What difference does being a Catholic Christian make in a world of powerful institutions and processes that shape identities, loyalties and allegiances?
Has Catholicism’s embrace of nationalism and other powerful forms of political/cultural identity limited, inhibited or thwarted the call of the Gospel to form communities of discipleship across human borders and divisions? How can the Church respect and celebrate the diversity of its members – many nations, cultures and communities – while maintaining a coherent witness to the Kingdom of God that is not undermined by more parochial ideologies or priorities?
This project explores theological, political and pastoral issues related to the Catholic encounter with processes and institutions that form politically salient loyalties and identities in the modern and postmodern world. As people worldwide inescapably find themselves part of multiple and overlapping communities of identity and belonging (e.g., racial, political, cultural, sexual, ideological), it is far from obvious how these can and should stand in relative importance to the unity in Christ effected in baptism and sustained by the Eucharist.
All of the sessions in this part of the conference will explore the relationship around the world between church in state, on the personal, political, pastoral, and theological levels. How do we, in our individual lives & our institutional lives, live out our Catholic identity in the context of our political/cultural identity?
Sunday, April 14
Opening Plenary
Bishop Paride Taban, Bishop Emeritus, Catholic Diocese of Torit (Torit, Sudan); Founder, Holy Trinity Peace Village Kuron (Kuron, Sudan)
Stanley Hauerwas, Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theological Ethics, Duke Divinity School
Moderator: Peter Casarella (CWCIT Director, DePaul University)
Monday, April 15
Thinking Theologically About Identities, Allegiances & Being a Christian
Dorian Llywelyn, SJ, Associate Professor, Theology; Director, Catholic Studies, Loyola Marymount University
Emmanuel Katongole, Associate Professor, Theology & Peace Studies, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame
Religious Liberty & Political Tensions: A View from the Vatican
John L. Allen, Jr., Senior Correspondent, National Catholic Reporter; Senior Vatican Analyst, CNN
Tuesday, April 16
Catholicity & Incarnated Identities: European Cases & Theological Reflections
Daniel Izuzquiza, SJ, Director, Centro Pueblos Unidos (Madrid, Spain)
Martin Menke, Professor, History & Government, Rivier University
Slavica Jakelic, Associate Fellow, Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, University of Virginia
Catholicity & Incarnated Identities: African Cases & Theological Reflections
Eunice Karanja Kamaara, Professor of Religious Studies, Moi University (Eldoret, Kenya); International Affiliate Professor, Indiana University-Purdue University
Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator, SJ, Provincial, Jesuit Province of East Africa (Nairobi, Kenya)
Catholicity & Incarnated Identities: Latin American Cases & Theological Reflections
Matthew J. Butler, Associate Professor of Modern Mexican History, University of Texas at Austin
Maria Clara Bingemer, Associate Professor, Theology; Vice Dean, Center of Theology & Human Sciences, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
Catholicity & Incarnated Identities: North American Cases & Theological Reflections
William T. Cavanaugh, Professor of Catholic Studies & Senior Research Professor, CWCIT, DePaul University
Braden Anderson, Author of Chosen Nation: Scripture, Theopolitics & the Project of National Identity
Wednesday, April 17
Catholicity & Incarnated Identities: Asian Cases & Theological Reflections
K. M. Rukshan Fernando, Human Rights Activist & Chair, Rights Now (Colombo, Sri Lanka)
José Mario Francisco, SJ, President, Loyola School of Theology, Ateneo de Manila University (Manila, Philippines)
Political Theology, Political Practice & Questions of Allegiance
A. Alexander Stummvoll, Instructor, Catholic Studies & Research Fellow, CWCIT, DePaul University
Paul D. Murray, Professor, Systematic Theology & Director, Centre for Catholic Studies, Durham University (Durham, England)
Identities, Allegiances & Nationalism in Eastern Catholic & Orthodox Christian Contexts
Peter Galadza, Kule Family Professor of Liturgy, Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies; Faculty of Theology, Saint Paul University (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada)
Pantelis Kalaitzidis, Director, Volos Academy for Theological Studies (Volos, Greece); Professor, Systematic Theology, Hellenic Open University (Patras, Greece)
Victor Roudometof, Associate Professor, Social & Political Sciences, University of Cyprus (Nicosia, Cyprus)