Catholic Theological
Society of America

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

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)

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/

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!

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."

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

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

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.

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!

 

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.