Catholic Theological
Society of America

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.

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.  

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!

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

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.   

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 YouTubehttps://youtu.be/W1Im_l2KTfc

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 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.

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.

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.