Catholic Theological
Society of America

Sr. Regina Coll, CSJ, (died on August 8, 2022) was a member of the CTSA for many years and was awarded the Ann O'Hara Graff Memorial Award in 1999.  Sr. Regina's research focused on "Women and Religion".  

Eternal rest, grant unto Sr. Regina, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon her.

Obituary

Good afternoon, everyone. I hope the summer has been a good one for you, just the mix of rest and work that you had hoped for. I am writing now, as summer wanes, to thank in public all our continuing and new committee members, who have generously agreed to serve on the range of our important committees. You can find the list here. Let us all wish our colleagues well in the work they will be doing in the months to come. You can be in touch with committee members if you have questions or ideas pertinent to their work, or just email me and I can pass along relevant ideas and questions as needed. And if you have a particular interest in being on this or that committee in the future (new appointments are made in June-July, as some members rotate off), you can also let me or President-Elect Kristin Heyer, or Executive Director Mary Jane Ponyik know. Peace, Frank Clooney, SJ (President, 2022-23)

Simonmary Asese A. Aihokhai, ed., Religion, Women of Color, and the Suffrage Movement: The Journey to Holistic Freedom (Lexington Books, September 2022).  CTSA member contributors include:  Simonmary Asese A. Aihiokhai, Christina Astorga, Kathleen Dorsey Bellow, C. Vanessa White, Camillus O. Njoku.  

Karl Rahner, (Jakob Rinderknecht, ed. and trans.) An Ecumenical Priesthood: The Spirit of God and the Structure of the Church (Fortress Press,  Aug. 2022).

https://www.maryvale.ac.uk/double-celebration.html

- Mary, Daughter Zion; an Introduction to the Mariology of Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI)

- Actio Divina: the Marian Mystery of the Church in the Theology of Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) 

Hi! I'm a relatively new member of CTSA and would like to share my recently published article, "Considering a case for rights and charity." In it I point out the problems of each and propose the benefits of joining forces, specifically pertaining to persons with disabilities (PWD). Violations of the rights of PWD is typically contextually dependent and difficult to generalize, and the burden of proof is on the person whose rights have been violated. However, the predominantly operative coopted version of charity is also problematic. It is well entrenched in religious imaginations with deep roots and the predominant thread of a metanarrative I named the shadow narrative. The shadow narrative claims concern for PWD (mostly), but in fact reinforces the stigmatizing and marginalizing mindsets, and their unconscious motivations. Rational argument cannot counter the emotions that maintain it. It is necessary to bring it into the open, and highlight cultural insertions into the charity tradition that undermine it and the people it claims to serve. Then a recovered sense of charity, concerned with justice, can be a valuable partner with rights to affirm the dignity and participation of PWD in society and faith communities. I write through lens of Catholic social teaching, but the principles discussed are applicable within other faith traditions.   

https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/YXBIIEXFP2HKHCDBJISV/full?target=10.1080/1474225x.2022.2055330  

Anne Masters (2022) Considering a case for rights and charity, International, Journal for the Study of the Christian Church, 22:1, 58-74, DOI: 10.1080/1474225X.2022.2055330 

Dear CTSA Colleagues,

Julie Hanlon Rubio (JSTB/JSTSCU) and I are happy to announce the release of “Beyond Bad Apples: Understanding Clergy Perpetrated Sexual Abuse as a Structural Problem and Cultivating Strategies for Change.” Part of Fordham University’s Taking Responsibility project, this study synthesizes research on clericalism, structural theory, and sexual violence with data from an original survey of nearly 300 professional lay ministers on sex, gender, power, clericalism, and clergy perpetrated sexual abuse. We hope you’ll consider reading and sharing the report. 

https://scu.edu/beyondbadapples 

We pray that our work will contribute to a reduction in sexual violence in the Church and a future free from the challenges of clericalism. 

With gratitude,
Paul Schutz & Julie Rubio

Opportunity for Publication, highly recommended:

Please consider submitting essays for publication in the theological Journal Cuestiones Teológicas (Spanish, Portuguese, and English), indexed and external peer review. The journal's website reads as follows:  "The Cuestiones Teológicas Journal is a publication edited by the School of Theology of Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana. Its main topic is focused on the great areas of theological knowledge, Fundamental Theology, Dogmatic Theology, Biblical Theology, Moral Theology, Pastoral Theology and Church History, from interdisciplinary positions, seeking to generate an open dialogue with current culture. Its purpose is to present the results of researches developed by national and international researchers and professors, with a particular interest on presenting the aspects of the methodology and the methods used for the research, in order for them to contribute to the theological knowledge. Keywords: Fundamental Theology, Dogmatics, Bible, Moral, Pastoral, Church History, Spirituality, Interculturality."

https://revistas.upb.edu.co/index.php/cuestiones/index

New Directions in Ecclesiology:
The Contributions of Richard Gaillardetz
September 23 - 24, 2022, In-person conference
The Institution for the Liberal Arts, Boston College

Boston College is hosting a conference in honor of CTSA member Richard Gaillardetz (CTSA President 2013-2014).  The events will occur in person in Gasson Hall, 100, on the Chestnut Hill campus of Boston College. They are free and open to the public, but registration for Saturday is required.

About the Conference

The author of nine books, editor of six others, and author of over a hundred articles, Prof Gaillardetz has been one of the most important voices of his generation in the development of ecclesiology, the interpretation and reception of Vatican II, and questions of authority in the church. His 1997 Teaching with Authority: A Theology of the Magisterium of the Church, is a standard text in its field and has remained in print for a quarter century. Others of his books have remained in print, or gone into second and revised editions, or been translated into other languages, and continue to define the parameters of their questions. The contributors to his edited volumes on Vatican II and ecclesiological topics include many of the most influential theologians actively writing in English in the field of ecclesiology today. He has also been a sought-after lecturer.

Questions about the nature of religious authority and especially the authority of Catholic institutions are at the heart of Prof Gaillardetz’s work. Our Saturday event will feature two keynote addresses and three panel papers by senior and emerging scholars in the field of ecclesiology. They will examine Prof. Gaillardetz’s contributions to these questions, and their relevance to the growing edges of the field of ecclesiology.

On the preceding evening, Friday, September 23, Prof. Gaillardetz will deliver a public lecture: “Loving and Reforming a Holy yet Broken Church.”

These events will occur in person in Gasson Hall, 100, on the Chestnut Hill campus of Boston College. They are free and open to the public, but registration for Saturday is required:

Link to Conference Details and to Access Registration Link

Dear CTSA members and friends,

As you know there is a critically important climate bill going through Congress right now. It has passed the Senate and is now in the House.

I ask you to consider if your institution can sign this open letter to Congress as a Catholic institution in support of essential climate action.  The USCCB is in support.  Please contact your President and Mission VPs.

There really is no other political hope on the horizon.  Increasing the number of signatories to this letter is highly significant. 

Thank you,

Erin Lothes

Linked here are the open letter developed by the Catholic Climate Covenant and sign on form .

 At the same time, you might ask for a meeting in the fall to discuss divestment, which is a significant action with implications for our students' future and our institutions' mission integrity.

Update from the Covenant:

Though you're likely well aware, it's worth repeating that this national legislation contains the most significant climate provisions in a generation, when the window of opportunity to prevent climate catastrophe is closing, and which if passed, will significantly reduce national carbon emissions, and revive U.S. leadership and potentially international commitments to the needed GHG reductions for the sake of the viability of our shared future.

The Official Catholic Directory has emailed over 4800 Catholic leaders, asking them to sign their institutions onto the open letter to Congress. (The open letter and sign on form are on the advocacy page of the Godsplanet website, which is the US platform for the Vatican based Laudato Si Action Platform.)  

Also noteworthy in this effort to have Congress pass climate solutions commensurate with the reality, is the strong parallel support from the USCCB.   The USCCB has revived their earlier action alert calling for $555b in climate change investments on their website again. 

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/08/07/us/climate-tax-deal-vote

New York Times

CALL FOR PAPERS

Annual Meeting of the Society for Christian Scholarship in Music

Deadline for proposals, October 1, 2022

Conference dates: March 2–4, 2023

Conference web site: www.scsmusic.org

Conference venue: Duke Divinity School, Durham, NC

Individual papers, research posters, panels, and lecture recitals on any topic related to the study of music and Christianity are welcome. We invite submissions representing a variety of approaches and perspectives, including ethnomusicology, historical musicology, theory and analysis, philosophy, theology, liturgy, congregational music, as well as other methodologies. All submissions should have a clear title. Lecture-recital proposals should contain the list of pieces with approximate timings.

SCSM encourages submissions from current graduate students. A $250 prize will be awarded for the best paper presented by a graduate student at the meeting. In addition, graduate students whose proposals are accepted are eligible to apply for travel assistance from the SCSM Graduate Student Travel Fund.

Note: We are planning on an in-person meeting, along with some online offerings. When submitting a proposal, please indicate whether you intend to present in person or via online. (Changes in presentation format may be possible, but only up to a deadline to be determined by the program committee.) Regardless, all conference participants need to be available during the days of the conference for synchronous sessions.

Please visit the conference website for proposal details. Please send submissions or questions to Mark Peters, program committee chair, at mark.peters@trnty.edu.