12/10/2008 Methodist – Catholic Dialogue Meets in D.C.
10/24/2008 STRS Faculty Member Attends NCC Meeting
10/24/2008 Liturgy Professor Appointed to Commission for Eastern Catholic Bishops of Europe
10/24/2008 STRS Faculty Participates in Catholic-Orthodox Dialogue
STRS Faculty members Msgr. Paul McPartlan, Fr. John Galvin, and Fr. Joseph Komonchak will be participating in the 75th meeting of the North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation, which is being held, October 23-25, at the Manoir d'Youville, Chateauguay, Québec, Canada. They are continuing their discussion of "primacy in the Church."
10/16/2008 STRS Professor Publishes New Book
10/16/2008 Tune into STRS Professor on Interfaith Voices
10/16/2008 Chorbishop Beggiani Honored by Theological College
10/16/2008 STRS Welcomes Fulbright Scholar Manasra
The School of Theology and Religious Studies is pleased to host a visiting scholar during the fall semester under the Fulbright Interfaith Community Action Program. Our guest is Mr. Ghassan Manasra, director of the Qadiri Sufi Center in Nazareth, Israel. Under this program, scholars come to the United States for ten weeks to observe interreligious programs and activities in order to take lessons and insights back to their home countries.
Aside from hosting Mr. Manasra, the university has also been selected by the Fulbright program as the venue for the plenary conference that caps the program. In early December, all ten Fulbright ICAP scholars will converge on our campus along with representatives of their host institutions and the U.S. State Department to hear presentations and hold conversations on insights gained during their time here.
10/14/2008 STRS Scholars at Villanova
Dr. William Mattison, CUA doctoral student James Stroud, and CUA Philosophy Professor Angela McKay addressed the annual Patristic, Medieval, and Renaissance Conference at Villanova University, October 10-12, 2008. Each of them gave related papers on the role of grace, in the infused virtues and gifts of the Holy Spirit, in the moral life. Both McKay and Mattison have published in this area, and Stroud is also working in this area for his dissertation at CUA. The talks are examples of the sort of collegiality and mentorship that the Schools of both Philosophy and Theology and Religious Studies strive to embody.
9/30/2008 Dean's Vespers 2008
09/26/2008 CUA Professor at Mediterranean Meeting
Msgr Paul McPartlan, CUA's Carl J. Peter Professor of Systematic Theology and Ecumenism, who was recently appointed as a papal chaplain by Pope Benedict XVI, is participating in a meeting of the Joint Coordinating Committee of the international Catholic-Orthodox dialogue from 27 September to 4 October on the island of Crete. As indicated in the Ravenna Document agreed last October, the dialogue is now beginning its consideration of 'the role of the bishop of Rome in the communion of all the Churches' (n.45).
08/26/2008 New Professor to Speak at Loyola University
Dr. Chad Pecknold, who has recently joined our faculty in the Systematic Theology area, will speak on "Catholic Identity, Politics, and the Election" at Loyola University in Baltimore, Maryland at 12:15pm, October 2, 2008. The event is sponsored by the Committee on Catholic Social Thought and the Catholic Studies Program at Loyola University Maryland.
09/26/2008 STRS Professor Speaks at Cambridge
Dr William C. Mattison III attended the Society for the Study for Christian Ethics this September in Cambridge, UK. There he delivered a paper which both surveyed the history of commentary on the Lord's Prayer and attempted to continue that history of commentary by interpreting the seven traditional petitions of the Our Father in light of the seven foundational virtues of the Christian life. The paper is an expansion of the concluding chapter of his recently released Introducing Moral Theology: True Happiness and the Virtues (Brazos Press, 2008), and will soon be published in this expanded format.
09/11/2008 Fr. Mark Morozowich presides at the Second Congress of the Society of Oriental Liturgy in Rome
The Society of Oriental Liturgy convenes its second International Congress on September 17-22, 2008 in Rome at the Casa La Salle Conference center. More than 60 liturgists from countries throughout the world including Russia, India, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Greece, Belgium, France, Germany and others will discuss various matters of regarding Eastern liturgies. Fr. Mark Morozowich will deliver his presidential address entitled, "Liturgical Tradition and Natural Disaster: The Role of Liturgical Scholarship." This non-confessional academic group provides professors with a forum to present their recent work and discuss issues with their colleagues from throughout the world. Fr. Mark Morozowich, the current president, and Fr. Robert Taft, the first president of the Society, founded this academic society in 2006 that now boasts a membership of over 100 scholars worldwide.
08/26/2008 Dean Irwin Welcomes New Graduate Students
On Monday afternoon August 25th Msgr. Kevin W. Irwin, Dean of STRS, delivered the following remarks to welcome the new graduate students to CUA.
08/22/2008 STRS Professor Participates in Biblical Colloquium
Dr. Robert Miller was in Leuven, Belgium from August 5th to the 7th to participate in the 57th annual Colloquium Biblicum Lovaniense. The Colloquium Biblicum Lovaniense is an annual international conference on Biblical Studies jointly organized by the theological faculties of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and the Université Catholique de Louvain. The Colloquium Biblicum Lovaniense was first organized in 1949. It offers a forum and meeting place for research and scholarly discussion in the field of Biblical Studies. As a rule, the annual conference focuses on a single biblical book, and this year the theme was "The Composition of the Psalter."
Specifically, Dr. Miller presented a paper, "The Origin of the Zion Hymns." Looking at that subset of Psalms which glorify Jerusalem's Mount Zion in hymnic form, Dr. Miller used sociological analysis to propose a setting in the Kingdom of Judah where the hymns served to instill confidence in the Davidic monarchy and in the priestly hierarchy.
08/19/2008 Supervised Pastoral Year - Now Online!
Seminarians can now participate in an online supervised ministry course as part of their pastoral year. This resource provides significant assistance to the diocese, the vocation director, the pastor, and most importantly the seminarian as he begins his pastoral practice as a student in a parish. The facilitator, Reverend Kevin Kennedy, combines the academic life with being a fulltime pastor at St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Cheverly, Maryland. Father Kennedy will provide an environment of discussion and learning to facilitate the seminarian's pastoral experience. The online course offers a wealth of resources enabling the seminarian to draw upon the pastoral expertise of many diverse people expanding his circle from just the local pastoral team and his vocation director. This dynamic opportunity engages the seminarian by theological reflections while fulfilling a work contract with the local pastor.
08/14/2008 STRS Faculty Member Honored with Festschrift
Francis T. Gignac, S.J., has been honored with a festschrift published as volume 44 in the Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series.
08/11/2008 Dean Delivers Keynote Address
Msgr. Kevin W. Irwin delivered the keynote address at the annual convention of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians in Los Angeles, California on Tuesday August 5th. It was entitled "Worship in Spirit and in Truth" and emphasized the theology and spirituality of the celebration of the liturgy.
The following afternoon he presented a Seminar on the proposed translations of The Roman Missal and the catechetical project he is involved with ("the Leeds Group") which will be a catechesis about the Mass to be timed with the publication of the revised Missal.
07/30/2008 STRS Grads Begin Teaching Careers
We are delighted that the following recent graduates are starting their teaching careers:
07/28/2008 STRS Professor Participates in European Forum
Dr. Willam Dinges will be in Austria from August 14th to the 22ndto participate in the European Forum Alpach (Austria) held annually since 1945. Speakers and participants from all parts of the world, from science, economics and politics, experienced experts and students, come together to discuss the current issues and to formulate interdisciplinary solutions. Since its inception, more than 3,000 people from over 50 countries have taken up the invitation to participate. "Perception and decision" is the general topic of the 64th European Forum Alpbach. This forum will explore the question of how perception and interpretation lead to diagnosis and ultimately to forecasts that have an influence on our decisions.
In particular, Dr. Dinges is co-chairing a seminar, "On the dynamics of fundamentalism: Psycho-social analysis between anxiety and hope," with Dr. Kurt Remele, Lecturer on Ethics and Christian Social Science at Graz University. On the basis of significant examples this seminar aims at clarifying how fundamentalisms develop, intending to support own decisions for dealing with this phenomenon. As social and psychic aspects work together, superficial and one-sided perceptions will be guided to a deeper understanding by psycho-social analyses in order to find ways of acting reliantly. This includes the question how opinion leaders who are conscious of the dynamic of fundamentalisms may arrive at decisions which are neither fearful nor defensive and don't give up hope.
07/21/2008 STRS Alum Directs World Youth Day Liturgies
STRS Alum, Fr. Peter Williams of the Diocese of Paramatta, Australia has been appointed Director of Liturgy for World Youth Day 2008.
07/21/2008 STRS Proudly Welcomes New Faculty for Fall 2008
This fall the School of Theology and Religious Studies will be adding eight new professors to our faculty in the areas of Biblical Studies, Church History, Pastoral Studies, and Systematic Theology. We look forward to working with all of them in the coming semester.
06/20/2008 STRS Congratulates Fr. James Wiseman
James Wiseman was awarded a Coolidge Fellowship by Cross Currents magazine. He and approximately eight other scholars will reside at Union Theological Seminary in New York City during the entire month of July while working on current projects and participating in regular colloquia to discuss their works in progress.
06/10/2008 CUA Professor at Quebec Conference on Eucharist
Fr Paul McPartlan, Carl J.Peter Professor of Systematic Theology and Ecumenism, is attending an International Theological Symposium on the Eucharist at the Universite Laval, Quebec, 11-13 June, ahead of the International Eucharistic Congress being held in Quebec, 15-22 June. Fr McPartlan is speaking on the relationship between the Eucharist and the Church in the teaching of the fathers of the Church.
05/17/2008 Dean Irwin Addresses Graduates
On Saturday May 18, 2008 following the main commencement ceremony, Msgr. Kevin Irwin spoke at the STRS graduation ceremony in Caldwell Hall.
04/11/2008 STRS Faculty in the Media
In preparation for the visit of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to Washington Dean Msgr. Kevin W. Irwin has been in the media. His interview with the local ABC affiliate was aired twice last week on WJLA TV here in Washington. He was as quoted in the April 10, 2008 issue of Voice of America in the article entitled "Washington and New York Prepare for Pope Benedict Visit." Msgr. irwin will also offer live commentary on the Catholic Channel on SIRIUS radio for the Mass which the Holy Father will celebrate on Thursday April 17th from 10AM.
04/11/2008 Faculty on the Move
Rev. Dr. Paul McPartlan will speak at the annual Albert Cardinal Myer Lectures at Our Lady of the Lake Seminary, Mundelein Illinois. This year the lectures will focus on the writings of Cardianl Avery Dulles (a former STRS faculty member) Fr. McPartlan's talk is on "Engaging the World in the Writings of Avery Dulles."
Rev. Dr. Donald Heet is in St. Louis this week-end (April 10-12th) assisting in the drafting of a series of essays as a commentary on the 1982 USCCB Committee on Priestly Life's document on preaching the Homily at Sunday Mass,Fulfilled In Your Hearing.
04/08/2008 STRS faculty Member is Featured Respondant at Catholic Peace Dialogue
Dr. William Barbieri, associate dean for graduate studies, will be a featured respondent at The Future of Catholic Peacebuilding--a reflective dialog on the dimensions of Catholic peace. Twenty five years after the U.S. Catholic Bishops' 1983 pastoral, "The Challenge of Peace," called for further development of a theology of peace, peacebuilding has received much greater attention in both secular and Church circles. On the anniversary of the peace pastoral, an interdisciplinary group of scholars and practitioners, from various sectors of the Catholic community, will come together to reflect on the theological, ethical, and practical dimensions of the Church's work on conflict prevention, conflict resolution, and post-conflict reconciliation. Events in the series include panel discussions at Catholic University, April 7, 3-5 pm, Georgetown University, April 7, 7:30-9 pm, and a conference at Notre Dame University, April 13-15, 2008.
04/01/2008 The Roland E. Murphy Lecture
Paul J. Achtemeier will deliver the Annual Roland E. Murphy Lecture on Tuesday, April 8th, at 7:00 P.M. in the Happel Room in Caldwell Hall. The title of his talk is First Peter 3:18-22: Descent or Ascent?
03/17/2008 Prof. Komonchak Delivers Pere Marquette
On Sunday March 9, 2008 Rev. Dr. Joseph Komonchak delivered the annual Pere Marquette Lecture at Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Entitled "Who Are The Church" the lecture has also been published by the Marquette University Press.
This annual lecture series was begun in 1969. The names of those who have delivered them is a veritable "who's who" of premier theologians. Among them are Bernard Lonergan, John Macquarrie, Avery Dulles, S.J., Walter Kasper, Gregory Baum, Walter Principe, Lisa Sowle Cahill and Otto Hermann Pesch.
02/25/2008 Dr. Matera Lectures in Ireland
From March 3rd to the 7th, Rev. Dr. Frank Matera of the Biblical Studies Area in STRS will lecture at St. Patrick's College,
02/25/2008 Prof. Joseph Capizzi Spokesperson at Vatican Press Conference
Prof. Joseph Capizzi, Associate Professor of Moral Theology, spoke at a press conference in
02/20/2008 STRS/WTC Tachmindji Event
On Wednesday February 20th from 4 to 7 PM CUA hosted an event sponsored by the Washington Theological Consortium at which Dr. McPartlan and Metropolitan Kallistos Ware spoke on the documents published by this dialogue last year in Ravenna. All are invited to attend.
02/14/2008 STRS Alum Responsible For Papal Mass Music
Mr. Thomas Stehle, Music Director for the
02/11/2008 STRS Faculty Member at Catholic/Orthodox Meeting in Rome
Msgr. Paul McPartlan, Carl J. Peter Professor of Systematic Theology and Ecumenism, is taking part in the plenary meeting of the International Theological Commission (1-5 December) in Rome. The commission is giving final consideration to a document on the natural law and is continuing its discussion on the theme of the meaning and method of theology.
01/31/2008 STRS Alum in the Media
Dr. Kathleen Flake (M.S. 1995, STRS) is a Mormon who has been in the news of late. As an Associate Professor of American Religious History at Vanderbilt several news outlets (including National Public Radio) have sought her out to comment on Mormon beliefs, practices and personalities - especially because of the candidacy to Mr. Mitt Romney for the presidency and the death over the week-end of Gordon B. Hinckley, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints. Her particular interest in the effects of pluralism on religious identity came through in her NPR interview yesterday (Jan. 28, 2008). She praised Mr. Hinckley for his tireless efforts to make Mormonism a worldwide religion, and not one that was America-centered or based. Her field of specialization at CUA was in Liturgy, in particular ritual studies. Her first journal article came out of a major research paper she did here on the Mormon Temple Rite. Prior to coming to STRS she was an attorney in Washington for ten years. Her doctorate is from the University of Chicago.
01/24/2008 Church Historian's Collected Essays Published
Dr. Nelson Minnich's latest academic achievement is the publication of Councils on the Catholic Reformation,
01/28/2008 Distinguished Faculty Member on the Road and in Print
Ordinary Professor of Church History and editor of The Catholic Historical Review, Dr. Nelson Minnich delivered a paper on: "The Pontificate of Leo X: Success or Failure?" at the at the Eighty-Eighth Annual Meeting of the American Catholic Historical Association on January 4, 2008
01/24/2008 Adjunct Professors from DC assist STRS
In addition to several professors who live in the DC area and regularly assist in teaching courses, this semester STRS welcomed Rev. Dr. Thomas Weinandy, Rev. Dr. James Greenfield, and Rev. Dr. Kevin Kennedy.
01/24/2008 Doctoral Candidate Pens Op-Ed Post Piece
Former Capitol Hill staffers Liz McCloskey and Peter Leibold's thoughtful piece, Political Orphans in 2008, appeared in the Washington Post on January 22nd the day of the annual March for Life. Liz is a doctoral candidate in STRS. The article's subtitle, Is There Space for Our Pro-Life Ethic? capsules their thoughtful piece, about political parties, platforms and a consistent ethic of life.
01/14/2008 Dean Speaks to Cathedral Musicians
On Friday January 11th Dean Kevin W. Irwin addressed the meeting of Roman Catholic Cathedral Musicians at their annual convention in
01/08/2008 Dean Delivers Keynote Address at Homiletics Seminar
On Monday evening, January 7, Dean Kevin W. Irwin delivered the keynote address at the Third Annual Tschope Homiletics Seminar at the
