Catholic Theological
Society of America

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

 

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!

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

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.

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.

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

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

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 

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?

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.