Catholic Theological
Society of America

Greetings--

This morning at the Comparative Theology Reading group, the current president of the CTSA, Francis X. Clooney, SJ, was surprised with the announcement that a Festschrift in his honor will be published this November.

Co-editors Axel Takacs and  Joseph Kimmel have worked with 44 contributors over the past two years on an edited volume in Frank's honor. It will be published with Wiley-Blackwell and available at the AAR this year. 

You can learn more about the volume and peruse the table of contents in this promotional flyer. Here is an image of Frank with co-editors. Finally, here is a PDF of some pictures of Frank throughout the years. 

The volume contains an introduction, preface, and 44 contributions; it comes in at around 750 pages. 

The following is a summary of our celebratory words this morning:

Back in July of 2021, we began conversations about preparing a festschrift to honor the Rev. Dr. Francis Xavier Clooney, Societas Iesu–-better known among his colleagues and friends as Frank. Axel had always had in mind to honor his doctoral advisor, academic mentor, and, arguably, matchmaker for him and his spouse, but he had not yet put aside time to do so. Then, he received an unexpected email from Joe.

In Joe's personal growth as an Episcopal priest and scholar, Frank has played a crucial role: from serving as his MDiv advisor at Harvard Divinity School to helping guide his doctoral exams and recent dissertation, and even more importantly by serving as a mentor and model in his bi-vocational discernment towards both the priesthood and the academy.

Two summers ago, as Joe was reflecting on Frank’s critical role in my formation and his seminal impact upon dozens of other scholars, he thought that if anyone is deserving of a Festschrift, that person is surely Frank. So he began searching around to see if any such Festschrifts were in the works. Finding none, he sent an email to Axel to ask if he might be interested in co-editing a Festschrift for Frank.

We need not review in detail the impact of Frank’s academic career on the disciplines of theology, the study of religion, and South Asian studies. He has mentored dozens of doctoral candidates between his time at Boston College and Harvard Divinity School, and even more masters students.  His vision of comparative theology has formed countless scholars and insinuated its way into the American Academy of Religion, Catholic Theological Society of America, the College Theology Society, and various departments of theology and religious studies across North America, Europe, and beyond. While his scholarship alone is worthy of a festschrift, his role as mentor equals, if not surpasses the significance of his scholarship. As one contributor to the volume reminded us in an email, “[Frank] goes out of his way to include younger scholars, to ask them their opinion, to listen to them, to amplify their voices and ideas, and to make sure they are heard by others. He is generous and hospitable and humble in that regard.”

Beyond scholar and mentor, he is likewise an educator–-staying true to a method of teaching in line with his method of research: slow reading, contemplative engagement with texts, and discussion that brings the text in conversation with personal experiences in an informed, intellectually critical and creative way. And, let us not forget that he is a priest to a Catholic community in Sharon, Massachusetts, a commentator on contemporary events regarding the Catholic Church and interreligious dialogue and theology, and more. I believe he has also celebrated the marriage of not a few of his students, including Axel's.

Finally, this is an opportune moment to celebrate the fact that this year marks exactly 50 years since his Jesuit regency in Kathmandu, where, in 1973, he taught English at St. Xavier’s High School.

To tell a very long story briefly, after some initial conversations with different publishers, Axel and Joe had the good fortune of connecting with an outstanding publishing team at Wiley-Blackwell. We also were very pleased, though not surprised, to find that dozens of people wanted to participate in Frank’s Festschrift. We sent out several rounds of invitations and still there were more scholars asking to contribute, in order to honor Frank’s impact upon their lives and careers. These scholars range from long-time tenured professors to advanced doctoral students. Presently, in terms of raw data, Frank’s Festschrift runs to about 750 pages, featuring 44 chapters divided into seven major sections, from “Theories & Methods in Comparative Theology” to “Comparative Theology and the Society of Jesus” to “The Past, Present, and Future of Comparative Theology.” Currently, this Festschrift is in the final stages of publication and will be available this coming fall.

The Festschrift volume will be complete before the AAR this year in San Antonio. We will have copies with us, as will Wiley-Blackwell, at the AAR. We plan on organizing an additional celebration and official, how should we say, conferral of the Festschrift to Frank at that time. We are still in the planning stages, but please stay tuned for more information. 

Please, join us in celebrating Frank's contribution to the the academy--theological studies, the study of religion, South Asian Studies, and more.

Axel Takacs
Joseph Kimmel

The Provost at Santa Clara shared this link to the Livestream Memorial for Denise Carmody on June 3, 2023:

https://santaclarauniversity.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=9852516a-f75e-4326-936f-aff9010ef2d3

The CTSA prays and remembers Delores Rose Rashford who died on March 8, 2022.  

Obituary

Congratulations to Sr. Agnes Cunningham, SSCM - 80 years professed!

Sr. Agnes Cunningham served the CTSA as the first female in 1977 - 78.  On May 26, Sr. Agnes celebrated her 100th birthday and she also celebrates being professed 80 years this year.  

The Catholic Post e-printed the following article in the Jubilee section of their May 2023 e-edition (see The Catholic Post, p. B9).

Sister Agnes Cunningham, SSCM, 80 Years, "36 women religious observing milestone anniversaries: Two are professed for 80 years", The Catholic Post e-edition, (May 2023) p. B9, accessed on May 30, 2023 at <<https://www.thecatholicpostnewspaper.com/Catholic-Post-05282023-e-Edition/B9/>>.

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The CTSA remembers and prays for Donald Buggert, O.Carm., who died on May 23, 2023.

Eternal rest grant unto Donald, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of the faithful departed
through the Mercy of God, rest in peace.

Funeral is scheduled for May 31, at 7:00 p.m. via  the Carmelites' YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhxDopt6hjQ 

The photo and funeral information was obtained online on YouTube "Carmelites" <<accessed 5/26/23 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhxDopt6hjQ>>. 

“Laudato Si’ and the U.S. Catholic Church: A Conference Series on Our Common Home” is a biennial series to equip and inspire Catholics to more deeply integrate Laudato Si’ and its climate change teaching into the U.S. Church. The series is co-sponsored by Creighton University and Catholic Climate Covenant.

The 2023 convening will be virtual and open on June 14 with a keynote address from Ms. Christiana Figueres, former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) who brokered the Paris Agreement.

Throughout June and July, the series will host virtual 90-minute sessions on the goals of the Vatican's Laudato Si' Action Platform. Each session will feature a scholar who describes the goal, a practitioner who outlines their work to achieve the goal, and a moderated Q&A. Register here.

The CTSA prays for and remembers longstanding member Msgr. Bernard O. McGarty who died on May 8, 2023.

Eternal rest grant unto Bernard, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of the faithful departed
through the Mercy of God, rest in peace.

Obituary

*Photo and Obituary accessed on 5/23/23 at Blaschke & Schneider Funeral Homes <<https://www.blaschkeschneider.com/obituaries/rev-bernard-mcgarty>>

Dear friends,

   Please visit our website: ahprojectusa.org which is the official website for the U.S. Catholic Indigenous Boarding School Accountability and Healing Project.  Our Archives subcommittee has recently published the official results of their list of the Catholic Indigenous Boarding Schools.  There were over 400 US boarding schools of which the Catholic Church ran 87 of them in 22 states.  They have done extraordinary volunteer and professional research as a gift to work towards accountability and healing for the US Indigenous Community and for the whole Church.

     You can click on "Resources" on our website to find several pages of Catholic, secular and international websites that I compiled to help people get in touch with relevant Indigenous organizations and media outlets.   Our email is: ahprojectusa@gmail.com.

      Our Archives Subcommittee also has their own website with more in- depth reporting:  www.ctah.archivistsacwr.org.   You can contact them directly:  CatholicTruthandHealing@gmailcom.    

      Sincerely,  Margaret Mary Moore, vice-president,  U.S. Catholic Indigenous Boarding School Accountability and Healing Project.

      MMMoore@compuserve.com

    

https://www1.villanova.edu/university/liberal-arts-sciences/graduate-studies/news-events/2023/0516.html

On Saturday, May 20, 2023, the three inaugural graduates of the Villanova University doctoral program in Theology will gather on stage at the Master's and Doctoral Degree Commencement and Recognition Ceremony inside Villanova Stadium. University President the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, PhD, ’75 CLAS, will bestow upon them their academic hoods—a symbolic act recognizing their successful completion of the program and their transition from students to colleagues of the faculty.

The Rev. Rebecca Irwin-Diehl '23 PhD, Andre Price '23 PhD and Sister Theresa Dung Trang, LHC, '23 PhD, who all entered the program in 2017, will make history as the first cohort of Theology PhD students to graduate.

The PhD program was founded in 2016 as an interdisciplinary and integrative program seeking to formulate and advance theology within the Augustinian tradition of “faith engaging culture” and to emphasize the study of theology as lived experience. Students would study how faith and theology interact with cultural dynamics and would be able to see their specific research questions in the context of broader social questions.

“Several years ago, when considering new doctoral programs, I was determined that new programs should only be added if they fit Villanova’s distinctive niche and our Augustinian mission to serve the needs of society, the Church and the world,” says Father Donohue. “Villanova’s PhD in Theology program does just that—exploring the intersection of theology and culture within the Augustinian tradition, setting it apart from other Theology PhD programs across our country. St. Augustine and our Augustinian values continue to define who we are as a University community, and our Theology PhD program brings together a new community of scholars to engage in conversations about Augustine, his life and his legacy, and how they impact our lives today.”

Associate Professor Peter Spitaler, ThD, who was chair of the Villanova Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the inception of the PhD program, notes that its creation was motivated by the need to train scholars who are well-equipped to address the complicated issues facing the global church and society.

“The outlook of the program is bright,” Dr. Spitaler says. “As the world becomes more complex and diverse, the study of theology becomes increasingly relevant, and our program provides students with the intellectual tools and skills necessary to address these complex issues. These graduates have completed a rigorous program and demonstrated an unwavering commitment to their academic pursuits. They have developed new ideas, theories and methods in the fields of theology and religion, and they have enriched Villanova’s academic community. I am confident that they will continue to make meaningful contributions to the church, society and academy.”

Another defining characteristic of the Villanova Theology PhD is its Heart of Teaching program, which provides coursework in theological pedagogy in addition to faculty mentorship and supervised teaching. It serves as a practical application of an apprenticeship-in-community model inspired by Villanova’s Augustinian identity.

“The Heart of Teaching program is a beacon for doctoral education, across higher education, that generally neglects teacher formation,” says Heart of Teaching Program Director and Associate Professor Timothy Hanchin, PhD. “By forming reflective educators in light of Villanova’s distinct mission, the Heart of Teaching enfleshes Augustine’s concern for education attuned to our restless heart and mind. The Heart of Teaching recognizes that teaching is a creative craft just as intellectually rigorous as scholarship.”

This emphasis on both scholarship and teaching is essential for Adele Lindenmeyr, PhD, William and Julia Moulden Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS), who was also instrumental in the creation of the PhD program.

“Thanks to its rigorous curriculum and teacher training program, our doctoral students are prepared to be the effective teacher-scholars our communities, schools, churches and organizations need,” says Dean Lindenmeyr. “I am grateful to the doctoral faculty for their investment in the program and their students. Teaching and mentoring at the doctoral level is time-intensive, and the success of these students reflects our faculty’s commitment to preparing a new generation of theologians.”

Program Co-director and Professor Stefanie Knauss, ThD, notes that the program’s goal is to train theologians who are experts in their fields of studies, excellent scholars and dedicated teachers, but the program’s focus on “faith engaging culture” also prepares students to take on leadership positions outside of the academy.

“Our students have an openness to the world around them,” Dr. Knauss says. “They are open to other career trajectories, and we emphasize how our students’ skills can transfer to other fields, which responds to the changing professional profiles of graduates with a PhD in Theology and of the academic landscape in the humanities more broadly.”

This openness is reflected in the next steps that each new graduate will take in their careers. Dr. Irwin-Diehl will continue to serve as the Director at the Center for Continuous Learning at American Baptist Home Mission Societies in King of Prussia, a position she accepted while enrolled in the PhD program. Dr. Price will be a Louisville Institute Postdoctoral Fellow beginning Fall 2023 and will continue to pastor Mount Olivet Tabernacle Baptist Church in West Philadelphia, as he has done throughout his time at Villanova. After a semester-long research fellowship in the fall, Sister Trang will return to her native Vietnam to begin her teaching responsibilities for sisters in formation.

While the graduating students all recognize the importance of the Theology PhD program in their lives and careers, Dr. Knauss also notes that the PhD program and the students enrolled in it have had a significant impact on the culture in the department.

“The engagement with our students’ questions enriches our own research; they challenge us to consider new questions and perspectives in our teaching; and the Heart of Teaching program has motivated not only our students to be intentional about their pedagogical practices but also us as faculty,” Dr. Knauss says.

For Emory Woodard IV, PhD, Dean of CLAS Graduate Studies, the mission of the Theology doctoral program is directly aligned with the mission of the University.

“The centerpiece of the first-year experience for every Villanova undergraduate is an introduction to our Catholic and Augustinian ethos,” says Dean Woodard. “Having a doctoral program that produces scholars whose work exemplifies that ethos completes the circle. Now, not only do we ensure our students are exposed to values that are central to the Villanova experience but also do we ensure that such scholarship informs the work at community organizations, churches and other institutions of higher education across the country and around the world.”

Dr. Knauss has been the PhD program co-director since its outset, along with Professor Jonathan Yates, PhD, who notes the rapid pace of change in higher education and the world since they began planning the program more than 10 years ago. The global pandemic, the changing influence and perception of Christianity in U.S. culture, and online education, for example, have all necessitated department leaders to adjust their plans, or, in some cases, have reaffirmed their assumptions, such as the value of in-person instruction and the cultivation of an authentic academic community. Through all of the upheaval and uncertainty of recent years, Dr. Yates sees promise in the future of the program and the impact it can have at Villanova and beyond.

“This year’s Commencement ceremony will be a special one. We hope it will be a day that will make the Villanova community proud and be the first of many commencements at which we are able to send a few doctores out into the world,” says Dr. Yates. “We hope that this program might be able to contribute, at least in a small way, to the growth and to the flourishing of the church both in the U.S. and around the world. The overarching goal, of course, is to make our world a little better than it has been.”