Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture

One Church in Many Textures: the Cultural Diversity of Global Catholicism and its Potential Impacts for the Church in America

Americans constitute only a bit more than 5% of the global Catholic population, but too often we perceive the Church, and imagine its future, only through our own cultural lens. By sharing and reflecting upon research on Catholic life and practice in 30 countries, this multimedia talk will highlight some of the quite surprising diversity Catholic life around that world, and pose a number of theses and questions about how that diversity affects us in the USA.

Thursday, October 3, 2019
Thomas M. Landy, College of the Holy Cross

Thomas M. Landy, a sociologist with a specialization in the sociology of religion and Catholicism, is director of the Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J. Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture at the College of the Holy Cross. His primary research is in global Catholicism, and he founded and leads research for Catholics & Cultures, a web-based initiative to explore the religious lives and practices of lay Catholics in their particular cultural contexts around the world. Landy holds a Ph.D. in sociology from Boston University, an M.Div. from Weston School of Theology, an M.A. in international relations from the University of Chicago and a B.A. in history from Fairfield University.

All lectures are free and are held at 7pm in Student Center 160 (LeRoux Room) at Seattle University

• Learn more about this year’s Catholic Heritage Lectures!

Current Conversations

Share the Journey

Pope Francis has called on us to join him in the “Share the Journey” initiative to highlight the plight of migrants and refugees around the world who have been driven from their homes. He asks us to love our neighbor and travel with them as they seek the lives of dignity and fulfillment that God intends for us all. Visit sharejourney.org to find a diverse collection of resources that will help you and others gain insight into the migration experience. These resources include suggestions on how to engage your community on these topics during Mass, school, and community gatherings.

"Poverty has a face, and it also has a voice."

But that voice often does not penetrate the wall of fear, misconception and prejudice that can separate people who are poor from those of us who have what we need. The voice of poverty can be drowned out or ignored in the halls of government, where other legitimate demands for resources also resound.>

In our listening sessions, we heard “the cry of poor” (Psalm 34). We are writing this pastoral letter to all people of good faith and to political leaders because we heard in the voices of people who are poor both a plea for mercy and a desire to participate fully in the life of their communities."

--from A Pastoral Letter from the Catholic Bishops of the State of Washington.

Seattle University Joins Statement of AJCU Presidents on Undocumented Students

As Presidents of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities we feel spiritually and morally compelled to raise a collective voice confirming our values and commitments as Americans and educators. We represent colleges and universities from across our nation with more than 215,000 students and 21,000 faculty, and over 2 million living alumni.

Grounded in our Catholic and Jesuit mission, we are guided by our commitment to uphold the dignity of every person, to work for the common good of our nation, and to promote a living faith that works for justice. We see our work of teaching, scholarship and the formation of minds and spirits as a sacred trust.

"I want to help connect and heal people."

Read more about what the ICTC has meant to Victoria, Nursing, class of 2017.

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