Our two-year theme for 2022-24 is “A Journey Towards Healing and Reconciliation.“ At this moment in history we are mindful that our world and our communities are impacted by wars, violence, hostility and anxiety. These community and global challenges affect us and lead us away from our call as Christians and people of goodwill to respond to violence and hatred in love as Scripture and Sacred texts teaches.
This year’s theme is further inspired by General Congregation 36, Decree 1 – “Companions in a Mission of Reconciliation and Justice.” In the section “On mission with Christ the Reconciler,” we are called to share God’s work of reconciliation in our broken world. There is an urgency to the three dimensions of this ministry of reconciliation, namely, reconciliation with God, with one another, and with creation.
This reconciliation is always a work of justice, a justice discerned and enacted in local communities and contexts (paragraph 21). Additionally, educational apostolates and centers for communication and social research, such as ICTC, should help form people committed to reconciliation, confront obstacles to reconciliation, propose solutions, and to help in the transformation of our cultures and societies (paragraph 34).
Rev. James Martin, S.J., is a Jesuit priest, author and Editor at Large at America, the national Catholic magazine.
His most recent book is titled Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity (HarperOne). He is a frequent commentator in the media about issues of religion and spirituality and is known for his appearances on The Colbert Report and his robust social media presence.
Father Martin is the author of several award-winning books. Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor, and Laughter Are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life, (HarperOne, 2011), was named as one of “Best Books” of 2011 by Publishers Weekly. Father Martin is also the author of: The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything: A Spirituality for Real Life, My Life with the Saints, Seven Last Words; The Abbey; Jesus: A Pilgrimage; Together on Retreat: Meeting Jesus in Prayer; Becoming Who You Are: Insights on the True Self from Thomas Merton and Other Saints; Searching for God at Ground Zero; In Good Company: The Fast Track from the Corporate World to Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience; and This Our Exile: A Spiritual Journey with the Refugees of East Africa.
Besides articles in Catholic publications like America, Commonweal, U.S. Catholic, Catholic Digest and The (London) Tablet, Father Martin has written for, among other places, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, The Chicago Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, O Magazine and other newspapers and websites, including Slate.com, The Huffington Post and The New York Times’s and The Washington Post’s websites. He has commented on religion and spirituality in the national and international media, and he has appeared on all the major radio and television networks, and in venues as diverse as National Public Radio’s “Fresh Air with Terry Gross,” NPR’s “Weekend Edition” and “All Things Considered,” PBS’s “Newshour,” Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report” and Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor,” as well as ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, PBS, The History Channel, the BBC, Voice of America and Vatican Radio. Father Martin maintains an active presence on his public Facebook page and also on Twitter.
Besides his editorial, publishing and media work, Father Martin has been invited by Catholic dioceses and archdioceses to address gatherings of clergy and laity, has spoken at colleges and universities across the country, has taught at Boston College’s Summer Institute, and leads seminars and directs retreats at retreat houses. On Sundays, he assists at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola in New York City.
The rise of white Christian nationalism poses an intersectional threat to the well-being of the Black and LGBTQ communities, and to democracy itself. Inspired by the thought of Pope Francis, this presentation outlines the conversion process needed by both individuals and society for authentic racial justice and reconciliation.
Bryan N. Massingale is the James and Nancy Buckman Professor of Theological and Social Ethics, as well as the Senior Ethics Fellow in Fordham’s Center for Ethics Education. Professor Massingale is a leader in the field of theological ethics and is an expert in Catholic Moral Theology, Catholic Social Thought, African American Religious Ethics, Racial Justice, Liberation Theologies, Race and Sexuality. His current research projects explore the contribution of Black religious radicalism to Catholic theology; the notion of "cultural sin" and its challenge to Catholic theological ethics; and the intersections of race and sexuality in both social life and Catholicism. He is a past Convener of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium and a former president of the Catholic Theological Society of America. In addition to his academic pursuits, Professor Massingale strives to be a scholar-activist through serving faith-based groups advancing justice in society. He is a noted authority on issues of social and racial justice, having addressed numerous national Catholic conferences and lectured at colleges and universities across the nation. Read Professor Massingale’s complete biography and select list of publications here.
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The lecture analyzed three current challenges to the Catholic Church, especially in the United States, to the task of threefold reconciliation, namely, with creation, with humanity, and with God, and discuss the various ways to promote this reconciliation. For the first challenge, reference was made to Pope Francis's Laudato Si'; for the second, to his Fratelli Tutti, and for the third, to his Evangelii Gaudium.
Peter C. Phan, a native of Vietnam, emigrated as a refugee to the USA. in 1975. He obtained three doctorates, the Doctor of Sacred Theology from the Universitas Pontificia Salesiana, Rome, and the Doctor of Philosophy and the Doctor of Divinity from the University of London. He was also awarded the honorary Doctor of Theology from Chicago Theological Union and the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the College of Our Lady of the Elms. He began his teaching career in philosophy at the age of eighteen at Don Bosco College, Hong Kong. In the United States, he has taught at several universities and now is at Georgetown University, Washington, DC, where he is currently holding the Ignacio Ellacuría Chair of Catholic Social Thought. He is the first non-Anglo to be elected President of the Catholic Theological Society of America. In 2010 he was given the John Courtney Murray Award, the highest honor of the Catholic Theological Society of America. His publications range far and wide in theology. They deal with the theology of icon in Orthodox theology; patristic theology; eschatology; the history of mission in Asia and liberation, inculturation, and interreligious. Read Dr. Phan’s full bio here.
The annual Catholic Heritage Series, launched in 2010, engage the intellectual and religious communities of the Seattle area and the Seattle University community to explore aspects of the Catholic Intellectual Traditions and the intersection of Catholicism and culture.
We are thrilled to announce that the Catholic Heritage Lectures will be re-named the Patrick Howell, S.J. Catholic Heritage Series. This is made possible thanks to the generosity of Timmie Hollomon; this gift will underwrite the Patrick Howell, S.J. Catholic Heritage Series for years to come. Fr. Pat Howell, who passed away last November, was a founder of the Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture. Inspired by the vision of Vatican II, he was passionate about bringing the Catholic intellectual tradition to life. In his own words, “the ICTC’s Catholic Heritage Lectures are committed to providing spaces and conversations where these deeper, soul-searching examinations can occur - with the hope that they open up the ancient places, the foundations of one’s soul, and the delight that one is getting closer to the truth.”