Catholic Theological
Society of America

 Women Deacons and the Synod: A Conversation with Phyllis Zagano, Dr. Zagano provides a compelling, well-researched challenge to the Church to re-examine the historical and doctrinal basis for excluding women from the diaconate. She addresses the Synod’s potential to bring about meaningful change and poses a crucial question to the Church hierarchy.

Click on the blue font title posted above to access the recorded interview.

Matthew Howard, Executive Producer
Common Home TV

Dear CTSA Colleagues

I am thrilled to share great news with you.   As you may know, last October and this October, CTSA Vice President Cathy Clifford did serve and is serving as an official delegate to the Synod in Rome.  Yesterday I learned that she was elected to serve on the Commission for the Drafting of the Final Document of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. This commission has 14 members, only two of whom are women and Cathy is one of them.  Congratulations Cathy on your historic election!!  Here is a link announcing the commission.   

https://www.synod.va/en/news/commission-for-the-drafting-of-the-final-document.html

Also, if you would like to submit a comment to any of the 10 Study Groups, there is still time to do so.  In this communique, Cardinal Grech invites all members of the church to make submissions to any of the 10 Study Groups, whose work will extend to at least June 2025:

https://www.synod.va/en/news/communication-from-the-secretary-general-of-the-synod-his-eminence-card-mario-grech.html

Nancy Pineda-Madrid, CTSA President

Dr. Jung Eun Sophia Park, SNJM, will be presenting on “Spirituality in the Age of Dislocation” next week on Tuesday, October 15. The 90-minute webinar begins at 7 p.m. EDT (UTC -4). A recording will be available after the live presentation for all registered participants.

Click here to register on our website.

Jung Eun Sophia Park, SNJM, is professor emerita at Holy Names University in California. Her academic interests are global justice and spirituality, postcolonial feminism, psychoanalytic theory, and mysticism. Park has authored many books, including A Hermeneutic on Dislocation as Experience, Conversations at the Well, Border-Crossing Spirituality and An Asian Woman’s Religious Journey with Thomas Merton.

People who live in the global world experience more dislocation and in-between spaces. The feeling of dislocation is linked to spiritual distress such as loneliness and anxiety, yet the in-between space functions as a leverage of spiritual force for transformation. This presentation explores various experiences of dislocation and examines multivalent meanings of in-betweenness. In reflecting on the nature of life as a pilgrim, seekers discover dislocation as a human experience, not just a phenomenon but an invitation to fully embrace life. The spirituality of dislocation includes creating hybrid identities, staying at every moment of life, and remaining in borderland with a simple heart of kindness and hospitality.

 
The webinar will consist of a presentation and an opportunity to engage with Dr. Park. You will be invited to offer your questions and comments by text to a moderator who will then bring them into conversation with the presenter.

I invite you to join us for this webinar and also to share this opportunity with colleagues and others who might be interested. Recordings of the previous events are available on the Webinars On Demand page of our website. 

Margaret Brennan Institute on the Intersection of Faith and Culture

Join me in attending this consequential and timely conversation.    Many thanks to Mary Kate Holman, SimonMary Aihiokhai, and Eli McCarthy for making this conversation possible. You can register below.  I will see you there.  Nancy Pineda-Madrid, CTSA President. 

Virtual Event: Teaching Catholic Theology in the Present Political Moment

Tuesday, October 22nd, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. [ET]

This conversation brings together three scholars with politically-engaged research and teaching experience to explore resources and strategies for engaging challenging political conversations in Catholic theology courses, particularly during this election cycle.

An email was sent out yesterday to all members and theologians who have applied for membership to register to attend this event.  A Zoom link will be sent out to the registrants on the morning of the event.

As our 2024 calendar turns to October 7, the war between Israel and Hamas is now one year old.  Recent days have seen the terrifying escalation and expansion of this war with no end in sight.  The number of human beings who have been brutally killed keeps rising, tens of thousands of Palestinians, mostly women and children, and roughly two thousand Israelis. As theologians and members of the CTSA, I ask that we consider Pope Francis' summon to prayer and fasting today.  May the fighting and killing end now.  May the seeds of peace be sown now.      

Nancy Pineda-Madrid, CTSA President

The CTSA remembers and prays for longstanding member Sr. Anne M. Clifford, CSJ, who died on October 2, 2024.

Eternal rest grant unto, Anne, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon her.
May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Celebration of Anne's Theological Contributions to the CTSA:

Clifford, A. (2017). Pope Francis’ "Laudato Si’" On Care for our Common Home: An Ecofeminist Response. Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, 72. Retrieved from https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/ctsa/article/view/10090

Clifford, A. M. (2006), Convener. Theological Anthropology in Dialogue with Racial and National Identity. Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, 61. Retrieved from https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/ctsa/article/view/4840

Clifford, A. M. (2005). Science, Naturalism, and Resurrection—A Response to John F. Haught. Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, 60. Retrieved from https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/ctsa/article/view/4675

Clifford, A. M. (2005) Convener. Body Symbolism in Catholic Theology, Theological Anthropology. Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, 60. Retrieved from https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/ctsa/article/view/4722

Clifford, A. M. (2004), Convener. "What Is the Place of Sacrifice in Christian Identity?" and "How Are Sex, Sin and Grace to be Conceived in the Midst of the Church's  Sex Abuse Crisis?" Theological Anthropology. Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, 59. Retrieved from https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/ctsa/article/view/2129

Clifford, A. M. (1997), Convener. Theological Perspectives on the Body, Theological Anthropology. Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, 52. Retrieved from https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/ctsa/article/view/4229

Clifford, A. M. (1996).  Pneumatology in Theological Anthropology. Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, 51. Retrieved from https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/ctsa/article/view/4154

Sisters of St. Joseph, Baden Pennyslvania
1020 State Street, Baden, PA  15005

Prayer Viewings: Tuesday, October 8 from 1 p.m. to the close of Prayer Vigil, and on Wednesday, October 9 from 11 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. (Medaille Hall)

Prayer Vigil: Tuesday, October 8 at 6 p.m., Medaille Hall

Mass of Christian Burial: Wednesday, October 9 at 4 p.m., Sisters of Joseph Motherhouse Chapel

Anne M. Clifford, CSJ, Obituary

Invitation to write a book review for https://catholicbooksreview.org/

 You select the book, I mail it to you, you send me the electronic review, and I post it (about 1,500 to 2,000 reviews posted since 2001). Write to Hegy@adelphi.edu/   He is the list of books available in October:

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM. Theologian of the Eucharist By Kenneth J. Howell (320 pp – CUA Press) [“This volume explicates John Chrysostom’s Theology of the Eucharist by placing it in relation to many other aspects (of his theology)” p. 24. Numerous quotations followed by commentaries and explanations]

I PETER. Revised edition. Tyndale NT Commentaries. By Wayne A. Grudem (260 pp – IVP Academic) [First published in 1988. A long introduction about date and authorship, followed by a commentary of the various sections]

REDISCOVERING THE WISDOM OF THE CORINTHIANS. Paul, Stoicism, and Spiritual Hierarchy By Timothy Brookins (340 pp – Eerdmans [In 1 Corinthians 1-4 Paul condemns the internal divisions. The “wisdom” of 1 Cor 1-4 refers to the Stoic philosophy that prevailed in Corinth; some members considered themselves as “wiser” philosophically and “superior” intellectually; this led to conflictive divisions. Paul refutes this philosophical interpretation of his teachings]

THE FUTURE OF CATHOLIC BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION. Marie-Joseph Lagrange and Beyond Edited by James Prothro and Isaac Morales (340 pp – Eerdmans) [The need of a balance between a scientific and a spiritual-pastoral interpretation is traced back to the accomplishments of Marie-Joseph Lagrange, the founder of the biblical school of Jerusalem; it is discussed by 15 biblical scholars]

CHRISTIANS AT HOME. John Chrysostom and Domestic Rituals in Fourth-Century Antioch By Blake Leyerle (140 pp – Penn State University Press) [Drawing from Chrysostom’s sermons, the author describes the home devotions of the Antioch Christians.

THE MEANING OF SALVATION. Redemption and Hope for Today. First published in London in 1965 By Michael Green (1930-2019) (240 pp – Eerdmans) [This is a textual and historical analysis of salvation in its many meanings in the history of Israel, the Jews of the first century, and the teachings of John the Baptist, Jesus, the Evangelists, and Paul; in all cases salvation is hope in concrete situations.]   

JESUS AND DIVINE CHRISTOLOGY By Brant Pitre (360 pp – Eerdmans)

[In the tradition of the study of the historical Jesus, Pitre shows that Jesus made claims of divinity for himself]

EUCHARISTIC RESERVATION.  Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharistic Mystery Outside Mass. By Paul Turner (180 pp – Liturgical Press)[Commentary section by section on the new edition of Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharistic Mystery Outside Mass of 2024]

Together with

ONE ORDINARY SUNDAY. A Meditation on the Mystery of the Mass By Paula Huston (250 pp – Liturgical Press) [This book “began as an attempt to explain the mysterious power of the Mass in my own life” (xxiv). Much of it is autobiographical rather than scholarly. I do not know to what extent it is of academic interest] Short reviews will do.

CATHOLIC DOGMATIC THEOLOGY: A SYNTHESIS. Book 3. On the Church and the Sacraments. by Jean-Hervé Nicolas, OP (750 pp – CUA Press) [Translated from German. First published in 1985]

REMARRIAGE IN EARLY CHRISTIANITY By Andrew Das (320 pp – Eerdmans) [Review of the Jewish and Greco-Roman sources and the witness of the early church]

The nineteenth-century Salesian Pentecost (Classics of Western Spirituality) edited by Joseph Boenzi (270 pp – Paulist Press) [The Salesian family, the Sisters and the Daughters of Francis de Sales, the Fransalians]

WHILE I BREATHE, I HOPE. A Mystagogy of Dying by Richard Gaillardetz (200 pp – Liturgical Press)[Diagnosed with terminal cancer, Richard Gaillardetz wrote short reflections as a mystagogy to the approach of death and the mystery of God]

GIFTS FROM FRIENDS WE NEVER WANTED. Biblical Journeys of Grace. By Virginia Herbers (120 pp – Liturgical Press) [The unwelcome friends of failure, disappointment, and worries are sources of grace. This is illustrated by 10 characters of the NT]

Everyday Annunciations. On Learning to Say Yes By Susan Swetnam (120 pp – Liturgical Press)  [Swetnam recounts how she came to accept her husband’s death when contemplating Fra Angelico’s Annunciation. Using numerous stories of disrupted lives, she describes how to say “Yes” through six paintings of the Annunciation.]

September 10, 2024

Paul McMahon will be the first layperson to serve in this role in the 160-year history of the Catholic publishing company.

McMahon has recently served as Editorial Director of Paulist Press. He will succeed Paulist Father Mark-David Janus, who has served as President and Publisher since 2010 and will now assume the role of Publisher Emeritus.

“It is an honor and a privilege to be selected and appointed by the Paulist Fathers as the first lay President and Publisher of Paulist Press. I am aware that this appointment follows an amazing 160-year history of Paulist Fathers who have guided the vision of their founder, Fr. Isaac Hecker, CSP, in sharing the gospel of Jesus and the rich traditions of American Catholicism.

It is with a sense of pride that I build on the mantle of the Press’s most recent publishers: Frs. Kevin Lynch, Lawrence Boadt, and Mark-David Janus, who have each embraced the teachings of the Second Vatican Council by publishing books that resonate with the intersection of faith and contemporary culture. It is my hope and vision to collaborate with the Paulist Fathers, the board of directors, and the entire lay staff of the Press in building upon this impressive tradition and advancing the mission to meet the needs of our church and society.”

 

In appointing a lay President and Publisher, the Paulist Fathers demonstrate their strong commitment to lay involvement in their mission and ministry and to listening to the signs of the times as reflected in the Council and the teaching of Pope Francis.

Fr. Romulo Vasquez Gavida, OP, Prior Provincial in Peru, has asked that we keep Fr. Gustavo Gutierrez, OP, in our prayers.  His health is fragile at this time.   I have no further information.  May our brother Gustavo know the healing love of God.  

Nancy Pineda-Madrid

CTSA President

The Margaret Brennan Institute, a ministry of the Monroe, MI IHM Sisters, is sponsoring a webinar featuring CTSA member Natalia Imperatori-Lee on 9/18/24 @ 7:00 p.m. (EDT).  The title of her presentation is "Stories We Tell: Latinix Narratives and the Future of Catholicism." It is free and open to the public. For further info and registration: (copy and paste in your browser):

https://margaretbrennaninstitute.org