, and 44 contributions; it comes in at around 750 pages.

The following is a summary of our celebratory words this morning:

Back in July of 2021, we began conversations about preparing a festschrift to honor the Rev. Dr. Francis Xavier Clooney, Societas Iesu–-better known among his colleagues and friends as Frank. Axel had always had in mind to honor his doctoral advisor, academic mentor, and, arguably, matchmaker for him and his spouse, but he had not yet put aside time to do so. Then, he received an unexpected email from Joe.

In Joe's personal growth as an Episcopal priest and scholar, Frank has played a crucial role: from serving as his MDiv advisor at Harvard Divinity School to helping guide his doctoral exams and recent dissertation, and even more importantly by serving as a mentor and model in his bi-vocational discernment towards both the priesthood and the academy.

Two summers ago, as Joe was reflecting on Frank’s critical role in my formation and his seminal impact upon dozens of other scholars, he thought that if anyone is deserving of a Festschrift, that person is surely Frank. So he began searching around to see if any such Festschrifts were in the works. Finding none, he sent an email to Axel to ask if he might be interested in co-editing a Festschrift for Frank.

We need not review in detail the impact of Frank’s academic career on the disciplines of theology, the study of religion, and South Asian studies. He has mentored dozens of doctoral candidates between his time at Boston College and Harvard Divinity School, and even more masters students. His vision of comparative theology has formed countless scholars and insinuated its way into the American Academy of Religion, Catholic Theological Society of America, the College Theology Society, and various departments of theology and religious studies across North America, Europe, and beyond. While his scholarship alone is worthy of a festschrift, his role as mentor equals, if not surpasses the significance of his scholarship. As one contributor to the volume reminded us in an email, “[Frank] goes out of his way to include younger scholars, to ask them their opinion, to listen to them, to amplify their voices and ideas, and to make sure they are heard by others. He is generous and hospitable and humble in that regard.”

Beyond scholar and mentor, he is likewise an educator–-staying true to a method of teaching in line with his method of research: slow reading, contemplative engagement with texts, and discussion that brings the text in conversation with personal experiences in an informed, intellectually critical and creative way. And, let us not forget that he is a priest to a Catholic community in Sharon, Massachusetts, a commentator on contemporary events regarding the Catholic Church and interreligious dialogue and theology, and more. I believe he has also celebrated the marriage of not a few of his students, including Axel's.

Finally, this is an opportune moment to celebrate the fact that this year marks exactly 50 years since his Jesuit regency in Kathmandu, where, in 1973, he taught English at St. Xavier’s High School.

To tell a very long story briefly, after some initial conversations with different publishers, Axel and Joe had the good fortune of connecting with an outstanding publishing team at Wiley-Blackwell. We also were very pleased, though not surprised, to find that dozens of people wanted to participate in Frank’s Festschrift. We sent out several rounds of invitations and still there were more scholars asking to contribute, in order to honor Frank’s impact upon their lives and careers. These scholars range from long-time tenured professors to advanced doctoral students. Presently, in terms of raw data, Frank’s Festschrift runs to about 750 pages, featuring 44 chapters divided into seven major sections, from “Theories & Methods in Comparative Theology” to “Comparative Theology and the Society of Jesus” to “The Past, Present, and Future of Comparative Theology.” Currently, this Festschrift is in the final stages of publication and will be available this coming fall.

The Festschrift volume will be complete before the AAR this year in San Antonio. We will have copies with us, as will Wiley-Blackwell, at the AAR. We plan on organizing an additional celebration and official, how should we say, conferral of the Festschrift to Frank at that time. We are still in the planning stages, but please stay tuned for more information.

Please, join us in celebrating Frank's contribution to the the academy--theological studies, the study of religion, South Asian Studies, and more.

Axel Takacs
Joseph Kimmel

Santa Clara Memorial for Denise Carmody (d. 3.15.23)

Mary Ann Hinsdale, IHM — Fri, 02 Jun 2023 13:56:27 GMT

The Provost at Santa Clara shared this link to the Livestream Memorial for Denise Carmody on June 3, 2023:

https://santaclarauniversity.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=9852516a-f75e-4326-936f-aff9010ef2d3

Delores Rose Rashford d - March 8, 2022

Fri, 02 Jun 2023 09:46:04 GMT

The CTSA prays and remembers Delores Rose Rashford who died on March 8, 2022.

Obituary

Sr. Agnes Cunningham, SSCM (First Female CTSA President) Professed for 80 Years

Tue, 30 May 2023 17:36:41 GMT

Congratulations to Sr. Agnes Cunningham, SSCM - 80 years professed!

Sr. Agnes Cunningham served the CTSA as the first female in 1977 - 78. On May 26, Sr. Agnes celebrated her 100th birthday and she also celebrates being professed 80 years this year.

The Catholic Post e-printed the following article in the Jubilee section of their May 2023 e-edition (see The Catholic Post, p. B9).

Sister Agnes Cunningham, SSCM, 80 Years, "36 women religious observing milestone anniversaries: Two are professed for 80 years", The Catholic Post e-edition, (May 2023) p. B9, accessed on May 30, 2023 at <<https://www.thecatholicpostnewspaper.com/Catholic-Post-05282023-e-Edition/B9/>>.

Women Religious Theologians Invitation to Sisters to meet in Rome 2024

Tue, 30 May 2023 09:17:38 GMT

Online Application Form

Note: The link below is not active. Please use the "Online Application
Form" button above to apply.

Donald Buggert, O.Carm. d- 5/23/23

Fri, 26 May 2023 21:57:37 GMT

The CTSA remembers and prays for Donald Buggert, O.Carm., who died on May 23, 2023.

Eternal rest grant unto Donald, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of the faithful departed
through the Mercy of God, rest in peace.

Funeral is scheduled for May 31, at 7:00 p.m. via the Carmelites' YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhxDopt6hjQ

The photo and funeral information was obtained online on YouTube "Carmelites" <<accessed 5/26/23 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhxDopt6hjQ>>.

“Laudato Si’ and the U.S. Catholic Church: A Conference Series on Our Common Home”

Daniel R. DiLeo — Tue, 23 May 2023 16:57:14 GMT

“Laudato Si’ and the U.S. Catholic Church: A Conference Series on Our Common Home” is a biennial series to equip and inspire Catholics to more deeply integrate Laudato Si’ and its climate change teaching into the U.S. Church. The series is co-sponsored by Creighton University and Catholic Climate Covenant.

The 2023 convening will be virtual and open on June 14 with a keynote address from Ms. Christiana Figueres, former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) who brokered the Paris Agreement.

Throughout June and July, the series will host virtual 90-minute sessions on the goals of the Vatican's Laudato Si' Action Platform. Each session will feature a scholar who describes the goal, a practitioner who outlines their work to achieve the goal, and a moderated Q&A. Register here.

Msgr. Bernard O. McGarty - d. 5/8/23

Tue, 23 May 2023 13:48:07 GMT

The CTSA prays for and remembers longstanding member Msgr. Bernard O. McGarty who died on May 8, 2023.

Eternal rest grant unto Bernard, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of the faithful departed
through the Mercy of God, rest in peace.

Obituary

*Photo and Obituary accessed on 5/23/23 at Blaschke & Schneider Funeral Homes <<https://www.blaschkeschneider.com/obituaries/rev-bernard-mcgarty>>

Catholic Indigenous Boarding School list is published online

Margaret Mary Moore — Thu, 18 May 2023 00:38:14 GMT

Dear friends,

Please visit our website: ahprojectusa.org which is the official website for the U.S. Catholic Indigenous Boarding School Accountability and Healing Project. Our Archives subcommittee has recently published the official results of their list of the Catholic Indigenous Boarding Schools. There were over 400 US boarding schools of which the Catholic Church ran 87 of them in 22 states. They have done extraordinary volunteer and professional research as a gift to work towards accountability and healing for the US Indigenous Community and for the whole Church.

You can click on "Resources" on our website to find several pages of Catholic, secular and international websites that I compiled to help people get in touch with relevant Indigenous organizations and media outlets. Our email is: ahprojectusa@gmail.com.

Our Archives Subcommittee also has their own website with more in- depth reporting: www.ctah.archivistsacwr.org. You can contact them directly: CatholicTruthandHealing@gmailcom.

Sincerely, Margaret Mary Moore, vice-president, U.S. Catholic Indigenous Boarding School Accountability and Healing Project.

MMMoore@compuserve.com

Villanova University Graduates First Theology PhD Cohort

Stephanie Wong — Wed, 17 May 2023 21:40:35 GMT

https://www1.villanova.edu/university/liberal-arts-sciences/graduate-studies/news-events/2023/0516.html

On Saturday, May 20, 2023, the three inaugural graduates of the Villanova University doctoral program in Theology will gather on stage at the Master's and Doctoral Degree Commencement and Recognition Ceremony inside Villanova Stadium. University President the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, PhD, ’75 CLAS, will bestow upon them their academic hoods—a symbolic act recognizing their successful completion of the program and their transition from students to colleagues of the faculty.

The Rev. Rebecca Irwin-Diehl '23 PhD, Andre Price '23 PhD and Sister Theresa Dung Trang, LHC, '23 PhD, who all entered the program in 2017, will make history as the first cohort of Theology PhD students to graduate.

The PhD program was founded in 2016 as an interdisciplinary and integrative program seeking to formulate and advance theology within the Augustinian tradition of “faith engaging culture” and to emphasize the study of theology as lived experience. Students would study how faith and theology interact with cultural dynamics and would be able to see their specific research questions in the context of broader social questions.

“Several years ago, when considering new doctoral programs, I was determined that new programs should only be added if they fit Villanova’s distinctive niche and our Augustinian mission to serve the needs of society, the Church and the world,” says Father Donohue. “Villanova’s PhD in Theology program does just that—exploring the intersection of theology and culture within the Augustinian tradition, setting it apart from other Theology PhD programs across our country. St. Augustine and our Augustinian values continue to define who we are as a University community, and our Theology PhD program brings together a new community of scholars to engage in conversations about Augustine, his life and his legacy, and how they impact our lives today.”

Associate Professor Peter Spitaler, ThD, who was chair of the Villanova Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the inception of the PhD program, notes that its creation was motivated by the need to train scholars who are well-equipped to address the complicated issues facing the global church and society.

“The outlook of the program is bright,” Dr. Spitaler says. “As the world becomes more complex and diverse, the study of theology becomes increasingly relevant, and our program provides students with the intellectual tools and skills necessary to address these complex issues. These graduates have completed a rigorous program and demonstrated an unwavering commitment to their academic pursuits. They have developed new ideas, theories and methods in the fields of theology and religion, and they have enriched Villanova’s academic community. I am confident that they will continue to make meaningful contributions to the church, society and academy.”

Another defining characteristic of the Villanova Theology PhD is its Heart of Teaching program, which provides coursework in theological pedagogy in addition to faculty mentorship and supervised teaching. It serves as a practical application of an apprenticeship-in-community model inspired by Villanova’s Augustinian identity.

“The Heart of Teaching program is a beacon for doctoral education, across higher education, that generally neglects teacher formation,” says Heart of Teaching Program Director and Associate Professor Timothy Hanchin, PhD. “By forming reflective educators in light of Villanova’s distinct mission, the Heart of Teaching enfleshes Augustine’s concern for education attuned to our restless heart and mind. The Heart of Teaching recognizes that teaching is a creative craft just as intellectually rigorous as scholarship.”

This emphasis on both scholarship and teaching is essential for Adele Lindenmeyr, PhD, William and Julia Moulden Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS), who was also instrumental in the creation of the PhD program.

“Thanks to its rigorous curriculum and teacher training program, our doctoral students are prepared to be the effective teacher-scholars our communities, schools, churches and organizations need,” says Dean Lindenmeyr. “I am grateful to the doctoral faculty for their investment in the program and their students. Teaching and mentoring at the doctoral level is time-intensive, and the success of these students reflects our faculty’s commitment to preparing a new generation of theologians.”

Program Co-director and Professor Stefanie Knauss, ThD, notes that the program’s goal is to train theologians who are experts in their fields of studies, excellent scholars and dedicated teachers, but the program’s focus on “faith engaging culture” also prepares students to take on leadership positions outside of the academy.

“Our students have an openness to the world around them,” Dr. Knauss says. “They are open to other career trajectories, and we emphasize how our students’ skills can transfer to other fields, which responds to the changing professional profiles of graduates with a PhD in Theology and of the academic landscape in the humanities more broadly.”

This openness is reflected in the next steps that each new graduate will take in their careers. Dr. Irwin-Diehl will continue to serve as the Director at the Center for Continuous Learning at American Baptist Home Mission Societies in King of Prussia, a position she accepted while enrolled in the PhD program. Dr. Price will be a Louisville Institute Postdoctoral Fellow beginning Fall 2023 and will continue to pastor Mount Olivet Tabernacle Baptist Church in West Philadelphia, as he has done throughout his time at Villanova. After a semester-long research fellowship in the fall, Sister Trang will return to her native Vietnam to begin her teaching responsibilities for sisters in formation.

While the graduating students all recognize the importance of the Theology PhD program in their lives and careers, Dr. Knauss also notes that the PhD program and the students enrolled in it have had a significant impact on the culture in the department.

“The engagement with our students’ questions enriches our own research; they challenge us to consider new questions and perspectives in our teaching; and the Heart of Teaching program has motivated not only our students to be intentional about their pedagogical practices but also us as faculty,” Dr. Knauss says.

For Emory Woodard IV, PhD, Dean of CLAS Graduate Studies, the mission of the Theology doctoral program is directly aligned with the mission of the University.

“The centerpiece of the first-year experience for every Villanova undergraduate is an introduction to our Catholic and Augustinian ethos,” says Dean Woodard. “Having a doctoral program that produces scholars whose work exemplifies that ethos completes the circle. Now, not only do we ensure our students are exposed to values that are central to the Villanova experience but also do we ensure that such scholarship informs the work at community organizations, churches and other institutions of higher education across the country and around the world.”

Dr. Knauss has been the PhD program co-director since its outset, along with Professor Jonathan Yates, PhD, who notes the rapid pace of change in higher education and the world since they began planning the program more than 10 years ago. The global pandemic, the changing influence and perception of Christianity in U.S. culture, and online education, for example, have all necessitated department leaders to adjust their plans, or, in some cases, have reaffirmed their assumptions, such as the value of in-person instruction and the cultivation of an authentic academic community. Through all of the upheaval and uncertainty of recent years, Dr. Yates sees promise in the future of the program and the impact it can have at Villanova and beyond.

“This year’s Commencement ceremony will be a special one. We hope it will be a day that will make the Villanova community proud and be the first of many commencements at which we are able to send a few doctores out into the world,” says Dr. Yates. “We hope that this program might be able to contribute, at least in a small way, to the growth and to the flourishing of the church both in the U.S. and around the world. The overarching goal, of course, is to make our world a little better than it has been.”

Rev. John W. Crossin, OSFS - d. May 12, 2023

Mon, 15 May 2023 15:49:34 GMT

The CTSA mourns and prays for Rev. John W. Crossin, OSFS who died on Friday, May 12, 2023.

Above photo and the following memorial link
were accessed on May 15, 2023, from the
Oblates of St. Francis DeSales, North American Provinces

May John's soul, and all the souls of the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in Peace.

Rev. John W. Crossin, OSFS - Memorial

CTSA Book Club Next Meets on Thursday, June 22, at 5:30 p.m. - Join Us!

Fri, 12 May 2023 15:40:19 GMT

The book club will next meet on Thursday, June 22, at 5:30 p.m. (ET) to discuss Susan Bigelow Reynold's book People Get Ready: Ritual, Solidarity and Lived Ecclesiology in Catholic Roxbury, chapters 4 - 6. Based upon our last meeting, we anticipate that these will be engaging and thought provoking.

If you missed our last meeting, please consider reading Susan's book and joining us.

USCCB Synod Invitation to CTSA Members

Kristin Heyer — Tue, 09 May 2023 19:53:46 GMT

Greetings, colleagues. I am passing on an invitation to our membership from Bishop Daniel Flores, the Chair of the USCCB Committee on Doctrine and part of the US Coordinating Team for the Synod. The US Synod Team is inviting theologians from the United States to join bishops and members of six different US theological societies to engage in two online synodal spiritual conversations on

Thursday, May 25, 2023 from 3:00-5:30 pm EDT/2:00-4:30 pm CDT/1:00-3:30 pm MDT/12:00 noon-2:30 pm PDT

and

Tuesday, June 6, 2023 from 7:00-9:30 pm EDT/6:00-8:30 pm CDT/5:00-7:30 pm MDT/4:00-6:30 pm PDT

The conversations will focus on the North American Final Document for the Continental Stage of the Synod and will use a self-directed spiritual conversation model. Space will be limited to 120 participants for each of these conversations. Each Society has been asked to send direct delegates for each meeting, but the remaining spots will be offered for all interested theologians – you can sign up at https://airtable.com/shrHT2BDqy9S4j0yq until May 17, and we would encourage you to join in this opportunity to talk with our colleagues and our bishops. While there are other opportunities planned for graduate students and for Canadian theologians and their bishops later this year, for space reasons this invitation is being extended to US Catholic theologians who have completed their PhD in theology or a related field.

Relevant links:

https://airtable.com/shrHT2BDqy9S4j0yq (sign up here)

https://www.usccb.org/resources/north-american-final-document-continental-stage-2021-2024-synod (North American Final Document)

https://www.synod.va/content/dam/synod/common/phases/en/EN_Step_6_Spiritual-Conversation.pdf (conversation model)

Here is Bishop Flores' message:

Committee on Doctrine

3211 FOURTH STREET NE WASHINGTON DC 20017-1194 202-541-3015

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

May 4, 2023

I am delighted to inform you that the US Synod Team will be convening a special listening session for theologians throughout the United States to reflect on the North American Final Document for the Continental Stage for the 2021-2024 Synod. The US Synod Team wants to create a space for listening and dialogue specifically those trained in Catholic theology. The sessions will be modeled on the Virtual Assemblies of the Continental Stage (see Appendix D of the Final Document). There will be two sessions: Thursday, May 25, 2023, from 3-5:30 PM ET and Tuesday, June 6, 2023 from 7-9:30 PM ET.

The Team is asking that you, the leaders of the scholarly theological societies in the United States, share this invitation with your members who hold a doctoral degree in theology or a related field. The Team hopes to plan a listening session with graduate students in the future. This invitation is extended to the following scholarly organizations:

Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States
Academy of Catholic Theology
Black Catholic Theology Symposium
Catholic Theological Society of America
College Theological Society
Fellowship of Catholic Scholars

The sessions have a capacity of 120 participants apiece. Ten (10) spots will be reserved for each society in each session. Organizations may choose to select the ten participants for their reserved spots. There will be a question on the form to indicate if the delegate was selected by the organization to participate. An invitation will be extended to bishops to attend these special listening sessions and to select a theologian from their diocese to attend as well. The registration deadline is Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Zoom details and a preparation guide will be shared after

registration closes. Y ou can find the registration form here: https://airtable.com/shrHT2BDqy9S4j0yq

The listening session will use the spiritual conversation model, which is at the heart of all the synodal listening sessions thus far. Theologians will be placed into groups of 6-8 and introduced to one another via email prior to the listening session. In a spirit of co-responsibility, each listening circle will be self-facilitated. We are asking for volunteers to act as facilitators for the listening circles and representatives to share the fruits of the conversation in plenary.

Please contact the US Synod Team at synod@usccb.org if you have any further questions. Yours in Christ,

Bishop Daniel E. Flores, Diocese of Brownsville Chair, Committee on Doctrine

Join the CTSA pop-up choir!

Layla Karst — Mon, 08 May 2023 21:22:20 GMT

Are you musically inclined, or perhaps just like to sing? Do you play an instrument that can travel with you to Milwaukee? Then join the CTSA pop-up liturgical choir! We are looking for choir members to sing at the CTSA annual convention liturgy on Saturday evening, May 10th. Email liturgical coordinator, Layla Karst, at layla.karst@lmu.edu for more information or to volunteer.

ACCU's concern about gag laws

Francis X Clooney, SJ — Fri, 05 May 2023 21:02:45 GMT

Greetings. Some of you will have already seen the very good essay by Dennis Holtschneider, CM, President of ACCU, expressing his concern about states seeking to gag free speech at colleges and universities, restricting what can be taught. His piece, from the perspective of ACCU and in light of his prior experience as president of DePaul University, is a solid defense of religious freedom, including freedom to teach freely. The link is here.

Have a good weekend, and good luck at semester's end!

Frank

Villanova: New Chaplaincy Education track of MA

Stephanie Wong — Tue, 02 May 2023 18:04:38 GMT

Villanova University Department of Theology and Religious Studies is pleased to announce its new Chaplaincy Education Track within the Master of Arts in Ministry and Theology. The new Track serves those who wish to prepare for chaplaincy ministry, including the following areas: health care, prison, the military, corporate sector, university life and other institutional settings.

Program Highlights:

Only chaplaincy education program offered through a university setting in Pennsylvania
Part-time and full-time students benefit from on-campus and hybrid modalities
Complete two units of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE)
Prepare for a transformative leadership role
Full-time students can complete the program in two years
Funding opportunities available

More details about the program and course requirements can be found at

https://www1.villanova.edu/university/liberal-arts-sciences/programs/theology/graduate-programs/masters.html

Call for Papers: Political Theology Network Conference

Mary Kate Holman — Fri, 21 Apr 2023 15:19:18 GMT

Hello friends,

I'm writing to share a Call for Papers for the Political Theology Network Conference in September. I'd especially like to draw attention to the stream called "Naming the Anthropos in Anthropocene: A Catholic Political Theology of (Hu)Man," that our team of editors for the Catholic Re-Visions blog will be facilitating, which may be of particular interest to the members of the CTSA.

Proposals are due by May 2.

https://politicaltheology.com/political-theology-network-conference-call-for-papers/

Members' Publications - Spring 2023

Wed, 19 Apr 2023 17:20:28 GMT

Elizabeth O’Donnell Gandolfo, Ecomartyrdom in the Americas: Living and Dying for our Common Home (Orbis Books, March 2023).

Catherine Punsalan-Manlimos, Tracy Sayuki Tiemeler, Elisabeth T. Vasko, editors, “Why We Can’t Wait”: Racism and the Church (Orbis Books, May 2023).

INSeCT Lecture: Decolonizing Theologies, Decolonizing the World"

Francis X Clooney, SJ — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 16:30:49 GMT

Good afternoon, everyone. Ruben (Sonny) Mendoza, President of INSeCT, invites us to their next online lecture, “Decolonizing Theologies, Decolonizing the World.” It will occur on April 25 at 930pm (Eastern Daylight Time). The speakers are the CTSA's own Dr. Melissa Pagán, and Dr. Pushpa Joseph (see below). Please register in advance here. Frank

About the speakers:

Dr. Melissa Pagán is a decolonial feminist ethicist. She holds a Ph.D. in Religion, Ethics, and Society from Emory University. Her current research project provides a feminist decolonial and critical spatial appraisal of the tradition of Catholic Social Teaching to ascertain whether, and to what extent the coloniality of knowledge, coloniality of being, and coloniality of gender undergird and therefore undermine its teachings on social justice. Dr. Pagán’s areas of expertise and research include feminist social ethics, critical geographies, postcolonial and decolonial theories and theologies, and Latinx theologies. For the academic year 2021-2022, Dr. Pagán was the recipient of a First Book Grant for Scholars of Color from the Louisville Institute. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States (ACHTUS), the Board of Directors for the Web Branch of Feminist Studies in Religion, Inc., and is the current Chair for the Committee on Underrepresented Groups for the Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA). She is currently Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Religious Studies at Mount Saint Mary’s University in Los Angeles.

Dr. Pushpa Joseph is a feminist theologian from India with over 20 years of experience in the field of higher education. She has taught at the Department of Christian Studies in the University of Madras for over 11 years and has guided several students in their dissertations at the masters, pre-doctoral, and doctoral levels. Her research work is focused on themes that have a prophetic and transformatory impulse, and she has published around 40 articles on various topics related to theology, ethics, and feminist issues. Among her publications are Re-imagining Marriage and Family in Asia: Asian Christian Women's Perspectives and Feminist Hermeneutics: A Contextual Reconstruction. The former is acollaborative edited work with Dr Sharon Bong and explores Asian Christian women'sperspectives on marriage and family, while the latter is a reference book on feminist hermeneutics, contextual reconstruction and is published by Salesian College Publications, Darjeeling, West Bengal.

CTSA Media Committee

Francis X Clooney, SJ — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 16:54:46 GMT

Good afternoon. This post is simply to inform you that the Board has established a Media Committee, to help us to keep up to date on media possibilities and challenges, with an eye toward how we can responsibly integrate a skilled use of media into our planning for the next decades. The membership is now posted under Committees, and I am grateful to everyone who has agreed to serve on the committee. If you would like a copy of the 2-page description of the committee and its role, please email me and I will send it to you.

Speaking of Media, don't forget our very important town hall next Tuesday, as previously announced. See below., Frank Clooney, SJ, President

Fossil Fuel Divestment Town Hall Meeting April 25th, 7 p.m. (ET)

Erin Lothes Biviano, Chair, Fossil Fuel Divestment Committee invites the membership to save the date for a virtual town hall at which all members may be updated on the recommendations by the committee for best paths forward to implement the Board's decision to divest from fossil fuels. A report and presentation by the committee will be followed by conversation, questions, and answers. A registration email will be forthcoming in April.

Theology and Teaching in Light of ChatGPT (Recording available to members)

Wed, 12 Apr 2023 16:55:10 GMT

The CTSA announces the recording of Theology and Teaching in Light of ChatGPT is now available at

CTSA Recorded Event Videos

Member login required to access website page.

Theology and Teaching in Light of ChatGPT
Tuesday, April 4, 2023

Moderator:

Mary Kate Holman, Assistant Professor
Department of History, Philosophy and Theology
Benedictine University

Panel:

Anne Carpenter, Associate Professor
Department of Theology and Religious Studies
Saint Mary's College of California

Stephen Okey, Associate Professor of Theology
Department of Philosophy, Religion and Theology
Saint Leo University

David Turnbloom, Associate Professor
Department of Theology
University of Portland

Precis: Following its launch in November '22, the new AI chatbot ChatGPT has presented some significant and rather daunting challenges to educators at all levels. Our spring virtual event will take up the question of how ChatGPT and similar technologies challenge us, or invite us to new forms of teaching and assessment, precisely as Catholic theologians and teachers of theology. Is this new tool an opportunity for theologians to embrace ‘the modern world’, à la Gaudium et Spes? Does it risk stifling the human task of knowing, à la Lonergan? And how do we talk to students about all this?

John Thiel - Elected 111th President of the American Theological Society

Wed, 05 Apr 2023 12:53:46 GMT

Congratulations to longstanding member John Thiel on being elected as the 111th President of the American Theological Society! He will be serving in this role in 2023-2024.

His most recent book is Now and Forever: A Theological Aesthetics of Time (University of Notre Dame Press, 2023).

Faith, Feminism and Being Unfinished: The Question of Women's Ordination

Wed, 05 Apr 2023 12:36:59 GMT

Member Pat Parachini invites you to attend

Faith, Feminism and Being Unfinished:
The Question of Women's Ordination
Monday, April 17, 7 - 8:30 p.m. EST
Georgetown University

This is a sequel to a 2018 event held at Georgetown University honoring Anne E. Patrick's contributions to the field of theology.

In-person event iand via Zoom

RSVP: bit.ly/faithandfeminism

Teresia Mbari Hinga - d. 3/31/23

Fri, 31 Mar 2023 15:28:49 GMT

The CTSA remembers and prays for Teresia Mbari Hinga.

Eternal rest grant unto Teresia, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon her.
May she rest in peace. Amen.

Dr. Teresia Mbari Hinga Funeral Mass Service
Provided by Teresia Hinga's family to the CTSA through Theresa A. Yugar

Dr. Teresia Mbari Hinga’s funeral mass services are scheduled for Wednesday April 5th, 2023, 11:30am at St. Celestine Church, 3020 North 76th Court, Elmwood Park, Illinois. Officiated by Father Paul Kalenzi and Father Stan Chu Ilo.

The Kenyan funeral service is scheduled for Tuesday April 4th, 2023, in Ndumberi Kiambu.

Teresia Mbari Hinga was born January 25, 1955, as the youngest of seven children to her late parents Agnes Wairimu and Ernest Hinga in the village of Ndumberi, Kiambu in British-occupied Kenya. She was sister to her late siblings: Zita Nyambura, Norbert Kamau, Regina Wang’eri, Alphonse Mungai and Stephen Chege. She was a loving mother, grandmother, and godmother who protected her children and helped them flourish with her grand sense of humor, love of song, and faith in God. As a single mother who balanced her professional life with her home life, she is survived by her two beautiful children: son Anthony Hinga, daughter Pauline Wairimu Kenly, her son in-law Thom Kenly and her two grandchildren, Zoe and Nia Kenly, all in Chicago. In Kenya she is survived by her brother Michael Machua, her many nieces, nephews, cousins, relatives, friends, and colleagues.

Dr. Teresia Mbari Hinga earned a B.Ed. in English Literature and Religious Studies which she passed with first class honors from Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya, and an M.A. in Religious Studies from Nairobi University. She earned a Ph.D. in Religious Studies/African Christianity from the University of Lancaster in England in 1990. She was an African Christian feminist who pioneered the fields of African feminist theology and ethics. Dr. Hinga was an Associate Professor of Religion at Santa Clara University, California (2005-2023). Before that, she had joined DePaul University, Chicago in 1994-2005 having previously taught at Kenyatta University in Nairobi Kenya (1987-1994).

Service for her began at home supporting family members with their financial needs for education and medical purposes.Beyond that, she was a devoted friend to her home village of Ndumberi - Kiambu, finding seed money for local farmers, planting and growing trees, facilitating training for rainwater harvesting and organic farming methods.

She was a dedicated professor of religion and a welcoming friend who mentored hundreds of students and young scholars and promoted the scholarship of fellow professors, making them feel welcomed, known and heard. Dr. Hinga was a founding member of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians in Accra, Ghana in 1989. She promoted the Circle throughout her career. She was also a founding member and on the executive committee of the African Association of the Study of Religion (AASR), a member of the American Academy of Religion (AAR), the Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA), she was on the board of the Journal of Global Catholicism and a member of the Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church (CTEWC) Network until her death.

She bowed to a protracted battle with cancer on the March 31st, 2023, at Chicago Illinois, surrounded by her family and friends after receiving all the Catholic rites by Fr. Paul Kalenzi and Fr. Stan Chu Ilo.

We would like to invite you contribute towards Dr. Teresia Mbari Hinga’s funeral expenses. Through the following methods:

Zelle: phkenly@yahoo.com or CashApp: Pauline Kenly $profTeresia2023

Dr. Hinga was born in Kenya. She received a B.Ed. in English Literature and Religious Studies from Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya, and an M.A. in Religious Studies from Nairobi University, also in Kenya. She earned a Ph.D. in Religious Studies/African Christianity from the University of Lancaster in England. Her thesis on the role of women in African Christianity focused on women's power and liberation in the African Independent Church. Dr. Hinga's research focuses on religion and women's issues, particularly in Africa, African religious history, and expression in the global religious landscape, religion and public policy, and the ethics of globalization. She is a founding member of the "Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians," a pan-African association of women who study the role and impact of religion and culture on African women's lives. She is also a member of the Black Catholic Symposium of the AAR and of the Association for the Academic Study of Religion in Africa (AASR).

Dr. Hinga joined the Santa Clara University faculty in 2005 and teaches courses on women and religion, feminist theologies, African religions and society, and religion and contemporary moral issues.

Above reference provided through the The Department of Religious Studies', Santa Clara University, website (Accessed 3/31/23 < https://www.scu.edu/cas/religious-studies/faculty--staff/teresia-hinga/>

CTSA Contributions include:

"Women Healing Earth: Revisiting Rosemary Radford Ruether's Work on Moral Agency & Ecological Ethics among Women of the Global South", Proceedings of the CTSA, 72.

"A Response to Gerald M. Boodoo's 'Space of Possibility' Toward Another Possible Nonviolent World: Recognizing the Gift and Insights of 'Glo-cal' Theologies", Proceedings of the CTSA 74, 62-70.

"Bioethics & Healthcare Ethics: Prophetic Healthcare Ethics: A Panel Discussion on Catholic Women Theologians on the HIV/AIDS Pandemic", Proceedings of the CTSA 65.

"Catholic Theologies, Intrafaith Dialogue, and Pluarlism", Proceedings of the CTSA, 61.

Sexual Abuse and the Catholic Church Scholarly Resource List

Julia Feder — Thu, 23 Mar 2023 19:11:24 GMT

The CTSA's Consultation on Sexual Abuse and the Church has been working on a bibliography of scholarly resources on sexual abuse and the Catholic Church. The consultation invites all CTSA members to view this in-progress bibliography and suggest additions to Julia Feder at juliafeder@creighton.edu.

Avoiding the Sin of Certitude Podcast

Tue, 21 Mar 2023 15:15:51 GMT

Congratulations to CTSA member Sister Carla May Streeter on the release of Avoiding the Sin of Certitude Podcast.

Commentary from Rabbi Susan Talve of Central Reform Congregation, St Louis, MO and Sister Carla May Streeter of Aquinas Institute, St Louis, MO on the book Avoiding the Sin of Certitude - courageous conversations around contemporary issues.

The Podcast may be accessed at https://www.buzzsprout.com/2155109

Presentation: "The Recovery of Women's Voices in Catholic Tradition: A Conversation"

Mon, 20 Mar 2023 21:57:50 GMT

CTSA Members Elissa Cutter and Mary Kate Holman invite you to join Wednesday, March 22 (7 - 8 p.m.) virtual event

The Recovery of Women's Voices in Catholic Tradition:
A Conversation

Georgian Court Critical Concerns Week website: https://georgian.edu/critical-concerns2023/

Zoom link: https://georgian.zoom.us/j/98068749037

Call for Paper and Workshop Proposals: Rooted and Grounded: Land and Christian Discipleship

Elizabeth Groppe — Mon, 20 Mar 2023 14:15:49 GMT

The Catholic-Mennonite organization Bridgefolk will hold its annual gathering in conjunction with the Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary's conference "Rooted and Grounded: Land and Christian Discipleship" September 28-30, 2023 in Elkhart, IN. Proposals for papers and workshops will be accepted through April 30. Registration opens May 1.

Merton Society at Saint Mary's College: Registration Now Open

Christopher Pramuk — Thu, 16 Mar 2023 15:11:23 GMT

Dear colleagues,

The International Thomas Merton Society holds its biennial conference June 22-25, 2023, at Saint Mary's College, South Bend, IN. Wonderful lineup of plenary speakers, creative presentations, academic papers, and communal prayer. Registration now open, with early-bird pricing until April 15. Students and emerging scholars are encouraged to apply for Daggy Scholarships. Please help us spread the word!

Thank you,

Christopher Pramuk (ITMS President)

http://merton.org/2023/default.aspx

Inaugural Silber-Obrecht Lecture in Interreligious and Interfaith Studies will be delivered by Francis X. Clooney, S.J.

Heather Miller Rubens — Wed, 15 Mar 2023 20:15:42 GMT

The 2023 Silber-Obrecht Lecture in Interreligious & Interfaith Studies with Francis X. Clooney, S.J.

The inaugural Silber-Obrecht Lecture in Interreligious and Interfaith Studies, to be held from April 25-27, 2023 at Loyola University Maryland, will be delivered by Francis X. Clooney, S.J., a theologian at the Harvard Divinity School and a leader in the field of interreligious studies. Shubha Pathak, Ph.D., Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion at American University in Washington D.C. will be the respondent.

The lecture is sponsored by the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies in Baltimore, and is co-sponsored by Goucher College, the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, Loyola University Maryland, Morgan State University’s Center for Religion and Cities, and St. Mary’s Seminary & University. All lectures are free and will be live streamed.

Lecture #1: "What is the State of the Emerging Field of Interfaith and Interreligious Studies?" with Francis X. Clooney, S.J., Tuesday, April 25, 2023, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM EDT. Register for Zoom link: https://icjs.org/events/the-2023-silber-obrecht-lecture/

Lecture #2: "What is the Future of the Field," with Francis X. Clooney, S.J. Response by Shubha Pathak, Ph.D., Ph.D. Wednesday, April 26, 2023, 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM EDT. Register for Zoom link: https://icjs.org/events/the-2023-silber-obrecht-lecture-2/

Workshop: Thursday, April 27, 2023, 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM EDT, at the ICJS Library (by invitation only).

The Silber-Obrecht Lecture, the first endowed lectureship in the emerging field of Interreligious and Interfaith Studies, is a semiannual three-day academic residency in Baltimore. The lectureship aims to advance the field of study by presenting new and creative work by a senior scholar and interreligious practitioner.

Denise L. Carmody (d. 3-15-23)

Wed, 15 Mar 2023 17:31:21 GMT

The CTSA remembers and prays for long standing member Denise L. Carmody who died at home today, March 15.

Eternal rest grant unto Denise, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon her.
May Denise's soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Denise Carmody was born in Baltimore, MD. She received an A.B. at the College of Notre Dame of Maryland (1958), and an M.A. at Boston College (1966). She had loved philosophy as an undergrad; in particular, questions about epistemology (how people know) led to an abiding interest in comparative religious studies. She pursued that interest by earning a Ph.D. in the philosophy of religion from Boston College in 1970. Denise has published over sixty books, including the 7th edition to Ways to the Center. Her research interests are Roman Catholicism and world religions. She retired in June, 2012. ( Picture and above statement accessed on 3/15/23 <<Religious Studies, Santa Clara University, https://www.scu.edu/cas/religious-studies/faculty--staff/denise-carmody/>>.)

CTSA Proceedings Contribution

Denise L. Carmody, The Role of Women in Theology: Summary of the Discussion, CTSA 38th Annual Convention Proceedings, Minutes of the Meeting: 74-76.

Rising Scholar Award announced by The Thomist

Reginald Lynch, OP — Wed, 15 Mar 2023 14:13:16 GMT

The Thomist is pleased to announce its first annual Rising Scholar Award: https://www.thomist.org/rising-scholar-award. Submissions are due by March 7, 2024.

"A Panel Reflecting on Pope Francis's Visit to Canada: What Next?"

Fiona Li — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 15:44:51 GMT

The Msgr. John Mary Fraser Centre for Practical Theology at Regis St. Michael's Faculty of Theology invites you all to join our online panel reflecting on Pope Francis's recent visit to Canada and our next steps towards reconciliation.

Panelists include:

Dr. Michel Andraos, PhD (Dean of the Faculty of Theology at St. Paul University, Ottawa, Canada)
Sr. Priscilla Solomon, CSJ (CSJ, Faith and Justice, Ojibway First Nation)
Sr. Sheila Smith, RSCJ, PhD (St. Paul University, Ottawa, Canada)
Fr. John Meehan, SJ, PhD (Director, Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary International History, Trinity College, Toronto, Canada)
Fr. Peter Bisson, SJ, ThD (Jesuits of Canada)
Mr. Noah MacDonald, JCL (Canon Lawyer, Archdiocese of Toronto, Michipicoten First Nation)

The event is on Tuesday March 28, 2023 from 7-9 PM (Toronto time). Registration is now OPEN and can be found here: https://frasercentre.ca/event/panel-reflecting-on-pope-francis-visit-to-canada/

The Zoom link will be sent out closer to the event date. If you do not see it in your inbox, please check your junk/spam folders as mass emails can be filtered into that folder. If you do not receive this email by noon (Toronto time) on the day of the event, please feel free to email our webmaster Ashley Tran at frasercentrewebmaster@gmail.com

We hope to see you all at the event!

Save the Date, April 25: Fossil Fuel Divestment Town Hall

(Past member) — Mon, 06 Mar 2023 19:29:00 GMT

Please save the date of April 25, at 7pm Eastern time, for a virtual Town Hall at which all members may be updated on the recommendations by the Fossil Fuel Divestment committee for best paths forward to implement the Board's decision to divest from fossil fuels. A report and presentation by the committee will be followed by conversation, questions and answers.

More information forthcoming!

Catholic Church Involvement in Native American Boarding Schools: Learning to Walk the Good Road Toward Healing

Tue, 28 Feb 2023 14:10:44 GMT

Catholic Church Involvement in Native American Boarding Schools: Learning to Walk the Good Road Toward Healing

Session 1: Monday, March 6 "Native Boarding Schools: Learning from History to Promote Healing"

Fr. Mike Carson, Asst. Director for Native American Affairs Committee on Multicultural Diversity in the Church, USCCB.

Session 2: Monday, March 20 "Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma and Resilience in First Nations Communities"

Dr. Amy Bombay, Anishinaabe from Rainy River First Nations

See flyer for registration details, times and further details, click here

CTSA Member Margaret Mary Moore invites you to register for this amazing event. Contact:

Margaret Mary Moore, 314 781-3231 and MMMoore@compuserve.com.

President Francis X. Clooney, S.J., delivers Boston Colleges 2023 Annual Candlemas Lecture

Mon, 27 Feb 2023 19:22:45 GMT

Congratulations to CTSA President Francis X. Clooney, S.J. on giving the 2023 Annual Candlemas Lecture at Boston College, On the Edge: Reflections on Being a Christian Intellectual and Many Religions.

Link to video on YouTube https://youtu.be/W1Im_l2KTfc

Spring 2023 Newman Symposium

Elizabeth Huddleston — Mon, 27 Feb 2023 15:26:10 GMT

The Early Modern Roots of Newman’s Religious World

Click here for information and registration.

John Henry Newman’s life spanned nearly the entire nineteenth century, and his influence extended into the twentieth century and beyond. Yet, Newman studies stands to benefit from a greater analysis of the religious world in which Newman operated and what gave rise to that world. The Spring Symposium will therefore seek to shed light on the broader ecclesial and intellectual context that was formative for Newman's own time period, life, and work. What does a more thorough exploration of Tridentine reform, Early Modern Scholasticism, and the Enlightenment reveal about a figure like Newman operating within Anglicanism and Catholicism in the nineteenth century?

Time (Eastern Time, UTC −05)

FRIDAY, MARCH 10, 2023
Welcome and Introduction: Chris Cimorelli, 6:45 PM EST
Lecture: Shaun Blanchard, 7:00-7:45 PM EST
Break
Lecture: Elissa Cutter and Q&A, 8:00-8:45 PM EST

SATURDAY, MARCH 11, 2023
Keynote: Trent Pomplun and Q&A, 9:30-10:30 AM EST
Break
Lecture: Geertjan Zuijdwegt, 10:45-11:30 AM EST
Break
Roundtable Discussion and Closing Remarks, 11:45 AM-12:15 PM EST

Attend in Person or via Zoom Internet

Attend in person at the Gailliot Center for Newman Studies, 211 N. Dithridge St., Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Or attend via Zoom Internet from anywhere in the world. A Zoom link will be emailed to registrants prior to the event. For security reasons, all participants will be required to login using the exact name they used during registration.

The Legacy and Limits of Vatican II in an Age of Crisis: Gender, Race, Abuse, and the Living Catholic Tradition

Massimo Faggioli — Sun, 26 Feb 2023 21:01:48 GMT

The Department of Theology and Religious Studies at Villanova University announces an upcoming conference and call for papers

The Legacy and Limits of Vatican II in an Age of Crisis:
Gender, Race, Abuse, and the Living Catholic Tradition

November 30 – December 2, 2023, Villanova University

Keynote Speakers

Edward Hahnenberg (John Carroll University – Cleveland)

Mary Kate Holman (Benedictine University - Chicago)

Jaisy Joseph (Villanova University - Pennsylvania)

Carlos Schickendantz (Universidad Alberto Hurtado - Santiago de Chile)

Call for papers

Villanova University announces a call for papers for a conference on the Second Vatican Council (November 30 – December 2, 2023, Villanova University). In light of the serious challenges facing the Church today—many of which were not anticipated by the council—the conference will explore how the event of Vatican II, its agenda for renewal, and its reception (or lack thereof) can inform a faith-filled response to the new “signs of the times.” The legacy of the council’s teaching on topics ranging from the laity, ecclesiology, and ecumenism to the Church’s understanding of the modern state, culture, and the very nature of the human person risk becoming irrelevant if they cannot be retrieved and reimagined within the atmospheres of a polarized Church and world. This conference seeks to begin just such a conversation about Vatican II in the context of the current ecclesial crisis.

Paper proposals, related to the theology and reception of Vatican II, are encouraged on the following topics: theology of the laity and clericalism; gender and the role of women in the Church; racism; the abuse crisis in the Church; post- colonial and de-colonial critique; the resurgence of anti-Semitism; the new “political ecumenism”; the Church and the internet/social media; evangelization and the youth; the rise of anti-Vatican II traditionalism/conservatism; the Church and the “culture wars”; Vatican II and the identity of Catholic institutions today (education, health care, charities, etc.).

The steering committee is composed of Catherine Clifford (Saint Paul University, Ottawa), Kristin Colberg (St. John’s University, Collegeville MN), Massimo Faggioli (Villanova University), and Edward Hahnenberg (John Carroll University, Cleveland).

Proposals of no more than 300 words should be submitted by April 30, 2023, to Massimo Faggioli (mfaggiol@villanova.edu) and to the secretary of the steering committee, Theresa Gardner (tgardn02@villanova.edu). Further details about the conference will be provided at villanova.edu/vatican2conference.

Liturgical Press is committed to publish an edited volume of the proceedings of the conference.

The conference is sponsored by the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and the Office for Mission and Ministry at Villanova University.

Theological Studies Subscription Discount

Christopher Steck, S.J. — Fri, 10 Feb 2023 15:42:54 GMT

CTSA members are eligible for a 30% discount on the individual

subscription rate for Theological Studies. Through this arrangement,

the journal wishes to continue its long-standing support for the CTSA,

and, as always, it welcomes submissions from the CTSA community.

Should CTSA members wish to take advantage of this discount,

please contact the North American office in Thousand Oaks, CA

at (805) 499-0721, option #1. Alternatively, members can subscribe

through the SAGE site: Theological Studies Subscription.

"How to Remake the World Neighborhood by Neighborhood"

Sat, 28 Jan 2023 18:43:50 GMT

Book release: How to Remake the World Neighborhood by Neighborhood
by Mack McCarter, Founder of Community Renewal International
with CTSA Member Tim Muldoon, professor at Boston College

Maryknoll, New York: A quiet revolution of intentional, connected caring prepares for the national stage with the November 2022 release of a groundbreaking book which will help heal our societies. Boston College Philosophy professor and long-time CTSA member Tim Muldoon has teamed up with G.S. “Mack” McCarter, the Opus Prize laureate and founder of Community Renewal International (CRI), to produce How to Remake the World Neighborhood by Neighborhood , a book that offers a tested road map for renewing communities.

How to Remake the World Neighborhood by Neighborhood is the solution to the social breakdown felt across the country and around the world today. It narrates the story and philosophy of CRI , an organization founded in Shreveport, Louisiana. In the places where it has taken root, people build new friendships and begin to restore the bonds that sustain communities so that they thrive. Crime rates plummet. People come out of their homes and grow connections with their neighbors. They become active, caring participants in their societies.

The late Millard Fuller, co-founder of Habitat for Humanity, once described CRI as “the premier community renewal building model in the nation,” and his wife and co-founder Linda Fuller writes, “Mack McCarter shares the courageous steps he took to fuse love and caring into relationships, using the best elements of society to improve neighborhoods, cities and our futures.”

The book tells the story of how McCarter returned to his home town of Shreveport after many years as a pastor in Texas. He found a city that was racially divided and suffering from violence. With a small group of like-minded people, he intentionally and proactively began engaging with people in the city's most violent and dangerous neighborhood. Over time, studying the history of the rise and fall of civilizations and applying that research to the practical question of community renewal, he developed a replicable system. Today, Black and white, Republican and Democrat, men and women—all who have become part of the “We Care Team,” now over 50,000 strong, have remade entire neighborhoods and repaired the fabric of society.

This book tells exactly how others can join in this effort to remake our society, and why, for the sake of our shared future, they must.

G. S. “Mack” McCarter is the Founder and Coordinator of Community Renewal International (CRI). Over the span of 25 years of work, there are now more than 50,000 “We Care” team members in all 50 states and 41 nations. Mack has been honored on behalf of CRI as a finalist for the prestigious $1M Opus Prize, with the laureate to be named on November 3, 2022. He has also been honored as the National Citizen of the Year from the National Conference on Citizenship, Social Entrepreneur of the Year from The Manhattan Institute, Louisiana Public Citizen of the Year from the National Association of Social Workers, Distinguished Alumnus of the Year from Texas Christian University, Distinguished Minister of the Year from Brite Divinity School, and Doctor of Letters (Honorary) by Nyack College/Alliance Theological Seminary. Mack also received the 2019-2020 Lumen Christi Award from Catholic Extension. Mack holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Religion from Texas Christian University, and a Master of Divinity Degree from Brite Divinity School.

Tim Muldoon is a professor, scholar, and author or co-author of ten books, and editor of two others. He has been honored by the Catholic Press Association on multiple occasions, and was the 2017 recipient of the “Hearts on Fire” Spiritual Writing Award from the Loyola Institute for Spirituality in Orange, California. Tim holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in Philosophy and Theology from Boston College; a Master of Theological Studies degree from Emory University; and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Catholic Systematic Theology from Duquesne University. He teaches in the Perspectives on Western Culture program at Boston College.

Recordings available for Courses: Catholic Nonviolence Initiative Webinar Series

Eli McCarthy — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 16:09:19 GMT

Greetings Colleagues,

I hope you are well.

All the video edits and summaries from the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative 2022 fall webinar series (including Lisa Sowle Cahill, KC Choi, and young adult voices) are complete and ready for use in class or for student extra credit essays, etc.

All five videos are divided into speaker chapters, and the presentations run from between 15 to 29 minutes.
Speaker presentations are immediately followed by a slide that has three discussion/essay questions.
The 5 topics include: Why 'Nonviolence?' (includes 2 young adult speakers); Returning to and Exploring the Power of Nonviolence, Christian Foundations of Nonviolence (includes Lisa Sowle Cahill and KC Choi), Embracing Nonviolence: A New Moral Framework (includes Ukraine case and a speaker from Kenya), and Embracing Nonviolence: Transforming the Church.

Your one-stop web page is https://cniseries.info. Here you will find brief lecture and presentation summaries, a link to the video and a downloadable study guide.

With Hope,
Eli McCarthy
Georgetown University

Alicia Marill - d. January 23, 2023

Tue, 24 Jan 2023 18:37:06 GMT

The CTSA prays for Alicia Marill who died on January 23.

Eternal rest grant unto Alicia, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon her.
May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Sr. Gloria L. Schaab, SSJ's letter to Alicia Marill's colleagues, students, and alumni at Barry University follows:

It is with great sadness that I inform you of the death last evening (1/23/2023) of Alicia Marill, DMin. Dr. Marill faithfully served the Department of Theology and Philosophy for more than twenty years, most notably as Doctor of Ministry Director from 1999 until her retirement. In addition to her vast contributions to the Department and to Barry University, Dr. Marill was tirelessly active in the Archdiocese of Miami and the community of Miami. Among many other significant and extensive contributions, Dr. Marill was the founder and president of Amor en Accion, supporting projects of education, nutrition, health, evangelization and reforestation in Haiti. She served as a board member of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States and was elected a representative of the United States Catholic Church to the first Congreso Americano Misionero held in Parana, Argentina.

Please remember Alicia’s family and friends in this time of deep mourning.

Sincerely
Sister Gloria L. Schaab, SSJ
Chair, Department of Theology and Philosophy

America Magazine: Pope Francis asks theologians to remember the marginalized. Here’s how one global project is responding.

Meghan J. Clark — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 16:56:38 GMT

Sharing a piece I wrote for America Magazine on the "Doing Theology from the Existential Peripheries" global theology project of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. The North American working group included other CTSA members: Stan Chu Ilo (Coordinator), Jennifer Owens-Jofre, Bradford Hinze, Darren Dias, OP (as well as Jaime Waters, Bill Cavanaugh, and Tom Landry). There will be a session on the project at the upcoming Convention as well, all are welcome.

https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2023/01/19/pope-francis-existential-peripheries-clark-244250

5th Annual Scarboro Missions Lecture: "Microaggressions and Racial Subtleties in the Story of Joseph and Potiphar's Wife (Gen. 39; Sarah 12): Resonances and Applications in a Contemporary Racial Climate"

Fiona Li — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 16:00:18 GMT

The Msgr. John Mary Fraser Centre for Practical Theology at Regis-St. Michael's Faculty of Theology in the University of Toronto will be having its 5th Annual Scarboro Missions Lecture on Thursday February 9, 2023 (7:30-9 PM).

This year's presenter is Prof. Cyril Orji (University of Dayton), and his lecture is entitled: "Microaggressions and Racial Subtleties in the Story of Joseph and Potiphar's Wife (Gen. 39; Sarah 12): Resonances and Applications in a Contemporary Racial Climate."

This is a hybrid event; please indicate whether you will join the event "in-person" or "online" on the registration form. For more information and to register, please visit our website: https://frasercentre.ca/event/registration-open-5th-annual-scarboro-missions-lecture-2023/

We hope to see you all then!

Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations -CFPs

Thu, 19 Jan 2023 15:21:04 GMT

all for Essays (Vol. 18, 2023): “In the Wake of ‘We Remember’: Jews, Christians, and the Holocaust Today”

The 1998 publication We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah by the Catholic Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews was a starting point for many discussions on Jewish-Christian relations. As a result, what has happened in Jewish-Christian dialogue over the last 25 years? What trajectories did We Remember set in motion?

The editorial board of Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations invites essay submissions for a special section in its 2023 volume commemorating the 25th anniversary of We Remember. The editors welcome theological, historical, and personal perspectives on this document and its consequences for Jewish-Christian relations. Depending on the content, the essays may not be subject to peer review but will be published upon acceptance by the SCJR editorial team. Length: 500-3000 words. Deadline: June 1, 2023.

See https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/scjr/index

Remembering Joseph Mueller, S.J. - d. 1/12/23

Thu, 19 Jan 2023 14:52:17 GMT

Fr Joseph Mueller, SJ has passed away peacefully at the Sacred Heart
Jesuit Center after a brief struggle with illness at the age of 63. He
is survived by his father, sisters, brothers, and many nephews and
nieces.

For more than 20 years, he taught theology at Marquette University and
served as associate dean for academic affairs and later the rector of
its Jesuit Community.

In 2020, he was named the dean of the Jesuit School of Theology of
Santa Clara University in Berkeley, California. At Santa Clara, Father
Mueller recruited noteworthy theologians whose scholarship will have a
profound impact on the future of the Church and obtained significant
grants to enhance Latinx theology and ministry.

A Detroit native who entered the Society of Jesus in 1982 and was
ordained to the priesthood in 1993, Father Mueller received his
bachelor’s degree from Marquette in 1981 and earned his doctorate in
sacred theology from Centre Sèvres, Paris, in 2005.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, Feb. 3, at 10 a.m.
at Gesu Parish in Detroit, Michigan.

More information about Fr Mueller can be found in this announcement
from Santa Clara University's president
https://www.scu.edu/president/messages/from-the-president/emails/mueller-rip/

and the GTU's president:
https://www.gtu.edu/news/remembering-joseph-mueller-sj-0

Announcement written by
CTSA member Anh Tran, Jesuit School of Theology, Santa Clara University

Hollywood or History? An Inquiry-Based Strategy for Using Film to Teach World Religions

Wed, 18 Jan 2023 18:11:45 GMT

Congratulations to CTSA member Thomas (Tom) Malewitz on the publication of his newly co-edited volume that has been recently released: Hollywood or History? An Inquiry-Based Strategy for Using Film to Teach World Religions (Information Age, 2023).

It is the fifth volume in the Hollywood or History? Series which contains supplemental assignments using films and film clips to help engage junior-high and secondary students with curriculum topics in Social Studies and World Religions. The volume includes 19 chapters with assignments based on common core, state, and USCCB standards for curriculum topics surrounding Christianity, Judaism, Islam, First Nations, Hinduism, Buddhism, and African Tribal rituals.

Marinus Iwuchukwu - d. 1/17/23

Wed, 18 Jan 2023 14:44:58 GMT

The CTSA prays for Marinus Iwuchukwu who died yesterday, Tuesday, January 17th.

Dr. Kristine L. Blair, Dean, McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts, Duquesne University, wrote, "It is with profound sadness that I share the news of the death of Dr. Marinus Iwuchukwu, Associate Professor of Theology, who had taught in the Theology Department since 2008. A former Chair of the Department, Professor Iwuchukwu was an internationally recognized expert on interreligious dialogue and inclusive religious pluralism.”

Marinus' contributions to the CTSA include:

Presenter, Professor Elochukwu Uzukwu, C.S.Sp.: Review of His Scholarship and Contributions to African Theology in the Last Twenty Years,2019 CTSA Convention.

Chairperson, Local Arrangements Committee, 2019 CTSA Convention.

Presenter, Latino/a Theology - Consultation (Joint Session with Black Theology Consultation), 2022 CTSA Convention, where Marinus raised the question, "What have Christian churches and their leaders of our age done to ensure that the most outstanding structural, psychological, economic, and institutional recrudesce of slavery are effectively ended, as well as restituted, restored, repaired?"

Convener, Catholicity and Mission Topic Session,2016 CTSA Convention.

Presenter, Spirituality and the Scandal of the Mundane Selected Session: Spirituality and the Scandal of the Mundane: Race, Racism and Religious Identity (2016 CTSA Convention).

Eternal rest grant unto Marinus, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

The family of Marinus has structured a GoFundMe page to assist with funeral expenses and unexpected financial responsibilities. Here is the link to access the GoFundMe page: https://gofund.me/d84c94ba

Merton Conference Scholarships Available

Christopher Pramuk — Thu, 12 Jan 2023 01:59:12 GMT

Dear CTSA Colleagues,

I'm reaching out in my capacity as the current President of the International Thomas Merton Society to ask a favor.

The ITMS is working hard to get the word out about the Daggy Scholarship Program, which covers registration fees for emerging scholars at the 2023 General Meeting at St. Mary's College in South Bend, June 22-25. If you know of any MA, MTS, MDiv or PhD students - certainly undergraduates as well - that have interest in Merton or the conference theme (Wisdom/Sophia and the Divine Feminine), please share the links below, one of which includes a poster announcement with QR Code that can be posted anywhere visible to students. Inquiries can also be directed to my email below.

Thanks so much for your help!

Christopher Pramuk / Regis University / cpramuk@regis.edu

http://merton.org/ITMS/scholarships.aspx

http://merton.org/2023/default.aspx

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xCEpeGeeGbNKUy1PkqyXYlh62LefiPkR

Wisdom from the World's Religions: A Guide to Basic Human Questions

Tue, 10 Jan 2023 19:03:32 GMT

Congratulations to member Peter Feldmeier on the publication of his book Wisdom from the World's Religions: A Guide to Basic Human Questions (Orbis Books, Dec. 2022).

As 2023 Dawns

Francis X Clooney, SJ — Sat, 31 Dec 2022 14:00:33 GMT

Good morning, everyone. I am more than half way through my term as CTSA President, but still not sure what is expected of me beyond my specific duties. But let me take on the role here of official greeter - to wish you all a Happy New Year, and blessings for 2023.

Let us reflect with gratitude mixed with sadness on the many good things of this past year, and also on the horrific news items of 2022. Let us be thankful for all the ways we have tried, in our Society, to think and pray with the Church, for the Church, in today's vast world of many faiths and none. And let us realize how much more we have to do, as best we can.

I would be remiss not to mention the death today of Benedict XVI, retired pope, retired bishop of Rome. We all will have many memories of him, but for now let us simply pray that this good and holy man may now rest in the Lord's peace. See also my personal blog about him, here.

Peace, Frank

Joseph Bracken Interview on WSET in St. Louis

Fri, 16 Dec 2022 15:30:08 GMT

Member Joseph Bracken was interviewed on WSET radio and television in St. Louis about his latest book Reciprocal Causality in an Event-Filled World. Fr. Bracken engaged in conversation about the differences between a fixed hierarchy of beings from God to prime matter in classical metaphysics and an ever-changing hierarchy of incomplete entities in process of becoming more than what they are now. The sponsoring organization was The Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology with Fr. Sebastian Mahfood, O.P., as its current director. View the interview free of charge:

WCAT Radio - https://www.spreaker.com/episode/52191688

WCAT TV - https://youtu.be/814kKBo6ooc

Fordham University's new Advanced Certificate in Jesuit Studies

Shannon M. McAlister — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 19:50:38 GMT

Fordham's Graduate School of Religion has a new Advanced Certificate in Jesuit Studies offering the opportunity to explore the Jesuit tradition in Spirituality, History, and more. Courses are primarily online with a one-week summer intensive. For more information visit www.fordham.edu/gre.

David F. Kelly - d. 12/9/22

Wed, 14 Dec 2022 09:56:38 GMT

The CTSA remembers prays for longstanding member David F. Kelly who died on December 9th.

David F. Kelly attended The College of The Holy Cross and received his PhD from The University of Toronto. He was a Professor of Medical Ethics at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Eternal rest grant unto David, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

book

(Past member) — Mon, 12 Dec 2022 19:50:39 GMT

My book Moving Into the Ecumenical Future: Foundations of a Paradigm for Christian Ethics, a Pickwick Publication from Wipf and Stock appeared in November. It brings together my backgrounds in moral theology, developmental psychology, and ecumenism. The idea to write came while I was on a retreat at a Trappist monastery. The spiritual thread in the book comes from Saints Francis de Sales and Jane de Chantal.

Recap of "Synodality and Listening Reports from the Field"

Mon, 12 Dec 2022 15:51:47 GMT

The CTSA hosted the virtual event Synodality and Listening Reports from the Field on Monday, December 5th. Sixty-nine members attended the event.

Panelists:

Kristin Colberg, Associate Professor, St. John's School of Theology and Seminary; Member of the Theological Commission Assisting the Synod of Bishops
Stan Chu Ilo, Research Professor of World Christianity and African Studies; Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural Theology, De Paul University; Heads the "Doing Theology from the Existential Peripheries Project"
Edmund Chia, Sr. Lecturer, co-Director of Interreligious, Australian Catholic University; Former Executive Secretary, Office of ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs; Federation of Asian Bishops Conference

Moderator: Elyse Raby, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Santa Clara University

Breakout Questions Directed to Attendees

What causes perplexity in your region? Or your local church, or classroom, on this,? What do people need to know in order to become a more synodal church?

As Stan Chu Ilo framed his question, "How can the synodal process lead to local transformative praxes that avoid asymmetrical power relations? As theologians, what do we do with the stories we have heard?"

Questions to Panelists upon Return to Large Group

1. Where do we go from here; and how do we start now? How do we keep it local?

2. How might the “listening energy” around interreligious dialogue and ecumenism help us with synodality? And vice versa — how might becoming a more synodal church help Catholics in interreligious dialogue and ecumenical conversations?

3. Is there any explanation for the particular resistance to the synodal process on the part of (certain sectors) of the U.S. Church?

4. Do you see the Bishops/dioceses continuing with Synodal listening and discernment, or, are you concerned it’s been a “one and done” process?

5. How will the dynamics of power (bishops) at the next level receive, effect, or maybe filter the strong gathering of voices that has occurred at this level? What’s next, and what are the best ways we in our roles as teachers, pastors, CTSA can use our gifts to assure the furtherance of this synodal dynamic going forward? (Esp. since in many of our dioceses the local bishops did not engage the first stages of the synodal process with much enthusiasm.

6. How can the CTSA encourage its members to engage the synod process at the local level?

7. How many dioceses in the US participated in the Synodal process in this first phase? 2) How will we know what effect hearing from ‘the peripheries” (LGBTQ, women, NONES, etc.). had on the bishops who are listening to them? Where is that being captured in the process? 3) It causes perplexity that one of the largest dioceses in the US (Detroit) did not participate (Archbishop Allen Vignoran, said “we had a diocesan synod in 2016)

8. Most common perplexity: how can synodality unfold without dealing radically with the abuse and its cover up? Next common perplexity: similar concern for queer lives and relationships.

Chat Comments following Breakout Sessions

"The Spirit is out of the bottle; the conversation is not going back." Where do we as theologians go from here?
How could religious be included in the synanodal process?
Are there other documents of collected voices from the margins? How do we access them?
Arch Vigneron in Detroit says that we had a synod in 2016 so there is no need to participate. Wonder what he would say to Francis when Francis asks about synodality in Detroit? Women religious, social justice groups, the two Jesuit parishes and a few others had listening groups and sent their reports to LCWR and Rome. But what a missed opportunity for the People of God here.
“Called to reimagine our ecclesiology” !

The event was coordinated by the
Ad hoc Board Committee on Virtual Events

Elyse Raby, Chair (2021 - 2023)

Christina Astorga (2022 - 2024)

Mary Kate Holman (2022 - 2025)

The Board of Directors offers its sincere appreciation to the presenters and to the Committee for their excellent presentation and development of the event

The event was not recorded as recording permissions were not fully granted.

Lumen et Vita's Spring Graduate Conference - CFP

Thu, 08 Dec 2022 00:41:40 GMT

Lumen et Vita's* Spring Graduate Conference

"Scripture in the Christian Life: A Source of Inspiration and Conversation."

Conference Date: Saturday, March 18, 2023

Keynote speaker: Rev. Dr. Jaime Clark-Soles, Perkins School of Theology - Southern Methodist University

Abstracts are due on January 23rd, 2023 and should be emailed to lumenetvita@bc.edu. Remote and virtual attendance and presenting are possible. Detailed Call for Papers see Spring Conference Call for Papers 2023

*Lumen et Vita is the graduate theological journal of the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry.

Members' Recent Publications - Winter 2022 - 2023

Thu, 01 Dec 2022 12:51:35 GMT

Cheah, Joseph, Anti-Asian Racism: Myths, Stereotypes, Catholic Social Teaching (Orbis Books, Dec.1, 2022).

Book review by Thomas Hampton, Asbury Theological Seminary: https://aatfweb.org/2022/12/22/anti-asian-racism-myths-stereotypes-and-catholic-social-teaching/

writing foreign language reviews

J Matthew Ashley — Wed, 30 Nov 2022 15:34:35 GMT

Dear friends and colleagues,

I write in my capacity as a book review editor to ask that you get in touch with me if (a) you enjoy reading academic books in languages other than English, and (b) are willing to entertain a request to review such a book for Theological Studies. I can't guarantee that you would receive such a request, but I am very much looking to compile a list of theological scholars who have the wherewithal to read and review books in (among others) Spanish, French, German, and Italian.

If this appeals to you, could you reach out to me at jashley@nd.edu ? Thank you in advance for helping me in my work.

Matt Ashley
Book Review Editor, Theological Studies

Pamela Kirk Rappaport - d. 9/16/22

Mon, 28 Nov 2022 22:22:10 GMT

The CTSA remembers and prays for longstanding member Pamela Kirk Rappaport who died on Friday, September 16th.

Eternal rest grant unto Pamela, O Lord,

and let perpetual light shine upon her.

May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,

through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Associate Professor Emerita, Department of Religious Studies at St. John's University, New York

Services were privately held. Expressions of sympathy may be sent to Rev. Patrick S. L. Flanagan, C.M. at St. John's.

Book Reviewers Needed

Mon, 28 Nov 2022 21:54:05 GMT

Would you like to review a book of your choice?

http://CatholicBooksReview.org/ has posted reviews since 2000. It is ecumenical in spirit, and includes the various disciplines of theological/religious studies. There are many advantages for reviewers: you select the book of interest to you; I send you the book; you email me your review and I will post it within days. At the beginning of every month, I send out a list of books available for reviews through a listserv. It is a good way to keep in touch with the publications in your field of interest. If you are interested, please write to me at Pierre.Hegy@gmail.com

CTSA Member Pierre Hegy

Remembering Donald P. Senior, C.P. - d. 11-8-22

Wed, 09 Nov 2022 16:02:42 GMT

The CTSA remembers and prays for longstanding member Donald P. Senior, C.P. who died on Tuesday, November 8.

Eternal rest grant unto Don, O Lord,

and let perpetual light shine upon him.

May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,

through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Living Word or Dead(ly) Letter: A Response to Sandra Schneiders, CTSA Proceedings 47 (1992): 61-68.

Joyce Duriga, Ed. Father Donald Senior reflects on 60 years of religious life. ChicagoCatholic: Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Chicago (Chicagoland, Wednesday, July 22, 2020).

Letter from Sr. Barbara Reid, OP, President, Catholic Theological Union (CTU) and Thomas Brown, Chair of the Board of Trustees to the CTU Community follows:

Dear CTU Community,

We share with deepest sorrow that Rev. Donald P. Senior, CP entered eternal life on November 8, 2022.

With immense gratitude, we celebrate Fr. Don’s life and the extraordinary gifts he embodied as a world-renowned biblical scholar, prolific writer, and extraordinary pastoral leader. Fr. Don’s devotion to his family, to the Passionist Order, and to the extensive CTU community was unmatched.

More information will be forthcoming on the tremendous impact Fr. Don's life has had on Catholic Theological Union, on theological studies, on faith communities in Chicago and around the world, and on the Catholic Church.

We rejoice that he now experiences the fullness of God’s love for all eternity.

Arrangements are pending.

Sincerely,

Sr. Barbara Reid, OP
President

Thomas Brown
Chair of the Board of Trustees

The Intersection: A Podcast Series on Being a Whole Person in Higher Education Today

Wed, 02 Nov 2022 14:22:01 GMT

Hosted by Jennifer Abe, Loyola Marymount University

Sponsored by Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education

Colleges and universities today aspire to help students to become “whole persons.” But what would it look like if these institutions also committed to helping faculty, staff, and administrators to be whole?

Drawing on Jesuit traditions of contemplation, self-examination, discernment, and spiritual care, The Intersection dares to imagine wholeness as a shared good in higher education. It invites listeners to reflect on how the alignment between intellect and affect, between thinking and emotion can be a catalyst for more meaningful work and more meaningful lives.

Episode 1: On the Challenge and Promise of Being a Whole Person in Higher Education | Listen

Director of digital humanities and English professor at Michigan State University, Kathleen Fitzpatrick, and Ryan Duns, a Jesuit priest and theologian at Marquette University, reflect together about obstacles and possibilities related to being whole persons in higher education. How do academic culture and institutional structures hinder people from becoming whole? What practices can promote greater alignment between intellectual work and the affective experiences that bring meaning to our lives? And what conditions can help everyone who works in higher education–faculty, staff, and administrators–to be more fulfilled in their work together?

Episode 2: The Work of Wondering | Listen
Chemist Nicole Bouvier-Brown of Loyola Marymount University and poet Philip Metres of John Carroll University explore the power of wonder to help people in higher education become more integrated and fulfilled. What would happen if we consciously placed wonder at the center of all of our work in higher education? How might wonder be shared across the institutional structures that divide staff from faculty, students from administrators? And how can greater attention to the power of wonder help to make everyone in higher education more whole, together?

Episode 3: Creativity & Communion | Listen

Rachel Mindrup, a visual artist at Creighton University Medical School, and Aldo Billingslea, an actor and theater professor at Santa Clara University, explore the relationship between creativity and community. How can creativity help people in higher education to connect to their deepest desires and aspirations? And how can it become the source for nourishing growth into meaningful communities in the context of higher education?

Episode 4: Accepting the Gifts of Solitude & Mortality | Listen

Memoirist Howard Axelrod of Loyola University Chicago and religious studies scholar Gary Laderman of Emory University explore how the practice of solitude and the contemplation of mortality can help people to identify horizons of meaning in their lives and in their work. How might the experience of solitude and the contemplation of mortality help people in their search for wholeness? Can a deeper sense of their physical embodiment enable people to become better thinkers? How can examining the boundaries and limits of consciousness help people to live with greater freedom and authenticity?

Remembering Shawnee Daniels-Sykes - d. 10/31/22

Mon, 31 Oct 2022 17:33:28 GMT

The CTSA remembers longstanding member, colleague, mentor and dear friend of many Shawnee Daniels-Sykes, who died this morning.

Eternal rest grant unto Shawnee, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon her.
May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen

Convention contributions include:

Convener, Human Trafficking and Modern-Day Slavery Interest Group, Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, 73 (2018). Served as Moderator in 2017, see Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America 72

Convener, Black Catholic Theology Consultation: "The Sacramental Imagination--African Appropriation of Catholicism", Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, 67 (2012). Moderator, Black Catholic Theology Consultation, Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, 72 (2017); Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, 70 (2015) and "Black Catholic Theologians Across the Generations", Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, 63 (2013) . Co-convener and Presenter, Consultation on Black Catholic Theology, Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, 69 (2014).

Shawnee's Bio*

*Shawnee M. Daniels-Sykes, PhD", Women and The Catholic Social Tradition, University of San Francisco Blog Website Page.

Remembering Patrick Boyle, S.J.

Thu, 27 Oct 2022 13:17:46 GMT

The CTSA prays for Rev. Patrick Boyle, S.J. who died recently.

Patrick was affiliated with the University of St. Mary of the Lake and earned his degree in 1983 in Moral Theology at Marquette University. Below is a beautiful tribute to Patrick, who served in Vietnam, from the "We Were the Soldiers" website page posted in November of 2021.

May Patrick rest in peace.

Tribute to Patrick Boyle

Doing Theology from the Existential Peripheries: A Project of the Migrants and Refugees Section & DPIHD

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 14:26:48 GMT

CTSA Member Meghan Clark invites you to attend:

For the past year, five CTSA members (Stan Chu Ilo, Brad Hinze, Jennifer Owens-Jofre, Darren Dias, and myself) have been part of a wider team of six regional working groups of theologians working on a project called "Doing Theology from the Existential Peripheries" The https://migrants-refugees.va/theology-from-the-peripheries/project, "Doing Theology from the Existential Peripheries is a research project of the Migrants and Refugees Section (M&R) of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, Holy See. It aims at deepening the teaching of Pope Francis and promoting a renewal of theology. " On Oct 12, 2022, this project and a website of resources was formally presented publicly at a Seminar in Rome (now available on youtube).

On the Dicastery's website you can find the full North American Report:

https://migrants-refugees.va/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/North-America-Final-Report-FORMATTED-1.pdf

Under "Publications" are all the Regional Working Group Reports: https://migrants-refugees.va/resource-center/publications/

And Under "Food For Thought" are more public facing videos and guidebooks being uploaded: https://migrants-refugees.va/resource-center/food-for-thought/

While pastoral theologians and many others, including some of us on the working group, have engaged in interviews/fieldwork inspired theology before, this project is unique in both its global scope as well as its ecclesial nature - It is a project of and for the Migrants and Refugee Section of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development - not one designed or driven by any individual academic theologian's research or such.

We look forward to presenting more on this project at the 2023 CTSA, however, wanted to share the links and information on the Dicastery website with our fellow CTSA members :-)

Warm Regards,
Meghan

Full North American Working Group also includes Bill Cavanaugh, Jaime Waters, Tom Landy, and Fr. Tom Lynch

Psychology & Theology of Faith Sub-granting Competition

Fri, 21 Oct 2022 17:55:08 GMT

With the support of the John Templeton Foundation, the University of St. Thomas (MN) announces The Psychology and Theology of Faith sub-granting competition, to fund academic cross-training in the psychological sciences for scholars of Christian theology or philosophy of religion with research interests relating to religious belief or religious commitment. Six successful applicants will each receive a $70,000 award providing the opportunity to take courses in and work with mentors from the psychological sciences, in order to apply and leverage insights from the psychological sciences in their work as theologians and philosophers. Applications are due Jan 23, 2023. For more information, see

https://cas.stthomas.edu/departments/areas-of-study/philosophy/academic-cross-training-grant/index.html.

Durham University’s Centre for Catholic Studies launches FCJ Bicentenary Scholarship Fund

(Past member) — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 12:49:30 GMT

The Centre for Catholic Studies (CCS) at Durham University has launched a £400,000 postgraduate scholarship fund in partnership with The Faithful Companions of Jesus (FCJ) to mark the 200th anniversary of the founding of the FCJ Society.

Funded over the next four years, the Sisters want to enhance their apostolic outreach and to support ministries which are aligned with the FCJ charism, ethos and the calls of their 2019 General Chapter.

The partnership with the CCS continues the Sisters’ dedication to education and chimes with one of the CCS’s stated aims, to form outstanding theologians and scholars of Catholicism who will shape the future from the richness of Catholic tradition in the church, academy, and public life.

Sr Bríd Liston fcJ, Area Leader, commented: “it is good to be able to support the development of students in the CCS, Durham University, given the commitment of the FCJ Society to education in the North East of England, particularly in Middlesbrough and Hartlepool, for over one hundred and fifty years.”

Scholarship applications are open to all (subject to usual Durham University eligibility criteria), and encouraged among those hoping to pursue postgraduate research across broad themes aligned to the FCJ Chapter calls: ‘Compassionate Action’, and ‘Care for Our Common Home’.

Founded in 2007, the CCS at Durham University represents a creative partnership between academy and church: a centre within the pluralist, public academy for critically constructive Catholic studies of the highest academic standing. The CCS offers a wide-range of scholarships and bursaries funded by a number of partner congregations, organisations and individuals.

For more information on CCS Scholarships and Bursaries please visit: https://www.durham.ac.uk/research/institutes-and-centres/catholic-studies/facilities/funding-/

More information

For more information, please contact:

Prof Paul Murray, CCS Director: +44 (0) 7834567792

Tim Guinan, CCS Development Executive: +44 (0) 7771500808

Theresa Phillips, CCS Administrator: +44 (0) 7840854865

Sr Bríd Liston fcJ, Area Leader: +353 (0) 1 492 4093. Office: +353 (0) 1 492 4044

https://www.fcjsisters.org/

Thomas L. Schubeck, S.J. - d. 10/13/22

Fri, 14 Oct 2022 15:19:44 GMT

The CTSA prays for member Thomas L. Schubeck, S.J. who died yesterday, October 13, 2022.

Tom, Professor Emeritus, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, at John Carroll University's focused his work in the area of social ethics, specializing in the ethics of Latin American Liberation Theology and the relationship of love to justice in social ethics, as well as the theological/psychological dimensions of hope. He worked and wrote on pastoral work in prison ministry and racial justice (JCU website; see https://works.bepress.com/thomas_schubeck/).

May Tom, and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Thinking about places and spaces not reached by the process of Synodality

Neomi D. DeAnda — Tue, 11 Oct 2022 19:15:28 GMT

Chisme Symposium 2022 provides two pre-recorded videos to an ongoing conversation thinking about gossip, what is not talked about, scriptures and scripturalizing and chisme as a theological language del pueblo. These may be some of the spaces and places not attended by the synodal processes. Visit http://chisme.space and http://chisme.org (directed to same site) for more on this topic.

Indigenous Peoples and the Catholic Church

Cecilia Titizano — Fri, 07 Oct 2022 16:05:46 GMT

Many native and Indigenous communities across what today is known as the Americas share a deep appreciation for their cultures, identities, and Christian faith. Despite the brutality of colonial Christianity, many find strength in Christ and continue to fight for a dignified place in the Catholic Church called to recognize her indigenous roots in this continent. The Virgin of Guadalupe, the Taino Cacique Enriquillo, and the Mohawk Saint Catherine Tekakwitha speak of this historical reality. On October 10, Indigenous Peoples Day, let’s honor the depths of their cosmologies that speak of an interconnected world full of relatives, all God’s children called into ethical relationships.

Cecilia Titizano, Ph.D.

mtitizanolafuente@scu.edu

Laudato Si Film "The Letter" Premieres at the Vatican Today

(Past member) — Tue, 04 Oct 2022 16:27:51 GMT

The Laudato Si' Movement announces the release of the feature documentary The Letter, produced by Oscar-winning Off the Fence Productions in collaboration with Laudato Si’ Movement and the Vatican, released by YouTube Originals. The film brings to life the transformative vision of Laudato Si’, Pope Francis’ encyclical letter on the environment, to inspire lasting action for our common home.

The film premieres at the Vatican in Synod Hall, Tuesday, October 4th, the Feast of St. Francis.

The film features Pope Francis and diverse stories from India, Senegal, Hawaii, and the Brazilian Amazon. Each of these local leaders represents a voice that is not being heard–the voice of wildlife, the voice of the Indigenous, the voice of the youth, and the voice of the poor. The film follows these people coming together in dialogue with each other and with Pope Francis as they find unity in their distinct worldviews and strength in our common values.

The film is downloadable and is an excellent resource for classes, campus ministry, environmental clubs, service organizations, mission groups, and Board of Trustee retreats.

You can view the trailer here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3EBHebH17Y

30% Discount for CTSA Members on Individual Subscriptions

Mon, 03 Oct 2022 23:41:59 GMT

CTSA members are eligible for a 30% discount on the individual subscription rate for Theological Studies. Through this arrangement, the journal wishes to continue its long standing support for the CTSA, and, as always, it welcomes submissions from the CTSA community. Should CTSA members wish to take advantage of this discount, please contact the North American office in Thousand Oaks, CA at (805) 499-0721, option #1, then option #1 again.

Christopher Steck, S.J.
Editor-in-Chief
Theological Studies

Call for Presentations: International Thomas Merton Society

Christopher Pramuk — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 17:13:14 GMT

CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS Eighteenth General Meeting International Thomas Merton Society – June 22-25, 2023 Saint Mary’s College Notre Dame, Indiana “Sophia Comes Forth, Reaching.” Deadline extended to Oct 31.

Session formats include:

1. Scholarly Papers designed for presentation in twenty minutes for an audience of academics and non-academics.

2. Workshops designed for presentation in ninety minutes to involve interactive participation incorporating adult learning strategies and/or small group discussion.

3. Creative/Dramatic Presentations designed for presentation in ninety minutes using music poetry, dance or other media to provide insight into aspects of Merton’s life or work.

4. Guided Meditation/Prayer Sessions designed for presentation in ninety minutes, particularly those using Merton’s writings as a framework for prayer and meditative reflection.

Proposals of no more than 250 words and a short biographical statement (one to two sentences) should be submitted by ~~October 15~~, Oct 31, 2022 by e-mail attachment to itms2023@merton.org or by mail to: ITMS 2023, Thomas Merton Center, Bellarmine University, 2001 Newburg Road, Louisville, Kentucky 40205 USA. See full details at the link below.

http://merton.org/2023/2023call.pdf

INSeCT Lectures on October 12: Decolonizing Theologies, Decolonizing the World

Francis X Clooney, SJ — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 11:34:10 GMT

Good morning. Maddison Reddie-Clifford, Executive Secretary of INSeCT, has asked us CTSA members to take note of two important lectures on October 12. See below information on the October 12 lectures and how to register. The October 12 lectures are explained in more detail at the link Maddison gives, as is the whole series. I told Maddison, and INSeCT President Ruben (Sonny) Mendoza, that we would all take note of this series - any maybe even attend by Zoom, despite the difficult spread of time zones (eg, the lectures will be at 3am Boston time!)

The CTSA of the future will thrive all the more insofar as we engage in real and regular conversation with our colleagues in all parts of the world, so let us pray and think with INSeCT as this series proceeds.

Frank Clooney, SJ (CTSA President)

The International Network of Societies for Catholic Theology (INSeCT)

cordially invites you

to its online lecture series

with the theme,

“Decolonizing Theologies, Decolonizing the World.”

The lectures will be held on 12 October 2022, Wednesday, 0700 GMT/UTC (0900CEST Germany / 0800WAT Nigeria / 1230IST India / 1500PHST Manila / 1800AEDT Melbourne / 0000PDT LA / 0300EDT NYC / 0400BRT Rio de Janeiro).

Kindly register in advance for the webinar: https://ateneo-edu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0vf-6pqT4qGtBtaijCJ4gGneNHAiuVkkR5

Sincerely, Maddison Clifford, INSeCT Executive Secretary

CTSA Members' New Publications

Mon, 26 Sep 2022 22:55:48 GMT

Jessica Coblentz and Daniel P. Horan, OFM, eds., The Human in a Dehumanizing World: Reexamining Theological Anthropology and Its Implications (Orbis Books, 2022).

Kevin C. Baxter & David E. DeCosse, eds., Conscience & Catholic Education: Theology, Administration, & Teaching (Orbis Books, 2022).

Richard R. Gaillardetz, Thomas H. Groome, and Richard Lennon, eds., Priestly Ministry and the People of God: Hopes and Horizons (Orbis Books, 2022).

Roger Haight, S.J., The Nature of Theology: Challenges, Frameworks, Basic Beliefs (Orbis Books, 2022).

Stan Chu Ilo, ed., Handbook of African Catholicism (Orbis Books, 2022).

Thomas P. Rausch, S.J., Pope Benedict XVI: The Significance of His Theological Vision (Paulist Press, 2022).

Elizabeth T. Vasko and Lyndsie Ferrara, True Crime and the Justice of God: Ethics, Media, and Forensic Science (Orbis Books, 2022).

Call for Papers: Schreiter Institute Symposium on a Praxis of Reconciliation

Kevin P. Considine — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 19:24:36 GMT

The Robert J Schreiter, CPPS, Institute for Precious Blood Spirituality at Catholic Theological Union invites contributions to a symposium focused on a praxis of reconciliation, rooted in Schreiter’s groundbreaking work, that examines reconciliation through the lenses of trauma, culture, and spirituality.

Our symposium, A Praxis of Reconciliation: Trauma, Culture, & Spirituality, will explore opportunities and challenges for interculturally recognizing, narrating, and healing various manifestations of trauma in praxes of reconciliation and restorative justice. Schreiter’s work balanced scholarly rigor with practical effectiveness and spiritual guidance and this symposium will continue in that pathway. Each panel will be composed of one established scholar, one artist or practitioner, and one graduate student or young scholar, each of whom will do a presentation on their understanding of their session’s topic through their own work and then a facilitator will bring everyone into mutually constructive dialogue.

The event will take place at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago on May 12-13, 2023. Keynote remarks will be offered on the night of May 12 by Dr. Susan Abraham. May 12 will bring a daylong conversation among symposium participants and May 13 will bring a half-day conversation and a site visit. That conversation will be organized into four topical seminar-style sessions.

We invite papers from current graduate students and recent Ph.D. recipients (5 years or less) in theology, philosophy, peace studies, psychology, humanities, the arts, ethics, politics, sociology, or any allied field. Proposals must be submitted no later than November 15, 2022. All papers should be conversant with Schreiter’s work on Reconciliation and seek to engage in mutually-informative and mutually-critical dialogue for the purpose of better understanding and assisting in the work of healing the wounds of trauma. Authors selected for participation will be notified no later than December 15th, 2022. Draft papers should be submitted no later than March 31^st, 2023.

For consideration, paper proposals must be submitted to schreiterinstitute@ctu.edu no later than November 15, 2022 containing the following information:

· Author(s) name(s) and contact information
· Year of Ph.D. or graduate student status
· Title and an abstract no longer than 250 words

Each accepted symposium participant will be awarded a stipend of $500 to help defray travel and lodging expenses.

Please direct questions for clarification to schreiterinstitute@ctu.edu.

New, Tuition-Funded Fordham M.T.S. Program at Fordham- Applications Open

Christine Firer Hinze — Wed, 21 Sep 2022 17:54:46 GMT

Dear CTSA Colleagues,

We are delighted to announce that applications are open through January 9th, 2023, for the inaugural cohort of scholars in Fordham University's new Master's in Theological Studies degree. Full information about this rigorous, two-year, 48-credit program, plus a shareable brochure, are available here and here. Full tuition scholarships available for competitive applicants. Will you please spread the word among your faculty colleagues, and especially with your theology-passionate students who might be interested in applying? For questions please write to hinze@fordham.edu

Thank you so much! Christine Firer Hinze, Fordham Theology

Recording of Interfaith Conversation: "Religion after Roe: Abortion in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam"

Wed, 21 Sep 2022 15:22:34 GMT

Religion after Roe: Abortion in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
An Interfaith Conversation at John Carroll University - Sept. 19, 2022

Watch the Video

Panelists

Rahmah Abdulaleem, Executive Director, KARAMAH
Julie Hanlon Rubio, CTSA Member and Shea-Heusamen Professor of Christian Social Ethics and Associate Dean at Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University
Michal Raucher, Associate Professor, Jewish Studies, Rutgers University

In overturning Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court thrust abortion into the headlines, reigniting with new intensity one of the most painful battles of the culture wars in this country. Abortion is a complex legal question, a divisive social issue, and—for many Americans—a deeply religious matter. Too often, religious concerns are written off or warped to serve political agendas. Too often, we fail to recognize the profound convictions that motivate religious people on all sides of this issue. Join us as scholars of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam discuss the different ways in which their traditions understand abortion, and how their beliefs are lived out in a pluralistic, religiously diverse democracy.

Sponsored by The Breen Chair in Catholic Theology, The Mandel Chair in Jewish Studies, The Nursi Chair in Islamic Studies, and The Tuohy Chair in Interreligious Studies.

Boston College Online Events Acknowleding Richard Gaillardetz' Contributions to the Field of Ecclesiology

Mon, 19 Sep 2022 16:38:57 GMT

Boston College hosting two online events acknowledging Richard Gaillardetz' contributions to the field of ecclesiology:

Friday, September 23rd 7:30 p.m. (ET) - Livestreamed

Last Lecture Loving and Reforming a Holy, yet Broken Church
Richard Gaillardetz, Boston College

Last Lecture Livestream Link

Saturday, September 24th 10:15 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (ET) - Livestreamed Conference

The Contributions of Richard Gaillardez
to the Field of Ecclesiology
Hosted by Boston College

Conference Livestream Link

Center of Theological Inquiry - Call for Applications

Mon, 19 Sep 2022 16:27:34 GMT

Center of Theological Inquiry - Call for Applications
Thriving in Diverse Context
A Study Program on Psychological Science
for Researchers in Christian Theology
June 2023 - May 2025

Program made possible by grant from the John Templeton Foundation

Call for Applications - Details

Center of Theological Inquiry / Apply

Prestigous Catholic Book Award bestowed to Member Jose Mario Bautista Maximiano

Fri, 16 Sep 2022 15:59:23 GMT

CTSA member's Jose Mario Bautista Maximiano book MCMLXXII 500-Taong Kristiyao (1872-1972) Vol. 2 won Best Book in Ministry at the 16th Cardinal Sin Catholic Book Awards on September 15, 2022).

A feature article, published by UCA News and printed by Singapore-based Sunday Examiner, is nominated to the Catholic Mass Media Awards 2022 this coming November.

See: https://www.facebook.com/ccfi.claretian/videos/775899616999426

John W. O'Malley, S.J. - d. Sept. 11

Wed, 14 Sep 2022 15:34:00 GMT

The CTSA remembers John W. O'Malley, S.J.,
who died on September 11.

See the Catholic News Service's, "Jesuit Fr. John O'Malley, church historian, teacher, author, dies at 95" (NCROnline, Sept. 12, 2022) <https://www.ncronline.org/news/people/jesuit-fr-john-omalley-church-historian-teacher-author-dies-95> to reach a beautiful reflection on Fr. O'Malley's life.

Eternal rest grant unto John, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May he rest in peace.
Love always, in the name of Jesus.

Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations - CFPs

Sun, 11 Sep 2022 18:35:17 GMT

Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations is the journal of the Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations and is published by the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning at Boston College. The Journal publishes peer-reviewed scholarship on the history, theology, and contemporary realities of Jewish-Christian relations and reviews new materials in the field. The Journal also provides a vehicle for exchange of information, cooperation, and mutual enrichment in the field of Christian-Jewish studies and relations. SCJR is included in the following indexes: ATLA’s Full-Text Journal Index and Religion Database; the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ); EBSCO's Academic Search Complete (ASC), Historical Abstracts, America: History and Life, and Humanities International Index; Index to Jewish Periodicals; ProQuest Religion Database; and RAMBI (Index of Articles on Jewish Studies).

Access CFP

Rosemarie E. Gorman (d. 8-20-22)

Mon, 29 Aug 2022 17:28:04 GMT

The CTSA prays for Rosemarie E. Gorman who died on Saturday, August 20. Rosemarie was a longstanding member of the Society. Her area of study was moral theology and she had ties to Fairfield University. Rosemary's dissertation was "The Contributions of Gustave Gutierrez and Juan Luis Segunda to a Theology of Social Sin".

Eternal rest grant unto Rosemarie, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon her.
May she rest in peace.
Love always, in the name of Jesus.

The family will receive friends at a visitation to be held at the Green Funeral Home, 57 Main St., Danbury on Monday, August 29 from 4pm to 7pm.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in her honor on Tuesday, August 30 at 10:30am at St. Mary’s Church in Bethel. Burial will follow in Saint Mary Cemetery, Bethel.

Obituary: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/danbury-ct/rosemarie-gorman-10897307

Communication Theology Resource

Frances M Plude — Sat, 20 Aug 2022 13:41:50 GMT

To Fellow CTSA members

From Frances Forde Plude

Perhaps the term COMMUNICATION THEOLOGY is new to you, but this field has been developing like a mosaic – integrating communication and cultural studies into theology and religious thought.

Now there is an ARCHIVE of selected essays in this CT field at francesfordeplude.org

There are four digital books at the site. Volume 1 includes technology policy texts; Volume 2 essays focus on how the digital culture affects all communities of faith on the ground; the third and fourth volumes, over 500pp each, contain Communication and Theology essays. Volume 4 has CT texts from the US, Europe, Asia, and Africa.

The Table of Contents of each volume consists of direct links to individual texts so each one can be searched, read easily and even printed out for use by you, students, and interested parties globally.

All this gives access to ideas and conference materials in this developing field.

Please share this information with colleagues and students.

Dr. Frances Forde Plude, fplude@gmail.com, francesfordeplude.org

Sr. Ellen Leonard, CSJ - d. 8/18/22

Sat, 20 Aug 2022 09:33:48 GMT

The CTSA prays for Sr. Ellen Leonard, CSJ, who died on Thursday, August 18. Sr. Ellen was a longstanding member of the Society who served as a member of the Board of Directors in 1992 - 1994. she was honored the Ann O'Hara Graff Award in 2004.

Sr. Ellen presented numerous times at the CTSA's annual convention. Her presentations available through the CTSA's Proceedings are as follows:

The Bible and the Bodies of Women: Development of Doctrine, Definitive Teaching, and the Case of Loisy (1999)

Experience as a Source for Theology (1988)

The Canadian Experience: Challenges and Contradictions for the Church (1998)

Experience as a Resource for Feminist Thought (1992)

Obituary

Sister Ellen Leonard, CSJ

who in the 71^st year of her religious life, entered eternal life on Thursday, August 18, 2022

Visitation will take place on Monday, August 22, 2022

10:00 – 10:25 a.m.

St. Anselm’s Church

1 MacNaughton Road, Toronto ON

Followed by a celebration of a Mass of Christian Burial

Interment at Holy Cross Cemetery

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sister Ellen Leonard CSJ (formerly Sister Loyola)

died peacefully at the Sisters of St. Joseph Residence, 2 O’Connor Drive, Toronto, Ontario

on Thursday, August 18, 2022, in the 71^st year of her religious life.

She was predeceased by her parents, Hugh Leonard and Mary (nee Barry) Leonard. She is survived by her beloved sister, Anne Leonard. She will be sadly missed by her family, her faithful friend, Mary Rose D’Angelo, sisters in community, colleagues and friends.

Sister Ellen was born in Toronto and was baptized at Blessed Sacrament Parish. Following graduation from St. Joseph’s College School, she entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto in 1951, where her aunt, Sister Ignatia Leonard, CSJ was a member of the congregation.

Sister Ellen entered the teaching profession and taught elementary school for many years before pursuing further studies and obtaining a Ph.D. in Theology from the University of St. Michael’s College in 1978.

Sister Ellen was among the first women to study theology in Canada, and to teach at the Faculty of Theology at St. Michael’s. Following Vatican 2, Sister Ellen welcomed the opportunity to teach seminarians and laity, encouraging all, and women in particular, to participate more meaningfully in Church leadership. When asked in an interview “about what are you most proud” she replied, “working with women students”.

The advancement of women’s equality was the central priority for Sister Ellen both in the Church and in academia. Through talks given in parish halls or at conferences on the role of women in theological education she educated others about women’s equality.

Sister Ellen had a joy and zest for life and loved music, bridge, painting and skiing.

She possessed a generous, joyful, spirit, incisive intelligence and was a mentor to many. She loved the study of theology and was loved by her students and colleagues at the Faculty of Theology at the University of St. Michael’s College.

In recent years, Sister Ellen experienced failing health and moved to the residence of the Sisters of St. Joseph, where she was assisted with her care by the very generous and dedicated staff. Sister Ellen was supported by her sisters in community as well as many close friends and colleagues.

Visitation will take place on Monday, August 22, 2022
at St. Anselm’s Church,1 MacNaughton Road, Toronto ON
from 10:00 - 10:25 a.m.
Followed by the celebration of the Mass of Christian Burial
Interment at Holy Cross Cemetery

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Fontbonne Ministries

791 Queen Street East, Toronto, ON M4M 1H6

Sr. Regina Coll, CSJ - d. Aug. 8, 2022

Thu, 18 Aug 2022 13:38:51 GMT

Sr. Regina Coll, CSJ, (died on August 8, 2022) was a member of the CTSA for many years and was awarded the Ann O'Hara Graff Memorial Award in 1999. Sr. Regina's research focused on "Women and Religion".

Eternal rest, grant unto Sr. Regina, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon her.

Obituary

CTSA Committees for 2022-23

Francis X Clooney, SJ — Wed, 17 Aug 2022 21:55:18 GMT

Good afternoon, everyone. I hope the summer has been a good one for you, just the mix of rest and work that you had hoped for. I am writing now, as summer wanes, to thank in public all our continuing and new committee members, who have generously agreed to serve on the range of our important committees. You can find the list here. Let us all wish our colleagues well in the work they will be doing in the months to come. You can be in touch with committee members if you have questions or ideas pertinent to their work, or just email me and I can pass along relevant ideas and questions as needed. And if you have a particular interest in being on this or that committee in the future (new appointments are made in June-July, as some members rotate off), you can also let me or President-Elect Kristin Heyer, or Executive Director Mary Jane Ponyik know. Peace, Frank Clooney, SJ (President, 2022-23)

CTSA - Fall Member Publications

Wed, 17 Aug 2022 00:17:34 GMT

Simonmary Asese A. Aihokhai, ed., Religion, Women of Color, and the Suffrage Movement: The Journey to Holistic Freedom (Lexington Books, September 2022). CTSA member contributors include: Simonmary Asese A. Aihiokhai, Christina Astorga, Kathleen Dorsey Bellow, C. Vanessa White, Camillus O. Njoku.

Karl Rahner, (Jakob Rinderknecht, ed. and trans.) An Ecumenical Priesthood: The Spirit of God and the Structure of the Church (Fortress Press, Aug. 2022).

Recent publications

(Past member) — Mon, 15 Aug 2022 19:42:45 GMT

https://www.maryvale.ac.uk/double-celebration.html

- Mary, Daughter Zion; an Introduction to the Mariology of Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI)

- Actio Divina: the Marian Mystery of the Church in the Theology of Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI)

Journal article by member: Considering a Case for Rights and Charity

Anne Masters — Mon, 15 Aug 2022 19:30:08 GMT

Hi! I'm a relatively new member of CTSA and would like to share my recently published article, "Considering a case for rights and charity." In it I point out the problems of each and propose the benefits of joining forces, specifically pertaining to persons with disabilities (PWD). Violations of the rights of PWD is typically contextually dependent and difficult to generalize, and the burden of proof is on the person whose rights have been violated. However, the predominantly operative coopted version of charity is also problematic. It is well entrenched in religious imaginations with deep roots and the predominant thread of a metanarrative I named the shadow narrative. The shadow narrative claims concern for PWD (mostly), but in fact reinforces the stigmatizing and marginalizing mindsets, and their unconscious motivations. Rational argument cannot counter the emotions that maintain it. It is necessary to bring it into the open, and highlight cultural insertions into the charity tradition that undermine it and the people it claims to serve. Then a recovered sense of charity, concerned with justice, can be a valuable partner with rights to affirm the dignity and participation of PWD in society and faith communities. I write through lens of Catholic social teaching, but the principles discussed are applicable within other faith traditions.

https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/YXBIIEXFP2HKHCDBJISV/full?target=10.1080/1474225x.2022.2055330

Anne Masters (2022) Considering a case for rights and charity, International, Journal for the Study of the Christian Church, 22:1, 58-74, DOI: 10.1080/1474225X.2022.2055330

Announcing Report: “Beyond Bad Apples: Understanding Clergy Perpetrated Sexual Abuse as a Structural Problem and Cultivating Strategies for Change”

Paul J. Schutz — Mon, 15 Aug 2022 05:09:49 GMT

Dear CTSA Colleagues,

Julie Hanlon Rubio (JSTB/JSTSCU) and I are happy to announce the release of “Beyond Bad Apples: Understanding Clergy Perpetrated Sexual Abuse as a Structural Problem and Cultivating Strategies for Change.” Part of Fordham University’s Taking Responsibility project, this study synthesizes research on clericalism, structural theory, and sexual violence with data from an original survey of nearly 300 professional lay ministers on sex, gender, power, clericalism, and clergy perpetrated sexual abuse. We hope you’ll consider reading and sharing the report.

https://scu.edu/beyondbadapples

We pray that our work will contribute to a reduction in sexual violence in the Church and a future free from the challenges of clericalism.

With gratitude,
Paul Schutz & Julie Rubio

Cuestiones Teológicas, Pontifical Bolivariana University

Maria-Pilar Aquino — Thu, 11 Aug 2022 22:16:28 GMT

Opportunity for Publication, highly recommended:

Please consider submitting essays for publication in the theological Journal Cuestiones Teológicas (Spanish, Portuguese, and English), indexed and external peer review. The journal's website reads as follows: "The Cuestiones Teológicas Journal is a publication edited by the School of Theology of Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana. Its main topic is focused on the great areas of theological knowledge, Fundamental Theology, Dogmatic Theology, Biblical Theology, Moral Theology, Pastoral Theology and Church History, from interdisciplinary positions, seeking to generate an open dialogue with current culture. Its purpose is to present the results of researches developed by national and international researchers and professors, with a particular interest on presenting the aspects of the methodology and the methods used for the research, in order for them to contribute to the theological knowledge. Keywords: Fundamental Theology, Dogmatics, Bible, Moral, Pastoral, Church History, Spirituality, Interculturality."

https://revistas.upb.edu.co/index.php/cuestiones/index

New Directions in Ecclesiology: The Contributions of Richard Gaillardetz

Wed, 10 Aug 2022 14:45:25 GMT

New Directions in Ecclesiology:
The Contributions of Richard Gaillardetz
September 23 - 24, 2022, In-person conference
The Institution for the Liberal Arts, Boston College

Boston College is hosting a conference in honor of CTSA member Richard Gaillardetz (CTSA President 2013-2014). The events will occur in person in Gasson Hall, 100, on the Chestnut Hill campus of Boston College. They are free and open to the public, but registration for Saturday is required.

About the Conference

The author of nine books, editor of six others, and author of over a hundred articles, Prof Gaillardetz has been one of the most important voices of his generation in the development of ecclesiology, the interpretation and reception of Vatican II, and questions of authority in the church. His 1997 Teaching with Authority: A Theology of the Magisterium of the Church, is a standard text in its field and has remained in print for a quarter century. Others of his books have remained in print, or gone into second and revised editions, or been translated into other languages, and continue to define the parameters of their questions. The contributors to his edited volumes on Vatican II and ecclesiological topics include many of the most influential theologians actively writing in English in the field of ecclesiology today. He has also been a sought-after lecturer.

Questions about the nature of religious authority and especially the authority of Catholic institutions are at the heart of Prof Gaillardetz’s work. Our Saturday event will feature two keynote addresses and three panel papers by senior and emerging scholars in the field of ecclesiology. They will examine Prof. Gaillardetz’s contributions to these questions, and their relevance to the growing edges of the field of ecclesiology.

On the preceding evening, Friday, September 23, Prof. Gaillardetz will deliver a public lecture: “Loving and Reforming a Holy yet Broken Church.”

These events will occur in person in Gasson Hall, 100, on the Chestnut Hill campus of Boston College. They are free and open to the public, but registration for Saturday is required:

Link to Conference Details and to Access Registration Link

Urge Your Institution to Sign a Catholic Letter Supporting the Inflation Reduction Act, aka Climate Bill

(Past member) — Mon, 08 Aug 2022 19:47:55 GMT

Dear CTSA members and friends,

As you know there is a critically important climate bill going through Congress right now. It has passed the Senate and is now in the House.

I ask you to consider if your institution can sign this open letter to Congress as a Catholic institution in support of essential climate action. The USCCB is in support. Please contact your President and Mission VPs.

There really is no other political hope on the horizon. Increasing the number of signatories to this letter is highly significant.

Thank you,

Erin Lothes

Linked here are the open letter developed by the Catholic Climate Covenant and sign on form .

At the same time, you might ask for a meeting in the fall to discuss divestment, which is a significant action with implications for our students' future and our institutions' mission integrity.

Update from the Covenant:

Though you're likely well aware, it's worth repeating that this national legislation contains the most significant climate provisions in a generation, when the window of opportunity to prevent climate catastrophe is closing, and which if passed, will significantly reduce national carbon emissions, and revive U.S. leadership and potentially international commitments to the needed GHG reductions for the sake of the viability of our shared future.

The Official Catholic Directory has emailed over 4800 Catholic leaders, asking them to sign their institutions onto the open letter to Congress. (The open letter and sign on form are on the advocacy page of the Godsplanet website, which is the US platform for the Vatican based Laudato Si Action Platform.)

Also noteworthy in this effort to have Congress pass climate solutions commensurate with the reality, is the strong parallel support from the USCCB. The USCCB has revived their earlier action alert calling for $555b in climate change investments on their website again.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/08/07/us/climate-tax-deal-vote

New York Times

CFP - Society for Christian Scholarship in Music's Annual Meeting

Thu, 28 Jul 2022 11:07:41 GMT

CALL FOR PAPERS

Annual Meeting of the Society for Christian Scholarship in Music

Deadline for proposals, October 1, 2022

Conference dates: March 2–4, 2023

Conference web site: www.scsmusic.org

Conference venue: Duke Divinity School, Durham, NC

Individual papers, research posters, panels, and lecture recitals on any topic related to the study of music and Christianity are welcome. We invite submissions representing a variety of approaches and perspectives, including ethnomusicology, historical musicology, theory and analysis, philosophy, theology, liturgy, congregational music, as well as other methodologies. All submissions should have a clear title. Lecture-recital proposals should contain the list of pieces with approximate timings.

SCSM encourages submissions from current graduate students. A $250 prize will be awarded for the best paper presented by a graduate student at the meeting. In addition, graduate students whose proposals are accepted are eligible to apply for travel assistance from the SCSM Graduate Student Travel Fund.

Note: We are planning on an in-person meeting, along with some online offerings. When submitting a proposal, please indicate whether you intend to present in person or via online. (Changes in presentation format may be possible, but only up to a deadline to be determined by the program committee.) Regardless, all conference participants need to be available during the days of the conference for synchronous sessions.

Please visit the conference website for proposal details. Please send submissions or questions to Mark Peters, program committee chair, at mark.peters@trnty.edu.

"Being Catholic Interreligiously" HDS interviews CTSA President Francis X. Clooney, S.J.

Tue, 19 Jul 2022 11:31:18 GMT

In the web article, Being Catholic Interreligiously, Michael Naughton interviews CTSA President Francis X. Clooney, S.J. A link to the article is posted below.

Michael Naughton, Being Catholic Interreligiously, (Harvard Divinity School, July 18, 2022):

Being Catholic Interreligiously

Queer God de Amor and Disruptive Cartographers Series

Miguel Diaz — Tue, 12 Jul 2022 00:44:26 GMT

https://www.fordhampress.com/fordham-university-press-acquires-groundbreaking-series/

FORDHAM UNIVERSITY PRESS ACQUIRES GROUNDBREAKING SERIES DISRUPTIVE CARTOGRAPHERS: DOING THEOLOGY LATINAMENTE

New York — Fordham University Press (FUP) acquires Queer God de Amor by Latino

theologian Miguel Díaz. The book is part of the Disruptive Cartographers: Doing Theology Latinamente series, which will also be moving to Fordham University Press from Orbis Books with this volume. Previous volumes include The Word Became Culture and the award-winning Revelation in the Vernacular.

About the Series

Disruptive Cartographers: Doing Theology Latinamente is multivolume series that re-maps theology and pushes out in new directions from varying coordinates across a spectrum of latinidad as lived in the USA. Authors reconfigure and disrupt key areas like revelation, eschatology, and trinity. Other volumes complicate and advance even further key themes of significance in Latin@ theologies, including the option for culture, religious diversity, and Mary.

“Fordham University Press is excited to have acquired Queer God de Amor by Miguel Díaz and to have secured the rights to publish the Disruptive Cartographers: Doing Theology Latinamente series of which it is a part. The book and series are a perfect fit with our catalog and contribute to our mission of publishing boundary-breaking scholarship and supporting underrepresented voices. We welcome Dr. Díaz, together with his co-editors, Carmen M. Nanko-Fernández and Gary Riebe-Estrella, S.V.D., to the FUP community of authors and look forward to a successful and long-lasting collaboration.”

—Fredric Nachbaur, Director, Fordham University Press

“The Disruptive Cartographers: Doing Theology Latinamente series reflects ethical and theological commitments to the invitation of Pope Francis “¡hagan lío!” As theologians and scholars arising from complex matrices of latinidad, lived and experienced in myriad modalities, we stir things up by retrieving resources from a rich diversity of Latin@ /Hispan@ traditioning. With particular attention to sources that may have been suppressed, erased, ignored, or overlooked, we explore in creative and interdisciplinary ways the stuff of lo cotidiano, daily life. We are excited about the prospect of pushing las fronteras en conjunto with Fordham University Press.”

—Carmen M. Nanko-Fernández, Founding Editor, Disruptive Cartographers

About Fordham University Press

Fordham University Press, established in 1907, is the seventh oldest university press in the country and the nation’s oldest Catholic university press. Fordham University Press not only represents and uphold the values and traditions of the University itself but also furthers those values and traditions through the dissemination of scholarly research and ideas. The Press publishes boundary-breaking print and digital books that bring recognition to itself, the University, and authors while balancing the need to publish in new formats and work collaboratively on and off campus. Its regional imprints, Empire State Editions and New York ReLit, and location in New York City’s Lincoln Center neighborhood reinforce the university’s motto, New York is My Campus, Fordham is My School.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Queer God de Amor
Miguel H. Díaz
Fordham University Press; Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-5315-0248-5 | Theology | Religion | LGBTQ Studies | $25.95
160 pages, 5 ½ x 8 ½
eBook Available
Disruptive Cartographers: Doing Theology Latinamente
Publication Date: September 13, 2022

Media Contact: Kate O’Brien-Nicholson, Fordham University Press, bkaobrien@fordham.edu.

Synod Synthesis for the Archdiocese of Seattle

Jaisy Joseph — Fri, 01 Jul 2022 02:13:23 GMT

Hello Colleagues,

I wanted to share a link to the Synod Synthesis from the Archdiocese of Seattle, which serves as a summary of nearly 1,000 listening sessions that we conducted in western Washington. It provides an honest portrait of 11,000 Catholics in the area and spurs the diocese to greater outreach and response to the various issues that are named. This synthesis has also been sent to the USCCB.

In a homily that ended this diocesan phase of Pope Francis' global synod on synodality, Archbishop Paul Etienne expressed how this document calls us to walk together on a path marked by pain and love, much like the way of the cross and of the eucharist. I would love to know of any thoughts or feedback you may have on the document, which I can relay to the Seattle Archdiocesan pastoral council.

Thank you,

Jaisy

Catholic Peacebuilding in Times of Crisis: Hope for a Wounded World, recordings available

Caesar A. Montevecchio — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 16:44:05 GMT

The Catholic Peacebuilding Network (CPN), with over two dozen co-sponsors, hosted the virtual conference Catholic Peacebuilding in Times of Crisis: Hope for a Wounded World from June 20-23. All sessions from the conference are available as recordings on the CPN YouTube channel. This includes a special message from Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, Permanent Observer of the Holy See Mission to the UN; a keynote address from Cardinal Charles Bo of Yangon, Myanmar; a plenary roundtable on the ethics of war and peace led by Boston College's Lisa Sowle Cahill; and a plenary panel on climate, development, and peace, which included Sr. Alessandra Smerilli, secretary of the Holy See Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, Erin Lothes, from St. Elizabeth University and the Laudato Si' Movement, and Laurie Johnston, from Emmanuel College.

Overturning Roe vs. Wade

Ma Christina A Astorga — Wed, 29 Jun 2022 16:08:46 GMT

OVERTURNING ROE VS. WADE

The overturning of Roe vs. Wade does not stop abortion or even reduce it, if that was the purpose of the conservative members of the Supreme Court. It was a draconian measure, part of the radical agenda of the right conservative, which only created chaos and deepened social fissures. Abortion is a social problem, and unless its social roots are addressed, draconian measures only instill fear and cause violence, but it does not solve the problem.

Any extreme position regarding abortion results in extreme consequences. By criminalizing abortion, the government overextends itself by intruding into deeply personal moral choices of women as free and autonomous human beings. Criminalizing abortion removes the right of women to privacy as instituted in the Constitution. They can now be charged of felony when they take recourse in abortion. It would only make abortion more dangerous, for criminalizing abortion would not stop women from seeking abortion, but seeking it now without the protection of the law. They would be easy targets of unscrupulous abortions under the cloak of the night.

What is needed are more social amelioration programs that help reduce abortion, by providing women more access to child care, work benefits, employment opportunities, educational benefits. Adoption should be made a more attractive option, by facilitating the adoption process, and providing all the necessary assistance for women to bring their pregnancy to full term, and to ensure the care for their child until he or she is adopted. The goal is to protect the life of the fetus as well as to support women. When women are supported, fetal life is also protected. When women are left to their devices, as their male partners take flight, or as social institutions neglect them, they are forced to take final recourse in abortion. Opponents of abortion sometimes talk as though the woman is out to “get” the fetus, hell-bent to kill the life in her womb. Only in extreme situations, at the steepest personal and familial cost, do most women opt for abortion as the lesser of two evils.

John Paul II views abortion as an instance of the domination of the weak by the strong. This, however, is true in a double sense. Vulnerable life in the womb is attacked, but women are also victims of structural injustice. John Paul II recognizes the fact that some women as acting under duress and as lacking other options. Supporting the lives of the unborn is a special duty of parents, but they require structures of support in order to do that. Addressing the social roots of abortion is also addressing a sexual culture that is promiscuous and irresponsible, where abortion is resorted to as an easy and ordinary means, and a patriarchal culture where abortion, as Stanley Hauerwas puts it, is the “coercive method men use to free themselves from responsibility to women.”

Jolting the legal system, the overturning of Roe vs. Wade has created problems that would have long-term social consequences. A middle position should have been the re-examination of Roe vs. Wade, so that it does not degenerate into abortion on demand, but allows abortion with restrictions and exceptions which are reasonable, ethical, and legal.

Christina A. Astorga

NCR Story on CTSA Divestment

Daniel R. DiLeo — Tue, 28 Jun 2022 20:34:01 GMT

National Catholic Reporter has published "Catholic Theological Society of America resolves to divest from fossil fuels" that outlines the resolutions passed at the Convention.

A Reflection in Light of Dobbs v. Jackson and Other Recent Court Decisions

Francis X Clooney, SJ — Tue, 28 Jun 2022 12:32:02 GMT

Dear Colleagues,

Good morning. Like all our fellow citizens, we all have been caught up in thinking about the Supreme Court’s recent judgments on aid to religiously-affiliated schools, on prayer, and on striking down NY restrictions on bearing arms — and most of all, we all have been thinking, discussing, and praying about Dobbs v. Jackson and the overturning of Roe v Wade and Planned Parenthood v Casey. In these eventful days, we need to reaffirm Cardinal Bernardin’s “seamless garment of life” ethic, respect for life from conception through every stage of life until death.

As thinking Catholics, we know that this reaffirmed protection of life has many ramifications, creating new complications for pregnant women and the fathers of their unborn children, and disproportionately impacting economically marginalized communities and communities of color. Our commitment to the seamless garment ethic will ring hollow if we do not concretely and systemically care for one another in ways that promote real human flourishing. Nor should we overlook the politicization of our courts and the deep divisions and animosities in the United States today, even as we also acknowledge the deep religious and ethical diversity – and hence inevitable differences of opinion – among people of good faith.

As a Board, we decided that the issues following upon Dobbs v. Jackson are too complex for us to be able to craft an adequate Board statement on behalf of the Society without a long consultation with you, our colleagues in the Society. But I do encourage us all, on our campuses, in our seminaries and parishes, to pursue the needed expert conversations among ourselves and our colleagues in every place we do our work and live our Catholic lives, that we may continue to be of service as best we can to the Church and outside it too. Kristin Heyer, our President-Elect, has indicated to me that she will be including an invited session on the topic at next year's convention. Perhaps we should host a Zoomed conversation in the fall, to hear reports on what is happening locally, in our teaching, lecturing, writing, in the post Dobbs v. Jackson era. Please feel free, of course, to use this Newsfeed to post your own thoughtful reflections on the issues facing us.

We are a learned society at the service of the Church amid our complex cultures. Let us pray that we have the wisdom to use our professional skills to clarify and accentuate the truths and values essential to being Catholic today.

Francis X. Clooney, SJ, CTSA President

New Member Publications (June!)

Thu, 23 Jun 2022 16:09:01 GMT

James F. Keenan, S.J., A History of Catholic Theological Ethics, Paulist Press, June 2022.

Brigham, Erin M. and M. Johnson (eds.), Women Engaging the Catholic Social Tradition: Solidarity Toward the Common Good, Paulist Press, June 2022.

Prayers and Solidarity: Two Jesuits Killed in Mexico

Maria-Pilar Aquino — Tue, 21 Jun 2022 19:59:34 GMT

STATEMENT FROM THE MEXICAN PROVINCE OF THE SOCIETY OF JESUS

Mexico City, June 21, 2022 – It is with great dismay that we, the Jesuits of Mexico, denounce the murder of our brothers Javier Campos Morales, S.J. and Joaquín César Mora Salazar, S.J., which occurred yesterday inside the church of the community of Cerocahui, Chihuahua.

We condemn these violent acts; we demand justice and the recovery of the bodies of our brothers who were taken from the church by armed individuals.

We also demand the immediate adoption of all protective measures to safeguard the lives of our Jesuit brothers, nuns, lay people, as well as the entire community of Cerocahui.

These incidents are not to be seen isolated. The Sierra Tarahumara, like many other regions of the country, is facing a situation of violence and neglect that has not been reversed. Every day, men and women are arbitrarily deprived of their lives, just as our brothers were killed today.

The Jesuits of Mexico will not remain silent in the face of a reality that destroys society as a whole. We will continue to raise our voices and we will work for the mission of justice, reconciliation, and peace, through our pastoral, educational, and social works.

In denouncing what happened, we also stress the pain our people are experiencing due to the prevailing violence, and we stand in solidarity with so many people who suffer from this same situation, and whose suffering does not arouse public empathy and attention.

We trust that the testimonies of the Christian life of our dear Javier and Joaquín will continue to inspire men and women to give themselves in the service of the most vulnerable.

May they rest in peace.

Catholic Social Thought Topic Session -- Join Our Administrative Team

Jens Mueller — Mon, 20 Jun 2022 15:55:53 GMT

The Catholic Social Thought Topic Session is looking for a new administrative team member!

If you are interested or need more information, don't hesitate to contact Jens Mueller (jnm.2109@gmail.com).

We look forward to working with you!

Sr. Loretta Devoy, O.P. - d. 6/18/22

Sun, 19 Jun 2022 15:51:05 GMT

The CTSA mourns the loss of Sister Loretta Devoy, O.P., who died yesterday morning.

May Sr. Loretta rest in peace.

Member Patrick Flanagan reflects,

How grateful our students, department, and university were to have had her as a professor. Frank Connolly-Weinert once remarked, "Loretta always proved well-informed, a courteous, conscientious, and diligent colleague, whose advice was always sound, attentive to detail, gracious, and unfailingly professional."

I knew Loretta for my first ten years and was stunned when she announced she was retiring in 2013. She was a committed teacher and wonderful colleague in the department and our larger academy. Later when I met her at the Dominican Sisters Motherhouse in Amityville where she lived, I asked her why she left. Always a woman of deep faith and profound self-awareness, she said “I knew it was time” and then when onto encourage me “may you know when God is moving you on and may you be attentive to the divine plan."

Nominate a Woman Member of the CTSA for the Ann O'Hara Graff Award

Julia Feder — Sat, 18 Jun 2022 17:50:32 GMT

The Women's Consultation is seeking nominations for the Ann O'Hara Graff Award.

Each year we honor one senior woman member of the CTSA who exemplifies Dr. Graff’s commitment to the integration of faith and scholarship, and to advocacy for women in the academy. We aim to acknowledge women scholars who mentor and support of women in the broadest sense of church and to value women who are contributing to the renewal of theology by their constructive work.

You can access and submit the nomination form here:

Ann O'Hara Graff Nomination Form

or, simply email the name of your nominee and your reasons for nominating her to AOGAward@gmail.com.

Submit Your Convention Photos!

Fri, 17 Jun 2022 23:50:57 GMT

Submit Your Convention Photos!

Submission of photos taken at the 76th annual convention are requested. Scan the QR code to upload photos (a Google account is required). Paul Schutz will collect and edit the photos for the CTSA's website and archives!

For the less tech savvy:

Upload Photos Here

The Catholic Theological Society of America to Divest from Fossil Fuels

Francis X Clooney, SJ — Wed, 15 Jun 2022 20:12:32 GMT

I am delighted to post this news item from our June 2022 convention, on behalf of our ad hoc Fossil Fuel Divestment Review Committee. Many thanks to all who have led the way in this crucial initiative. Frank Clooney, SJ (CTSA President).

The Catholic Theological Society of America to Divest from Fossil Fuels

Board Approves Three Resolutions in Response to Church Teaching and Latest Climate Science

June 15, 2022—At the 76^th Annual Convention of the Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA) June 9-12, 2022, in Atlanta, GA, the Board of Directors passed three resolutions related to fossil fuel divestment:

1) Freeze any new investments in the Carbon Underground 200, either through direct ownership or commingled funds that include fossil fuel public equities and corporate bonds, including reinvestments of dividends, effective June 30, 2022.

2) Divest from direct or commingled investments in the Carbon Underground 200 no later than the 2025 Annual Convention, the year in which the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change calculates that global greenhouse gas emissions must peak if humanity is to have a >50% chance of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, beyond which warming is likely to accelerate and intensify beyond already dangerous levels.
3) The board charges the president to form a task force during the coming year to develop a plan to be presented at the 2023 Annual Convention for divestment from direct or comingled investments in the Carbon Underground 200 no later than the 2025 Annual Convention.

Christine Firer Hinze, PhD, professor of theology at Fordham University and outgoing CTSA president who presided over the Convention, said, “It is most fitting that this decision has been taken by the Society. It is a move which culminates over a decade of cumulative research, consultation, and deliberation concerning fossil fuel divestment by dedicated CTSA members and leadership.”

Francis X. Clooney, SJ, PhD, Parkman Professor of Divinity at Harvard University and incoming CTSA president, observed that “given the global environmental disaster that grows more urgent each day, it was necessary that the CTSA finally make these decisions and thus move irreversibly toward divestment. Ours is a small contribution to a great cause, but we hope that it will also inspire CTSA members to work all the more vigorously toward divestment at their home institutions.”

These resolutions enact the Vatican’s divestment endorsement and closely reflect the three recommendations in the “Report of the ad hoc Fossil Fuel Divestment Review Committee.” The Committee was chaired by Erin Lothes, PhD, associate professor of theology at Saint Elizabeth University and senior program manager at the Laudato Si’ Movement; Daniel R. DiLeo, PhD, associate professor and director of the Justice and Peace Studies Program at Creighton University; Nancy Rourke, PhD, associate professor of religious studies and theology at Canisius College; and Matthew Shadle, PhD, professor of theology and religious studies at Marymount University.

Dr. Lothes said, “Many people worry about what they can do in the face of the enormous challenge of the climate crisis. Divestment shifts the funding of our energy systems away from the dangerous and polluting fossil fuels that create climate change and reduces the power of lobbies that resist climate policies. Divestment also frees capital for reinvestment into renewable energy and doesn’t preclude subsequent shareholder engagement through targeted marginal holdings. Many very well-regarded institutions have already chosen divestment. In joining them, the CTSA signals the critical moral importance of divestment for Catholic institutions, for whom the impact of climate change on human dignity and life, especially among the poor, is a preeminent concern.”

The Catholic Theological Society of America (www.ctsa-online.org) is the principal association of Catholic theologians in North America. With a membership of more than 1300, the CTSA is the largest professional society of theologians in the world.

Further contact: Daniel R. DiLeo, PhD

Phone: 402.280.1492

Email: danieldileo@creighton.edu

Rev. Michael J. Himes d. 6/10/22

Tue, 14 Jun 2022 19:34:28 GMT

The CTSA mourns longstanding member Rev. Michael J. Himes who died on June 10, 2022. May he rest in peace.

Obituary

Funeral Mass

Reading the Signs of the Times: Theological Reflections
CTSA Proceedings 57 (2002): 1-17.

Follow-up link to Amir Hussain's Plenary Address

Fri, 10 Jun 2022 09:51:35 GMT

The following link directs you to the article "Our Lady of the Qur'an" written last year by CTSA member Amir Hussain for LMU's alumni magazine (July 21, 2021). Yesterday, June 9, Amir delivered the opening address Thinking Interreligious with Muslims: "A Practical, Not Primarily a Theoretical Matter.

Our Lady of the Qur'an

Journal of Religion and Business Ethics

Patrick Flanagan — Tue, 07 Jun 2022 14:18:13 GMT

The Journal of Religion and Business Ethics is now actively seeking submissions in all areas related to business ethics. JRBE is a peer-reviewed journal that examines the ethical and religious issues that arise in the modern business setting. While much attention has be given to the philosophical treatment of business ethics, this is the first journal to address the more inclusive scope of religious ethics and their understanding of right and just economic relationships.We feature peer-review of all major articles submitted, an open, online publishing format, and a wide and growing readership. Topics include corporate governance, accounting practices, employee/employer relationships, the environment, advanced technology, power relationships, the role of government in the economy, as well as insights from all major and marginalized religious traditions.

To submit an article, follow this link: http://via.library.depaul.edu/jrbe/ and click on the "Submit" button in the right-hand menu. Be sure to have an abstract and author bio prepared ahead of time in order to make the submission process as smooth as possible. Thank you for considering the Journal of Religion and Business Ethics!

Theological Studies Subscription - 30% Discount for CTSA Members!

Tue, 07 Jun 2022 11:55:51 GMT

Christopher Steck, S.J., CTSA member and editor of Theological Studies, invites CTSA members to subscribe to Theological Studies with a 30% discount off the standard subscription price. To subscribe, visit SAGE's subscription page and click on "CTSA Member" (scroll downward and located on the right under +Subscribe).

SAGE Subscription Website Page

Journal of Interreligious Studies

Axel Marc Oaks Takacs — Fri, 03 Jun 2022 17:31:40 GMT

Dear Colleagues--

I am the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Interreligious Studies, which is a collaborative publication of BU School of Theology, Hebrew College, and Hartford International University for Religion and Peace (formerly Hartford Seminary). It is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal that is ATLA indexed. You can learn more about it here.

As I was perusing the convention program, I was delightfully overwhelmed by the topics being covered interreligiously. The theme surely sparked inspiration among all of us to propose creative, interreligious papers. I wish I could attend all the sessions!

Many of these papers warrant eventual peer-reviewed publication. To that end, I encourage you to consider the Journal of Interreligious Studies as one possible venue for your research. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me.

I look forward to seeing everyone soon!

Axel Takacs
Seton Hall University
Journal of Interreligious Studies

Zen at Our Convention in Atlanta!

Francis X Clooney, SJ — Tue, 31 May 2022 15:15:06 GMT

Good morning. As we look forward to next week's convention in Atlanta, we are delighted to be able to offer, for the first time at the CTSA, Zen meditation sessions each morning. Ruben Habito, Professor at the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, is an experienced and respected Zen master and long-time CTSA member. He will lead sessions on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 715am-815am. As indicated in the Program, on Friday and Saturday, the sessions will take place in "Georgia 10," and on Sunday in "Georgia 13." The sessions are open to all; any CTSA member can come any day, even on the spur of the moment, but it would be helpful for Ruben to have an idea in advance as to about how many are interested and likely to come. We ask you then to email Ruben at rhabito@smu.edu to let him know that you are likely to be coming, putting "Zen Prayer/Meditation" in the subject line of the email.

Ruben will then be able to share with all who contact him a short article on Zen, and also links to two short videos which introduce Zen meditation for those who are new to this.

But again, you can just show up on any day or all three days!

Frank Clooney SJ (President-Elect)

Emory University & Histories of Atlanta's Black and Indigenous Peoples

Christine Firer Hinze — Sat, 28 May 2022 23:07:15 GMT

As we prepare to hold the CTSA's 76th convention in the historic city of Atlanta, Georgia, and as our learned Society continues its multi-year effort to enact the commitments articulated in its 2020 Statement on Racial Injustice, Emory University's efforts to unpack and learn from the history of slavery and dispossession of black and indigenous persons in the region, particularly in light of the university's involvement in that history, offer thought-provoking reading. Today, the rich pasts and presents of Atlanta's black citizens can be discovered throughout the city and region. This February, 2022 article points out just some of those sites and opportunities.

Honoring by Acknowledging & Learning: Indigenous Peoples of Atlanta

Christine Firer Hinze — Sat, 28 May 2022 22:33:01 GMT

Dear Colleagues,

As we prepare to begin our 2022 CTSA annual convention with a Land Acknowledgment, expressing respect and honor for the Muscogee/Creek peoples as the original inhabitants and stewards of the land on which we will be meeting Atlanta. you, like me, may be prompted to wonder and seek to learn some of the history of the region's native peoples, and about the Muscogee/Creek nation today. For doing this, exploring the website of the Muscogee Nation, and in particular the Nation's Culture & History pages, may prove a good start. As we continue to ponder the implications of this new practice for our Society and for our work in our home institutions, this 2021 story about how Emory University in Atlanta has been proceeding, in dialogue with present day Muscogee Nation leadership, offers food for thought. What actions or discussions are taking place in your institutions?

Indigenous Peoples and The Church: Walking Together Toward Healing and Reconciliation

Tue, 24 May 2022 20:39:19 GMT

Indigenous Peoples and The Church:
Walking Together Toward Healing and Reconciliation

Monday, June 6th
7 - 9 pm Eastern / 6 - 8 pm Central / 5 - 7 pm Mountain / 4 - 6 pm Pacific

Sponsored by the Catholic Native Boarding School Accountability and Healing Project (AH) in collaboration with the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, CCB.ca

We invite you to participate in a special two-hour conversation with Archbishop Donald Bolen of Regina, Saskatchewan, and three members of Canada’s Indigenous Delegation: Joanna Landry (First Nations), Gary Gagnon (Métis), and William Angalik (Inuit). These delegates will share what they experienced in their meetings with Pope Francis while at the Vatican, March 28th-April 1st. Our facilitator will be Maka Black Elk, Executive Director for Truth and Healing at Red Cloud Indian School in Pine Ridge, SD.

In Canada as well as in the U.S., the Catholic Church, together with other religious organizations, collaborated with the governments of these two countries to create a system of residential schools for Indigenous children. For well over a century, the intention of these schools was to assimilate these children into the way of life introduced by the colonizers, through the eradication of their languages, cultures, and social connections. The goal was severance of the deep ties of Indigenous Peoples with their ancestral lands.

Today we stand at a key historical moment in both our Church and our nation. Pope Francis made an apology to the Canadian Indigenous Delegation on April 1st. In late July, he will visit Canada to meet with residential school survivors and their families. Native American U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, released on May 11th, the first segment of the Department’s investigative report called for in the “Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative.”

We look forward to having you and your colleagues join us on June 6th and seeing how we might collaborate more strategically together in the future.

Rev. J. Michael Byron - d. May 20, 2022

Tue, 24 May 2022 11:57:42 GMT

The CTSA remembers and prays for member Rev. J. Michael Byron who died on May 20.

The funeral Mass and celebration of the life of Fr. Michael Byron at Pax Christi on Wednesday, June 1 and Thursday, June 2.

Wednesday, June 1

Visitation: 4:00-7:00pm
Brief Vigil Service: 6:45pm

Thursday, June 2

Visitation: 9:00-10:45am
Funeral Mass: 11:00am, Archbishop Bernard Hebda presiding

Please note that the 11:00am Funeral Mass on Thursday, June 2 will also be livestreamed:

livestream

Fr. Mike will be laid to rest at a later date.

Please contact the Parish with any questions at 952-941-3150 or you can find us at www.paxchristi.com.

Access Maria Wiering's piece, "Father Mike Byron, Pax Christi pastor, dies after arriving home from pilgrimage", The Catholic Spirit (May 20, 2022).

May Michael rest in the arms of the Lord
who formed him from the dust of the earth.

'White Catholics After Buffalo" article

Christine Firer Hinze — Fri, 20 May 2022 15:27:51 GMT

In the wake of the horrific mass shooting of members of Buffalo's Black community at Top's grocery store on May 14th, 2022, John Gehring of the Faith and Public Life program has written an article that, as a white Catholic, I found informative and challenging:

https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/buffalo-shooting-should-be-wake-call-white-catholics

As a CTSA member, the events of May 14 and too many others like it underscore how crucial it is that we continue to make good on our commitments as theologians and as a Society to engage humbly in the long haul work of fighting to uproot the pernicious evils of racism and white supremacy, and of building and nurturing the kinds of practices, cultures, communities and institutions that reflect and honor the divinely-given dignity of each and all. I am thankful to be part of a learned Society dedicated to this work.

CTSA - Fossil Fuel Divestment Review Committee's Report with Recommendations

Fri, 20 May 2022 12:10:12 GMT

CTSA - Fossil Fuel Divestment Review Committee's Report with Recommendations

Link to May 18, 2022 Report

Virtual Conferece June 20-23: "Catholic Peacebuilding in Times of Crisis"

Caesar A. Montevecchio — Fri, 13 May 2022 12:12:28 GMT

"Catholic Peacebuilding in Times of Crisis: Hope for a Wounded World," an international virtual conference

Lead Sponsor: The Catholic Peacebuilding Network

June 20-23

Program, collaborators, and registration: go.nd.edu/CPNCon22

The world is emerging from an historic health crisis that has exacerbated existing conflicts, poverty, inequalities, polarization, and threats to the environment. While the pandemic led to unprecedented cooperation and heroic responses by many, it also exposed deficits in leadership and emboldened authoritarians, demagogues, and chauvinistic nationalists. Just as the world hopes to move beyond the pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine threatens global peace in ways thought unimaginable when the pandemic began. The challenge to Catholic peacebuilders is clear: we must ensure that the post-pandemic return to “normal” does not look like the pre-pandemic status quo, or worse. That will require an integral and integrated approach to peace, development and ecology because the cry of war’s victims, the cry of the poor, and the cry of the earth rise as one (Laudato Si’, no. 49).

This conference will convene a wide range of Catholic peacebuilders – Church leaders, scholars, peacebuilding specialists and other practitioners – from around the world. It will allow participants to learn from their rich and diverse experiences in confronting challenges to peace around the world and help them discern new and creative ways to respond to the historic challenges to peace that we now face.

Scholarships available to support research on consecrated life

David Rohrer Budiash — Thu, 12 May 2022 14:03:53 GMT

Through a grant from the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement matched by the Conference of Major Superiors of Men, Review for Religious is pleased to offer four $500 scholarships to support research for our upcoming themed issue on “religious life at the peripheries.”

Submissions will be evaluated on originality, fit for the theme of “religious life at the peripheries,” and relevance to contemporary religious life. Prospective recipients should be graduate students and/or hold a non-tenure track position.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, with preference given to those received by May 27, 2022. The application form, which also links to the Call for Papers, can be found here.

CTSA Members New Publications

Fri, 06 May 2022 17:12:57 GMT

CTSA Contributors: Lizette Larson-Miller and Anne McGowan, Lively Oracles of God: Perspectives on the Bible and Liturgy, edited by Bridget Nichols and Gordon Jeanes (Liturgical Press: February 2022).

Alison M. Benders, Recollecting America’s Original Sin: A Pilgrimage of Race and Grace (Liturgical Press: April 2022).

Bradford E. Hinze, Confronting a Church in Controversy (Paulist Press: June 2022).

Richard Lennan, Tilling the Church: Theology for an Unfinished Project (Liturgical Press: April 2022).

Interfaith Dialogue Sponsored by Nazareth College and the Chair of the Pontifical Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies

Fri, 06 May 2022 13:41:28 GMT

On May 24-25, 2021, Nazareth College’s Hickey Center for Interfaith Studies and Dialogue, Sacred Texts and Human Contexts Program (Muhammad Shafiq, Director), hosted a conference entitled Mystical Traditions: Approaches to Peaceful Co-Existence. Drs. Diane Oliver and Thomas Donlan Smith co-chaired the event, and the following institutions were amongst those listed as sponsors: the Chair of the Pontifical Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies in Rome (Jason Welle, OFM); the International Institution of Islamic Thought (IIIT); the Department of Religious Studies, Hobart and William Smith College, Geneva, New York; and the Departments of Religious Studies and Spirituality at Nazareth College.

While this conference was originally planned for Rome, Italy, the CoVid epidemic prompted a virtual meeting instead. On March 25 CTSA member Elizabeth Adams-Eilers read a paper entitled “Bonaventure’s Mind’s Road into God and Letter 22 of The Rasā’il of the Ikhwān al Ṣafā’: Tracing Mystical Pathways toward Union with God and Healing the Earth.” The conference schedule is accessed through the following link: https://www2.naz.edu/hickey-center-interfaith-studies-dialogue/programs/academic-conference. Individual sessions, Opening through Session 8, can be viewed on YouTube.

Questions/Comments from the Spring Panel Event: "Pope Francis and Inter-Religious Dialogue: Reflections on Fratelli Tutti"

Thu, 28 Apr 2022 13:00:38 GMT

Pope Francis and Inter-Religious Dialogue:
Reflections on Fratelli Tutti

At the close of last night's engaging panel and group discussion, Christian Krokus promised to make available to everyone the panelists' questions and also the group breakout questions/comments to everyone. We invite all of last night's attendees and the membership to continue the conversation in this post's comment section. (Login with member # and email address to comment.)

The Board of Director's extends a huge thank you to Christian Krokus for moderating the event and to panelists Stephanie Wong, James Frederick and Rita George Tvrtković for their insightful contributions and engagement. In addition, thank you to the CTSA the Ad hoc Board Committee on Virtual Events Meghan Clark (chair), Craig Ford, and Elyse Raby for developing this amazing event.

Questions / Comments from last night's fruitful virtual event:

Stephanie Wong's Question to Attendees:

What are the wounds, or problems, that generate the conflicts described in Fratelli Tutti, and how is fraternity a salve for those wounds?

James Frederick's Question to Attendees:

How are we professional theologians to receive the challenge of Francis' shift away from the dialogues of theological exchange and religious experience and toward a dialogue of social concern?

Rita George Tvrtković's Question to Attendees:

Fraternity vs friendship: what are the benefits and/or problems of using these two concepts to shape Catholic approaches to IR relationships?

Group Breakout Questions / Comments:

We have been talking about kinship, friendship, fraternity which suggests closeness is good. But at the same time we also think that it is good to preserve otherness. So how to combine these two ideas?
What help do you think Francis needs to get us to take Fratelli Tutti forward & move past its limitations on engaging non-monotheistic religions?
How might one define the common good in the light of impossible conflicts such as that between the different Orthodox churches regarding the war in Ukraine?
With the growing need for robust Catholic inter-religiosity, what ways do the speakers see the incorporation of these skills for interreligious dialogue in our Catholic education system?
Has Francis moved away from the fulfillment framework and is moving towards pluralism or is he presenting a new Christian theology of religion beyond exclusivism, inclusivism, and pluralism?
How can we reconcile the lust for power with our shared humanity, our shared goals with the pressing need to build bridges across faith traditions?
How is the relation between Catholic Social Teaching (CST) and interreligious dialogue (IRD) to be understood? Is it more formal, that is, does IRD provide a model for how to do CST in a pluralist society? Or is it substantive, that IRD has to be an integral part of CST, how we approach human dignity, the common good, etc.?
An important note about difference and inter-religious relationships from Nostra Aetate: “The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all…”
Would you go so far as to say the teaching of Fratelli Tuttti is “development of doctrine,” or more a shift in emphasis from the approach of his predecessors?
Does this praxis of Pope Francis call for a new articulation of a theology of religions, rather than an abandonment of theology of religions as such?

GA Positions for Graduating Seniors

Tue, 26 Apr 2022 14:42:09 GMT

If you know of any graduating majors/minors who want to continue their theological studies, John Carroll University's MA program offers GA positions with a full-tuition scholarship and stipend. Concentrations in religious education, ecclesial ministry, and interreligious engagement. Accepting applications for Fall '22 until May 15. Contact ehahnenberg@jcu.edu.

Fordham Plenary Panel "Taking Responsibility Conference"

Tue, 26 Apr 2022 12:38:22 GMT

Fordham Taking Responsibility Conference (April 21, 2022)

This is the recording of the public plenary for a conference gathering the Taking Responsibility researchers at Fordham University. It was filmed on April 21, 2022. Speakers (in order) are Karen Terry, Gerard McGlone, SJ, Paul Elie, Donna Freitas, and Make Black Elk; the panel was moderated by Christine Firer Hinze.

Recording available at: https://youtu.be/jj6qhO1mwGo

World Forum on Theology and Liberation 2022

Jaisy Joseph — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 20:01:35 GMT

World Forum on Theology and Liberation 2022

Action and promise

Fighting Against Violence, Building Justice and Rethinking the Relationship in the Age of Climate Change

The next Theology and Liberation World Forum will take place from May 1 to 4, within the World Social Forum, then from June 6 to 9. You are cordially invited to participate online. You can find information on the forum and register (for it free of charge) at the following address: https://www.wftlofficial.org/

We invite you to join us! From a perspective of justice, eco-justice, peace and liberation, theologians from the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Asia, and participants from the grassroot movements, will meet and exchange, in Spanish, English, Portuguese and French. Translation available online for most of activities. Join us and be part of the conversation!

AAR Inclusive Pedagogy Certificate

Meghan J. Clark — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 17:46:33 GMT

The AAR has a 4-pt Webinar on Inclusive Pedagogy that may be of interest to CTSA Members. If you are also an AAR member, you will get a certificate at the end of completing the 4 webinars (which are recorded and can be completed at one's convenience!). I do not know if non-AAR-members can get the certificate but they do seem to be able to register and view the webinar.

https://www.aarweb.org/AARMBR/Resources-/Certificate-in-Inclusive-Pedagogy.aspx

Remembering Rev. Msgr. John F. Porter - d. 4/8/22

Fri, 08 Apr 2022 18:21:56 GMT

The CTSA remembers long standing member Rev. Msgr. John F. Porter who died this morning, April 8, 2022. John and his sister, Sr. Ann Porter, O.P., faithfully attended the CTSA annual convention. Please keep them in your prayers.

Eternal rest grant unto John, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Call for Papers for Catholicism, Literature, and the Arts III: The Poetics of Liturgy and Place, 12-14 July 2022, London UK

(Past member) — Tue, 29 Mar 2022 14:47:51 GMT

The Centre for Catholic Studies at Durham University, UK and the University of Notre Dame’s London Global Gateway are delighted to announce a Call for Papers for the third Catholicism, Literature and the Arts conference:

Catholicism, Literature, and the Arts III

The Poetics of Liturgy and Place

An International Interdisciplinary Conference: 12-14 July 2022 in person in London, UK

The theme of The Poetics of Liturgy and Place will be engaged by speakers, artists, and poets, and by musical performance, inviting reflection on the Catholic tradition’s contribution to ‘place-making’ through the arts.

Keynote Speakers:

Rowan Williams (former Archbishop of Canterbury)

Timothy Schmalz (Canadian sculptor)

Robin Jensen (University of Notre Dame)

Romana Huk (University of Notre Dame)

Paul Hills (Courtauld Institute of Art)

Valentin Gerlier (University of Chester)

Special Events will include:

· live sculpting by Timothy Schmalz

· poetry reading by Hilary Davies

· performance of Olivier Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time

· visit to the National Gallery

Call for Papers

We invite proposals for 20 minutes papers from across the disciplines engaging visual art, literature, and music in relation to the theme of Poetics of Liturgy and Place. We also consider papers relating to Catholicism, Literature, and the Arts more broadly.

Please submit 80- to 150- word proposals at https://tinyurl.com/CLA3cfp by 16 May 2022.

Registration

Standard package: £150. Reduced rate for students/those on low income: £120. Prices include conference fee, refreshments, and two lunches. For more information, including a draft programme, and to register please visit https://tinyurl.com/CLA3conference or call (0) 191 334 1656. Deadline for registration: 26 June 2022.

Please direct any queries to theresa.phillips@durham.ac.uk

2022 Institute for Black Catholic Studies

Kathleen Bellow — Thu, 24 Mar 2022 16:25:09 GMT

IBCS SUMMER SESSION 2022

JUNE 26 - JULY 15, 2022

MASTERS of THEOLOGY PROGRAM

The IBCS Master of Theology Program (Th.M.) is the only graduate theology program in the USA taught from a Black Catholic perspective. Its curriculum is interdisciplinary; courses focus on Black approaches, critiques, and contributions to systematic and pastoral theologies, youth and pastoral ministry, aesthetics, philosophy, and education. Established in 1980 in historic New Orleans on the campus of Xavier University of Louisiana, the IBCS is dedicated to academic learning, prayer, worship and community-building. The Th.M. program forms students for theologically and culturally competent service as ordained, religious or lay ecclesial ministers in the Black community and church. The IBCS welcomes graduates seeking on-going study, graduate students of other programs and ministers who desire to enrich their general theological studies by exploring the Catholic theological tradition and its particular meaning for the social and spiritual experiences of Black people in the U.S. and beyond.

Call 504/520-7691or check the IBCS website: https://www.xula.edu/ibcs/ for more information and or the application.

"A Conversion of the Whole Church: Reflections on the Synod"

Wed, 23 Mar 2022 10:14:00 GMT

CTSA Member Kristin Colberg will present A Conversion of the Whole Church: Reflections on the Synod on March 24, 7 p.m. (ET) in hybrid format at John Carroll University.

See jcu.edu/academics/catholic to obtain the zoom into the event.

Virtual Lecture -- "Laccombe's Ladder: Catechism and Colonialism in the First Nations Context"

Fiona Li — Tue, 22 Mar 2022 23:00:00 GMT

The Msgr. John Mary Fraser Centre for Practical Theology at Regis College at the University of Toronto, invites you all to our free and virtual March lecture by Prof. Darren Dias, O.P. (University of St. Michael's College, Faculty of Theology). His lecture is entitled, "Lacombe's Ladder: Catechism and Colonialism in the First Nations Context." The date and time of the event is: Tuesday March 22, 2022; 7:00-8:30 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Saving Time; Toronto time). You can find more details and the registration page here: https://frasercentre.ca/event/tbd-darren-dias/

We hope to see you all at the event! If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email: fraser.centre@utoronto.ca

Remembering Robert L. Faricy, S.J. (d. 3-4-22)

Mon, 14 Mar 2022 13:44:54 GMT

CTSA member Robert L. Faricy, S.J. died on March 4, 2022.

A reflection of his life by the Jesuits USA Midwest Province follows:

March 9, 2022 Death of Fr. Robert L. Faricy, S.J.

Let us pray in thanksgiving for the life of our brother, Fr. Robert L. Faricy, S.J., who died on March 4, 2022 at St. Camillus Jesuit Community in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. He was 95 years old. May he rest in peace.

Bob was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on August 29, 1926. He was very proud of growing up in St. Paul, Minnesota, and spending his summers at Steamboat Lake where his family operated a resort. He attended St. Mark's Catholic grade school and St. Thomas Military Academy in St. Paul before graduating from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland in 1949 with a Bachelor's Degree in Engineering. Bob served in the U.S. Navy for one year (1949-1950). He entered the Missouri Province of the Society of Jesus at St. Stanislaus Seminary in Florissant, Missouri, on August 8, 1950 and became part of the Wisconsin Province when it was created in 1955. He had the usual course of Jesuit studies at St. Stanislaus Seminary and St. Louis University. During Regency, Bob taught Math at Marquette High in Milwaukee (1956-1959). He studied Theology in Fourvière, Lyons, France. He was ordained at St. John's Cathedral in Lyons on September 1, 1962. After tertianship in Flanders, Bob completed a doctoral program in Theology at the Catholic University in Washington, DC. His dissertation topic was "Teilhard de Chardin and Christian Effort." He pronounced his final vows on August 15, 1967.

Bob began his long career as a professional theologian by teaching for five years at the Catholic University of America (1966-1971). In 1971 he moved to the Gregorian University in Rome, where he taught until he was named Professor Emeritus of Spiritual Theology in 2000. Bob combined teaching and writing in Rome with an extensive, in practice world-wide, ministry of lectures and workshops in spirituality and charismatic renewal. He continued his spirituality ministry when he returned from Rome to reside in the Marquette University Jesuit Community as a writer and researcher in 2000. Bob was able to return to Rome often when he taught courses at Regina Mundi Institute (2002-2005). In 2012 declining health led to his being missioned to St. Camillus to pray for the Church and the Society.

Bob was very proud of growing up in St. Paul, Minnesota, and spending his summers at Steamboat Lake where his family operated a resort. He was a proud 1949 graduate of the United States Naval Academy and was honored to serve his country in the Navy (1949-1950).

He was a smart, talented, and complex man who did not avoid important, controversial matters. He was fluent in Italian and French. During his almost thirty years in Rome, Bob was known as a demanding and effective professor. Although Bob's doctoral dissertation was on the Theology of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, he later turned his focus to Spirituality and Catholic Charismatic Renewal. He co-authored more than 40 books about prayer with Sr. Lucy Rooney, S.N.D., Luciana Pecoraio, or Frank Sullivan, S.J. Throughout his Jesuit life, Bob was a strong promoter of Spirituality -- including time spent as director of tv programming at EWTN (1987-1988).

Bob helped establish the Heart of Jesus Community in Rome. Hearing of his death, some members wrote these tributes:

“Thank you for being an exemplary instrument of the Lord, exercising the charisms of the Holy Spirit in your priesthood and teaching us to use them for the common good.”

“You have been a Father different from all the others. You knew how to give love, laughing and joking.”

Bob lived his life with passion and a certain exuberance. He was a man of strong convictions, action-oriented and always on the move. He found the diminishments of old age very challenging. But he turned peacefully towards the good and gracious Lord whom he loved.

Suffrages: As we remember with gratitude all that God has done through his life of service to God and God's people, we are reminded of our privilege and obligation to offer Masses and prayers for his eternal repose. All members of the USA Midwest Province and those applied to it are to offer one Mass intention for Bob. Members of the St. Camillus Jesuit Community will offer one additional Mass intention. All will wish to remember Bob in their prayers and Masses.

Mass of Christian Burial:

Monday, March 28, 2022

11:00 a.m.

St. Camillus Jesuit Community

10201 W. Wisconsin Ave.

Wauwatosa, WI 53226-3541

Burial:

Mount Olivet Cemetery in Milwaukee.

Condolences:

St. Camillus Jesuit Community

c/o George E. Winzenburg, S.J.

10201 W. Wisconsin Ave.

Wauwatosa, WI 53226-3541

gwinzenburg@jesuits.org

------

Yours in Christ,

Glen Chun, S.J.

Socius

Authored by John Moriconi, S.J., with input from Patrick Burns, S.J. and George Winzenburg, S.J.

Lumen et Vita Conference (Graduate Academic Journal, Boston College School of Theology & Ministry)

Mon, 28 Feb 2022 15:15:45 GMT

“The Great Waters of the Kingdom of Matter”: Faith, Religion, Science, and Reality

Registration: https://forms.gle/BToEkKJ6o9ta7jBF8

Deadlines: Registration for in-person attendance: March 18th.

Registration for virtual attendance: March 23rd.

Conference: Saturday, March 26, 2022

CTSA is on LinkedIn

Thu, 17 Feb 2022 15:31:10 GMT

In addition to Twitter and Instagram, the CTSA is on LinkedIn. Follow the CTSA at https://www.linkedin.com/company/catholic-theological-society-of-america!

CBIS Presents: USCCB Socially Responsible Investment Guidelines Discussion

Tue, 08 Feb 2022 15:00:56 GMT

The CTSA holds its investments with CBIS. All members are welcome to sign up to attend CBIS' 30-minute webcast on February 23 at 2:00 p.m. (CST).

Join CBIS for a 30-minute webcast on February 23 to review the recently updated USCCB Socially Responsible Investment Guidelines.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has updated its Socially Responsible Investment Guidelines for the first time in 18 years, with CBIS acting as project manager for the update.

In this webcast, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of:

The process USCCB undertook to review and update the Guidelines
The notable attributes of the Guidelines, and
How the Guidelines reinforce CBIS’ approach to Catholic Responsible Investing

Register for the event here.

To learn more, download CBIS’ summary of the new investment restrictions and active ownership efforts under the updated Guidelines.

CBIS Presents
USCCB Socially Responsible Investment Guidelines Discussion
February 23, 2022
2:00 PM CST

Raymond Burnell, Director of Catholic Responsible Investments, and
Eric Bieniasz, CFA, Managing Director - Relationship Management

Call for Papers

Steven P. (Steve) Millies — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 18:03:04 GMT

The Bernardin Center at Catholic Theological Union invites contributions to a symposium focused on Cardinal Joseph Bernardin’s consistent ethic of life on Sept. 17-18, 2022. Our symposium, Life, Solidarity, Fraternity: The Consistent Ethic in Light of Fratelli Tutti, will explore the consistent ethic of life as a social ethic in the light of Pope Francis’s social teachings. Pope Francis has offered a comprehensive view of social ethics not only with solidarity, social friendship, and “a better kind of politics” as we read about them in Fratelli Tutti, but also with Laudato Si’ vision of integral ecology and the bold response to the pandemic described in Let Us Dream. The common ground between Pope Francis’s social teaching and the consistent ethic of life are the primary topic of the symposium.

Submissions are sought from current graduate students and recent Ph.D.'s in any applicable field. Submissions from non-Catholic perspectives also are encouraged.

A complete call for papers with details and a tentative symposium schedule can be found at https://ctu.edu/consistent-ethic-2022-cfp/. Direct questions to bernardincenter@ctu.edu.

Building Bridges North-South: A Synodal Encounter between Pope Francis and University Students

Miguel Diaz — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 13:26:01 GMT

REGISTRATION LINK: https://www.luc.edu/popefrancis/index.shtml

Loyola University Chicago reached out to the Head of Office of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, Dr. Emilce Cuda, to lead a dialogue on the synodal process that Pope Francis has invited the Church to undertake.

Upon our suggestion, Dr. Cuda invited Pope Francis to personally participate in this dialogue. We are proud and excited to say that he accepted this invitation!

This historic encounter between the Pope and university students from North, Central, and South America will address salient challenges of our times. The Pope will dialogue with these university students, highlighting the contributions of students who are themselves migrants and children of migrants. The students will share concrete educational projects that seek to justly transform environmental and economic realities and the manifold ways their educational commitments can contribute to integrate and empower existential peripheries.

Loyola University of Chicago is honored to welcome Pope Francis, the first Jesuit and Latin American Pope, and university students from across the Americas committed to social justice, serving others, and finding God in all things.

Please help us spread the word and encourage students to register for this unprecedented event and initiative among college and university students in the Americas.

Primary Contacts at Loyola University Chicago:

Dr. Miguel Diaz, John Courtney Murray, S.J. University Chair in Public Service

Dr. Michael Murphy, Director of the Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage

Dr. Peter Jones, Interim Dean of the Institute of Pastoral Studies

Dr. Felipe Legarreta, Professor of Theology, Institute of Pastoral Studies

Media Coverage:

https://www.vaticannews.va/es/iglesia/news/2022-01/francisco-convite-universidad-loyola-de-chicago-jovenes-migrante.html

https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2022/01/26/pope-francis-loyola-chicago-university-students-americas-242289

https://www.ncronline.org/news/people/pope-francis-meet-college-students-virtual-dialogue-hosted-chicagos-loyola-university

Synodal Process: We are a listening Church (The Archdiocese of Seattle)

Wed, 02 Feb 2022 13:56:36 GMT

Synodal Process: We are a listening Church
The Archdiocese of Seattle

CTSA member Jaisy Joseph, Assistant Professor, Theology and Religious Studies, Seattle University, serves on the Archdiocescan Pastoral Council of Seattle and has been working with Archbishop Etienne and their team to create resources and to be part of listening sessions. Jaisy wishes to share their website and an intro video that that they developed. (Link to video provided below.)

Let's journey together

Pope Francis is calling for the largest consultation of the human family in history, including all of us in Western Washington. Watch Archbishop Etienne and others explain how local parishes, ministries, and lay people will host listening sessions to prayerfully read the signs of the times, interpret them in the light of the Gospel, and then discern how the Holy Spirit is calling the Body of Christ to accomplish our mission here and now.

See https://archseattle.org/about-the-archdiocese-of-seattle/archbishop-etienne/pastoralplanning/pastoral-plan/synod/

Call for Papers: 11th World Forum on Theology and Liberation

Rufus Burnett, Jr. — Tue, 01 Feb 2022 20:53:09 GMT

It is with great pleasure that we invite CTSA members to participate in the 11th World Forum on Theology and Liberation being held online June 6-9, 2022. The call for papers is now open and we welcome CTSA members to contribute. The link to the call for papers can be found below.

We would like to thank the CTSA leadership for their continued support in this effort of collaboration and exchange.

Call for Papers Link: WFTL 2022-Call For Contributions- 4 Languages

Sincerely,

Jaisy Joseph and Rufus Burnett, Jr.

CTSA Representatives to the World Forum on Liberation and Theology

Remembering Member Francine J. Cardman - d. 1/21/22

Sat, 22 Jan 2022 12:38:12 GMT

Today, the CTSA remembers longstanding member Francine J. Cardman.

May she rest in peace.

Francine's Profile at Boston College (View here)

Contribution to the CTSA convention in 1999:

"The Praxis of Ecclesiology: Learning from the Donatist Controversy" CTSA Proceedings 54 (1999): 25-37.

Graduate Colloquium for PhD students: "Christ and the Holy Spirit in Aquinas and Bonaventure" with Joseph Wawrykow

Reginald Lynch, OP — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 16:23:38 GMT

July 24 - July 30, 2022

A graduate colloquium on Christ and the Holy Spirit in Aquinas and Bonaventure with Prof. Joseph Wawrykow. The Thomistic Institute’s graduate colloquia are intended to give a selection of emerging scholars from different PhD programs an opportunity to meet and work with other younger scholars that share their interests, and to benefit from the wisdom and formation of a senior scholar.

During this colloquium, students will have the opportunity to study the relationship between Christology and Pneumatology in the thought of Thomas Aquinas and Bonaventure, and the conversations that contextualized their views in the surrounding scholastic environment of the thirteenth century.

About the Speaker:

A professor at the University of Notre Dame, Joseph Wawrykow began his studies at the University of Manitoba, where he completed a Masters degree in 1980. Subsequently, he completed his PhD with a Charlotte Newcombe Dissertation Fellowship and a Whiting Prize Fellowship at Yale University under the direction of George Lindbeck. Professor Wawrykow began teaching at Notre Dame in 1986, where he continues to teach and pursue research projects.

Professor Wawrykow has taught a wide variety of graduate and undergraduate courses in theology. He regularly offers specialized research seminars for doctoral students on aspects of Aquinas’ thought such as grace and Christology and has directed many doctoral dissertations on Aquinas and other figures who shaped the theological development of the high medieval and scholastic West. In 1999, he was designated a ‘Master Mentor’ by the Notre Dame Graduate School for his work with doctoral students, and his department has asked him to serve lengthy stints as Director of Undergraduate Studies and Director of Graduate Studies (PhD). In 2020, he was awarded by the Graduate School of the University of Notre Dame The James A. Burns, C.S.C. Award for outstanding faculty mentorship.

Professor Wawrykow’s first book, God’s Grace and Human Action: ‘Merit’ in the Theology of Thomas Aquinas (University of Notre Dame Press, 1995), plays an influential role in scholarly conversations about Aquinas’ theological anthropology. His Westminster Handbook to Thomas Aquinas (Westminster John Knox Press, 2005) provides an indispensable reference work for scholars and students of Aquinas. He has edited volumes, such as Christ among the Medieval Dominicans, co-edited with Kent Emery (University of Notre Dame Press, 1999) and The Theology of Thomas Aquinas, co-edited with Rik Van Nieuwenhove (University of Notre Dame Press, 2005). In addition, he has published numerous scholarly articles and invited essays.

This colloquium is open to current PhD students in philosophy, theology, and related fields. Attached to your application, please include a 500-word personal statement describing your current research and your reasons for applying to this colloquium.

Successful applicants will receive a full tuition scholarship and room and board for the duration of the conference. A limited number of travel scholarships are also available for select students who do not have access to institutional funding for travel.

Applications Close on March 31.

For more information and to apply: https://thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events/graduate-colloquium-wawrykow

Graduate Colloquium for PhD students: "Eucharistic Metaphysics" with Gyula Klima

Reginald Lynch, OP — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 16:21:53 GMT

July 17 - July 23, 2022

A graduate colloquium on Eucharistic Metaphysics with Prof. Gyula Klima. The Thomistic Institute’s graduate colloquia are intended to give a selection of emerging scholars from different PhD programs an opportunity to meet and work with other younger scholars that share their interests, and to benefit from the wisdom and formation of a senior scholar.

This colloquium will study the development of speculative accounts of the doctrine of the Eucharist, focusing on the medieval and early modern periods. The mystery of this doctrine—in which the substance of bread and wine is believed to become the body and blood of Christ—has provoked reflection from a variety of theoretical perspectives for many centuries. In addition to the questions it raises for systematic and historical theology, the doctrine of the Eucharist has also consistently given rise to metaphysical difficulties that have divided theological and philosophical schools of thought within the Western tradition. This colloquium will study the development of this question and the significant theological and metaphysical questions it raises.

About the Speaker:

A professor of philosophy at Fordham University, Gyula Klima has written on a wide variety of topics in medieval philosophy including logic, metaphysics, and philosophy of religion. Completing his doctorate in Budapest in 1986, Professor Klima has held research and teaching positions in Europe (Budapest, Helsinki, St. Andrews and Copenhagen) and in the United States (Yale, Notre Dame, UCLA, Fordham). Since 1999 he has taught at Fordham University, where he was made a full professor in 2003. In 2009, he was made a Doctor of the Hungarian Academy, and since 2019, he has served as the director of the Research Center for the History of Ideas of the Hungarian Institute of Research. As the founding director of the Society of Medieval Logic and Metaphysics, Professor Klima continues to serve as editor of the Society’s proceedings. Recently, Professor Klima worked to establish the Society for the European History of Ideas and now serves as its founding director. He also serves as an editor for the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy in the medieval philosophy subject area, and edits the series “Medieval Philosophy: Texts and Studies” for Fordham University Press and the series “Historical-Analytical studies on Nature, Mind and Action” for Springer. In addition to over one hundred scholarly articles, Professor Klima has produced over twenty edited volumes and scholarly monographs on a wide variety of topics in medieval philosophy.

Applications Close on March 31.

For more information and to apply: https://thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events/graduate-colloquium-klima

Civitas Dei Fellowship for graduate students: "The City of God in Modernity: Culture and Ecclesiology"

Reginald Lynch, OP — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 16:18:26 GMT

June 12 - 17, 2022

The Civitas Dei Summer Fellowship is a project sponsored by the Institute for Human Ecology at the Catholic University of America and by the Thomistic Institute at the Dominican House of Studies that offers competitive fellowships for graduate students (and a few talented, upper-level undergraduates), drawing from across fields in the sciences, humanities, and from law.

Accepted fellowship recipients attend a one week program in Washington, D.C. that offers courses and seminars given by distinguished scholars focusing on some aspect of Catholic thought in relation to culture and public life.

This year’s Civitas Dei fellowship examines “The City of God in Modernity: Culture and Ecclesiology,” and will feature lectures that approach the question of the Church in relation to culture and society from different scholarly perspectives, drawing on resources from the Church’s experience during the patristic, medieval, and early modern periods. By participating in this fellowship, accepted students will be introduced to a wealth of scholarly resources on the Church’s life during these historical epochs, and encouraged to think critically about the application of these principles to the Church’s life in the present and future.

2022 Featured Speakers:

Prof. Carlos Eire (Yale University)

Fr. Augustine Thompson, O.P. (Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology)

Prof. Thomas Clemmons (Catholic University of America)

Open to graduate students and advanced undergraduates in all disciplines. Successful applicants will receive travel funding as well as lodging for the extent of the fellowship and waived registration fee.

Applications are accepted until March 31.

For more information and to apply: https://thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events/civitas-dei-summer-fellowship-22

Order Free-at-Home Covid-19 Tests via USPS Website

Tue, 18 Jan 2022 23:55:58 GMT

Please see below the USPS website for requesting free-at-home Covid-19 tests, four tests per order, one order per residential address.

https://special.usps.com/testkits

Remembering CTSA Member William (Bill) M. Shea - d. 1/14/22

Tue, 18 Jan 2022 18:07:37 GMT

Remembering William (Bill) M. Shea who died on Friday, January 14, 2022.

Here is a link to Bill's contribution to the CTSA's 32nd annual convention. His presentation was titled "Seminary of Theology and Philosophy: Matthew Lamb's Five Models of Theory-Praxis and the Interpretation of John Dewey's Pragmatism".

See: https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/ctsa/article/view/2880/2505

May Bill rest in peace.

CTSA Members' New Publications

Sun, 16 Jan 2022 20:58:29 GMT

January 2022

Coblentz, Jessica, Dust in the Blood: A Theology of Life with Depression Liturgical Press, Jan. 2022.

Burkhard, OFM Conv., John J., Its Sources, Reception, and Theology Liturgical Press, Jan. 2022.

December 2021

Brigham, Erin (Applying for Membership), Church as Field Hospital: Toward an Ecclesiology of Sanctuary Liturgical Press, Dec. 2021.

Communio Open Reading Group (January - September 2022)

Sun, 16 Jan 2022 20:51:17 GMT

Dear Colleagues of the Catholic Theological Society of America,

A blessed morning to you, and happy New Year! In honor of the Communio: International Catholic Review journal celebrating its fiftieth year of publication, St. Bernard's School of Theology and Ministry is hosting a virtual Communio Open Reading Group in an effort to come into greater contact with the riches of the Communio journal. Anyone interested may join.

Syllabus Link

The Open Reading Group will meet via Zoom once a month on Friday, from January to September, 2022. The Faculty of St. Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry will lead the sessions, with a brief introduction to the theme and the readings before opening it up for discussion.

Where: Online via Zoom

When: Fridays, January 21st - September 16th, 10am - 12pm EST

We hope you will join us in celebrating Communio's upcoming anniversary by continuing and furthering the trajectories of theological and cultural engagement present in the pages of Communio!

In Christ,

St. Bernard's Faculty

CTEWC : "How the CTSA is keeping focus on the call to racial justice amidst the pandemic"

Mon, 10 Jan 2022 14:05:38 GMT

The Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church (CTEWC) asked CTSA Board Member Meghan Clark, who chairs the CTSA's Ad hoc Board Committee on Virtual Events, to write the piece: "How the CTSA is keeping focus on the call to racial justice amidst the pandemic."

To read Meghan's piece, see:

https://catholicethics.com/forum/ctsa-racial-justice/

The CTSA Board of Directors, the Ad hoc Board Committee on Virtual Events, and the Executive Director thank all of the CTSA members who have presented and those who have participated in the CTSA's Virtual Events.

Meghan Clark, Chair, Craig Ford, and Elyse Raby currently serve on the CTSA Ad hoc Board Committee on Virtual Events (2021 - 2022).

Rev. Robert E. Lampert - d. 9/17/21

Sun, 19 Dec 2021 03:18:10 GMT

The CTSA received word that longstanding member Rev. Robert E. Lampert died on September 17, 2021. May Robert rest in peace.

Obituaries

https://www.archstl.org/obituary-father-robert-e-lampert-6857

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/stltoday/name/robert-lampert-obituary?id=6539767

Updates on World Forum on Theology and Liberation (WFTL)

Jaisy Joseph — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 22:07:16 GMT

Updates on World Forum on Theology and Liberation (WFTL)

On June 1, 2021, we elected a new executive committee:

Kochurani Abraham Karippaparampil (Kerala, India, Asia)
Wairimu Beatrice Churu (Nairobi, Kenya, Africa)
Denise Couture (Montréal, Canada, North America)
Jesus Alejandro Ortiz Cotte (Puebla, Mexico, Latin America)
Jean-François Roussel (Montréal, Canada, North America)

On September 9, 2021, Rufus Burnett (Fordham University), who is one of the CTSA liaisons to the WFTL, joined the Methodological Committee.

In November 2021, WFTL released a new Spanish text entitled The World Will Never Be the Same: Liberation Theologies in Times of Pandemic. These essays emerge from the gathering of the World Forum on Theology and Liberation (WFTL) in 2020/2021.

On Dec.10, 2021, members of the World Forum on Theology and Liberation (WFTL) met to plan our next hybrid gathering to be held in the city of Puebla, Mexico, April 28–29, 2022, which precedes the World Social Forum that will take place in Mexico City, 1–8 May 2022. The Call for Papers will be given in a second post.

- Jaisy Joseph

CFP: Catholicism, Democracy, & Jacques Maritain

Laurie Johnston — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 18:48:17 GMT

https://jmt.scholasticahq.com/post/1243-cfp-catholicism-challenges-to-democracy-and-the-legacy-of-jacques-maritain

CFP: Catholicism, Challenges to Democracy, and the Legacy of Jacques Maritain

2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Jacques Maritain. Maritain was a key shaper of modern Catholic Social Teaching on politics, human rights, and democracy, and had a significant influence on Vatican II, Populorum Progressio and more.

The Journal of Moral Theology invites submissions of papers on the topic of “Catholicism, Challenges to Democracy, and the legacy of Jacques Maritain.” While we are particularly interested in papers that deal specifically with Maritain’s thought, other topics related to Catholicism and contemporary challenges to democracy are also welcome. For a full description of the CFP, click here.

The guest editors of the volume, Laurie Johnston and Grégoire Catta, welcome any questions regarding topics you are considering.

Submissions should conform to the standards and style of the Journal of Moral Theology and can be submitted here until January 1, 2023. All papers will be subject to peer review, with ample time for revision before publication. The issue is targeted for a 2023-24 release. More information on the Journal and previous issues can be found on the JMT website.

Rev. Donald Cozzens (d. 12/9/21)

Sat, 11 Dec 2021 13:55:12 GMT

The CTSA remembers longstanding member Rev. Donald Cozzens who died on December 9, 2021.

Obituary in Cleveland.com

NCR Article of December 10th

https://www.ncronline.org/news/coronavirus/father-donald-cozzens-who-challenged-clericalism-church-dies-82

Lumen et Vita's Spring Graduate Conference "The Great Waters of the Kingdom of Matter:"

Thu, 02 Dec 2021 14:25:41 GMT

Lumen et Vita's* Spring Graduate Conference
"The Great Waters of the Kingdom of Matter"
Saturday, March 26, 2022

Keynote speakers will be Prof. Mary Evelyn Tucker (Yale Divinity School and Yale School of Environment) and Prof. Michael Ferguson (Harvard Divinity and Medical Schools).

Abstracts: Due on January 20, 2022 and should be emailed to lumenetvita@gmail.com. Remote and virtual attendance and presenting are possible.

Detailed Call for Papers link: https://tinyurl.com/LeVSpring2022

*Lumen et Vita is the graduate theological journal of the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry.

NBC Congress Online Event "Transforming Spirituality in a Time of the Plaque"

Thu, 04 Nov 2021 13:47:27 GMT

The National Black Catholic Congress - Online Event

Nov. 12 @ 4:00 p.m. - Nov. 13 @ 4:00 p.m.

Theological reflections by authors of
Desire, Darkness and Hope, Theology in a Time of Impasse
Engaging the Thought of Constance FitzGerald, OCD

Facilitated by CTSA member Dr. M. Shawn Copeland

Passages from Darkness, Desire and Hope, edited by CTSA members Laurie Cassidy and M. Shawn Copeland, will be explored during the weekend.

See https://nbccongress.org/event/transforming-spirituality-in-a-time-of-plague/

Black Catholics & The Millennial Gap - Webinar Event with CTSA Member Bryan Wratee

Tue, 02 Nov 2021 14:57:10 GMT

CTSA Remembers Brian David Berry - d. Oct. 26, 2021

Mon, 01 Nov 2021 13:26:22 GMT

The CTSA remembers long-standing member Brian David Berry who died on Tuesday, October 26th.

Brian Berry passed away from cancer on October 26 at the age of 64. He received his PhD in theological ethics from Boston College in 1995. Prior to his work as a theology professor at Ursuline College, Notre Dame of Maryland University, and St. Mary’s Ecumenical Institute, where he received multiple teaching awards, Brian worked in Jamaica in a Jesuit mission and as an assistant in a L’Arche community in Calgary. He published in areas of bioethics, social ethics, and the spirituality of Jean Vanier. Brian leaves behind his wife of 26 years, CTSA member Susanne DeCrane. As she reflects, Brian was a proud Canadian and had a particular concern for those “whom society deems insignificant.” (Written by Kristin E. Heyer and Brian's wife and CTSA member Susanne DeCrane.)

Link to Brian David Berry's Obituary

Holy Remembrance in November's Darkening Days

Francis X Clooney, SJ — Fri, 29 Oct 2021 11:53:54 GMT

November is a precious month when, as the days grow shorter and darker, we remember the larger community of which we are a part, heaven and earth gathered in the Lord’s communion of saints.

On All Saints Day, we remember all those holy women and men who have gone before us, many of whom have been inspirations to us in our own spiritual journeys. On All Souls Day, we remember all those who have died near and far, recently and long ago, sisters and brothers whose destinies are now held within the love and mystery of God. Let us pray for those we knew personally, family, friends, colleagues, but also for the very many people far and near who have died in the last year, from Covid and a host of other acts and systems of violence.

It is timely then also to mark November 2 as the Día de los Muertos, a holy day celebrated particularly among Mexican-Americans, a solemn occasion marked with special altars, offerings, and prayers, and visits to cemeteries when possible. As we become a more multicultural and international Catholic Theological Society, let all of us find ways to make the images, rituals, and sentiments of the Día de los Muertos tradition part of our lives and spiritual practice.

November 4 is Diwali, the great Hindu festival of light, marking the conquest of good over evil. In a world where dark hatred and blinding violence too often seem to triumph, we can join in pray with our Hindu sisters and brothers, that the light pierce and overcome the gloom around us.

In these times when we are becoming more sensitive to the history of the land in which we live, it is timely also to note that November is Native American Heritage month. During this month we are called to remember and reflect on the lives of the original inhabitants of the land, people whose stories need to be told and rights must be acknowledged and honored, particularly in the places where we live and work. Much more information on this heritage month can be found online, including at the Bureau of Indian Affairs site.

Let us hope and pray that by Thanksgiving we will find this month of remembrance culminating in a spirit of thanksgiving for the bountiful gifts of people and places that make our lives possible, even in the most difficult of times.

Excerpts from Net Zero by 2050

Mon, 11 Oct 2021 13:44:33 GMT

The CTSA is continuing to dialogue on the question of fossil fuel divestment. To aid the discussion, Board members recently viewed excerpts from an expert panel hosted by the Global Catholic Climate Movement (recently renamed the Laudato Si Movement). The 45 minute recording explains the current state of the climate crisis, outlooks for global energy needs, and responses from ethical and faith perspectives.

Click on the blue button to view the video:

Excerpts from Net Zero by 2050:
A Laudato Si Movement Webinar (July 2021)

Please take the time to view this fascinating panel, with the following speakers:

Tomás Insua, Executive Director, Global Catholic Climate Movement (GCCM)

Dr.Fatih Birol, Executive Director, International Energy Agency (IEA)

Richard Brooks, Climate Finance Director, Stand.earth

Joan Brown,osf, Executive Director of New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light, Sisters of Saint Francis

Comments are welcome in the comment box below. Thank you for contributing to this critical dialogue.

CTSA Ad hoc Committee on Fossil Fuels
Erin Lothes Chair
Daniel DiLeo
Nancy Rourke
Matthew Shadle

"Keeping Scientifically Informed: A Duty for Theologians and the Church Magisterium"

Thu, 07 Oct 2021 12:55:59 GMT

"Keeping Scientifically Informed: A Duty for Theologians and the Church Magisterium"

by Jame Schaefer, Marquette University

Designee of the CTSA Workshop of the Committee on Doctrine
with the Learned Societies Laudato Si':
Science, Responsibility, and Solidarity.
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (March 11, 2021).

CTSA member Jame Schaefer would enjoy any comments and questions--especially regarding her three recommendations to the Committee on Doctrine (p. 184). A link to the paper she presented follows along with the three recommendations to the Committee on Doctrine. Join the conversation!

Click here to access Jame Schaefer's paper (pdf)

Become an advocate for the quest for scientific information--encourage and affirm the quest for knowledge about God's creation. In this role, you are not confirming scientific findings because confirming them does not fall within your purview. Instead you are confirming the search for scientific knowledge that may help you teach about our faith in cogent, meaningful ways.
Establish a scientific panel to (i) alert you to scientific findings, (ii) meet periodically on issues at the boundaries of doctrine/faith and science, and (iii) provide scientific clarity that can inform magisterial discourse. To identify scientists who are eminently qualified to serve, consider asking the American Association for the Advancement of Science to request its Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion to recommend highly qualified scientist for you to invite.
Initiate within your seminaries and in continuing education of priests opportunities to become informed by the natural sciences and to probe their significance for preaching and teaching our faith in ways that make sense to an increasingly educated "people in the pews." Our priests need basic scientific knowledge about God's creation. Our priests need to be ecologically informed so they can help the faithful discern how to respond morally to human-forced climate change and other complex issues.

CTSA Member Rev. John J. Connelly - d. June 28, 2021

Wed, 29 Sep 2021 11:52:10 GMT

The Reverend John J. Connelly passed into the hands of God after he had served for seventy-one years as a priest. He was 98 at this time of his death on June 28th, 2021.

Son of the late John J. and Helen (Murphy) Connelly and brother of the late Mary Margaret Connelly and Helen Connelly, Fr. Connelly, a Boston native, attended Boston Latin School and Boston College before entering the U.S. Army in 1943, serving until 1945. He was ordained from St. John’s Seminary by Cardinal Richard Cushing in 1950. He then earned a Doctorate in Theology from The Gregorian University in Rome. He served on the St. John’s Seminary faculty for 26 years, followed by 30 years as Pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Newton Center. Since 2013 he had been serving as a Priest in Residence at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Wellesley.

Text from Rev. Connelly's obituary posted by Eaton Funeral Home. Accessed on 9/29/21 at <https://www.eatonfuneralhomes.com/obituary/FrJohn-Connelly>.

Wabash Center Announces Four Faculty Workshop Opportunities for 2022

Mon, 27 Sep 2021 13:20:46 GMT

The Wabash Center announces four faculty workshop opportunities for 2022. Deadline for applications is December 15, 2022.

For more information see: https://wabash.center/

Statement of Apology by the Catholic Bishops of Canada to the Indigenous Peoples of This Land

Mon, 27 Sep 2021 12:40:55 GMT

On Friday, September 24, 2021, the Catholic Bishops of Canada released a statement of apology to the Indigenous Peoples of This Land. The following link provides the full text.

https://www.cccb.ca/letter/statement-of-apology-by-the-catholic-bishops-of-canada-to-the-indigenous-peoples-of-this-land/

INSeCT Seeks Pictures for Website

Mon, 16 Aug 2021 14:36:29 GMT

CFP - Annual Meeting of the Society for Christian Scholarship in Music

Fri, 06 Aug 2021 11:21:32 GMT

Deadline for proposals, October 1, 2021

Conference dates: March 3–5, 2022

Conference website: www.scsmusic.org

Conference venue: Mercer University, Macon, Georgia

Individual papers, research posters, panels, and lecture recitals on any topic related to music and the study of Christianity are welcome. We invite submissions representing a variety of approaches and perspectives, including ethnomusicology, historical musicology, theory and analysis, philosophy, theology, liturgy, congregational music, as well as other methodologies.

SCSM encourages submissions from current graduate students. A $250 prize will be awarded for the best paper presented by a graduate student at the 2022 meeting.

Please visit the conference website for proposal details. Please send submissions or questions to Marcell Steuernagel, program committee chair, at scsm2022@gmail.com.

Note: We are planning on an in-person meeting, with the possibility of limited online offerings. When submitting a proposal, please indicate whether you intend to present in person or via online. If circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic require it, we will transition to a fully online format. Regardless, all conference participants need to be available during the days of the conference for synchronous sessions.

CTSA Member's 2021 Convention Presentation Published

Mon, 19 Jul 2021 14:16:42 GMT

CTSA member Phyllis Zagano's presentation at the CTSA 2021 Convention's Practical Theology Topic Session - Church Work was recently published at https://international.la-croix.com/news/religion/pope-francis-and-womens-church-work/14651

View the document in PDF here.

Call for Guest Posts at WIT: Women in Theology

Elissa Cutter — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 18:48:32 GMT

Hello colleagues,

I am one of the co-editors for the blog WIT: Women in Theology, which was started by some of our fellow CTSA members when they were graduate students. It has since expanded and one of the things that we regularly do now is to include guest posts. We accept posts from both established academics and graduate students. Any submitted posts will get reviewed by members of our executive board, who will work with you on any necessary edits and/or formatting for the blog.

The information about how to submit guest posts can be found here: https://womenintheology.org/2020/10/30/are-you-a-woman-in-theology-seeking-guest-posters/ We are an ecumenical Christian blog, so please share the information with your colleagues and graduate students.

Thank you!

Sincerely,
Elissa Cutter, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Religious Studies & Theology
Georgian Court University
Co-Editor of WIT: Women in Theology

INSeCT - Letter from the New Board to Member Societies

Thu, 08 Jul 2021 13:21:06 GMT

Please find below a link to the letter from the new Board of the International Network of Societies for Catholic Theology (INSeCT) written by Ruben Mendoza, President.

5 July 2021 INSeCT Letter to Member Societies

Bridgefolk Conference “Called Together to Face Racial Injustice: Starting Close In”

Elizabeth Groppe — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 21:06:41 GMT

The Catholic-Mennonite "Bridgefolk" ecumenical initiative will host an online conference August 13-14, 2021 on the theme "Called Together to Face Racial Injustice: Starting Close In."

Speakers include Diana Hayes, Laurie Cassidy, and Steve Heinrichs.

For more information and to register, click HERE.

CFP - Conference on Lived Catholicism (15 & 16 Nov., 2021)

Tue, 06 Jul 2021 13:23:56 GMT

Durham University’s Centre for Catholic Studies (CCS) in partnership with the Department of Catholic Studies at Duquesne University are pleased to announce a Call for Papers for the forthcoming conference on Lived Catholicism:

Paradox and Prophecy: Why the Study of Lived Catholicism Matters

15 & 16 November 2021

Taking place ONLINE this second Lived Catholicism conference will consider: what are the paradoxes of Lived Catholicism and how can it be authentically prophetic? bringing together theologians, ethnographers, anthropologists, human geographers, psychologists and ethicists among others for interdisciplinary exchange and encounter.

Confirmed plenary speakers include:

·     Michele Dillon (author of Post-Secular Catholicism)

·     Valentina Napolitano (author of Migrant Hearts and the Atlantic Return: Transnationalism and the Roman Catholic Church)

·     Clare Watkins (author of Disclosing Church: An Ecclesiology Learned from Conversations in Practice)

·     Massimo Faggioli (author of Joe Biden and Catholicism in the United States)

We are delighted that our speakers of 2020, Robert Orsi, Tricia Bruce, Alana Harris and Stephen Bullivant, will also be involved.

CALL FOR PAPERS

We welcome two kinds of presentations:
· 15-minute papers, presented live in several streams, and
· 5-minute poster presentations, pre-recorded on video.

The deadline for proposals is 1 October 2021.

MORE INFORMATION

To see more information about the conference, to submit a paper proposal, or to register, please visit https://livedcatholicism2.eventbrite.co.uk

If you have any queries about this conference please contact Jane Lidstone - ccs.admin@durham.ac.uk

Women's Consultation on Constructive Theology's "Pass the Mic" Submissions

Mon, 28 Jun 2021 13:36:12 GMT

The Women’s Consultation on Constructive Theology thank the women for the words of celebration and gratitude that they submitted for this year’s virtual “pass the mic.” The submissions are gathered for viewing at the following link: https://padlet.com/jcoblentz1/CTSA2021WCCT. Please check them out!

Congratulations and thank you to all of the CTSA women for all they’ve done—named and unnamed—during the past two years. The guild is better for who our women members are and the work they do.

WCCT

Interpretation of Scriptural and Ecclesial Exegesis

Thu, 24 Jun 2021 14:21:56 GMT

Interpretation of Scriptural and Ecclesial Exegesis: The Search for an Integrated Theology
Conference dates: September 17 - 19, 2021
Rochester, NY

CFP - Due August 1, 2021

NCR - Editorial: "Thank You, Catholic theologians, for your work for the church"

Fri, 18 Jun 2021 13:12:17 GMT

Editorial: Thank you, Catholic theologians, for your work for the church

Jun 17, 2021

by NCR Editorial Staff

https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/editorial-thank-you-catholic-theologians-your-work-church

"An Altar Call for Action on Racial Justice at CTSA Convention" by H. Schlumpf

Wed, 16 Jun 2021 15:18:29 GMT

"An Altar Call for Action on Racial Justice
at CTSA Convention"

by H. Schlumpf, National Catholic Reporter (Jun 16, 2021)

https://www.ncronline.org/news/theology/altar-call-action-racial-justice-ctsa-convention

Cogent Arts & Humanities seeks to appoint a new Senior Editor for Philosophy & Religion Section

Wed, 16 Jun 2021 12:28:54 GMT

Cogent Arts & Humanities is a leading multidisciplinary, peer-reviewed open access journal that welcomes research across the full breadth of the arts and humanities. As part of Routledge, and under the expert guidance of the global editorial team, the journal’s mission is to make quality arts and humanities research accessible to all.

Routledge are seeking to appoint a new Senior Editor who will take charge of the journal’s burgeoning Philosophy & Religion section.

Submitting your Application

Please find below the skills and attributes that we would be looking for in a successful applicant:

Relevant scholarly expertise in any area of Religion or Philosophy
Active within the online research community
Experience with academic publishing (special issues, peer review, edited collections, etc.)
Strong organisational skills to ensure that submissions are handled in a timely manner
Excellent communication skills and the ability to foster positive working relationships with colleagues
Desirable: knowledge and awareness of Open Access publishing

If you are interested in the role, please send your CV and a short covering letter outlining how you meet the above attributes to Becky Guest, Routledge, (rebecca.guest@tandf.co.uk) by 1st July 2021. Co-editors may be considered and should express their interest jointly.

Closing date for applications: 1st July 2021

click here for further details

Heidi Schlumpf's "Three Women Honored with CTSA Awards; Susan Wood receives John Courtney Murray Award"

Tue, 15 Jun 2021 17:48:02 GMT

Three women honored with CTSA awards; Susan Wood receives John Courtney Murray Award

Jun 14, 2021

by Heidi Schlumpf, Executive Editor,
National Catholic Reporter

https://www.ncronline.org/news/theology/three-women-honored-ctsa-awards-susan-wood-receives-john-courtney-murray-award

Homily offered by Elsie Miranda, DMin. (June 12th Liturgy of the Word)

Tue, 15 Jun 2021 16:44:13 GMT

75^th Annual Convention of the CTSA

Liturgy of the Word

Homily offered by Elsie Miranda, DMin.

On the memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I extend an invitation to all of us who have gathered across time and space to reflect together on todays readings in light of the theme, “All You Who Labor: Theology, Work and Economy”-- nested within the celebration of the CTSA’s 75^th Anniversary.

In Luke’s Gospel, we hear an unusual story about Jesus’ youth, when at the age of 12, he chose to stay behind in Jerusalem, where he sat in the temple, listening, and asking questions of the teachers for three days. In the Jewish tradition it wouldn’t have been uncommon for a boy of 12 to prepare for his Bar Mitzvah- his coming of age ritual. What is unusual however, is his apparent disobedience in choosing not to return with his family back to Nazareth, and to venture on his own to be with the teachers after the celebration of Passover (we don’t know what the teachers found astounding in Jesus, but that’s for another reflection). Filled with angst his parents searched for him for three days. When they finally found him, Mary asks, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” As a good Jew, Jesus responds to Mary’s question with two questions: “Why are you looking for me?” and “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

Luke ends this story by saying that Mary kept all these things in her heart.” A heart that we know would be wounded many times, pierced by sorrows, grief, and sins that would test her endurance —yet Mary would remain faithful to the steadfast Love of God. On the Memorial of Mary’s Immaculate Heart, I encourage all of us, to reflect on the many times we have been grief stricken by the sins of our world and our Church--- together however, as a community, we have found the courage in our hearts to endure, to support one another and remain faithful.

As we continue to labor, in “our Father’s house,” I wonder how often our decisions over time might have been interpreted as disobedience, because we chose to listen to the people, to ask questions of our teachers, of our Church, and of each other-- to question the unexamined norms, to rely on our informed conscience, and reinterpret the meaning of stories we had long taken for granted. How often has our labor of Love for God, been judged or deemed unfit-- by authorities that did not understand our theological responses, or our questions of life’s ever-evolving, and liberating truths?

I wish to believe that in a similar fashion, during the last years of the second World War, when our founding fathers worked to establish the Catholic Theological Society of America, as a decisively American-- Catholic, Theological Society, they did so impelled by the Love of Christ-- as Paul reminds us in the first reading. At a time when Europe was in rubbles, global strife was ongoing, the atrocities of genocide could no longer be denied, rampant fear, propaganda, and the perpetuation of lies that legitimized the systematic oppression of the other-- shed light on the complicit silence of the Catholic Church in Europe. Perhaps these sins of humanity led our founding fathers to labor, and to give birth to something new. (Charlie’s book on the history of the CTSA can shed more light on these undergirding realities) but I find this history relevant because although 75 years have passed the seeds of division, fear, and distrust are being planted again within our own Church. Where are the opportunities for dialogue that may yield astonishment—if we cannot even listen to one another?

Recently I did a review of the 60 Catholic schools that are members of ATS (see appendices to review data). I found that 38% of the accredited Catholic schools are Diocesan seminaries whose primary mission is “to form” or “the formation” of men for ordination and service to the Church.” 100% of these students are enrolled in MDiv programs and they have their education completely subsidized by the Dioceses where they will eventually serve and have life-long job security. Of these 23 schools 1/3^rd, are explicitly driven by The New Evangelization (a “return to Orthodoxy” form of Roman Catholicism and interestingly very well-funded). Meanwhile 43% of Catholic Schools accredited by ATS have a primary mission of “educating/preparing/ or forming women and men for scholarship/ leadership/ and ministry to the Church and world.” Almost all of these schools are run by Religious Orders, with mission statements that include words like leadership, justice, transformation, Catholic-Intellectual-Tradition, and whole person, (just to name a few) representing a parallel educational experience to the Diocesan Seminaries. Among these schools the completion rates of MA degrees by women has been consistently higher for the past 27 years, yet at a higher cost to the students both personally and financially, even though job security and a just wage cannot be guaranteed-- yet still they prevail.

In this parallel educational universe, we have to ask ourselves, what motivates us to do theology? What forms the foundations of our theological works? Who and for what are we doing this work for? What impact is our theological work having on our students, on the Church and on society?

It is fascinating that roughly 68% of the students enrolled in Catholic schools are lay women and men; 21% are seminarians and 11% are members of religious orders – but upon completion of their degrees, the power and authority granted to these students is phenomenally disproportionate.

Our founding fathers knew, like Paul says in 2 Cor. that the members of this society had to be “ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us” to be reconcilers in a world snarled in divisions. How might we mediate the Call of God to new laborers who seek certitude and belonging, alongside those who desire to breathe new life into a more inclusive Church? How do we reach out to the people in the pews and to young priests who five to six years after ordination find themselves ill prepared to deal with the complexities of a broken world and a sinful Church? How might we be reconcilers and mediators of Grace, like Mary, impelled by the love of Christ? As our friend Bob Schreiter wrote, the starting point of reconciliation is God’s Grace, which breaks in, unexpectedly to offer a new perspective, a new way forward (Ministry of Reconciliation). As ambassadors for Christ, how might we embody the courage of Mary to say yes, to being women and men consecrated to her Immaculate Heart? After all, in the context of the Catholic imagination, Mary is the great equalizer. Every culture engages Mother Mary in the transformation of sorrows, to forge a new path forward. Together, may we continue to work to transform sin through the Love of Christ—not only through reason, but through a theology of encounter, willing to be with and among the most vulnerable.

Looking back and moving forward, we know that God has called each of us to do the work of theology, to respond to God’s invitation in apparent disobedience to the will of man, in order to be faithful to the will of God. As ambassadors for Christ, our work together and in our own corners of the world, is impelled by the love of Christ—for 75 years our work has challenged and consoled. Over the course of those 75 years the Academy has changed in ways our founders could have never imagined. Yet despite our institutional limitations we come together every year as a Catholic Theological Society of America, as a community of friends, striving to keep our work faithful and relevant, even though many of us have been wounded for our obedience to God’s urgings, wherein we have found the courage to ask the critical questions, to think again, and speak the uncomfortable truths, to challenge unsubstantiated claims-- and despite the pierced hearts, we have stayed, we have banded together, and remained true. Moving forward, may we continue to embody the sacramental presence of Christ, in a world that hungers for justice and mercy and to do the theological work that reconciles the world through Christ-- In the Immaculate Heart of Mary—

To this may we all say, Amen!

Remembering Robert Schreiter, C.PP.S. d - June 2, 2021

Wed, 02 Jun 2021 17:41:21 GMT

The CTSA mourns long-standing member Robert Schreiter, C.PP.S.
CTSA President 1998 - 1999

May Bob rest in peace.

Antonio D. Sison, C.PP.S.'s video on Bob titled:

"Robert Schreiter: His Life in 10.5 Minutes"

I made this vid for Bob on the occasion of his 65th birthday celebration on January 4, 2013. Created at short notice "guerilla" style using analog tech and a very early version of the freeware iMovie. It turned out to be an intimate portrait, with precious material from his earlier life. I recorded Bob on audio as he told his own narrative. Precious. I would often rib him about how a farm boy from Nowhereland turned out to be such a brilliant mind and a polyglot, he would laugh when I told him my theory: he was implanted by an advanced alien civilization. Join me in this meaningful recollection.

Watch here: https://vimeo.com/548688937

By:

Antonio D. Sison, CPPS, PhD
Associate Professor of Systematic Theology
Chair, Historical and Doctrinal Studies Department

Text from Sr. Barbara Reid, O.P., President, Catholic Theological Union, to the CTU Community follows:

June 2, 2021

To the CTU Community:

The CTU Community grieves profoundly the loss of our long-time colleague and world-renowned

scholar, Robert Schreiter, C.PP.S. Bob joined the CTU faculty in 1974 and his outstanding contributions

are too numerous to list. His work on Reconciliation, in particular, was unparalleled, both in his

international accompaniment of Church leaders in peacebuilding and in teaching standing-room-only

crowds of students every year.

Bob served as Vice President and Academic Dean for nine years and was instrumental in founding CTU’s

D.Min. Program. His vision and wisdom also shaped the Bernardin Center, as its founding Director.

These are only a fraction of his unparalleled contributions to CTU.

As we mourn this great loss, we pray that Bob now be enjoying the fullness of God’s love for all eternity.

-----------------------------

Contributions to the CTSA's Proceedings:

Theology and Culture from a Caribbean Perspective

Comparative Ecclesiology and Global Catholicism

Catholicity & Mission: When Basic Values Collide

Public Theology and Postmodernity

Presidential Address: Development of Doctrine in a World Church

May & June 2020 Member Publications

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 12:37:40 GMT

Antonio Eduardo Alonso, Commidified Communion: Eucharist, Consumer Culture, and the Practice of Everyday Life (New York: Fordham University Press, 2021).

Laurie Cassidy and M. Shawn Copeland, ed. Desire, Darkness, and Hope: Theology in a Time of Impasse (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2021).

Antonio D. Sison, The Art of Indigenous Inculturation: Grace on the Edge of Genius ( Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Press, 2021).

Contribute and Subscribe to Critical Theology journal

Rosemary P. Carbine — Thu, 27 May 2021 22:37:10 GMT

For over five decades, The Ecumenist, edited by Gregory Baum, published essays and reviews of books engaging the societies, cultures and churches in the North Atlantic hemisphere from an emancipatory perspective rooted in the gospel. Since 2018, The Ecumenist revitalized its name, Critical Theology, along with its editorial board, but the journal continues to produce four issues a year, published by Novalis, and features theological reflection with liberative intent and praxis. The website for the journal, along with back issues of The Ecumenist and Critical Theology, can be found at https://criticaltheology.net/.

If you share this theological orientation or are interested in it, please consider subscribing to Critical Theology or asking the library of your affiliated institution to subscribe. Subscriptions are $16 (Canadian) a year. To subscribe, please go to https://criticaltheology.net/subscribe/.

If you are interested in contributing an article or book review to Critical Theology, if you would like a book reviewed therein, or for further information, please contact Don Schweitzer, McDougald Professor of Theology at St. Andrew’s College, Saskatoon at don.schweitzer@usask.ca

International Thomas Merton Society Meeting June 23-26, 2021

Christopher Pramuk — Sat, 08 May 2021 19:50:51 GMT

Featuring plenary addresses by Parker Palmer and Carrie Newcomer, Andrew Prevot, Marie Dennis, and Bonnie Thurston, this virtual gathering will also feature dozens of compelling breakout sessions by leading and emerging scholars, poets, spiritual writers and artists. $40 for the whole gathering, with student registration fees waived. Link below, and please share with any students and colleagues who may be interested.

http://www.merton.org/2021/default.aspx

'Review For Religious' Journal is Coming Back!

Daniel P. Horan — Sat, 24 Apr 2021 19:25:36 GMT

Review for Religious, the renowned journal for and about religious life, relaunches this June with a fresh approach, peer-reviewed content, and book reviews focused on religious life and the challenges and contexts of the contemporary world.

The first issue features a contribution by Cardinal Michael Czerny, SJ, “Religious Life from Vatican II to Fratelli Tutti.” With the journal comes a dynamic website, www.reviewforreligious.com, that includes news, submitted essays, and discussion of art to engage and inspire. Published by CUA Press in collaboration with the Conference of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM), the Review for Religious draws upon a 70-year history while it engages with the contemporary world.

Discover the new Review for Religious:

Find all our information, a flyer to share, and a sample table of contents at www.reviewforreligious.com/discover
Subscribe now to the digital and/or print editions
Follow us on Twitter
Contact Managing Editor David Rohrer Budiash, PhD, with questions

We're always looking for submissions for consideration and for scholars willing to serve as peer-reviewers. See the website for more information and please help spread the word to your institutions, networks, and communities about this exciting publication.

Call for Papers - Conference to be held in March of 2022

Theodore James Whapham — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 16:53:09 GMT

Call for Papers

The theological thought of Wolfhart Pannenberg has generated significant conversations, since the publication of Revelation as History in 1961. Since his passing in 2014, dozens (269) of doctoral dissertations written in English have engaged his corpus, launching a new generation of scholars who have been impacted by his life and work.

In an effort to gather scholars interested in the legacy of this seminal thinker, the Pannenberg Symposium will host a conference on March 25 & 26, 2022, in collaboration with Loyola University Chicago, Institute for Pastoral Studies and the Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage.

Commemorating the 25th anniversary of the publication of Systematic Theology, Vol. 3 in English, this conference will address the following theme:

The Spirit, The Kingdom, and Ecumenism—Wolfhart Pannenberg’s Doctrine of the Church.

Thus, we would like to extend a Call for Papers engaging Pannenberg’s thought particularly as developed in volume 3 of his Systematic Theology.

Potential topics include:

tology: Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

Ecclesiology: Nature and Purpose of the Church, doctrine of election
Eschatology: The coming kingdom of God and its establishment in history
Sacramental Theology: Ecumenical scope, presence of the Spirit in the Eucharist,ministry/ordination
Ecumenism in his doctrine of the Church and his work with the World Council of Churches
The Church and Society
Pannenberg’s political theology and engagement with liberation theology
Natural law
Theodicy and the coming of Justice

For more information go to: www.pannenbergsymposium.com

We are especially interested in engaging scholars from a diversity of denominational, cultural, and theological perspectives to create a critical and constructive conversation about the significance of Pannenberg’s theology for contemporary thought. Proposals from a wide range of theological approaches are encouraged.

To respond to the call for papers, please send a proposal of no more than 500 words to pannenbergsymposium@gmail.com. Proposals will be evaluated on the contribution they could make to the symposium theme, the clarity of the proposed research plan, and their significance for the study of Pannenberg’s theology. Proposals should be submitted by July 1, 2021 and will be subject to a blind review process. Doctoral students and junior scholars are encouraged to submit a proposal. A limited number or registration scholarships are available for those in need.

The organizers for the conference also have two hopes for future efforts growing out of this conference. First, they will be seeking publication for a selection of the best papers coming out of the conference as part of an edited volume. Second, our hope is that the conversation generated by the attendees may give rise to further meetings of the Pannenberg symposium on a regular basis. Scholars who are interested in such an ongoing project are also encouraged to notify the organizers of their interest in this broader effort.

Remembering Michael A. Fahey, S.J. (d. 3/12/21)

Mon, 15 Mar 2021 12:23:55 GMT

The CTSA remembers Michael A. Fahey, S.J., Faculty Emeriti, Marquette University Theology, and CTSA President 1983-1984.

May he rest in peace.

Presentations (See CTSA Proceedings) at the CTSA include:

The Lima Document: Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry
Response to Professor Tavard-I
Presidential Address: 1904-1984, Karl Rahner, Theologian
The Nature and Purpose of the Church
Ecclesiae Sorores ac Fratres: Sibling Communion in the Pre-Nicene Christian Era
A Catholic Response to Faith and Order's "The Nature and Purpose of the Church"
The Mission of the Church: To Divinize or To Humanize?

Remembering Antoninus Wall, O.P. (d. 3/2/21)

Tue, 09 Mar 2021 18:12:58 GMT

Fr. Antoninus Wall, O.P. (d. March 2, 2021) was one of the founding members of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley and President of the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology for several years.

"Father Antoninus Wall, O.P., a native of San Francisco, is the son of Irish-born parents, and the brother of the late Fr. Kevin Wall, O.P. Fr. Wall attended St. Ignatius prep in the Bay City and St. Mary's College of California. Entering the Dominican Order, he pursued his sacred studies at St. Albert's College in Oakland and the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. He was ordained in Rome in 1950.

Fr. Wall has had a career rich in pastoral and academic experiences. He has served as associate pastor in Seattle and as Professor of Theology at Immaculate Heart and Dominican College. He negotiated the entry of the Dominicans into the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley and served two terms there as President of the Dominican School." ( Catholic Education Resource Center, "The End of the Journey", https://www.catholiceducation.org/en/religion-and-philosophy/spiritual-life/the-end-of-the-journey.html accessed 3/9/21).

Franciscan Studies Summer School, 17-28 May 2021

Thu, 18 Feb 2021 15:17:10 GMT

Celebrating 75! #Unboxing75

Thu, 11 Feb 2021 15:20:37 GMT

As the CTSA celebrates is 75th year, please take a moment to comment, reflect, and/or post pictures from conventions past.

Remembering Rev. Robert M. Doran, S.J. - d. Jan. 21, 2021

Thu, 21 Jan 2021 16:47:28 GMT

Remembering longstanding member Robert M. Doran, S.J.

May he rest in peace.

CTSA Proceedings:
View of Nature and Method of Theology

Brief biography on Bernard Longergan, S.J. (1904-1984)

Marquette.edu

https://www.marquette.edu/theology/directory/robert-doran.php

January / February Member Publications

Mon, 11 Jan 2021 15:45:32 GMT

February 2021

Delio, Ilia, The Hours of the Universe ( Orbis Press, February 2021).

Diaz, Miguel, ed., The Word Became Culture ( Orbis Press, February 2021).

Rausch, S.J., Thomas, Global Catholicism ( Orbis Press, February 2021).

January 2021

O'Neill, S.J., William R., Reimagining Human Rights: Religion and the Common Good (Georgetown U.P., January 2021).

CTSA Asian/Asian-American Consultation Christmas Gathering

Mon, 21 Dec 2020 14:04:01 GMT

Beyond Test Scores: Measuring the Contributions of Catholic Schools and Universities

(Past member) — Thu, 17 Dec 2020 01:31:41 GMT

Please join us at a webinar co-organized by Lumen Christi and several other organizations on January 19, 2021 at 11 am EST. Registration is at https://www.lumenchristi.org/event/2021/01/beyond-test-scores.

Abstract: Catholic schools and universities aim to educate the whole person. Beyond strong academics, they aim to educate towards fraternal humanism. Do we have any evidence that they succeed? Based on recent research for the United States conducted under the new collaborative Global Catholic Education project (www.GlobalCatholicEducation.org), including a set of papers prepared for a special issue of the Journal of Catholic Education, this webinar will explore this question. Topics to be considered include (1) whether parents sending children to Catholic schools have different priorities for what children should learn in school than other parents; (2) whether students in Catholic schools exhibit self-discipline; (3) whether different stakeholders have different worldviews for Catholic schools; (4) whether there is less violence in Catholic schools than in other schools; (5) whether going to Catholic schools is associated with particular patterns of family formation later in life; and (6) more generally, what is meant by a Catholic identity. While the discussion will focus in large part on schools, implications for Catholic universities will also be discussed. After a presentation summarizing findings from recent research, panelists will share their views on how Catholic schools and universities could rely on these and other research findings to improve the education they provide "beyond test scores".

New Global Catholic Education Website and Blog

(Past member) — Mon, 14 Dec 2020 02:38:26 GMT

Catholic schools are essential for the mission of the Church. To support Catholic schools and universities worldwide, we just launched a new website at www.GlobalCatholicEducation.org with the support of the four major internaional organizations representing Catholic education in international fora (OIEC, IFCU, OMAEC, and UMEC-WUCT).

The mission of the website is to inform and connect Catholic educators globally. It provides them with data, analysis, opportunities to learn, and other resources to help them fulfill their mission with a particular focus on the preferential option for the poor. The website also includes a blog that provides once a week short posts with links to resources that may be useful to Cathlic educators.

If you would like to be involved in this initative, please contact us at GlobalCatholicEducation@gmail.com. This is a volunteer-led initiative and we can benefit from all the help we can get. Thank you!

November / December Member Publications

Mon, 07 Dec 2020 17:13:55 GMT

Nathaniel Marx, Authentic Liturgy: Minds in Tune with Voices (Liturgical Press, Nov. 2020).

Announcing Library of Catholic Thought

Thu, 19 Nov 2020 17:33:30 GMT

In October, Bloomsburgy Digital Resources launched its Library of Catholic Thought, a new module and part of our Theology & Religion Online research hub. Library of Catholic Thought covers nearly two millennia of global Catholic thought, tradition, and culture, and explores scholarship from the Church Fathers to the present day. It also includes The New Jerome Biblical Commentary: Second Revised Edition, which is digitally exclusive to Library of Catholic Thought.

LibraryOfCatholicThought.pdf

St. Michael's College Graduate Fellows Program for African American Scholars

Maria-Pilar Aquino — Sat, 14 Nov 2020 21:00:50 GMT

The Edmundite Graduate Fellows Program for African American Scholars

Named in honor of the College’s founding Catholic order, the Edmundites, who began ministering with African Americans in Selma, Alabama, in the 1930s. Edmundites have continued to work in solidarity with African Americans in the South to this day, committing resources to providing direct assistance to the poor of Alabama but more importantly working with the African American community in the Selma environs in the development of skills and the creation of jobs in some of the poorest counties of the United States. The commitment of Edmundites to the work of racial justice finds its expression at Saint Michael’s College through Edmundites working at the college to end racism on campus and to promote a student body and faculty that is diverse and values and diversity.

This teaching fellows program seeks to attract African American scholars to complete their doctoral studies at Saint Michael’s College, thereby advancing the rich tradition and history of the Edmundites and the College serving underrepresented communities and scholars. It will also serve to enrich the Saint Michael’s community and student learning by bringing important research, perspectives, and voices to our campus and our classrooms.

A community committed to inclusion

As a small liberal arts institution in one of the least diverse states in the country, Saint Michael’s College is (continuously) challenged by a lack of diversity among its student body, staff and its faculty. A diverse faculty benefits the entire community and enriches the learning that takes place in and out of the classroom by introducing important underrepresented voices and different perspectives. Indeed, it is the obligation of a quality liberal arts institution to include those perspectives and voices as part of the educational experience.

In order to encourage scholars to consider Saint Michael’s College as a place to live and work to complete their important doctoral work, the College is offering the Edmundite Graduate Fellows Program for African American Scholars. This program will offer scholars in the final stages of their doctoral work, and who need only to finish the dissertation to complete requirements for the Ph.D. a welcoming community to begin their careers, a stipend of $20,000, housing, health benefits, and up to $3,000 toward relocation expenses. The academic areas where the fellows program is being awarded are: all disciplines considered.

Requirements

Fellows accepted to the program will be expected to teach one class and host one lecture each semester, usually in the fellow's general research area. Saint Michael’s College assumes that the fellow will participate in the intellectual life of his/her home department, as well as in the broader cultural life of the College. Our primary expectation, however, and the main focus of this fellowship, is the completion of the dissertation.

For more information contact:

Margaret Bass, PhD

Special Assistant to the President for Diversity and Inclusion
mbass@smcvt.edu

smcvt.edu/edmundite-graduate-fellows-program

"Dissenting Church' - CfP - Leuven Encounters in Systematic Theology 2021 -

Judith Gruber — Sat, 14 Nov 2020 11:34:28 GMT

Every two years, the Research Unit Systematic Theology of KU LEUVEN hosts the international conference "Leuven Encounters in Systematic Theology". The next LEST conference will take place at KU Leuven, 20-23 October, 2021. The topic is "DISSENTING CHURCH - Exploring the Theological Power of Conflict and Disagreement".

The Call for Papers is now live - Deadline 1 March, 2021:

https://theo.kuleuven.be/en/lest/lest-xiii/call-for-papers

Jesuit Refugee Service 40th Anniversary Virtual Event

(Past member) — Thu, 12 Nov 2020 16:32:57 GMT

Join the Jesuit Refugee Service's Virtual Event

Walking with Refugees for Forty Years
Thursday, November 12, at 6 p.m. (EST)

Tonight Jesuit Refugee Service is celebrating its 40th Anniversary with a Virtual National event that I hope you can all watch. The attached link to a 2-page flyer describes the event The second page has sponsorship levels. You should all feel comfortable signing up simply as friends (which we all are). And if you're short of cash in this crazy time we're living in, just write me (ljodsj@yahoo.com) and I'll send you the link for the event. I believe you will find it truly compelling.

Serving as the Director of Mission for JRS has been one of the most blessed experiences of my life. If you spend an hour with "our refugees" tomorrow night, you'll share that blessing.

God bless.

Leo

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For the last 40 years, Jesuit Refugee Service has walked with those who are forcibly displaced — working for a world where refugees and forcibly displaced people attain protection, opportunity, and participation. Join us as we recognize the work JRS has done over the last four decades, express our commitment to continuing to provide service to refugees, and honor those who’ve helped us along the way.

FEATURING

Madeline Albright

President-Elect Joe Biden

Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Comedian Jim Gaffigan and Writer, Director, and Producer, Jeannie Gaffigan

Rev. James Martin, S.J., Esteemed Author and Editor

Katie Ledecky, Swimmer and Olympian

Dr. Anthony Fauci, Immunologist and Director of the NIAID

Testimonies and performances from refugees

Rev. Arturo Sosa, S.J., Superior General of the Society of Jesus

Performance by Grammy Award Winner Isabel Leonard

Special message from Pope Francis read by JRS International Director,

Rev. Tom Smolich, S.J.

We will honor in a special way the leaders of the Global Education Initiative – an ambitious international campaign to enable us to open the doors of our education programs to 250,000 refugees each year by 2020 – Rita Bennett, Molly Cashin, Margaret Green-Rauenhorst, and Madeline Lacovara.

See https://mail.google.com/mail/u/1/#inbox/WhctKJWJDWqvZhrdxqRJlNVLlcRKHNPBjhPWZsHJlHnWHnpfScKQsClsXtHCKFWFTxHpNkq?projector=1&messagePartId=0.1

Teaching & Doing Theology in Real Time: Summer, 2020, and Black Lives Matter

Tue, 10 Nov 2020 14:23:12 GMT

Click on this link to view the Event Recording

The CTSA hosted the event "Teaching and Doing Theology in Real Time: Summer, 2020, and Black Lives Matter" for its membership. Recognizing time restraints that apply to the event and to encourage further dialogue, this Newsfeed post is a platform that may be used by the membership to continue the discussion. While only members may post on the Newsfeed, the Newsfeed itself is available to the public for viewing.

Mary Jane Ponyik
Executive Director

CFP - Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations

Tue, 10 Nov 2020 13:51:03 GMT

Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations

CALL FOR PAPERS

The editorial board of Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations, a peer-reviewed journal, invites submissions for its current and future volumes. SCJR publishes scholarship on the history, theology, and contemporary realities of Jewish-Christian relations and reviews new materials in the field, providing a vehicle for exchange of information, cooperation, and mutual enrichment in the field of Christian-Jewish studies and relations.

Interested authors are encouraged to contact the editors in advance. Papers should be submitted through the journal’s website.

All papers will be subject to peer-review before acceptance for publication.

SCJR is included in the following indexes: ATLA’s Full-text Journal Index and Religion Database; EBSCO's Academic Search Complete (ASC), Historical Abstracts, America: History and Life, and Humanities International Index; Index to Jewish Periodicals; ProQuest Religion Database; and RAMBI (Index of Articles on Jewish Studies).

Special CFP for Vol. 16 (2021)

SCJR invites the submission of articles that engage with the roles of guilt, sin, repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation in Christian-Jewish relations applying—but not limited to—theological, historical, psychological, sociological, and contemporary perspectives. Articles that seek to strengthen Jewish-Christian relations by examining or proposing Jewish and Christian responses are especially welcome.
Articles may be submitted through September 1, 2021.

www.bc.edu/scjr

Fratelli Tutti and Christian/Muslim relations

David Hollenbach — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 17:55:49 GMT

Here is a link to my recent reflection on the contribution of Pope Francis's encyclical Fratelli Tutti to the relations between Christians and Muslims.

https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/responses/pope-francis-encyclical-and-solidarity-with-muslims

David Hollenbach, S.J.

Pope Francis' comments on Civil Unions

Francis X Clooney, SJ — Sat, 24 Oct 2020 11:17:31 GMT

Here is a link to an interview I gave to the Harvard Gazette on October 23, regarding Pope Francis' comments on civil unions. It was completed, however, before more recent information has come forward regarding the editing of the original documentary, etc.

Francis X. Clooney, SJ

Harvard University

CTSA Vice-President

Open-Access Article: “Pursuing the Intrinsic Relationship Between Liturgy and Ethics"

Bruce T. Morrill, S.J. — Thu, 01 Oct 2020 16:54:26 GMT

My recently published article, “Pursuing the Intrinsic Relationship Between Liturgy and Ethics: Practical-Theological Promise in Poverty of Spirit,” is freely available in the open-access, peer-reviewed journal AUC Theologica (Charles University, Prague).

That new issue of AUC Theologica features a special section of five articles on sacramental-liturgical theology (guest-edited by Petr Stica), along with eight more articles across a range of theological sub-disciplines.

Integrity of Creation Conference (Sept. 29-30)

Mon, 28 Sep 2020 13:43:15 GMT

CTSA member Gerard Magill, The Gallagher Chair, Duquesne University, announces the annual Integrity of Creation Conference, Sep.29-30, 2020. The theme for this year is Building a Sustainable World. Due to Covid-19, the conference is virtual via zoom. Please visit the conference website for the schedule of events and for the zoom links, www.duq.edu/ioc.

September 2020 - Member Publications

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 16:31:05 GMT

Maria Cimperman, RSCJ, Religious Life for Our World: Creating Communities of Hope

https://www.orbisbooks.com/religious-life-for-our-world.html

Ilia Delio, OSF, Re-Enchanting the Earth: Why AI Needs Religion

https://www.orbisbooks.com/re-enchanting-the-earth.html

Ki Joo Choi/Sara Moses/Andrea Vicini, SJ, eds.: Reimagining the Moral Life: On Lisa Sowle Cahill’s Contributions to Social Ethics

https://www.orbisbooks.com/re-imaging-the-moral-life-lisa-sowell-cahill-orbis.html

Two promising online resources for CTSA members

Thomas J Massaro SJ — Thu, 03 Sep 2020 19:46:44 GMT

CTSA members, especially those interested in topics related to religion and ethics in contemporary society, may enjoy these two resources (Full disclosure: I never knew about either one until recent requests to contribute from the curators of each):

1) The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University hosts an online forum for the exchange of opinions on matters of public import. One of the Berkley Center's recent topics (treated by an interreligious array of nearly a dozen well-informed writers, a few of them CTSA members) involves “Economic Justice and Universal Basic Income: Ethical and Religious Perspectives.” You don't need to be a member of the "Yang Gang" to appreciate the opinions expressed here. (That is a reference to recent Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang).

https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/blogs/berkley-forum

2) The Canopy Forum on the Interactions of Law and Religion is a digital project of the Center for Law and Religion at Emory Law School. Its stated goal is “to provide sophisticated yet accessible content. . . on issues that lie at the intersection of law, religion, and society. . . in an informed, nuanced, and productive way.” Based on what I have seen on the website so far, these lofty goals are routinely achieved--again, in an interreligious mode.

https://canopyforum.org/

Happy reading! Thomas Massaro, S.J. (Fordham University)

Commonweal Offer: One-Year print Subscriptions to All Students

Mary Jane Ponyik — Thu, 03 Sep 2020 13:02:05 GMT

Commonweal continues to offer free one-year Commonweal print
subscriptions to all students (undergraduate or graduate) as well as to anyone who has finished a degree program in the past three years. We encourage professors to circulate this URL to all their students: https://cwlmag.org/freestudent.

We'd also like to introduce people to our Conversation Starter Series, which are small collections of Commonweal articles and discussion guides for classroom and small-group use. This year's topics are:

1. Catholic Citizenship
2. Listening to Marginalized Voices
3. Transforming Parishes Today
4. The Art of Conversion
5. Alternatives to Capitalism
6. How Does Church Teaching Change?
7. Seminaries & Formation
8. Environmental Spirituality

Free samples of any of these topical guides can be requested by emailing Thomas Baker, Publisher, at tbaker@commonwealmagazine.org. More information is at https://cwlmag.org/css.

Commonweal Offer: One-Year print Subscriptions to All Students

Mary Jane Ponyik — Thu, 03 Sep 2020 12:59:00 GMT

Free samples of any of these topical guides can be requested by emailing Thomas Baker, Publisher, at tbaker@commonwealmagazine.org. More information is at https://cwlmag.org/css.

Paul Crowley's Funeral: Link to attend virtual mass

Thu, 20 Aug 2020 16:16:40 GMT

The CTSA has received approval of Dennis Smolarski, S.J., Director, Campus Ministry, Santa Clara University, to provide the link to attend Paul Crowley's funeral on Monday, August 24, at 11:00 a.m. The participants scheduled for the mass are the video and audio technicians, priests, readers, and musicians only.

The case-sensitive link for the mass is:

https://bit.ly/Crowleymemorial

Remembering Anselm Min (d. August 7, 2020)

Tue, 18 Aug 2020 12:14:53 GMT

The CTSA mourns the loss of beloved member Anselm Min. Below is Claremont Graduate University's tribute to Anselm.

Eternal rest, grant unto Anslem O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May Anselm's soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Passings: Anselm Mi, Scholar Who Helped Students See the Enduring Relevance of the Religious Past

Professor Emeritus Anselm Min, who passed away earlier this month, is seen here as he addresses an audience on the challenges that globalization presents to Christian theology during a 2017 conference.

The Catholic thinker Thomas Aquinas may have died some 750 years ago, but for Anselm Min, a longtime member of CGU’s Religion Department, Aquinas had much to teach Min’s students in our hyper-self-conscious age of social media.

“It was refreshing to read a thinker who reflects and argues rather than shouts and claims,” he wrote in his critically acclaimed 2005 study, Paths to the Triune God; “one who withdraws himself so as to let the matter speak for itself rather than intrude his own subjectivity at every available turn.”

A scholar renowned for his efforts to make historically distant theologies relevant to the present, Min passed away earlier this month at his Upland home. For nearly 30 years, he had served as a member of the university’s Religion Department.

Min had only just retired from CGU earlier this summer.

School of Arts & Humanities Dean Lori Anne Ferrell circulated a message to the SAH faculty about Min’s passing, praising “his remarkable gifts of intellect and spirit.”

On Instagram and Twitter, former colleagues and students expressed sorrow over his passing and paid tribute to Min’s warmth and scholarship.

CGU religion doctoral student Josiah Solis on Twitter described Min as “one of the most important professors I have ever studied with.”

Also on Twitter, University of Toronto doctoral student Sean Capener said Min was “almost single-handedly the reason I’ve spent the last seven years digging around in the medieval scholastic tradition.”

A Distinguished Career

Min held not one but two doctorates—one in religion from Vanderbilt University and one in philosophy from Fordham University—and helped maintain CGU’s high reputation in academic circles. He was the product of a Jesuit education and a member of the Catholic Theological Society of America.

At CGU, Min received many awards, including ones from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Fletcher Jones Research Grant, and he enjoyed a five-year tenure as the John D. and Lillian Maguire Distinguished Professor of Religion.

In works such as Paths to the Triune God, Korean Religions in Relation, and Faith, Hope, Love and Justice, Min worked tirelessly to show the enduring power and relevance of traditions of religious thought to our contemporary age.

Recalling his earliest years at CGU (then CGS), Min writes in Paths to the Triune God that he had taught doctoral students since 1992, and that “during this time it occurred to me that some of our students tended to be so preoccupied with things contemporary that they not only suffered a woeful ignorance of the classical tradition but also had a positive contempt for the theological past.”

Professor Emeritus Anselm Min In his scholarship and teaching, Min sought to address this misunderstanding, explaining to generations of students and readers the “broadening and liberating experience” of understanding and appreciating past theologians while not making excuses for their errors and prejudices.

Ferrell also said in her message to the SAH community that they will honor and celebrate Min’s legacy as soon as quarantine conditions are lifted and in-person gatherings are allowed again.

Min is survived by his wife, Sonnya, and their daughter Sophia.

-------

By Claremont Graduate University (Aug. 17, 2020) at https://www.cgu.edu/news/2020/08/passings-anselm-min-scholar-who-helped-students-see-the-enduring-relevance-of-the-religious-past/

International Thomas Merton Society Statement on Racial Justice

Christopher Pramuk — Sat, 15 Aug 2020 16:38:21 GMT

May be of interest for those interested in Merton's writings on race, CTSA members who teach Merton, or who have spoken for the ITMS. A collaborative document, the fruit of an increasing wealth of scholarship on Merton and race. As current VP of the ITMS, I'd welcome any feedback, critical and otherwise. (cpramuk@regis.edu)

http://merton.org/ITMS/Racial-Justice-Statement-.July-2020.pdf

Paul Crowley

Dr. Phyllis Zagano — Sat, 08 Aug 2020 13:16:30 GMT

Here is Paul speaking on the mystery of suffering:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRjSi3B2nXQ

Remembering Paul Crowley, S.J. - Died August 7

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 03:36:43 GMT

The CTSA mourns the loss of its beloved member Paul Crowley, S.J. Below is Santa Clara's tribute of Paul the university community.

Eternal rest, grant unto Paul, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May Paul's soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Dear Members of the University Community,

Today, we lost one of our beloved faculty members, Paul Crowley, S.J., Santa Clara Jesuit Community Professor in Religious Studies, after his long battle with cancer. We join with the Jesuit community in mourning Paul’s loss and pray for consolation for all of us who loved and cared for him.

Since 1989, Paul served the Santa Clara University community with generosity, gentleness, and a profound holiness that grounded his teaching, scholarship and vocation. Over his years at Santa Clara, he held the titles of professor of religious studies, department chair, and member of numerous committees and planning initiatives that would guide the University’s understanding of its Jesuit Catholic mission in the world.

Paul’s contributions to the Church and all people of faith as a renowned and gifted theologian are expansive. Paul taught theology in the Religious Studies Department, Graduate Program in Pastoral Ministries and at the Jesuit School of Theology. His teaching also brought him to Stanford University and the Weston School of Theology, now the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, as a visiting professor. He was a prolific writer with numerous award-winning publications, with books on Karl Rahner, Robert McAfee Brown, pluralism in the Church, and faith and suffering. Paul was very active in his profession, having served as editor-in-chief of the prestigious journal of the Society of Jesus, Theological Studies, and as a member of its board. He also held appointments on the boards of the Catholic Theological Society of America, Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, and Jesuit School of Theology.

Paul held an inclusive view of faith that reflected an Ignatian ministry of hospitality. As one of his colleagues reflected, “It is very easy to describe Paul and his life as a priest, professor, and friend. This word is simply this: Paul is a holy man. What a gift his holiness is to all of us!”

On a personal note, I am a better Jesuit, priest, theologian, and person because of Paul. By his writing and example, he always reminded me that before everything else, we are human, and it is in the human -- in our beauty and brokenness -- that we meet the divine.

We all have been so very blessed with Paul as priest, professor and friend. After such a generous life spent for others, we are confident he now rests in the peace of God, whom he spent his life leading others to.

May God grant him eternal rest with the communion of saints!

Notes of condolence may be sent to the Jesuit Community:

Jesuit Community
Santa Clara University
500 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95053

Sincerely,

Kevin F. O'Brien, S.J.
President

A New Website on Pope Francis and Church Reform

John R Connolly — Wed, 05 Aug 2020 20:15:09 GMT

Hello Colleagues,

Just want to let you know that I have developed a new website on Pope Francis's reform of the church. It is an effort to inform Catholics in the U.S. of the teachings and views of pope Francis, something that they do not often hear from the U.S. bishops and priests. Check it out if you like.

John Connolly

https://www.ref21cencath.com/

Moral Reckoning Under a Mushroom Cloud

William George — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 21:53:07 GMT

During graduate studies in ethics and society at the University of Chicago Divinity School in the late 1980s, I lived a few blocks from the Henry Moore sculpture commemorating the first self-sustained nuclear reaction, a key moment in the development of the atomic bomb. I often wondered what went through the minds of those brilliant contributors to the Manhattan Project as they labored under the bleachers of Stagg Field. As we mark the 75th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, perhaps this reflective return to that site, published in the Martin Marty Center's "Sightings," will aid your own reflections on those deeply troubled times--and on ours.

https://divinity.uchicago.edu/sightings/articles/moral-reckoning-under-mushroom-cloud

CFP - Annual Meeting of the Society for Christian Scholarship in Music

Mon, 03 Aug 2020 13:13:35 GMT

CFP - due 10/1/20, Annual Meeting of the Society for Christian Scholarship in Music (Feb. 25-27, 2021) Mercer University, Macon, GA.

Members' New Publications - July 2020

Mon, 03 Aug 2020 13:11:29 GMT

Thomas E. Malewitz, Authenticity, Passion, and Advocacy (Wipf and Stock, July 2020).

Judith Merkle, Discipleship, Secularity, and the Modern Self: Dancing to Silent Music (T&T Clark, July 2020).

Bob Pennington and Thomas M. Kelly, Bridge Building: Pope Francis' Practical Theological Approach (Herder & Herder, July 2020).

CFP Newman: Scholar, Convert, Reformer, Cardinal, Saint

Mon, 03 Aug 2020 13:09:42 GMT

CFP - due 8/15/20, Newman: Scholar, Convert, Reformer, Cardinal, Saint (Oct. 23), Regis College.

Remembering Valentine "Val" J. Peter - d. June 30, 2020

Mon, 27 Jul 2020 14:25:24 GMT

Rev. Valentine J. Peter, “Val
November 20, 1934 – June 30, 2020

Father Valentine J. Peter expanded Father Flanagan’s dream of changing the way America cares for her children and families. He led the growth of Boys Town from the Village of Boys Town, Nebraska, eventually to 19 sites in 14 states and Washington D.C.

An Omaha native, Father Peter was the fourth executive director of Boys Town. He assumed the post June 15, 1985. Under his direction, Boys Town grew to provide direct care, including hospital treatment, to more than 43,000 children each year. A million more were helped each year through outreach and training programs.

Father Peter is on the boards or committees of more than 20 national and local organizations. He has published numerous books and popular and scholarly articles. Father Peter holds doctorate degrees in both Canon Law and Theology.

His service to children as a youth advocate, educator, and friend has spanned more than four decades. Father Peter retired as Executive Director of Boys Town on July 1, 2005. He served as Executive Director Emeritus and Senior Associate Pastor at the Immaculate Conception Dowd Memorial Chapel for a number of years before fully retiring and moving to New Cassel Retirement Home in Omaha. He continued his mission of working with Boys Town alumni until his passing.

Father Peter passed away on June 30, 2020 and is buried in his family plot in Omaha, Nebraska.

Above text was written and posted online by:

Boys Town National Alumni Association, June 2020, accessed July 27, 2020 at https://www.boystownalumni.org/article.html?aid=157.

CTSA Statement of the Board of Directors on Racial Injustice

Thu, 04 Jun 2020 13:23:16 GMT

On June 3, 2020, the CTSA Board approved a Statement on Racial Injustice. The full text of the document is posted at https://ctsa-online.org/BoardStatements.

Acknowledgements:

The members who contributed to produce this statement include the leadership of the CTSA Committee on Underrepresented Ethnic and Racial Groups (CUERG), Cristina Lledo Gomez and Melissa Pagán-Rubalcaba, with a special intervention by Joseph Flipper in consultation with Bryan Massingale, and Board members María Pilar Aquino, Paul Lakeland, and Kevin Burke. The Board is grateful for their contribution.

Join the conversation by logging into the CTSA website and post a comment.

Remembering R. Dan Kendall, S.J. - Died May 26, 2020

Tue, 26 May 2020 16:52:47 GMT

Fr. Daniel R. Kendall, S.J. passed away at 2:30 a.m., Tuesday, May 26 at Sacred Heart Jesuit Center in Los Gatos. Please keep him and his fellow Jesuits in your prayers.

Dan's bio listed on USFCA's website: https://www.usfca.edu/faculty/daniel-kendall

Eternal rest grand unto Dan, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May His soul and the souls of the faithful departed
through the mercy of God,
rest in peace.

Remembering Sr. Suzanne Noffke, OP - Died April 14th

Fri, 17 Apr 2020 18:51:52 GMT

The CTSA remembers long standing member Sr. Suzanne Noffke, O.P. who died on April 14, 2020. The following text is from the Dominican Sisters of Racine, Wisconsin (https://oppeace.org/blog/2020/04/15/sr-suzanne-noffke-op/).

Sr. Suzanne Noffke, OP, a Racine Dominican author and linguist, went home to God on Tuesday, April 14 after a long illness. She was 83 years old. Born Ione Noffke, she entered the aspirancy at 15. At 18, she was received into the Congregation received the name Sister Suzanne. A few years later she began teaching and earned a bachelor’s degree from Dominican College and a doctorate in linguistics from the University of Wisconsin- Madison.

She went on to serve as president of the community, as well as a translator, writer and historian, but was best known as one of the world’s leading experts on Saint Catherine of Siena. She lectured internationally and led numerous retreats based on the life and thought of Saint Catherine. She also published annotated translations of all of Catherine’s extant works (The Dialogue, 1980; The Prayers, 1983; The Letters of Catherine of Siena, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2008), and a two-volume thematic Anthology (2011), a book of essays (Catherine of Siena: Vision Through a Distant Eye, 1996, 2006), and numerous articles.

In an interview, Sr. Suzanne said, “Every phase of my ministry has been exciting and filled with meaning for me, but especially meaningful has been my work with making accessible to others our community history and the life and thought of our patron, Catherine of Siena.” She shared her knowledge and wisdom generously throughout her lifetime.

Please hold Suzanne, her family and her many friends in your thoughts and prayers and love. May she rest in peace.

Sr. Suzanne’s body will be cremated. A Memorial Service will be held at a later date.

Eternal rest grant unto Suzanne, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon her.
May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Remembering Joseph Martos - Died March 24

Tue, 07 Apr 2020 13:06:17 GMT

Remembering CTSA member Joseph Martos who died on March 24, 2020. To date, an obituary has not been posted on the web. In its place, I provide you with his biography as posted on his website.

BIOGRAPHY

Joseph Martos is a retired professor of religion and philosophy living in Louisville, Kentucky, where he divides his time between writing, social activism, and public speaking. He has held full-time teaching positions in Louisville KY, Allentown PA, Cincinnati OH, and Sioux City IA, and he has taught summer courses in over a dozen universities in the United States, Canada and Australia. Earlier in his career, he was a high school teacher and, before that, a parish religious education director. He did graduate study in philosophy and theology at Gregorian University and Boston College, and he earned a doctorate from DePaul University in Chicago, writing a dissertation on Bernard Lonergan’s theory of transcendent knowledge. Dr. Martos has written seven books on the sacraments, the most popular of which is Doors to the Sacred: A Historical Introduction to Sacraments in the Catholic Church. He has also co-authored four books on spirituality with Fr. Richard Rohr, and he has co-edited two books on Christian history and church practices with sociologist Pierre Hégy. May God Bless America: George W. Bush and Biblical Morality, written just prior to the 2004 election, was on religion and politics. His book, The Sacraments: An Interdisciplinary and Interactive Study, has an accompanying website, www.TheSacraments.org. Deconstructing Sacramental Theology and Reconstructing Catholic Ritual, written for an academic audience and published in 2015, documents the historical development of Roman Catholic doctrines about the sacraments, proves that they are based on misinterpretations of biblical and early church texts, and shows why they have become disconnected from the lives of Catholics today. Honest Rituals, Honest Sacraments: Letting Go of Doctrines and Celebrating What’s Real, published in 2017, makes the same argument for the general reader, using less technical language and suggesting ways to develop authentic sacramental practices in the future. His current project is reworking a course about Bernard Lonergan’s Insight: A Study of Human Understanding into an online program that can be accessed by people who are interested in learning how the human mind works by becoming familiar with their own cognitional operations. Dr. Martos has a continuing interest in world peace, social responsibility, and ecology. He has taught courses on Christian ethics and he has been a member of local and national organizations such as Pax Christi, Bread for the World, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and Amnesty International. As a member of his parish’s social justice committee, he has visited Nicaragua and reported on conditions there, and he has also made trips to rebuild hurricane-damaged homes. He is an avid news reader and distributes internet articles daily to people interested in national and world affairs through his free news service, NewsLinks.Dr. Martos and his wife Arden live in a Victorian house in Old Louisville, where they are active members of the neighborhood association. Both remarried, between them they have eight children, fourteen grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren (accessed on 4/7/20 at https://josephmartos.academia.edu/).

Eternal rest grant to Joseph, O Lord,
and let light perpetual shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Remembering John R. Langan, S.J.

Tue, 24 Mar 2020 12:50:30 GMT

Long standing CTSA member John Langan, S.J., died on March 20, 2020. Memorials to his life are found at:

http://www.mdsj.org/news-detail?TN=NEWS-20200322070310&fbclid=IwAR0AR4jkZU5wWQdXYrT2rz5iN2_IWSkQkYWCEzV6mWGyNm-TF8mEnjVZjbY

and

https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/visual_stories/berkley-center-remembers-rev-john-langan-s-j

Eternal rest grant unto John, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of all the faithfully departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

College Theology Society Seeks Missing Award Winners' Names

Thu, 05 Mar 2020 14:47:56 GMT

Each year since 1971 the College Theology Society, of which many CTSA members are or have been members, has given awards for a book and article published the previous year. Since 1980, it has also given an award for best unpublished graduate student essay submitted; this is now called the Susan G. Perry Award.

Last year, the CTS board gave me the task of compiling a list of all the awards given. With the help of CTS members and of our archivists at The Catholic University of America, I more or less completed the job, and you can find the results here: https://collegetheologysociety10.wildapricot.org/Past-Publication-Award-Winners. But the records are spotty in places--especially the 1990s, as we transitioned from paper to electronic record-keeping--and sometime inaccurate.

I invite CTSA members to check over the list, especially if you won, or have any idea who won, the student essay award in 1993, the book award in 1996, or any award at all in 1997. Remember that the awards are for works published or graduate essays submitted during the year prior to the award.

Please send any additions or corrections to me at collinge@msmary.edu.

Bill Collinge

Remembering Rev. Gerard S. Sloyan

Tue, 25 Feb 2020 14:26:53 GMT

The following text is from "Gerard Sloyan, a symposium and some sad news", PrayTell Blog, Feb. 24, 2020 post (https://www.praytellblog.com/index.php/2020/02/24/gerard-sloyan-a-symposium-and-some-sad-news/).

Fr. Gerard S. Sloyan was a priest of the Diocese of Trenton, NJ. He studied at Immaculate Conception Seminary, Darlington, NJ, and The Catholic University of America (S.T.L.; Ph.D.). He returned to CUA in 1950 to teach in the Department of Religious Education, serving as Department Chair between 1957 and 1967, developing courses in religion and theology for religious and lay students. He was subsequently Professor in the School of Religious Studies at Temple University, Philadelphia (1967–1990). Following his retirement from Temple, he returned to CUA as Distinguished Professor in 1994, and became Distinguished Professor at Georgetown University in 1996. Fr. Sloyan’s numerous publications reflect his wide interests and influence. They include Liturgy in Focus (1964), The Passion of the Jews (with L. Swidler, 1984); John: A Biblical Commentary (1988), Catholic Morality Revisited (1990), and Preaching from the Lectionary (2004).

“Gerard S. Sloyan is one of those rare scholars who can claim an expertise in both Bible and theology that enables him to bridge the gap between exegesis and systematic theology” Frank Matera wrote in a publishing endorsement. A description of the full range of his contributions to education and inter-religious dialogue, as well as a bibliography of his numerous published works, can be found here.

About the Symposium in his honor

The Symposium will continue as scheduled and is open to the public. All are welcome. Here are the details:

Scripture, Liturgy, Catechesis, Dialogue:
A Symposium to Celebrate the Legacy of Fr. Gerard Sloyan at 100

March 4, 2020, from 10 AM to 3 PM
Caldwell Auditorium at Catholic University

Speakers and topics:
Philip Cunningham, Gerard S. Sloyan: A Post-Conciliar Polymath
Adele Reinhartz, The Gospel of John and the “Parting of the Ways” Between Judaism and Christianity
Rita Ferrone, Magnum Principium and the Reprioritization of the “Great Principle” of the Liturgical Reform
William Loewe, Erant Gigantes: Father Sloyan At Catholic U.

Sponsored by the Catholic University of American School of Theology and Religious Studies, and co-sponsored by the Diocese of Trenton

RSVP here. For more information, and to request accommodation for persons with disabilities,contact Roxana Paalvast at paalvast@cua.eduat

Eternal rest, grant unto Gerard, O Lord
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May he rest in peace.
May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Fr. Gerald S. Sloyan's 100th Birthday is today, December 13, 2019!

Fri, 13 Dec 2019 17:23:46 GMT

Fr. Gerard S. Sloyan, distinguished Biblical scholar, teacher, author, and activist in liturgical reform turns 100 years old Dec. 13, 2019! Gerard S. Sloyan, Professor Emeritus of Temple University, was President of the Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA), from 1993-94. His presidential address to the CTSA was entitled “The Jesus in Whom the Churches of the Apostolic Age Believed.” CTSA Proceedings,49(1994) 65-70. Fr. Sloyan celebrated the 75th anniversary of his priesthood June 5, 2019.

We invite you to help post memories, congratulatory comments, and meditations on how Fr. Sloyan’s work and person has influenced you.

Here is a brief account my relationship Fr. Sloyan:

My name is Elizabeth Adams-Eilers. When I moved to Philadelphia to pursue a Ph.D. in Religious Studies at Temple University, I sought a place to live. As it so happens, Fr. Gerard Sloyan had to leave Temple that year because he had reached Temple’s mandatory retirement age. As he prepared to leave Temple to move to the Washington, DC area, Fr. Sloyan looked for someone to rent his house. For two years, I was delighted to lease Fr Sloyan’s house on Sansom Street in Center City, Philadelphia. In 1991 “snail mail” was a preferred method of communication, and we wrote quite often to one another. While employed as an adjunct by Holy Family University in Philadelphia, I used two of his books as textbooks for a course on Catholic doctrine: Catholic Morality Revisited and Why Jesus Died.

Ten years later, the University of Notre Dame Press published a chapter from my dissertation, and Fr. Sloyan was a peer reviewer for this essay. He sent me scores of notes and notecards in his meticulous handwriting, his wisdom transmitted to this reader through perfectly-formed tiny script. I have kept some of these notecards as a fond remembrance of our work together.

When my husband, Bob, and I married in 2004, Fr. Sloyan officiated at our wedding, which was held at St. Matthew’s Cathedral, St. Anthony’s Chapel. Fr. Sloyan generously invited us to marry there where he had served the parish for many years.

I am so grateful for Fr. Sloyan’s generosity, guidance, and love extended to me and to my family in the 29 years we have known him! Blessings to him on his 100^th!!!

Please respond with your own stories!

Peace and every good,

Elizabeth Adams-Eilers, ofs, Ph.D.

eadams02@temple.edu.

P.S. For an approved version of his life story see https://www.biola.edu/talbot/ce20/database/gerard-s-sloyan

-------------------

CTSA Proceedings' links to Fr. Sloyan's work:

Presidential Address: The Jesus in Whom the Churches of the Apostolic Age Believed

Gerard S. Sloyan

2013-02-01

https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/ctsa/article/view/3884

Orthodoxy and heterodoxy: the situation in the Church today

Gerard S. Sloyan

2012-10-01

https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/ctsa/article/view/2683

The Age of First Confession

Gerard S. Sloyan

2012-10-01

https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/ctsa/article/view/2629

Faith and modern subjective thought

Gerard S. Sloyan

2012-10-01

https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/ctsa/article/view/2547

Remembering Mary Christine (Christophil) Athans, BVM

Wed, 11 Dec 2019 13:01:03 GMT

Sister Mary Christine (Christophil) Athans, BVM, 87, died at Caritas Center, in Dubuque, Iowa, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019.

Funeral services will be Monday, Dec.16, 2019, in the Marian Hall Chapel. Visitation is 10–11 a.m., followed by Sharing of Memories. Mass of Christian Burial begins at 1:15 p.m. Burial will be in the Mount Carmel cemetery.

A Memorial Mass will be held Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020, at Lumen Christi Catholic Church, 2055 Bohland Ave., Saint Paul, Minn. Visitation will be at 9 a.m., with Mass at 10 a.m.

Sister Mary Christine was born on April 7, 1932, in Joliet, Ill., to Christophil and Mary Anderson Athans. She entered the BVM congregation Sept. 8, 1955, from St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Phoenix. She professed first vows on Feb. 3, 1958, and final vows on July 16, 1963.

Sister Mary Christine was a teacher at the University of San Francisco and the Claremont School of Theology in Claremont, Calif., where she also served as assistant dean. She was an assistant professor of religious studies at the University of Illinois in Champaign and an associate professor of church history at the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minn. She ministered as associate professor and professor at the Saint Paul Seminary in Saint Paul, and as an adjunct professor at Loyola University Institute of Pastoral Studies and the Catholic Theological Union, both in Chicago. She worked as a guest lecturer and alumnae relations staff at Xavier College Preparatory in Phoenix. She also taught at St. Eugene ES in Chicago; Our Lady of Peace HS in Saint Paul, Minn.; and St. Francis Xavier in Phoenix.

She was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by siblings Catherine Athans and Cyril (Veronica) Athans, both of Fresno, Calif.; nieces; and the Sisters of Charity, BVM, with whom she shared life for 64 years.

Memorials may be given to Sisters of Charity, BVM Support Fund, 1100 Carmel Drive, Dubuque, IA 52003 or online at https://www.bvmsisters.org/support_donate.cfm.

Eternal rest grant to Sr. Mary Christine, O Lord,
and let light perpetual shine upon her.
May her soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Remembering Sr. Carmel McEnroy

Wed, 04 Dec 2019 19:09:04 GMT

The following text was written by Sarah MacDonald, a freelance journalist in Dublin, and published online by Global Sisters Report: A Project of National Catholic Reporter, Dec. 3, 2019, accessed at https://www.globalsistersreport.org/news/news/news/sr-carmel-mcenroy-author-who-captured-womens-role-vatican-ii-dies.

Mercy Sr. Carmel McEnroy, author of a groundbreaking work on the role of women in the Second Vatican Council, has died at age 83 in Galway City, Ireland, after a long illness.

Responding to the news, Sr. Doreen Whitney of the Sisters of Mercy in the U.S. said McEnroy, who passed away Dec. 3, would be greatly missed by family, sisters, former colleagues, associates and many others throughout the world.

Following a diagnosis of terminal cancer earlier this year, McEnroy had been receiving care from the Sisters of Mercy in Ireland, though she spent most of her working life in the U.S.

When a comprehensive history of women and the Catholic Church in the 20th century is written, the name of Sr. Carmel McEnroy will loom large. She penned the most insightful account to date of the 23 women auditors who participated in Vatican II. Guests in Their Own House: The Women of Vatican II was published in 1996 and the following year (1997) won the Catholic Book Award for History/Biography.

In an article published on the Mercy Sisters' website in January 2013, McEnroy related how within 20 years of the closing of Vatican II, the fact that there were women at the council was already becoming a forgotten memory. She wrote: "This exclusion motivated me to recover the dangerous memory of the female auditors before it was irretrievably lost."

In his foreword to her book, German theologian, Redemptorist Fr. Bernard Häring, who was a theological advisor and consultant to the council, wrote, "I consider McEnroy's book both important and necessary. As far as I can see, up to now very little is said by historians of the council about the absence and presence of women in Vatican Council II. I dare to foretell that the present book will find great interest for a long time."

Though McEnroy will be best remembered for her book on Vatican II, she will also be remembered for the treatment she received from St. Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology, in St. Meinrad, Indiana. A distinguished theologian, she taught systematic theology there for 14 years and was tenured in 1992.

However, St. Meinrad fired McEnroy from her position as a professor in 1995 after she signed an open letter to Pope John Paul II and the U.S. bishops, along with about 2,000 others, asking that the discussion of women's ordination be allowed to continue. The letter, which was written in response to John Paul II's Ordinatio Sacerdotalis of May 1994, which sought to close the debate on women priests definitively, was published in the Nov. 4, 1994, issue of the National Catholic Reporter.

The treatment of McEnroy by St. Meinrad raised uncomfortable questions about the academic freedom of Catholic theologians and the denial of academic due process. In her autobiographical notes in the postscript of her book on women and Vatican II, she recalled how she was fired from her teaching position "with less than two weeks' notice, no due process, and the insulting offer of half a year's already meagre salary. All of this was in clear violation of the terms of my contract, the procedures spelled out in the Faculty Handbook, and the school's endorsement of the American Association of University Professor's Statement on Academic Freedom."

The charge brought against McEnroy was public dissent from magisterial teaching in regard to women's ordination. The open letter she signed had been organized by the Women's Ordination Conference. McEnroy contended that she was acting as a private citizen and that she signed it, "in accordance with my rights as a citizen and private person (guaranteed by my contract)." She did not indicate her professional affiliation with St. Meinrad School of Theology, nor did she use the initials of the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy.

Putting her name to the letter, even in a private capacity, was construed by St. Meinrad as dissent. On April 26, 1995, McEnroy received a letter from Archabbot Fr. Timothy Sweeney stating that he was asking the president-rector of St. Meinrad, Fr. Eugene Hensell, to terminate her contract because signing the open letter had made her "seriously deficient" in her duty. This was despite consistent commendation of her work in previous years. May 9, 1995, was her last teaching day at the college.

St. Meinrad was undergoing a visitation by a team on behalf of the U.S. bishops' conference. The first rumor McEnroy had heard about her possible dismissal was on March 6, 1995, when the chair of the visitation team, Archbishop Elden Curtiss of Omaha, according to McEnroy, "made it known publicly to students that he was there to carry out Archbishop Daniel Buechlein's wishes with regard to feminism, including firing me, and homosexuality." McEnroy said the "precipitous unilateral action" against her evidenced her accusers' "ignorance of the nuanced understanding of 'dissent,' which clearly distinguishes honest differences from those that are hostile and obstinate."

St. Meinrad's administrators, she explained, "totally ignored" letters from the Leadership Team of the Mercy congregation at the central, provincial, local and individual level, as well as from other religious congregations and groups at academic institutions, who tried to initiate discussion before her position was terminated.

On May 10, 1995, Sr. Bridget Clare McKeever, a Sister of St. Louis and a tenured professor at St. Meinrad, submitted her letter of resignation, stating that the termination of Sister Carmel's tenured contract without due process was "a breach of faith not only with Dr. McEnroy, but also with the entire faculty. Regardless of how these actions are rationalized, they are unjustified and unjust."

Then the largest professional society of theologians in the world, the Catholic Theological Society of America, overwhelmingly endorsed a statement and two resolutions in McEnroy's favor at its 1995 meeting, calling for her reinstatement and questioning the charge of dissent. McEnroy took a civil action against St. Meinrad. But in June 1999 the Court of Appeals of Indiana ruled in favor of the seminary's argument that resolution of the action would "excessively entangle the court in religious matters in violation of the First Amendment." The American Association of University Professors in 1997 censured St Meinrad School of Theology for violating McEnroy's academic freedom.

Speaking to Global Sisters Report about McEnroy, Mary Hunt, feminist theologian, described the Mercy Sister as a canary in the Catholic coal mine. "She was a sign to other Catholic women scholars that there is no recourse from the power of a patriarchal church to crush its opposition."

"Her book, Guests in Their Own House: The Women of Vatican II, brought the 23 women auditors at the council to public attention," Hunt said. "It was a necessary if embarrassing reminder that none of them were able to vote at the meeting despite their influence around the edges. Little has changed since then as women are still non-voting auditors at Catholic synods."

McEnroy, according to Hunt, paid the price at St. Meinrad for her honesty and persistence. "That seminary, like many others, still has only a miniscule percentage of women on the faculty. Yet her book remains a classic in the field, a gift to a church that did not want to read what she had to say but could not deny the truth of her message."

According to background information from the Sisters of Mercy, Margaret Carmel Elizabeth McEnroy was born May 15, 1936, in Carrickmakeegan, Ballinamore, County Leitrim, Ireland. She was the third of seven children of Bernard and Agnes (Fee) McEnroy.

According to the Sisters of Mercy, she attended Mercy Secondary School in Ballymahon, County Longford, where she excelled in her studies. She entered the Sisters of Mercy as a postulant in 1955 and made her final profession in 1961. She volunteered for the U.S. mission that year and was sent to the Jefferson City, Missouri, Diocese, where she taught and was principal of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School in Columbia, Missouri, for many years.

She received a bachelor of arts degree in 1967 from Marillac College in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1976 she received a master's degree from the University of St. Michael's College, Toronto School of Theology and a doctorate from there in 1984.

After she was fired by St. Meinrad, she worked for a while as a visiting Lilly Professor at the Berea College and as an adjunct professor at the Lexington Theological Seminary, both Protestant educational institutions in Kentucky.

McEnroy was "a staunch advocate for justice and women's rights and was direct in expressing her truth with complete honesty throughout her life," said Sr. Doreen Whitney of the Sisters of Mercy, who had known Sister Carmel for many years. "She continued to be involved with current concerns, and often took brave steps to speak out on unjust systems, even at her own expense."

"Apart from her sharp intellect and capable skills, Carmel had many other talents and interests," Whitney added. "She also explored photography and art, and in her later years she produced some beautiful watercolor paintings. Carmel was a loyal and faithful friend to many and was always generous with her time. She was willing to share her knowledge and listen to others. She deeply loved her family and relatives and enjoyed their support throughout her life."

Her cousin, Sr. Rosarii Beirne, also a Sister of Mercy, told Global Sisters Report that Carmel's rural childhood was idyllic. "She was surrounded with love and beauty. It is no surprise that she was a great lover of nature and that she so often reproduced nature scenes in her works of art."

McEnroy joined the Mercy Congregation in Ballymahon when Beirne was a student in the boarding school there. "She was a brilliant teacher. When she was sent to join our fledgling foundation in Missouri we felt she was a great loss to the Irish education system."

She also paid tribute to her cousin who as a junior professed sister gave her sound advice when Rosarii entered the Mercy Sisters. "She was able to take the broader view and to think outside the box." Of her many good qualities, Beirne highlighted Sister Carmel's sincerity and loyalty. "She was also very good humored, generous and hospitable."

According to Hunt, "Inroads that women make in the Catholic theological world, the ability to speak our truths in that most defended of sanctuaries, we do with thanks to Carmel McEnroy and her colleagues. History will be kind to them."

"Sr. Carmel McEnroy was a modern day example of a true Sister of Mercy," according to Sr. Susan DeGuide, regional superior of the Sisters of Mercy in the U.S. "She was always about further justice issues, especially those that pertained to women in society and the church. Even when things were most contentious for her, she always acted with integrity and with the best intention to further the significant role of women and especially women theologians in the Church. We stand very proud of her."

"My aunt was a fighter," Professor Joyce Smith of Ryerson University's Journalism Research Centre told Global Sisters Report. "When she felt strongly about something, she was all in, whether that was winning a game of Monopoly or challenging a parish priest after Mass about his lack of inclusive language. You wanted her in your corner.

"Somehow, she kept track of all of us and always had a card and often a gift for our important dates: wedding anniversaries, birthdays, graduations. This was no small feat given that she had six siblings, five in-laws, 20 nieces and nephews, and then their kids. She supported our pursuits, always genuinely interested and invested. And she was a lot of fun. I'll always admire her strength of conviction and her generosity. We're going to miss her."

Written by Sarah Mac Donald, a freelance journalist based in Dublin.

Eternal rest grant to Sr. Carmel, O Lord,
and let light perpetual shine upon her.
May her soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Remembering Patrick J. Howell, S.J.

Mon, 02 Dec 2019 13:02:16 GMT

The text for Patrick J. Howell, S.J.'s memorial below is a slightly edited version of a memoriam notice that was sent out to the Gonzaga University community.

The CTSA remembers its member, Rev. Patrick J. Howell, S.J., who died Thursday, November 28, 2019, at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, Washington. Pat, who re-joined Gonzaga University in the Office of Mission and Ministry this past August, learned that he had lung cancer not long after moving to Spokane, and, even as he was facing the physical and emotional challenges of his illness, was insistent upon keeping this quiet and focusing instead on the work of intellectual engagement, mission formation, and pastoral ministry. Even in that short time, Pat contributed significantly to the life of the university, developing several formation programs for faculty and staff. Just two weeks ago he delivered a well-attended lecture on the theological and pastoral vision of Pope Francis.

A native of North Dakota and one of nine children, Pat graduated from Gonzaga University in 1961 before entering the Society of Jesus. In the 1960’s he served as Academic Vice Principal (and subsequently, Principal) at Jesuit High in Portland and, among many other assignments was Principal at Gonzaga Prep during the early 1980’s. After earning a doctorate in Pastoral Theology, he took up a fulltime faculty position in the Department of Theology and Ministry at Seattle University in 1986, where he was based until this fall (2019). Across time, Pat served in a number of administrative and academic positions at Seattle U, including as the inaugural Dean of the School of Theology and Ministry, Vice President for Mission and Ministry, and Distinguished Professor of Pastoral Theology. He wrote many articles and book chapters and gave many presentations throughout the country on pastoral theology, sacramental theology, the theology of Vatican II, Pope Francis, and contemporary Catholicism, and the integration of spirituality and psychology. He was the author of three books, including Great Risks had to be Taken: The Jesuit Response to the Second Vatican Council, 1958-2018, published this year. In 2013, Pat was a member of the team of translators who translated Antonio Spadaro’s groundbreaking interview with Pope Francis, A Big Heart Open to God, from Italian into English for America magazine, where he was serving as an editor during a sabbatical. Pat was for many years involved with Conversations magazine and served as chair of the National Seminar in Jesuit Higher Education.

Eternal rest grant unto Patrick, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May Patrick's soul and all the souls of the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Remembering Rev. Francis A. Sullivan, S.J. (May 21, 1922 - Oct. 23, 2019)

Fri, 25 Oct 2019 13:32:19 GMT

Remembering CTSA member Rev. Francis A. Sullivan, S.J.

Rev. Sullivan was awarded the 1994 John Courtney Murray Award.

Here is his piece on "The Magisterium and Theology" presented at the CTSA's 2013 annual convention. See https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/ctsa/article/view/3480

Eternal rest grant unto Francis Sullivan, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

DEATH NOTICE
Courtesy of the U.S.A. Northeast Province

Let us pray in thanksgiving for the life of our brother

REV. FRANCIS A. SULLIVAN, S.J.

who died peacefully last evening at 9:43 P.M., October 23, 2019, at Campion Center, Weston, MA. He was 97 years old. At the time of his death, Frank was the oldest member of the UNE Province. Frank was born on May 21, 1922 in Jamaica Plain, MA, and entered the Society of Jesus on July 30, 1938 at Shadowbrook, Lenox, MA and was later ordained on June 16, 1951 at Weston College, Weston, MA. He pronounced his final vows on August 15, 1955 at the Chapel of the Holy Spirit, Weston College, Weston, MA.

WAKE: Monday, October 28, 2019

Campion Center, Chapel of the Holy Spirit

3:00-5:00 p.m. (Wake Service at 4:30 p.m.)

319 Concord Road

Weston, MA 02493

MASS OF CHRISTIAN BURIAL: Tuesday, October 29, 2019—10:00 A.M.

Campion Center, Chapel of the Holy Spirit

319 Concord Road

Weston, MA 02493

BURIAL: Campion Jesuit Cemetery, Weston, MA

An Update on INSeCT's Kairos Initiative

Wed, 23 Oct 2019 13:01:01 GMT

An Update on INSeCT's Kairos Initiative

Note: In response to an invitation from the CTSA Board, the INSeCT update below was submitted by INSeCT President and CTSA member, Prof. Gerard Mannion before his untimely death in September of this year. The information was submitted to inform the CTSA membership of the activities of INSeCT, especially with regards to INSeCT’s Kairos initiative, and to clarify the important relationship between the CTSA and INSeCT. The post was lightly edited by the CTSA blog committee.

This guest blog is offered to update the wider CTSA membership on recent developments in relation to the International Network for Societies of Catholic Theology (INSeCT), for which I presently serve as the CTSA representative. It’s an opportunity to share further news about the exciting global theological conversation the CTSA membership has been invited to be part of in preparation for the next full INSeCT General Council in 2020.

For those of you who may not know, INSeCT was founded in 1996 by the visionary Professor Peter Hünermann of Tübingen, Germany, and it is an expanding organization that has over 30 member and affiliate member societies of Catholic theology from around the world. The CTSA was a founding member and has provided four INSeCT presidents, to date, with multiple vice-presidents and board members. At a time when the Catholic Church is ever more inter-linked globally, INSeCT strives to build links between the many differing collective organizations that focus on Catholic Theology around the world.

INSeCT has invited all member societies to be part of a Global Theological Conversation on the theme: ‘A Kairos for Catholic Theology: Serving the Church - Serving the World’ (termed the ‘Kairos Project’ for short). The present time is a kairos moment for Catholic Theology and the organizational church alike because of the convergence of a range of significant factors: the papacy and reforms of Pope Francis; developments in theology worldwide; and new energies for active collaboration between the church, the world of Catholic theology and members of other churches, other religions and secular entities. These factors are converging in the present time to present Catholic theology with a unique opportunity; the challenges that today’s world and the church are faced with—locally, regionally and universally—all make such collaboration imperative.

How might we encourage Catholic theologians worldwide, as well as the wider church, to embrace this kairos moment? INSeCT has committed itself to helping do so through combining three different strands into a single focal point over the coming years:

a.     The sharing of ongoing work in Catholic Theology and the church worldwide in the respective societies, contexts and regions represented by INSeCT

b.    INSeCT’s triennial research project focus – which for this cycle is the Kairos project itself

c.     The continued enhancement of INSeCT’s mission and impact in Connecting Catholic Theology Worldwide

The Kairos Project will therefore be the core focus of the triennial INSeCT General Council in September next year, when representatives from every society of Catholic Theology around the world will gather in Rome. Those delegates will be focusing upon explorations from around the globe on how these times may constitute a Kairos Moment for Catholic Theology—in its service both to the church and to the world—in their respective contexts.

In May this year, the INSeCT Board had its 2019 Annual Meeting. Primarily, its work focused on the Kairos Project. The INSeCT Board, therefore, met in Rome in order to engage in a wide range of meetings with some twenty-one Vatican curial departments, dicasteries and sections, along with several pontifical universities and other academic institutions. We were met with universal enthusiasm for the Kairos Project and willingness to work with us and contribute to the General Council next year and in the future.

We found that the various Vatican and Pontifical Institutions are very much supportive of building better channels of communication and collaboration with Catholic theologians and Catholic theological societies around the globe. Warm, engaged and enthusiastic responses from key curial cardinals, archbishops, bishops and university rectors during our conversations were the norm. This all further suggests that it is indeed a Kairos moment for Catholic theology and INSeCT has invited the CTSA, along with all other member and affiliated societies to play a leading role in the Global Theological Conversation that forms the basis of INSeCT’s work in the coming years.

To such ends, the CTSA Board and wider membership have been warmly encouraged to explore questions such as how theology today is helping to serve the church and society in the North American context, including, perhaps especially, how theology serves society through serving the church (and vice versa). The CTSA is also encouraged to give further attention to where stumbling blocks and problematic relations exist between the theological community and both ecclesial and secular official bodies and authorities. Finally, the CTSA is asked to consider what potential might exist for taking Catholic theology in North American contexts forward into the future, identifying priorities and key questions and challenges for this region.

A final report from each region and member society will be presented in shorter form at next year’s INSeCT General Council in Rome, itself, and further revised for eventual publication.

The benefits of this procedure will, it is hoped, be multiple. The General Council and Kairos Project provide an opportunity where member and affiliated societies can inform fellow societies, as well as being the recipient of like contributions from other societies. This will also be a unique opportunity to educate official church bodies, departments and bishops’ conferences on what is happening with theology worldwide, on issues of concern, as well as theological achievements. It will also allow those bodies to dialogue with the world of Catholic theology about their own work, experiences and priorities in the present time. The presentations will help display just how much member societies and INSeCT can prove to be rich resources for the church.

A set of questions has been distributed to all member societies to help focus their reflections as they prepare their reports in advance of the General Council in Rome next year. It is hoped societies will find the process conducive to their own work as well.

The CTSA has traditionally been one of the most generous supporters of the triennial INSeCT General Councils, providing a significant contribution toward the overall costs of the General Council, and helping to support the participation of representatives from theological societies that would otherwise not be able to travel to participate. The INSeCT Board hopes that the CTSA, alongside other societies with the resources to do so, will continue this generous tradition in facilitating the continued interaction and mutual learning between societies of Catholic theology from the different continents of the world, especially given the unique significance of next year’s Council in Rome.

The INSeCT Board also discussed various priorities and plans as to how best to consolidate INSeCT’s impact, to strengthen its support and resource base and to raise its profile. The board also seeks to explore how best to expand INSeCT’s service to the church at differing levels in its synodal function – from grassroots to Rome - as both a collaborative partner and critical friend (in relation to leadership and authorities) in facilitating theological reflection on the opportunities and challenges of the current times.

To such ends INSeCT has also asked all member and affiliated societies to consider how they might deepen their own engagement with and commitment to INSeCT.

Speaking this June, at a conference in Naples, Italy, Pope Francis said that we ‘can and must work towards a “theological Pentecost” which allows the women and men of our time to hear “in their own native language” a Christian message that responds to their search for meaning and for a full life’.(1) Pope Francis also indicated that these times call for ‘a kerygmatic theology, a theology of discernment, of mercy and of welcoming, in dialogue with society, cultures and religions for the construction of the peaceful coexistence of individuals and peoples’.(2)

Francis further stressed the crucial role of networking for theology and for the church alike, especially in engaging wider social and political realities and civic, ecclesial and interreligious bodies toward the end of enhancing justice, peace and care for creation throughout this world. Pope Francis continued, ‘Theology is an expression of a Church which is a “field hospital”, which lives her mission of salvation and healing in the world’.(3)

There can be no better summation of this Kairos for Catholic Theology – Serving the Church, Serving the World. As Francis has called for greater theological networking around the Catholic world, INSeCT is excited to help make that vision a reality in the coming years ahead.

Gerard Mannion

President and CTSA Representative, INSeCT,
Amaturo Chair in Catholic Studies, Georgetown University

1. Pope Francis, ‘Address’, Meeting on the Theme “Theology after Veritatis gaudium in the Context of the Mediterranean”, promoted by the Pontifical Theological Faculty of Southern Italy – San Luigi section – of Naples (Friday 21^st June, 2019), http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2019/june/documents/papa-francesco_20190621_teologia-napoli.html.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

Institute of Pastoral Studies, Loyola University Chicago Theological Discussion with Auxiliary Bishop Ron Hicks

Thu, 10 Oct 2019 13:41:03 GMT

The CTSA awarded the Institute of Pastoral Studies (IPS) at Loyola University Chicago a grant to meet with Auxiliary Bishop Ron Hicks. On September 26, IPS faculty and staff members Michael Canaris, David Dault, Timone Davis, Peter Jones, Heidi Russell, Bill Schmidt, Nathaniel Samuel, Deborah Watson, and John Fontana along with Bishop Hicks discussed Synodality in the life and mission of the Church, a study by the International Theological Commission, that serves in an advisory capacity to the Pope and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on current relevant topics.

Bishop Hicks, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Chicago, previously served as regional director at an orphanage in El Salvador between 2005 and 2009, and for that reason IPS chose to enjoy Salvadorian food (including the local staple — pupusas!) for this meeting. The bishop was also at one time Dean of Formation for St. Joseph College Seminary in its earlier iteration as an academic unit at Loyola.

The conversation included an ongoing commitment to mutual active listening by those seeking to live in the community of the faith at all levels. Both Bishop Hicks and the IPS professors commented on how modeling such behavior is an important antidote to the tribalism and silos of our day. Oscar Romero was frequently invoked in the discussions.

As the convener of the session, long stand CTSA member Michael Canaris expressed his gratitude for the project. “It came up in my colleagues’ comments that we are in an anomalous historical and political situation where an outside grant is sometimes necessary to spur dialogue in some places between Catholic higher education and local ordinaries. We are thankfully in a much healthier context here in Chicago, where Bishop Hicks, Cardinal Cupich, and the wider archdiocesan apparatus are largely supportive of the work in which we are engaged in forming lay leaders and advocates for social justice here at Loyola in general, and in the IPS in particular. However, I remain thankful for this CTSA initiative which enabled us to deepen these relationships and plan for future collaboration and mutual support. We will be following up with our local leaders when we host some events at the USCCB meetings alongside them this November, as is our recent tradition here.”

The above text was copied and edited from IPS's blog http://blogs.luc.edu/ips/lunch-with-auxiliary-bishop-ron-hicks/

More information about the grant initiative can be found here: https://ctsa-online.org/TheologicalGroupDiscussions

Remembering Cardinal William J. Levada (June 15, 1936 - Sept. 26, 2019)

Mon, 07 Oct 2019 14:24:31 GMT

Text provided in full by Duggan's Serra Mortuary
https://www.duggans-serra.com/obituary/Cardinal-William-J.-Levada/Menlo-Park-CA/1859290

Cardinal William. J. Levada, Archbishop Emeritus of San Francisco passed away in Rome at age 83. Born in Long Beach, CA on June 15, 1936, William Levada was the younger of two children born to Joseph and Lorraine [Nunez] Levada. William was predeceased by his sister, Dolores in 2007. He is survived by his nieces Julianne Bancroft and Stephanie Herrera and their families. His great-grandparents had immigrated to Northern California from Portugal and Ireland seventy years earlier, and his parents had moved to Southern California from Martinez just months before his birth. Bill attended St. Anthony High School in Long Beach with George Niederauer, and was accepted for college studies at Saint John Seminary in Camarillo. He completed his major seminary studies at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, and was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome on December 20, 1961.

After his ordination, Fr. Levada was assigned to St. Monica’s Church in Santa Monica. He returned to Rome after several years to complete a graduate degree in Sacred Theology at the Gregorian University, earning his doctorate in 1971. He he served as a staff official under then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), the Vatican agency charged with protecting and promoting the Church’s teachings on faith and morals. He also taught at the Gregorian University, and served on the faculty of the Pontifical North American College.

In 1982, he was called back to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles by Cardinal Timothy Manning, and took up an assignment as Executive Director of the California Catholic Conference. He also taught at St. John’s Seminary School of Theology in Camarillo, and was the first Director of Continuing Education for the Clergy there. He was named Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles on March 25, 1983 by Pope John Paul II, and his episcopal ordination followed on May 12. After serving for three years in that capacity, he received word from the Apostolic Pro-Nuncio, then-Archbishop PioLaghi, that he had been named Archbishop of Portland by Pope John Paul II. During his years in Oregon, he focused on vocations to the priesthood, and on improvements to the seminary at Mount Angel, where he taught ecclesiology. While in Portland, he was appointed by then-Cardinal Ratzinger as one of six bishops (and the only American bishop) to an editorial board tasked with preparing the CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. The catechism was published in 1993. (He was also the author of its glossary, published in the second English edition.)

In 1995, Archbishop Levada was appointed Archbishop of San Francisco. In addition to his responsibilities in Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo counties, he served on many committees of the USCCB. In 1997 he participated in the Special Assembly for America of the Synod of Bishops and was later appointed a member of the post-synodal council. In 2000 he was appointed bishop co-president of the Anglican-Catholic Dialogue of the United States of America (ARC-USA). While in San Francisco, he was also a bishop-member of the CDF. In 2002, he was named a member of the US-Vatican Commission that made final revisions to Norms outlining a strict policy on sexual abuse of minors, and providing for the removal from ministry or laicization of priests. In 2003 he organized the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Several years later, with his support, the former parish of St. Francis of Assisi was reopened as the National Shrine of St. Francis, including the Porziuncola chapel.

In 2005, newly elected Pope Benedict XVI granted Archbishop Levada a private audience, and shortly thereafter, on May 13, 2005, named the Archbishop as his successor as Prefect of the CDF. The Archbishop was the first American to lead that congregation, and the highest-ranking American ever at the Vatican. Pope Benedict elevated him to Cardinal in the Consistory that took place March 24, 2006. Cardinal Levada served in Rome as Prefect for seven years, with responsibility for overseeing the Vatican’s handling of allegations of sexual abuse of minors, and responsibility for the implementation of reforms for handling serious canonical offenses.

Bishop Steven Lopes,the aide to the Cardinal in Rome, stated, “The Cardinal’s work as Prefect of the Congregation was a continuation of his life-long passion for the communion of the Church. Having served long years as a diocesan bishop, he never lost sight of the essential pastoral dimension of his own vocation and the mission of the Congregation in service to the People of God.”

Cardinal Levada also served as president of the Pontifical Biblical Commission and the International Theological Commission. He retired October 23, 2012. The Cardinal interacted regularly with seminarians and faculty members while living at Saint Patrick’s Seminary & University in Menlo Park, and continued to celebrate Masses, particularly Confirmation liturgies, and undertake other sacramental ministry throughout the Archdiocese and beyond as his schedule and health allowed. But he returned to Rome frequently to participate as a member of several Holy See commissions and committees. In 2013, he participated in the Vatican conclave that elected Pope Francis I. The Cardinal said he was impressed by the Pope’s, “…reminders to the Church and the world about the poor; people who are easily forgotten or put aside out of our mind and vision.”

In a telegram to Archbishop Cordileone last week, the Pope offered his heartfelt condolences, and recalled with “immense gratitude the late Cardinal’s years of priestly and episcopal ministry among Christ’s flock in Los Angeles, Portland and San Francisco, his singular contributions to catechesis, education and administration, and his distinguished service to the Apostolic See.”

Friends may visit on Wednesday, October 23, 2019, from 5:00-7:00 pm, with a Vigil, Evening Prayer, at 7:00 pm, both at Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption, 1111 Gough Street, San Francisco.

On Thursday, October 24, 2019, a Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:00am at Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption. Doors open for the public at 9:30 am.

Parking will not be available at the Cathedral for the Funeral Mass.

Committal will take place at a later time at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, Colma.

Eternal rest grant to him, O Lord
and let light perpetual shine upon him.
May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed
through the mercy of God,
rest in peace.

Remembering Philip J. Grib, S.J.

Fri, 04 Oct 2019 12:34:17 GMT

(Text in full from Jesuits U.S.A. Midwest Providence
https://jesuitsmidwest.org/news-detail?TN=NEWS-20190211110402MIDWESTPROV)

In Memoriam: Fr. Philip J. Grib, SJ

February 11, 2019 — Let us pray in thanksgiving for the life of Fr. Philip J. Grib, SJ, who died at 7:47 a.m. (CST) on Friday, February 8, 2019, at Resurrection Hospital in Chicago. He was 80 years old. May he rest in peace.

Phil was born on April 27, 1938, in Chicago, Illinois. He entered the Society of Jesus on July 30, 1964, at Milford Novitiate in Milford, Ohio. He was ordained on March 19, 1972, at St. Thomas More Church in Chicago. He pronounced final vows on January 1, 1989.

Before entering the Society, Phil graduated from St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago (1956). He also earned a bachelor's degree in Latin, Greek, and philosophy from Xavier University in Cincinnati (1960) and a doctor of jurisprudence degree from the University of Chicago (1963). While in the Society, Phil earned a master's degree in theology from the Bellarmine School of Theology in North Aurora, Illinois (1973) and a doctorate in moral theology from Catholic University in Washington D.C. (1983).

During regency, Phil taught U.S. History and English at Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Illinois. He taught theology and worked in campus ministry at Loyola University Chicago for one year after his ordination before beginning doctoral studies. After earning his doctorate in moral theology, he returned to Loyola University Chicago for 11 years where he taught law and moral theology while working as a chaplain in the School of Law (1983-1994). During this time, he was also superior of the Ignatius House Jesuit Community on Albion Street in Chicago (1986-1992).

After a sabbatical, Phil moved completely into pastoral ministry. For a year he was a spiritual director and administrative assistant for development at the Heartland Center in Hammond, Indiana (1995-1996), before becoming an associate pastor at St. Constance Parish in Chicago (1996-1999). In 1999, Phil moved to St. Eugene Parish in Chicago and spent the rest of his life there as an associate pastor (1999-2008) and a priest in residence (2008-2019).

Phil is proceeded in death by his brother, Fr. Robert I. Grib, SJ (PAT), who spent over 30 years as a missionary in India. Phil was an excellent musician and clarinet player. In 2004, Phil, his brother Bob (on drums), and some friends started a polka band, "The Brighton Park Connection." The group brought much joy—and opportunities for dance—to many people in Chicago as they played at different polish events and gatherings. They also released an album entitled "Introducing Chicago's Brighton Park Connection." For a while, Phil served as the chaplain for the International Polka Society. Because of his great love of music, Phil would attend the symphony whenever possible.

Phil was a kind and empathetic man and a very devoted friend. These qualities helped him to be beloved by the parishioners he ministered to (especially at St. Eugene's Parish) and by the priests and staff he worked with. Although he was incredibly gracious and kindhearted, the lawyer in Phil would often come out during discussions and he would argue a point or push those in the discussion for the logic or the "truth" behind a statement. But throughout these discussions, he maintained an attitude of kindness and respect regardless of the topic.

Eternal rest, grand unto Philip, O Lord
and let perpetual light shine upon him.

May he rest in peace Amen.

May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Remembering Gerard Mannion (Sept. 21, 2019)

Wed, 25 Sep 2019 20:02:44 GMT

It is with great sadness that the CTSA announces the death of long-standing CTSA member Gerard Mannion, Chair in Catholic Studies in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at Georgetown University and a senior research fellow at the Berkley Center, who passed away on Saturday, September 21, 2019.

Gerard Mannion was the founding chair of the Ecclesiological Investigations International Research Network and president of the International Network of Societies for Catholic Theology (2017-Present). He was published widely in the fields of ecclesiology, ethics, and public theology, as well as in other fields of systematic theology and philosophy. His numerous books include Pope Francis and the Future of Catholicism: Evangelii Gaudium and the Papal Agenda (2017), Where We Dwell in Common: Pathways for Dialogue in the 21st Century (ed., 2015), and The Routledge Companion to the Christian Church (2008, ed. with Lewis Mudge). He was also editor of the Bloomsbury Publishing series "Ecclesiological Investigations" and series editor, with Oxford University’s Mark Chapman, of Palgrave Macmillan’s “Pathways for Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue” series.

Gerard Mannion came to Georgetown from the University of San Diego, where he was professor of theology and director of the Center for Catholic Thought and Culture. He previously held academic posts at the universities of Oxford, Leeds, Liverpool and Leuven (Belgium). He has also held visiting professorships at the University of Tübingen, the Dominican Institute of Theology/St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto and Chichester University.

Gerard Mannion received a B.A. from King’s College at Cambridge University, followed by a M.St. and a D.Phil. from New College at Oxford University.

We keep Gerard, his family and friends, and all of Georgetown in our thoughts and prayers.

Eternal rest grant to Gerard, O Lord;
and let light perpetual shine upon him.
May his soul, and the souls
of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Note: Text provided courtesy of Georgetown University

Link to the National Institute for Newman Studies Digital Collection

Wed, 04 Sep 2019 14:25:12 GMT

The CTSA recently added a link to the National Institute for Newman Studies (NINS) Digital Collection on its Links of Interest page found at https://ctsa-online.org/LinksOfInterest/. The NINS’ collection offers the largest and most comprehensive digital archive of Newman-related works in the world. The digital collections provides access to more than 200,000+ digitalized images of Newman’s handwritten papers and over 5,000 books and article published by or about him.

Other links available on this website page are links to ACHTUS, the ARR, The Black Catholic Theological Symposium, CTEWC, the European Society of Catholic Theology, the International Network of Societies for Catholic Theology, the Institute for Black Catholic Studies, the Jesuit Online Bibliography, the Karl Rahner Society, the PANAAWTM, the PSR, and the SCE.

Commonweal Offers Free Bulk Copies of October Theology Issue & Free Student Subscriptions

Wed, 28 Aug 2019 13:45:21 GMT

Commonweal is offering free bulk copies of our October Theology Issue. It's in Commonweal's new, redesigned monthly format and will have more articles, reviews, and opinions than ever.

David Tracy of the University of Chicago (in an exclusive interview with Ken Woodward) reflects on his work and the current state of Catholic theology
Editor at large Mollie Wilson O'Reilly reviews Kathleen Sprows Cummings's A Saint of Our Own: How the Quest for a Holy Hero Helped Catholics Become American
Contributing writer and Villanova theologian Massimo Faggioli recalls Italian priest and politician Luigi Sturzo, and his continuing relevance to how Catholics see democracy
Meghan J. Clark of St. John's University reviews Kathryn Tanner's Christianity and the New Spirit of Capitalism
Gregory K. Hillis of Bellarmine University writes about Fr. August Thompson, an African American priest who was one of the church's most important civil-rights leaders
Catholic University's David Cloutier on what Catholic social teaching implies for policies on paid family leave
Eileen Markey on the changing relationship between church and state in Daniel Ortega's Nicaragua
An exclusive excerpt from Austin Ivereigh's new Wounded Shepherd: Pope Francis and His Struggle to Convert the Catholic Church
All Commonweal's other regular features and columns

Educators can request up to 250 free copies of this issue at: http://cwlmag.org/bulkcopies. The deadline for requests is Thursday, September 12.

- and –

Commonweal also continues to offer free one-year Commonweal subscriptions to students (undergraduate or graduate) as well as to anyone who has finished a degree program in the past three years. We encourage professors to circulate this link to all their students: http://cwlmag.org/freestudent.

Remembering Rev. Msgr. Daniel S. Hamilton - Died Feb. 2019

Mon, 26 Aug 2019 16:51:14 GMT

In an email today, Rev. Msgr. Daniel S. Hamilton's former secretary emailed the CTSA to let us know that he died in February of 2019. May he rest in peace! We share this news for your prayers and request you take a moment to reflect and comment on how his life and work influenced you.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May he rest in peace.

“'It’s our obligation as citizens and certainly as Catholics even more so to contribute to the common good of society,' [Rev. Msgr. Daniel S. Hamilton] said, 'to support those measures, policies and laws which enhance our society, which defend and uphold the dignity of the human person, and to oppose those things which we are convinced are harmful to ourselves and to the future of our society.'

Msgr. Hamilton said he has always encouraged his parishioners and Catholics everywhere to be active in the political process.

'Not simply through Letters to the Editor, but through belonging to organizations, political parties, above all by voting,' he said. 'Not to be a slouch in that regard but to do our best for the common good.'" [Rev. Msgr. Daniel S. Hamilton as reported by Mary Farrow, Catholic News Agency, Mar. 1, 2015, https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/why-this-priest-has-spent-50-years-fighting-with-the-new-york-times-55876].

Obituary: https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/newsday/obituary.aspx?n=daniel-s-hamilton&pid=191612954

CFP - Proposals Due 9/1/19; Selected Sessions; & e-Proceedings

Fri, 23 Aug 2019 12:05:33 GMT

The CTSA's 75th annual convention's call for papers ends on 9/1/19, with the exception of Selected Sessions. Selected Sessions proposals are accepted until October 1.

For members who are not familiar with Selected Sessions, these sessions provide the opportunity for a member to develop and submit a proposal for the CTSA Program Committee's consideration. The due date is set for October 1, to provide time for a member, whose paper was not accepted by a consultation or topic session to develop a proposed session. It also provides the opportunity for a member to develop and submit a proposal on a particular topic that may not have a home in the current convention structure or theme.

Further information about submitting a proposal for a selected session is available at:

https://ctsa-online.org/SelectSessions

https://ctsa-online.org/SupportVideos

If you have any questions about a selected session, please place your question in the comment section of this blog post. (Log in with your member # and email address to post.)

Career opportunity postings from this week:

President, The Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies
University of South California

Assistant Professor of Hebrew Bible / Old Testament
Department of Religious Studies, Santa Clara University

See https://ctsa-online.org/CareerOpportunities

Congratulations to Kevin Brown, the CTSA Proceedings Editor, for his work on the 2019 e-Proceedings (Vol. 74), which is now available online at https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/ctsa/issue/archive.

Highlights from the ED's Desk

Mon, 12 Aug 2019 14:40:32 GMT

Reflecting back on last week website posts, I wish to bring to your attention the following highlights in case you missed the postings.

A link to James T. Keane's "Remembering Michael Buckley, S.J. (America, July 29, 2019) was posted on the CTSA Blog "Remembering Michael Buckely, S.J. as a comment. See https://ctsa-online.org/Blog/7797292#comments.
Call for Papers, "Toward a Research Network on Theology and the Catholic Abuse Crisis (Nov. 1), Villanova University. See https://ctsa-online.org/ItemsOfAcademicInterest.
Call for Papers, Society for Christian Scholarship in Music Annual Meeting (Feb. 6-8), Baylor University. See https://ctsa-online.org/ItemsOfAcademicInterest

The CTSA's own Call for Papers will close on September 1. If you have not submitted a proposal, please consider doing so. See https://ctsa-online.org/CFP

Remembering Michael Buckley, S.J. (July 25, 2019)

Thu, 25 Jul 2019 21:18:05 GMT

Fr. Michael Buckley, SJ, died at 6:10 this morning, July 25, 2019. May he rest in peace! We share this news for your prayers and request you take a moment to reflect and comment on how his life and work influenced you.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May he rest in peace.

Remembering Conrad Gromada (Jan. 18, 1939 - July 3, 2019)

Wed, 17 Jul 2019 12:50:12 GMT

Conrad Gromada was admitted to the CTSA in 1989 as an Active Member. He earned his Ph.D. in Sacraments & Ecclesiology in 1988 at Duquesne University. Doctoral thesis: The Theology of Ministry in the "Lima Document": A Roman Catholic Critique. Conrad taught at both Duquesne University and Ursuline College. Conrad was a CTSA member when he died on July 3, 2019.

Eternal rest grant unto Conrad, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May he rest in peace.

Conrad Thomas Gromada (Kindrich-McHugh Steinbauer Funeral Home Obituary Online Posting [July 2019]) follows:

CONRAD THOMAS GROMADA, of Twinsburg. Professor of Theology at Ursuline College; former diocesan priest of the Youngstown Diocese. Beloved husband of Annette (nee Novicky) since 1987; son of the late Jean (nee Puskarcik) and Joseph; dear brother of Joseph and Henry; cherished uncle of many. Mass of Christian Burial Saturday July 6, 11:30AM at Church of the Resurrection, 32001 Cannon Rd., Solon, where family will visit with friends FROM 10AM until time of Mass Saturday. Interment All Saints Cemetery.

How did a man that we came to know as a representative of Jesus Christ come to be, – to walk among us? Those who were privileged to encounter him and get to know him were aware that he was “just a man – a human being – like the rest of us.” But, somehow, he found ways to inspire many of us to become better than we thought we ever could be – to transcend barriers that might otherwise limit or even intimidate many of us.

His life’s story began on January 18, 1939, in a small, rented apartment on the Southside of Youngstown, OH. His birth was unexpected in that he was premature. The only ones present at his birth were his mother, Jean [nee Puskarcik], and his father Joseph. They were surprised and overwhelmed by his arrival as a dangerously (for that time) underweight “preemie”. But, somehow they found a way to welcome him into the world, to protect and nurture him; and, his survival came to benefit the world beyond their wildest expectations.

Conrad was joined less than two years later, in 1940, by his brother Henry; and then “Little Joe” in 1948. Starting first grade at St. Patrick’s Parochial School at age 5, Conrad was always the youngest in his class. He graduated from Ursuline High School in the class of 1956 at the age of 16. Among his accomplishments were the school records in the mile run and half-mile run. These records stood for 25 years.

Even as he completed his seminary training, Conrad was selected to be ordained a year ahead of his ordination class by then Bishop James Malone. His ordination in August of 1963 made it possible for him to perform the marriage ceremony for his brother Henry and Ruth Estok in September of 1963 as his first wedding ceremony as a priest. Henry and Ruth will celebrate their 56th anniversary in September.

Throughout his career as a priest in the Diocese of Youngstown, Conrad spent time as an assistant pastor and as pastor of a number of churches (e.g., St. Christine’s, Sacred Heart, and Our Lady of Peace). Over the course of his career, he furthered his studies, earning a couple of master’s degrees and eventually a PhD in theological studies at Duquesne University. While he as a priest, he taught in the seminary in Cincinnati (Mount St. Mary’s).

After 24 years as a priest, Conrad made the difficult and courageous decision to step aside from his career in the priesthood. As was his practice in life, he took this step through the proper channels and was officially laicized. In 1987, Conrad entered into marriage with Annette Novicky; a partnership that was founded on love, mutual respect, and an abiding relationship with the church.

Conrad was a gifted speaker and teacher, and he soon found a position at Ursuline College, where he served over time as an instructor, department leader, and dean. In that setting Conrad found ways to continue sharing his knowledge and insights in the fields he loved: theology and ministry.

The prematurely born child, born into humble circumstances, became a person who found a way to share his knowledge and compassion that are the foundations of our religious beliefs. He helped us to experience and come to understand that such love and compassion is not just about him, – it is about us.

Amen! Alleluia!

Remembering Beloved CTSA Members

Mon, 01 Apr 2019 13:25:35 GMT

The following CTSA members will be remembered at the 2019 Annual Convention in Pittsburgh for their theological contributions, ministry, mentorship, and friendship. Take a moment to remember and share with the membership how these members impacted you.

Rev. Charles Dautremont - Died August 28, 2018
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John E. "Jack" Dister, S.J. - Died December 12, 2018
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Monsignor Denis Edwards, OAM - Died March 4, 2019
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Most Rev. Walter Edyvean - Died February 2, 2019
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Rev. William "Bill" Frazier, M.M. - Died March 23, 2019

Gerald J. Grace - Died August 10, 2018
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Ronald Modras - Died October 17, 2018
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Marie-Therese Nadeau, CND - Died November 1, 2018
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Kenan Osborne, OFM - Died April 19, 2019
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Michael J. Scanlon, O.S.A. (Former CTSA President 1987-1988) - Died Aug. 26, 2018
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God and Structures

Wed, 16 Jan 2019 00:24:27 GMT

Author: Paul Lakeland, Fairfield University

In Commonweal of November 1, 2018, James J. Heaney wrote an excellent piece, “Our Myth, Their Lie: Clericalism, Not Heresy, Caused the Crisis.” Writing from the perspective of the Diocese of Minneapolis, Heaney argued forcefully if not particularly originally that the true foundational problem revealed by the scandal of sexual abuse is that of church structures that enable the abuse. As he sees it, clergy in general and bishops in particular have been engaged for decades in a systematic effort to pull the wool over the eyes of the laity, pretending to address the problem while doing everything they could to minimize or even ignore it.

Whether Heaney is right or wrong in calling foul, he is certainly correct that some of the structures of clericalism have seemed to exacerbate the problem. And so he calls for structural change, really for the wholesale rethinking of many ecclesial structures. But here is where my question arises. In making this case Heaney comments that “portions of the church’s structure are divinely instituted, so their reform is neither possible nor desirable. But most of the details were dreamed up by humans. Those can change.” But is it really the case that there are any church structures that are divinely instituted? Sure we have ministry and ministerial leadership, but the form has changed over the centuries. Sure we have the Eucharist, but that isn’t exactly a structure. Nor are the sacraments in general, though they of course have structures, but the structures themselves aren’t divinely instituted.

If my assumption here is correct that there are in fact no divinely instituted structures, though there are obviously structures, most of which have changed over time, then the right question to be asking about church structures is not which can or should be changed, but: given that gospel, sacrament and church are the foundational realities of the Catholic tradition, what structures do we need at this moment in history to help proclaim the gospel, celebrate the sacraments and live a fulfilled life in the faith community? What kind of ecclesial community do we need to imagine into being that will do for our age what different structural instantiations of gospel, sacrament and church have done in previous ages? If we ask this kind of question, then defending the vitality of gospel, sacrament and church cannot be accomplished by asserting the unchangeable character of the structures that have surrounded them in the past. Structures are of their nature quite changeable.

If this is correct then the requirement for church reform in any age, and certainly in our own, is a spirit-filled imagination, full of excitement and devoid of fear. The wrong approach to reform is to ask what minimal changes we need to make to address what we take to be the principal problems of the present day. Unfortunately, when the ills are structural, it is imprudent to leave reform to those who live within the dysfunctional structures. Here, indeed, is a moment for the sensus fidelium.

So, are there any “divinely instituted” structures, and if not, what next?

Administration Must Be Seen as More than a Necessary Evil

Mon, 17 Dec 2018 13:20:02 GMT

Author: Ramon Luzarraga, Benedictine University at Mesa

Last May of 2018, I completed a term as chair of undergraduate studies for the Mesa campus of Benedictine University. I took office the second year of our existence as a campus and worked with the provost, vice-provost, and our faculty, to construct a collaborative culture of governance of the campus by the faculty. And, I lobbied to have a dean installed for the long term. When those tasks got completed, I stepped away from that office and continued the teaching I maintained during my term as chair. My last act as chair was to persuade the dean to eliminate that administrative position. It served its purpose. She did.

The timing of when I received my office was not typical for a university professor. I was an assistant professor on the second year of a three-year probationary period. My teaching was reduced to a 3-3 load, and I continued publishing. My experience as an administrator, and the circumstances under which I received and practiced the duties of the position have given me insight into how we theologians approach any administrative position or task.

For the most part, I enjoyed those years of administration. There is something fulfilling about helping colleagues do their work through one’s own work, and together continue with the pioneering work of founding a new campus. On the other hand, that administrative experience clashed with memories of how many of my colleagues in theology negatively perceive administration. It is viewed as a distraction from teaching and, especially, scholarship. Employing euphemisms such as “the dark side,” “the other side,” speaking of the office of chair as a burden over which one ticks off the days until it ends, are some of the many examples used to describe administration as a thankless task which contribute empty calories to one’s academic career.

The theological academy takes an Augustinian view of administration. It is considered a necessary evil designed to keep order, make sure our respective departments and universities function, enable our students to study and learn, and advance our vocation as theologians. This attitude is confirmed, in part, by the fact that administrative tasks are often given to faculty who have achieved a degree of seniority. Tenure, or a multi-year contract, and/or possessing the rank of associate professor or above, are traditional prerequisites for a department or division chair, an academic dean, or a provost. Administrative work, we advise our junior pre-tenure colleagues, must be kept to a level which is enough for tenure and promotion, but not distract from the core tasks of teaching and publishing.

Ignored in this vision are those colleagues of ours who discover that they have the gifts and skills for administration and enjoy that work. They may discern administration to be a path on which they could fulfill their overall vocation as theologians. For example, they could administer and publish. Unfortunately, those gifts and abilities are not rewarded by a parallel track toward tenure and promotion which could place administration on a par with teaching and publishing. The paucity of jobs in the Academy alone warrants a reexamination of our attitudes towards the policies and the structures by which we advance in our respective colleges and universities. More important perhaps is the administrative vacuum caused by too few of us theologians entering the ranks of the administration of our respective institutions. We leave space open in our Catholic and other Christian-sponsored colleges and universities to business people from outside the Academy, and colleagues from fields of study governed by a utilitarian ethic, too many of whom view the value of a college and its programs solely by their utility to contribute to the bottom line and their ability to fulfill market needs. We find ourselves protesting why our voices are not heard enough as mission-critical programs get downsized or eliminated in theology and across the humanities.

Our formation as theologians is not just intellectual, but spiritual too. We are educated to see more deeply into the world God gave us. While budgets need to be balanced, we can also envision programs which could fulfill more than market needs, they could fulfill human needs too, and answer God’s call to see that those needs are satisfied. Amongst our number are colleagues who can do more than balance books, they can fulfill the mission of Catholic higher education. They can find creative, and innovative ways to fulfill mission critical tasks while satisfying economic demands. The two need not be mutually exclusive.

We should examine ways to expand the culture of the Catholic and theological Academy where those colleagues who have the gift for administration and enjoy the work are offered a clear path to advance one’s career and fulfill one’s vocation as theologians. For example, the University of West Indies, Mona Campus, Jamaica, has administrative positions which carry tenure and the opportunity for sabbaticals. While I am not holding up UWI’s entire structure as an idea for our Academy to adopt, I am using it as an example of an academic culture which nurtures and rewards scholars who take the path of administration as a means of service to their colleagues, the advancement of their own academic careers, all in the fulfillment of a mission larger than themselves. If we want to be governed by our own, by people who understand Catholic and Christian higher education fully, and not as a utilitarian means to a profitable end, we must nurture more of our own for college and university leadership.

Conversations within the Church

Mon, 29 Oct 2018 17:25:41 GMT

Author: Annie Selak, Ph.D. Candidate, Boston College

As bishops gather together in Rome to discuss “Young people, faith and vocational discernment” at the synod, US news has circled around another topic: who gets a vote at the synod. Notably, non-ordained men are given a vote at this synod, a custom that began in 2015 when Brother Hervé Janson voted in his capacity as a representative of the Union of Superiors General. Women are excluded from voting rights. This division according to gender lines has drawn criticism and protests. Critics of the protestors respond that synods are gatherings of the bishops. As such, they serve a unique function in the life of the church and do not include all. Superiors General of the Dominicans, Jesuits and Coventual Franciscans stated in a press conference that women religious should have voting rights at the synod. These moments raise questions about how conversations happen in the church and who gets a seat— and a vote— at the table.

What a synod is— and is not

In thinking about how conversations happen in the church, it is helpful to examine tradition surrounding synods. Synods trace their origins back to the early church. Regional gatherings of bishops discussed and resolved concerns and problems related to doctrinal, liturgical, and disciplinary issues. These gatherings came to be known as synods, deriving from the Greek phrase for the point where multiple roads converge. The first documented synod addressed the Montanist Heresy in 175 AD, and by the 3^rd century synods became common occurrences in the life of the church.

While the current structure of the synod of bishops has its roots in the early church, it was established relatively recently. Pope Paul VI established the synod of bishops on September 15, 1965, the day after the opening of the fourth session of the Second Vatican Council. The establishment of the synod of bishops was surprising, for it created an intermittent body with no decision-making faculties, a far cry from what had been discussed throughout, and even before, the Council. With the proliferation of social media and attention to the actions of Pope Francis, recent synods have garnered increased attention in the life of the church. The 2014- 2015 synod on the family was regularly covered by international news outlets, moving synods from a topic that interested only theologians and church insiders to the literal front pages of newspapers.

The synod is a consultative body, advising the pope who issues an apostolic exhortation. It is the apostolic exhortation, not the synod itself, which enjoys teaching authority. The key question for our analysis is how we understand “consultative.” It should not be dismissed, as if to imply it has no meaning since the final document is not authoritative. A dismissive view of consultative bodies operates out of an understanding of power and authority that emphasizes the formal power structures at the expense of upholding the importance of the Holy Spirit working through the church. At its best, the synod as a consultative body should be representative of the global church and highlight the diverse experience contained within the church.

In thinking of the synod as a consultative body and representative of the church, it is tempting to equate it with democratic experiences. Ecclesiologist Richard Gaillardetz wrote, “One often hears the slogan, ‘the church is not a democracy,’ yet almost never does one hear its necessary ecclesiological correlate, ‘neither is the church a monarchy or an oligarchy.’”(1) The same sentiment can be applied to the synod of bishops: though the synod is not the parliament of the church, it is also not an oligarchy. As a distinct form of leadership in the church, it is necessary that the synod function as a gathering of bishops while also fostering a relationship between the synod and the people of God. We should not attach American notions of governing to the synod, seeking to create a democracy where every constituent is represented by a vote. At the same time, we can improve structures in order to create an environment where discussions at the synod reflect the diversity in the life of the church.

Structuring conversations

Embedded into the foundation of the synod of bishops is the expectation that it would evolve over time.(2) If the goal of a synod is to bring together the leaders of the church in order to speak to a contemporary concern or pressing issue, then the format of how these conversations happen is a crucial component. The structure of conversation can impact the outcome.

The interaction with observers and experts is a crucial aspect of the synod. At the current synod, the bishops are joined by 49 observers and 23 experts. 34 of the observers are between the ages of 18-29. The experts and observers can participate in working groups and help form the final document issued by the synod. While experts and observers are included in conversation, they do not receive voting rights. So far, reports reveal that the presence of observers has positively impacted the assembly. Cardinal Napier of Durban, South Africa remarked in a press conference, “The presence of young people has given the Synod an element of reality.”

Yet the presence and impact of observers and experts is variable. Tone and structures of conversation have the potential to make them important conversation partners or relegate them to the sidelines. It is important that formal structures, such as remarks to the assembly, are organized to highlight the diversity of experience in the global church. Informal conversation is equally as important. Just as many of the important conversations at Vatican II occurred at the coffee bars “Bar Jonah” and “Bar Abbas,” the informal conversations are crucial components of dialogue.

Further, there is also room for development in the role of observers and experts beyond their remarks to the synodal assembly and informal conversation. Imagine if observers issued an observers’ report at the conclusion of the synod. This would allow for a response from a distinct point of view, and would also deepen the bishops’ own experience. An observers’ report would also be of great service to the pope in creating and issuing the apostolic exhortation. It would serve to amplify and perhaps critique the bishops’ recommendations, in turn, provide a broader view of the topic in service to the pope.

A vision for the church

Examining the role of the synod in the life of the church raises important ecclesiological issues. It looks to the role of bishops and how connected or removed they are from the laity in their diocese. It asks how the sensus fidei functions in the life of the church and how church teaching is lived out. Undergirding all of this is a basic yet central ecclesiological question: who is the church? The current synod brings these important, if overwhelming, questions to the forefront of our discourse. Addressing conversations in the church is informed by and has implications for who is counted as church. It is crucial that we grapple with these questions, and in the process of doing so, live into the reality and mystery of being church.

________________________________________

1. Richard Gaillardetz, “Ecclesiological Perspectives on Church Reform,” in Church Ethics and Its Organizational Context, ed. Jean Bartunek, Mary Ann Hinsdale, and James Keenan (Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2006), 67.

2. Apostolica sollicitudo, in outlining the governing laws, begins by stating, “This Synod, which, like all human institutions, can be improved upon with the passing of time.” Apostolica sollicitudo, Introduction.

Pastors and the Other Faithful (1)

Wed, 19 Sep 2018 09:54:44 GMT

Author: Anselma Dolcich-Ashley, Assistant Professor of the Practice, Glynn Family Honors Program, University of Notre Dame.

I remember Patrick McSorley the most. Even after reading so many grim reports and heart-rending narratives for my doctoral research on the sexual abuse crisis, the news of his tragic death unsettled me mightily. He was one of the first of the Boston survivors to speak out about being sexually molested by a priest. He also protested angrily at revelations of the practice of transferring priest-abusers to other parishes. Even more, McSorley befriended other survivors and sought to be a “voice of the victims”(2). These recognized that by his example, McSorley “gave so many others the courage to come forward and to persevere.”(3)

If the “pilgrim church” survives this crisis, it will be because Patrick McSorley and others like him, in the “church in heaven,” intercede for us at the mercy seat of God.

On the surface, the Sixth Commandment appears simple: “you shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). Conventionally understood, this commandment reinforces sexual fidelity, such as to one’s spouse in marriage or to a life of celibacy. This understanding certainly was in play when the Catholic sexual abuse crisis in the US exploded into awareness in 2002. As a result, however, the crisis became narrowly defined as a “delict against the Sixth”(4) , so the remedy became quick removal of “problem priests.” Then, as now, bishops were summoned to Rome to meet with the Pope and devise solutions. To their credit, bishops also began to meet with and listen to survivors and their advocates, and most implemented the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young Persons, calling for lay-majority review boards in each diocese, as well as a National Review Board. Fortunately, since 2000 the number of new allegations has fallen dramatically (as compared with, for example, allegations dating from the 1970s). Yet even with reforms in place and a reduction in new allegations involving minors, the sense of crisis has, in some ways, intensified. Why?

Contributions to a solution can come from diverse fields such as ecclesiology, moral theology, and even political philosophy and jurisprudence. However, the energy and orientation of any solution must always be grounded in remembering the Patrick McSorleys left along the side of the road (Luke 10: 30-33).

While recognizing the Sixth’s prohibition of the act of adultery narrowly construed, Thomas Aquinas also saw the Sixth, and its companion precepts of the Decalogue, as precepts of natural law and of the cardinal virtue of justice.(5) To be sure, the Sixth prohibits adultery. However, we should follow Aquinas’ insight that the harms manifested in adultery - or any action violating sexual vows and boundaries (for example, sexual harassment, or transferring pedophiles to other parishes which amounts to formal cooperation in the evil) - naturally ramify beyond the individual agents and their individual actions. Yet Canon Law’s emphasis keeps the focus on individual violators rather than the direct victims and the damage done to the broader community.

The Sixth as a fundamental precept of justice governs relationships, mindsets, group interactions, institutions: in short, any structures making it possible for humans to live together in community. From this perspective, the sexual abuse crisis reveals a deeper crisis of community. Why didn’t the Patrick McSorleys of the crisis count more in the bishops’ calculus on how to respond? Why does it take the force of civil law to make the bishops reveal what happened? Recent revelations, such as the Pennsylvania grand jury report, have opened these wounds again, because this broader dimension of the Sixth is beginning to shape the debates over what to do. One irony of our present situation is that civil society and so-called secular legal structures, utilized by Catholics who are also Americans, understand better this deeper meaning of the Sixth; both the civil structures and involved American Catholics are effectively calling the church to attend to its own moral commitments.

This perspective can help us understand why further apologies on the part of church hierarchy are not sufficient for this new stage of the crisis. Apologies certainly indicated progress in contrast to the routine pre-2002 discounting of allegations and rebuffing of victims. However, today they ring hollow because they are unaccompanied by deep structural changes demanded by the Sixth. Examples could include anything from selection of seminary candidates, to involvement of laity and religious at all levels of ministry, to actively recognizing and working against the structural mindset of clericalism. Apologies as expressions of sympathy fail, because they displace the hard work of reforming structures and reorienting mindsets. It is no surprise, then, that yet more apologies engender anger rather than forgiveness on the part of survivors and other concerned Catholics.

Once we understand what the Sixth Commandment entails, then we must turn to defining the church, so we can apply the Sixth more broadly understood there. The great ecclesiologist Avery Dulles made a good start in his well-known Models of the Church,(6) but we should remember that these descriptors are models (analogues), not definitions. Thus, “sacrament,” “servant,” and “institution” all describe something inherent about the church but presume, rather than provide, a fundamental definition. Only in the expanded edition did Dulles specify this definition: the church is a community of disciples.(7) A community, I might add, of human disciples, thus prone to sin in all the ways that humans are. Moreover, understanding this community of disciples as “church” does not immunize it from structural sin.

As a human community, the church requires some kind of governance to keep order and prevent harm. This governance also needs to enable the community to flourish, and this aspect involves the broader dimension of the Sixth. For the Catholic Church, the focal point in this order is the bishop who holds the fullness of the triple munera of teaching, sanctifying, and governing. But what are bishops, fundamentally? Michael Buckley approaches this question by identifying the episcopacy fundamentally as a relation.(8) However, it is a relation with dual telos: unity of the college of bishops (including the Bishop of Rome), and the vitality of faith among the people of the bishop’s own diocese. Insofar as the Sixth demands structural justice, however, we can see where conceptions of governance are going awry. The crisis is still being handled ‘at the top,’ in discussions and decisions among bishops, cardinals, and Pope - closed to “the other faithful,” who from their perspective experience bishops’ telos of unity among fellow bishops absorbing energy and attention at the expense of the other telos. Meanwhile, the vitality of faith is taking a beating, with “the other faithful” getting angry, protesting, gathering in talking sessions, and - not waiting for the bishops to act - asking civil authorities to open investigations. And who remembers Patrick McSorley and other survivors? In short, the laity are pressing to restore a better balance of the teloi of the episcopal relation, and in so doing are moving the church itself toward a better observance of the Sixth Commandment.

It may have been his age – 29 – that upset me so much. At his death he was not much older than my own son at the time. Unlike my son, McSorley had suffered from torture by a priest, and almost two decades of post-traumatic stress. One night he may have overdone the medications that helped him manage, and did not wake up the next day. Let us never forget.

Lumen gentium, no. 32.
Belluck, Pam. “A Prominent Accuser in Boston Abuse Scandal Is Found Dead,” The New York Times, February 24, 2004. https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/24/us/a-prominent-accuser-in-boston-abuse-scandal-is-found-dead.html (Retrieved 9/16/2018)
MacQuarrie, Brian. “Vocal Critic of Abuse by Clergy Found Dead.” The Boston Globe, February 24, 2004. http://archive.boston.com/globe/spotlight/abuse/stories5/022404_mcsorley.htm (Retrieved 9/16/2018)
Cf., Canon 1395, Code of Canon Law.
Porter, Jean. (2005). Nature as reason : A Thomistic theory of the natural law. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans.
Dulles, Avery. (1987). Models of the church (Expanded ed.). Garden City, N.Y.: Image Books.
Cf., Komonchak, Joseph. (2008). Who are the church? (Père Marquette lecture in theology ; 2008). Milwaukee, WI: Marquette University Press.
Buckley, M. (1998). Papal primacy and the episcopate : Towards a relational understanding. New York: Crossroad Pub.

Catholic Theological Society of America Newfeed

J.J. Mueller, S.J. - d. March 5

Online Lecture: Simone Weil - Dialectical Mysticism

Breaking Boundaries in Theology: In Conversation with Roger Haight, S.J.

11.04.2026: Online Book Launch and Discussion: RaT Series Volume 40

DISTANCE LEARNING Programmes in Catholic Theology, Durham University, UK

William (Bill) R. Burrows - d. March 3

The Vatican and Women Deacons, by Phyllis Zagano (New Publication)

Global Sisters Report: A Project of NCR

Latest issue of Concilium on "Pain and Solace: A Theological Investigation"

Bernard P. Prusak - d. 1/18/26

Walter E. Conn d. 2-2-26

Mar. 12-13: Conference on the Rule of Law and the Common Good

CTSA Member Meghan J. Clark Quoted in "Sisters Use Corporate Investments to Push for Reform"

Human. A Reality Put to the Test (Sat., 1/31) [Response by Anthony J. Godzieba]

January 31st, 2026: Online Book Launch and Discussion: JRAT Supplementa Volume 5

African Political Theology Webinars: Statecraft (Th. 1/22 Series Begins)

John R. Wilcox - d. 1/1/26

Congratulations to Stan Chu Ilo, Mary Boys, David Turnbloom, and A.E. Orobator on their recent publications.

Distance Learning Programmes in Catholic Theology, Durham University, UK

Conference Announcement: "Mapping the Field of Jewish-Christian Relations"

CTSA 2025 Proceedings (vol. 79)

Conceptions of Authority in Roman Catholicism: A Seminar and Call for Papers

Congratulations to Jean-Pierre M. Ruiz on His Appointment as the SBL's next Vice President!

New Concilium issue (2025/4) on "New Frontiers in Christian Comparative Theology"

CTSA Remembers and Prays for Sr. Jamie T. Phelps, OP - d. 11/22/25

Joint CBA / CTSA Reception at the SBL Annual Meeting (Sun., Nov. 23)

Francis Schusslet Fiorenza Harvard Memorial Service This Thursday

Congratulations to Diana Villegas on the Publication of Two Books in 2025

Congratulations to Thomas Weinandy on his new book "Jesus Being Jesus"

In Person / Virtual Event @Loyola University Chicago on Dilexi Te

Re: Third International Franciscan Studies Conference, Durham, UK, 14 to 16 April 2026

Francis X. Clooney, S.J., Inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in the Humanities and Arts Class under Religious Studies

Congratulations to Mary Kate Holman on the Publication of Marie-Dominique Chenu: Catholic Theology for a Changing World

Oct 7th--27th Annual Louis J. Luzbetak Lecture on Mission and Culture (in person & on Zoom)

One Body & Many Voices (Schillebeeckx Symposium)

In Memory of Fr. Roger Haight (In-person & Virtual Event)

Date & Time:

Dominican Theology and Practice Conference (Feb 27-28) - CFP

Article "The Least of These" Commonweal's October Symposium on Mental Illness and the Church

Congratulations to Kevin Considine on the Publication of "Analogy of the Wound: A Theology of Communication for Healing and Social Transformation"

Congratulations to Judith Merkle on the Publication of "The Vows of Religious Life in a Secular Society"

Livestreamed Funeral Mass for Rev. James Alan Coriden

Harvard Memorial Service for Francis Fiorenza

"The Meaning of Being Human: Synodal Considerations" Eds. E. Miranda and C. Traina

William P. Roberts - d. 7/25/25

Francis Fiorenza - d. Wed., 7/23/25

2025 Immigrant Integration Convening [Sept. 14 & 16]

SimonMary Aihiokhai's CFPs for a special issue of Religions

"Mission and Vision: Stephen Bevans and Catholic Theology" by James Keane, AmericaMagazine

KAICIID International Fellows Programme 2026

CTSA 2025 Memorial Service Recording from June 13, 2025, Available for Viewing

Call for abstracts: Edited volume: God loves kitsch!

Roger D. Haight, S.J. - d. 6/19/25

Postdoctoral Research Associate in Catholic Social Thought and Practice, Durham University, UK

Jill Raitt - d. May 27

Gary Riebe-Estrella, SVD - d. 6/2/25

Welcome to CTSA’s Newest Board Members!!!

Final Meeting of the Consultation on the Sexual Abuse Crisis

Daniel Maguire - d. 5/21/25

CCS Public Lectures (Franciscan Studies)

Wendy M. Wright, d. 5-19-25

An invitation to a Pentecost Novena for Pope Leo XIV, his papacy and our world

Distance Learning MA in Catholic Theology

Ladislas "Les" Orsy, S.J. - d. 4/3/25

INSeCT ~ General Assembly Report (Dec. 8-13, 2024) Rome, Italy

“Habemus Papam!” – “We have a pope!”

Join the CTSA pop-up choir in Portland!

National Catholic-Muslim Dialogue, USCCB, Covenant with Earth Research Paper & Essay Competition

Merton Society Meeting - Early Bird Registration Closes Soon

Mary Gerhart - d. 4/22/25

David W. Tracy - d. 4/29/25

Call for Papers: Life and Love Transfigured: Exploring New Horizons in the Franciscan Tradition, Durham UK, 14-16 April 2026

Truth-Telling: Perils and Possibilities for Social Healing

A Muslim remembrance of Pope Francis

Frank Clooney, SJ: elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Nancy Pineda-Madrid, President, CTSA - Pope Francis, RIP

Online Lecture Series on Sarah and Hagar

Linh Hoang, Pres., INSeCT ~ April 2025 Letter to INSeCT

Al Bertrand, Georgetown U.P. - d. 4/20/25

January 31st, 2026: Online Book Launch and Discussion:
JRAT Supplementa Volume 5