Catholic Theological
Society of America

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

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.

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

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! 

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

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

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)

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.

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

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.