Catholic Theological
Society of America

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.

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

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

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

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