Heyer Set to Assume CTSA Presidency

Professor of Theology Kristin E. Heyer (at right) will become the president this summer of the Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA), the principal association of Catholic theologians in North America and the largest professional society of theologians in the world.

Heyer, who has been a member of the Theology Department since 2015, currently serves as president-elect of CTSA. She will assume the presidency at the conclusion of the society’s annual convention being held in Milwaukee June 8-11.

“I am honored to have the privilege of serving in this leadership role for a guild that has been vital to my own development as a theologian, following in the footsteps of colleagues I deeply admire,” said Heyer, who earned a doctorate in theological ethics from Boston College.

Heyer organized this year’s CTSA annual meeting—BC is among its sponsors—which is centered on the theme of freedom. Plenary speakers from across the United States as well as from Hong Kong, Nigeria, and El Salvador will offer theological reflections on the topic, and the event also features applications of the theme in a wide range of disciplinary directions, with several sessions taking up the Synod. A number of BC faculty, doctoral students, and alumni will present their work.

As CTSA president, Heyer hopes to help steer the society in the face of shifts in academic theology and the synodal movement

Anne’s experience mirrored that of a friend’s daughter, suggested the doctors check Ruth Anne’s urine. They found a large amount of white blood cells in her system, an indication she was fighting a large infection.

“They were trying to treat the psychological symptoms without targeting the infection,” Ruth Anne explained.

She was ultimately diagnosed with an autoimmune condition called Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome, or PANS. McManus was quickly put on antibiotics for the infection and further psychiatric medications to alleviate her other symptoms which could now be more easily explained and pinpointed. She also spent time in occupational therapy, an experience to which she attributes much of her growth and progress.

McManus cites the support of her family as a major reason she was able to endure the seven years of unanswered questions. Her mother’s time at BC proved to be a key asset in Ruth Anne’s battle against PANS: Mary “had a stellar education and knew the ins and outs of the system. She was a huge advocate,” said Ruth Anne.

There was yet another factor, she added: “When doctors didn’t know what was going on, running and exercise were just my saving grace. I really relied on running to help.”

When Victory Programs reached out to McManus about the devoted volunteer leading a campaign, she realized she could use her love for running to come to the aid of others just as her mother had shown her. Volunteering at ReVision Urban Farms further opened McManus’s eyes to the world of food insecurity and she felt called to involve herself more in their work, her mother’s example guiding her every mile.

McManus’s dedication paid off. “My original goal was $3,000,” she noted, “but the numbers just kept climbing and climbing.” Since that original success, fundraising “has been a real sustaining factor in my life. It’s held me accountable and also has just been the one constant in my life.” underway in the Church. She plans to continue work begun this year convening the leadership of other Catholic societies across North America and collaborating with the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities around shared concerns.

An expert in theological ethics, Heyer focuses her scholarship and teaching on topics such as moral agency, migration, social inequality, and modern Catholic social teaching. From 2019-2022, she served as director of graduate studies in the Theology Department. She is the cochair of Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church, an international network of practitioners and scholars in the field of theological ethics.

Heyer is author of the books Kinship Across Borders: A Christian Ethic of Migration and Prophetic and Public: The Social Witness of U.S. Catholicism. She has also co-edited six other volumes and authored dozens of articles and book chapters. Her current book project is Moral Agency and the Promise Freedom, forthcoming from Georgetown University Press.

—Kathleen Sullivan

McManus describes the early days of raising money for Victory as “a labor of love.” Having grown up near Boston College and attended St. Ignatius Parish (she will proudly tell you that she was Baby Jesus in the Christmas Pageant), she worked hard to integrate this community into her campaign. She coordinated giveaways from local stores like Heartbreak Hill Running Company, held a Playa Bowls fundraising night for BC students, and posted videos to platforms like LinkedIn and YouTube every week for what she has dubbed “Fundraising Fridays.”

“I messaged everyone from my plumber to my next-door neighbor,” she said.

This sort of large-scale fundraising requires a certain amount of optimism and Ruth Anne exhibits this in spades. She looks back on her time in occupational therapy as “the biggest blessing” as it was then when she realized she wanted to return to school and earn a master’s degree. McManus received a Dean’s Scholarship from Woods College, where she now studies corporate communications and marketing. She is set to receive her master’s certificate in December.

When it comes to marketing, especially for a good cause, according to McManus, Woods has taught her the importance of “putting yourself out there and being brave.”

For more about Ruth Anne McManus’s fundraising activities, go to vpi.charityproud. org/Fundraising/P2P/5596

Mary McManus has a website describing her experiences at marymcmanus.com

—Meghan Keefe is a junior in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences