Catholic Theological
Society of America

Join the Conversation

CTSA Members are encouraged to post and join the conversation, log into the CTSA website using the email address you have provided to the CTSA and your member number.  Then visit the CTSA Newsfeed and click on "Add Post" or "Comment" below a posting. 

The Newsfeed is visible to the public; only members may post on the CTSA Newsfeed.  Postings are to be related to the scholarship of theology or related to the mission of the CTSA, e.g. items of academic interest; CTSA Board statement announcements; INSeCT updates/outreach; World forum on Theology and Literation (WFTL) updates/outreach; consultation, topic session and interest group outreach, etc.  Also posted on the Newsfeed will be member memorials.

 All discourse on the CTSA Newsfeed, whether in postings or in comments posted by CTSA members, must abide by the standards of professional conduct and constructive criticism expressed in the "CTSA Statement on Professional Behavior" approved by the Board of Directors on June 7, 2018.  The CTSA  Board and Executive Director reserves the right to edit or delete any language proposed for posting or posted on the Newsfeed.  Spam, links to websites, petitions, and advertising will be removed.

Note:  Career Opportunity postings will be removed from the Newsfeed.  See https://ctsa-online.org/CareerOpportunities for further details on how to post a position with the CTSA.

Oversight of the page is done by the Vice President and the Executive Director.  Please email them with any post related concerns.

  • 10/04/2023 8:06 PM | Daniel R. DiLeo

    The Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU) has marked the release of Laudate Deum with a newsletter story on CTSA's fossil fuel divestment. Before you read the story, please take a moment and recognize those who helped make this achievement possible, especially:

    • Erin Lothes Biviano, past chair of the ad hoc Fossil Fuel Divestment Review Committee (since re-named the Climate Justice Committee), who has led CTSA's divestment discernment since 2013.
    • Executive Director Mary Jane Ponyik.
    • President Kristin Heyer and past Presidents Francis Clooney and Christine Firer-Hinze.
    • Matthew Shadle and Julia Brumbaugh, current Committee members.
    • Nancy Rourke, past Committee member.
    • John O'Shaughnessy, CFO for the Franciscan Sisters of Mary.
    • Treasurer Patrick Flanagan.
    • Thomas Massaro, Gina Wenzel Wolfe, and John Carr, who together produced the 2017 Abbreviated Fossil Fuel Investment Report.

    CTSA Goes “All In”

    By Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities Staff

    https://shorturl.at/iCFQ2

    The Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA) may have a modest endowment compared to that of universities, but they recently went “all in” when it came to following the Pope Francis’ lead on attending to the world’s climate.

    The largest association of Catholic theologians in the world, the CTSA noted that there was no shortage of vendors offering to invest their endowment of less than $1 million in ways that met various social justice criteria, but few that “allowed us to provide 100% fossil fuel exclusions,” explained Kristin E. Heyer, president of their board of directors.

    In 2022, the CTSA committed to divest from fossil fuels in fidelity to Laudato Si’, the Pope’s 2015 encyclical on care for the natural environment. Subtitled “On Care for Our Common Home,” the encyclical emphasized God’s gift of the world for our use and God’s extraordinary trust of placing it our collective care.

    That commitment led to an extensive search for a firm that would offer the fullest range of ways to assure that “CTSA budgets going forward will reflect our commitment to the biosphere, its diversity, health, and sustainability,” noted Rev. Patrick Flanagan, CM, CTSA treasurer. “We recognize that a budget is a moral document that reflects who we are called to be.”

    We finally found a firm that “allowed us to maintain and go beyond our ethical investing status quo,” Heyer noted. “They will use USCCB exclusionary screens and provide customized shareholder engagement opportunities, Catholic values proxy voting, and broad asset diversification. Our new firm will also offer positive screening for Catholic values, and, most directly relevant to our committee’s charge, will provide fossil fuel exclusions to enable our divesting from the Carbon Underground 200.”

    The Carbon Underground 200 is a list of publicly-traded companies considered to have the greatest negative impact from profiting on their coal, oil and gas reserves.

    “100 percent of our invested funds are now subject to these investment standards,” said Flanagan. “I am so grateful to be part of a learned society like CTSA that is so faithful Pope Francis’ 2015 papal encyclical, Laudato Si’. It is an historic moment in the life of CTSA.”

    That commitment is all the more prescient in light of the Pope’s newest apostolic exhortation, “Laudate Deum,” released on October 4th, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. The document calls even more strongly for immediate action in light of the quickly worsening climatic conditions and obvious effects on some of the world’s most vulnerable populations.

    “What is being asked of us is nothing other than a certain responsibility for the legacy we will leave behind, once we pass from this world,” the Pope enjoins, and then pleads further. “In conscience, and with an eye to the children who will pay for the harm done by their actions, the question of meaning inevitably arises: ‘What is the meaning of my life? What is the meaning of my time on this earth? And what is the ultimate meaning of all my work and effort?’”

  • 10/04/2023 2:01 PM | Anonymous

    Breaking Boundaries in Theology
    in Conversation with Roger Haight

    (Online International Conference)
    Nov. 30th - Dec. 2nd

    The conference offers an introduction to key elements from Haight’s extensive theological oeuvre, built up over 50 years. On three consecutive afternoons (CET) Haight will present papers on “Foundational Issues” (Nov. 30), “Creation and Spirituality” (Dec. 1), and “Religious Pluralism & Liberating Christology” (Dec. 2). Each paper is followed by responses from international scholars with various religious backgrounds. Following these responses, there will be the opportunity for short online public discussion and thereupon breakout room discussion for students only.

    Click here for further details


  • 10/02/2023 9:38 PM | Nancy Pineda-Madrid (Administrator)

    Dear Colleagues

    I write to share with you the sad news that on Sunday morning, October 1, Fr. David Burrell, CSC, passed away.  He was a long-time and illustrious CTSA member, receiving the John Courtney Murray award in 2009.  He was former Chair of the Theology Department at the University of Notre Dame.  The Funeral Mass will be at 3:30 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, October 4, 2023 at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Notre Dame, Ind. You may also join us via livestream at https://livestream.holycrossusa.org.  May perpetual light shine upon him and may his memory be eternal.

    His obituary can be found here.

    May he rest in peace,

    Nancy Pineda-Madrid

    President Elect


  • 10/02/2023 5:36 PM | Stephanie Wong (Administrator)

    Call for Papers: “Authority and Its Discontents”

    March 15-16

    Villanova University

    Hosted by Fides Quaerens (Villanova doctoral students in the Dept of Theology and Religious Studies and Dept. of Philosophy)

    Deadline for Submission: December 20, 2023

    Featuring a roundtable discussion with: Vincent Lloyd and TBD

    Fides Quaerens, the interdisciplinary philosophy and theology graduate student working group at Villanova University, invites graduate students and early career scholars to submit proposals and papers on the theme of “Authority and Its Discontents” for a conference to be held at Villanova University on March 15-16, 2024.

    Narrating how authority goes wrong is a critical task. For this conference we seek creative approaches to the concept of authority, reckoning with its failures in a variety of intellectual traditions. What models for thinking differently about authority exist within these traditions, and what models must still be invented? What are the impediments to clearer articulations of how authority functions in individual, intellectual, social, and political life, and how can these be addressed? What are the connections and disconnections between how authority is imagined in intellectual work and the frameworks of authority structuring society, such as ‘family,’ ‘police,’ or ‘church.’ What other creative approaches to the concept of authority are useful? Papers might also explore related topics such as influence, force, law, sovereignty, inspiration, transference, or others, incorporating philosophical, theological, political, or other critical disciplinary approaches.

    We invite topics from, but not limited to, the following areas:

    Political Philosophy

    Social Philosophy

    Continental Philosophy

    Political Theology

    Philosophical Theology

    Systematic Theology

    Christian Ethics

    Biblical Theology

    Historical Theology

    Psychoanalytic Theory

    Deconstruction

    Critical Theory

    We welcome papers at all stages of development and see this as an opportunity to workshop new ideas and papers in progress. Abstracts should be no longer than 300 words. Full paper submissions are welcome. Final papers should be suitable for a 20-minute presentation, around 3000 words, followed by 10 minutes of Q&A. Proposals should be submitted to Nathaniel Grimes at nathaniel.grimes@villanova.edu and

    prepared for blind review. With your submission, please include a cover page with the

    presenter’s name, institutional affiliation, and contact information.

    Acceptance notifications will be sent out in January 2024.

    If you have any questions, please contact Jennifer Wang at y.wang@villanova.edu.

    Please check our PhilEvents page for updates: https://philevents.org/event/show/115106


  • 09/24/2023 8:56 PM | Francis X Clooney, SJ (Administrator)

    Good evening. Two weeks ago I requested, on behalf of the Centennial Committee, your responses to the Report on the June 9 evening session. I and the committee are very grateful for your response — thus far about 52 of you responded to us, almost 23,000 words. As I told the Committee at our meeting on September 22, your ideas are very interesting and timely, in part confirming what is in the Report and in part adding importance nuances. I was very taken also with the  personal insights in your statements - based on 50 or more years in the Society, or just one or two years, or some  length of membership years in between. We are thinking together on these issues, which is so very important. I would like very much to respond to each of you who did write, but I am a bit overwhelmed with it all at the moment, and have to let this note count for now. But let me assure you that the entire Committee has all your responses, and the Board will receive them too, and we are going to continue reading them. Finally, if you did not write, and would have time to write now, please do! I would love to receive another 50+. Peace, Frank (fclooney@hds.harvard.edu)

  • 09/20/2023 7:37 PM | Rufus Burnett, Jr.

    The WFTL officially invites CTSA members to register for our Webinar  “The Current Situation and Challenges for the Palestinian People and Palestinian Liberation Theology” – November 4, 2023


    Registration and panelist information below:


    Register here  by October 25th:

    https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fumontreal.zoom.us%2Fmeeting%2Fregister%2FtZIpc-mrrz0uEtDkuwcRrd5g1ADJg66odDYR%23%2Fregistration&data=05%7C01%7Cbrandon.haskel-martinez%40umontreal.ca%7C9ea917a6c2bc4263defe08dbba07baf4%7Cd27eefec2a474be7981e0f8977fa31d8%7C1%7C0%7C638308314615109309%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=XykljL8tRoENXIFiAmsVPwS5X3iW%2BOzj6k5tLZuqiNc%3D&reserved=0


    On November 4, the WFTL will present a webinar entitled:


    Current Situation and Challenges for the Palestinian People and Palestinian Liberation Theology, with 2 noted experts from Palestine:

    • Dr. Mitri Raheb, A prominent figure in Palestinian theology, is the first president of Dar-al-Kalima University, in Bethlehem. He served as the pastor of the Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem from 1987 until 2017. He was the President of the Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land from 2011-2016. Among his publications: Faith in the Face of Empire: The Bible through Palestinian Eyes (2014). The Politics of Persecution: Middle Eastern Christianity in the Age of Empire. (2021).
    • Varsen Aghabekian, an expert in right-based community practice, engaged in many NGOs working in policy development, on matters of Al-Quds/Jerusalem, education, youth, women and management. Among numerous positions, she was elected the Commissioner General for the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights in January 2016. Among her publications : Palestinian Christians: Emigration, Displacement and Diaspora (2017). Middle Eastern Women: The Intersection of Law, Culture and Religion (2020). The Saga of Survival: Armenian Palestinians, the British Mandate and the Nakba (2023)


    This webinar’s objective is not only to learn from Palestine and Palestinian theology of liberation, but also to explore how to connect this Palestinian context with other decolonial, theological work across the world, as represented in the WFTL. Your participation is important. This event will be in English, with a Spanish translation. Don’t forget to register, by October 25!

     https://umontreal.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIpc-mrrz0uEtDkuwcRrd5g1ADJg66odDYR#/registration

  • 09/18/2023 8:11 PM | Alessandro Rovati

    The Journal of Moral Theology invites submissions of papers on the topic of “Veritatis Splendor Three Decades On: Its Legacy for Our Times” for a special issue edited by Jana Bennett and Alessandro Rovati. The full CFP is available HERE.

    The editors are interested in gathering contributions from scholars with different theological formations and diverse backgrounds who can reflect on the fruits of the encyclical’s theological proposal, address the tensions that it left standing, and extend or critique its logic in light of today’s debates.

  • 09/18/2023 3:28 AM | Karen Kilby

    The Australian Catholic University is proposing extraordinarily dramatic cuts across the humanities, including to philosophy and theology. Details can be found in the following locations: 

    https://www.abc.net.au/religion/miles-pattenden-acu-lament-catholic-university/102856898

    Australian Catholic University cuts humanities | Times Higher Education (THE)

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/14/australian-catholic-university-condemned-over-totally-indefensible-cuts-to-humanities-programs?fbclid=IwAR22MOqUocmNhcdy5NK9095y6LhwWKtstmP-E3OVd-7FmJYsfwmzTUiyHPc

    ACU is currently in a two week consultation period about these changes. The relevant union encourages people to sign the following petition:

    https://act.newmode.net/action/nteu/acu-senate-dont-make-staff-pay-acus-overspending

    It is also possible to write to senate@acu.edu.au to express a view on these developments.

  • 09/17/2023 3:41 PM | Christine Firer Hinze

    Very thankful for the work by many CTSA (and American Catholic Historical Association) colleagues represented in this new essay in the NCR on the impacts of clergy sexual abuse on communities of color in North America. 

    Christine Firer Hinze

  • 09/13/2023 12:51 PM | B. Kevin Brown

    As Kristin Heyer noted in her Presidential Letter earlier this week, Volume 77 of the Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America is now published and can be found here. If you would like to order a print edition of the this year's Proceedings--or any previous volume of the Proceedings--you may do so here.

    Thank you to all of this year's contributors for their work to make this year's volume of the Proceedings a reality.

    At the suggestion of the Board, I will be providing some data about the readership of the electronic version of the Proceedings periodically throughout the year. Those updates will be posted here, on the CTSA Newsfeed. If you have questions or comments about or suggestions for the Proceedings, please feel free to reach me at proceedings.ctsa@gmail.com.

©2019 Catholic Theological Society of America. All Rights Reserved.
Catholic Theological Society of America is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

CTSA Privacy Policy - GDPR Compliant


Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software