Catholic Theological
Society of America

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.

In the web article, Being Catholic Interreligiously, Michael Naughton interviews CTSA President Francis X. Clooney, S.J.  A link to the article is posted below.

Michael Naughton, Being Catholic Interreligiously, (Harvard Divinity School, July 18, 2022):

Being Catholic Interreligiously

https://www.fordhampress.com/fordham-university-press-acquires-groundbreaking-series/

FORDHAM UNIVERSITY PRESS ACQUIRES GROUNDBREAKING SERIES DISRUPTIVE CARTOGRAPHERS: DOING THEOLOGY LATINAMENTE

New York — Fordham University Press (FUP) acquires Queer God de Amor by Latino     

theologian Miguel Díaz. The book is part of the Disruptive Cartographers: Doing Theology Latinamente series, which will also be moving to Fordham University Press from Orbis Books with this volume. Previous volumes include The Word Became Culture and the award-winning Revelation in the Vernacular.

About the Series

Disruptive Cartographers: Doing Theology Latinamente is multivolume series that re-maps theology and pushes out in new directions from varying coordinates across a spectrum of latinidad as lived in the USA. Authors reconfigure and disrupt key areas like revelation, eschatology, and trinity. Other volumes complicate and advance even further key themes of significance in Latin@ theologies, including the option for culture, religious diversity, and Mary.

“Fordham University Press is excited to have acquired Queer God de Amor by Miguel Díaz and to have secured the rights to publish the Disruptive Cartographers: Doing Theology Latinamente series of which it is a part. The book and series are a perfect fit with our catalog and contribute to our mission of publishing boundary-breaking scholarship and supporting underrepresented voices. We welcome Dr. Díaz, together with his co-editors, Carmen M. Nanko-Fernández and Gary Riebe-Estrella, S.V.D., to the FUP community of authors and look forward to a successful and long-lasting collaboration.”

—Fredric Nachbaur, Director, Fordham University Press

“The Disruptive Cartographers: Doing Theology Latinamente series reflects ethical and theological commitments to the invitation of Pope Francis “¡hagan lío!” As theologians and scholars arising from complex matrices of latinidad, lived and experienced in myriad modalities, we stir things up by retrieving resources from a rich diversity of Latin@ /Hispan@ traditioning. With particular attention to sources that may have been suppressed, erased, ignored, or overlooked, we explore in creative and interdisciplinary ways the stuff of lo cotidiano, daily life. We are excited about the prospect of pushing las fronteras en conjunto with Fordham University Press.”

—Carmen M. Nanko-Fernández, Founding Editor, Disruptive Cartographers

About Fordham University Press

Fordham University Press, established in 1907, is the seventh oldest university press in the country and the nation’s oldest Catholic university press. Fordham University Press not only represents and uphold the values and traditions of the University itself but also furthers those values and traditions through the dissemination of scholarly research and ideas. The Press publishes boundary-breaking print and digital books that bring recognition to itself, the University, and authors while balancing the need to publish in new formats and work collaboratively on and off campus. Its regional imprints, Empire State Editions and New York ReLit, and location in New York City’s Lincoln Center neighborhood reinforce the university’s motto, New York is My Campus, Fordham is My School.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Queer God de Amor
Miguel H. Díaz
Fordham University Press; Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-5315-0248-5 | Theology | Religion | LGBTQ Studies | $25.95
160 pages, 5 ½ x 8 ½
eBook Available
Disruptive Cartographers: Doing Theology Latinamente
Publication Date: September 13, 2022

Media Contact: Kate O’Brien-Nicholson, Fordham University Press, bkaobrien@fordham.edu.

Hello Colleagues, 

I wanted to share a link to the Synod Synthesis from the Archdiocese of Seattle, which serves as a summary of nearly 1,000 listening sessions that we conducted in western Washington. It provides an honest portrait of 11,000 Catholics in the area and spurs the diocese to greater outreach and response to the various issues that are named. This synthesis has also been sent to the USCCB.

In a homily that ended this diocesan phase of Pope Francis' global synod on synodality, Archbishop Paul Etienne expressed how this document calls us to walk together on a path marked by pain and love, much like the way of the cross and of the eucharist. I would love to know of any thoughts or feedback you may have on the document, which I can relay to the Seattle Archdiocesan pastoral council. 

Thank you, 

Jaisy

The Catholic Peacebuilding Network (CPN), with over two dozen co-sponsors, hosted the virtual conference Catholic Peacebuilding in Times of Crisis: Hope for a Wounded World from June 20-23. All sessions from the conference are available as recordings on the CPN YouTube channel. This includes a special message from Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, Permanent Observer of the Holy See Mission to the UN; a keynote address from Cardinal Charles Bo of Yangon, Myanmar; a plenary roundtable on the ethics of war and peace led by Boston College's Lisa Sowle Cahill; and a plenary panel on climate, development, and peace, which included Sr. Alessandra Smerilli, secretary of the Holy See Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, Erin Lothes, from St. Elizabeth University and the Laudato Si' Movement, and Laurie Johnston, from Emmanuel College.