Information for alumni, donors, and friends of Catholic Theological Union
A GR A DUAT E SCHOOL OF T H EOL OGY A N D M I N IST RY
FALL 2018
Chicago Priest’s Effort to Build Community Earns CCHD Leadership Award National Catholic Reporter
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May 23, 2018
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VOL .
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ISSUE
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In Memoriam: Rev. John Linnan, CSV (1934–2018)
by Dennis Sadowski
A year into his priesthood, Father Matt O’Donnell was named a pastor. The Viatorian Community lost a scholar and a gentleman with the death of Fr. John “Jack” Linnan, CSV. He passed away January 15, 2018, after a long illness. Fr. Linnan was 83.
Days before his 27th birthday in 2013, Father O’Donnell arrived at St. Columbanus Parish in Chicago’s South Side Park Manor neighborhood and since then has embraced his ministry to the African-American community. It didn’t take long for the young priest who grew up at St. Fabian Parish in the Chicago suburb of Bridgeview to become a leading figure in the neighborhood.
“We all knew him to be one of the intellectuals of the Province,” said Fr. Mark Francis, CSV, who preached at his funeral Mass. “But for Jack, the faith was not a mere set of ideas as described in the creed,” Fr. Francis said. “Rather, it was the day to day way in which we live our lives, inspired by the model that Jesus set for us. It was a model that includes suffering and dying, but also rising to new and abundant life.” In 1979, Fr. Linnan began his career at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, first as an associate professor of theology, and then, in 1981, as president. Fr. Linnan led the institution for the next six years, and colleagues credit him with guiding its growth into the largest graduate school of theology and ministry in the country, while fostering its global reputation for academic and pastoral excellence.
Fr. Matthew O’Donnell, Pastor of St. Columbanus, is currently studying for his Doctor of Ministry at CTU.
Read about the John E. Linnan, CSV, Theology and Ministry Scholarship on page 2 of this issue of Logos.
Father O’Donnell, now 31, went about getting to know residents and parishioners and learning what they thought the community needed. From that, Father O’Donnell recruited volunteers in spearheading the creation of a variety of services and ministries that has cemented St. Columbanus as an anchor in Park Manor.
Adapted from an article by Eileen O’Grady Daday printed in Viator Magazine.
S LEADERSHIP continued on page 7
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
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CTU Alumna Sr. Luma Kudher, OP, on her faith and hope in her homeland of Iraq
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CTU welcomed Rev. James Martin, SJ, this spring to discuss his book, “Building a Bridge”
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Celebrating 35 years of the Hispanic Theology and Ministry program at CTU
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE The reform in seminary and ministerial education since the Second Vatican Council was largely guided by an insight that was at the heart of the aggiornamento or “updating” desired by the Council: to prepare ministers to engage meaningfully with the people and ideas of their time and culture. During the 19th century the Church felt under siege by the modern world. As a result, Catholic seminarians returned to the study of questions and answers that dominated in the Middle Ages. Vatican II’s insistence on engaging the modern world challenged believers to enter into dialogue with cares and concerns of people today rather than those that concerned the faithful of prior eras. The best way to respond to this challenge in preparing women and men for ministry is to equip them with the knowledge and skills to engage in dialogue with today’s Catholics as well as with people of other faiths — or no faith — by applying the richness and insights of the Catholic tradition to contemporary questions and the conversations that ensue.
Rev. Mark Francis, CSV
This issue of Logos illustrates the intentional and purposeful ways that CTU goes about maintaining this on-going dialogue with the contemporary world called for by Vatican II. We ask, for example, what is the stance we need to take in ministering to LGBT people? Jesuit Fr. James Martin’s presentation at CTU, while in line with basic Church teaching, challenged us to adopt a new openness to the LGBT community, one that flows naturally from the humanity of these our sisters and brothers. As hundreds of thousands are displaced in the Middle East, we need to understand how we can show our solidarity with these longsuffering people. We were blessed to have in our midst the intrepid and inspiring Sr. Luma Khudher, OP, CTU alumna, biblical scholar and native of Iraq. Her insight into what is currently going on, discussed though biblical lenses, allows us to appreciate the human cost of the tragedy unfolding in her home country. Health care, concern for the poor, voting rights and civic engagement in general need to be the object of any minster’s reflection. This June CTU was graced with the presence of the redoubtable Sr. Simone Campbell, SSS who lobbies in Washington on behalf of the most vulnerable in our society and focuses on a contemporary and Gospel inspired intersection between religion and public policy. This coming year at CTU promises to be equally engaged with those areas in our lives where the demands of Jesus’ reign of justice and peace intersect with our own reality Steven Millies, Director of the Bernardin Center, will speak on the relevance of Cardinal Bernardin’s approach to evangelization — an area that has grown in greater prominence as US society becomes more and more secularized. We take pride in our Franciscan roots and are delighted to sponsor an art exhibition in the Mary-Frances and Bill Veeck gallery that draws from the spiritual depth of the Poverello of Assisi and corresponds with an important symposium on Franciscan spirituality sponsored by the Duns Scotus Chair. The Center for the Study of the Consecrated Life is also holding an important conference on intercultural religious community living — a topic that is affecting religious communities of both men and women as the effects of globalization become more and more evident in our world, especially in the U.S. Finally, this year we commended to God Fr. John Linnan, CSV, fourth President of CTU, who died on January 15, 2018. As a member of my own religious community (CSV) and one of Jack’s students, I knew him to be a passionate advocate for a church in which all of God’s people would be invited to share their gifts as members of the Body of Christ. I am immensely grateful to my confreres, the Viatorians, for establishing a scholarship in his name, since Jack taught us how the Gospel of Christ has relevance to our contemporary world, challenging us all to envision Church as a force to transform the world. CTU’s engagement with the world in the name of Christ is deep and far reaching. Enjoy this edition of Logos!
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John E. Linnan, CSV, Theology and Ministry Scholarship In honor of the former president of Catholic Theological Union (1981-1987), the Viatorians Community has established the John E. Linnan, CSV, Theology and Ministry Endowed Scholarship. The $1,000,000 scholarship endowment fund will provide funds for graduate education for Viatorians lay associates and international Viatorian religious. If there are funds remaining in a given year, other qualified lay students committed to preparing for ministry and leadership in service to the Church with the ecclesial vision of Vatican II and Pope France are also be eligible. P
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CTU Alumna Has Reason for Hope Sr. Luma Khudher, OP, is a Dominican Sister of St. Catherine of Siena, and a 2007 CTU graduate. After earning a PhD at the University of Notre Dame in 2012, Sr. Luma returned to her home country of Iraq. She currently teaches at Babel College of Philosophy and Theology in Ankawa-Erbil, Iraq, and, with others in her religious community, ministers to Iraqis (who themselves were also among the displaced) after the 2014 ISIS invasion. Sr. Luma sat down with CTU’s Zach Czaia during Summer Institute for a discussion. This interview has been edited for clarity.
This June you’ve been teaching a class at CTU’s Summer Institute on the prophet Micah (Micah: Context and Content). Why is Micah important to you? Actually, Micah was the topic of my dissertation. I chose Micah at that time because of its Salvation Oracles. A number of scholars have proposed that Salvation Oracles were written in the postexilic period when people returned home. It was a time for them to reflect on their lives and write oracles of hope. That struck me. Because you can’t write about hope when you are settled in your hometown and comfortably living and everything’s fine. We talk about hope when we don’t have hope. When there’s nothing in life giving you hope. So I looked at the situation of Iraq and I thought, “When did we hope?” We hoped when we wanted to hear a message of hope when we were really facing crisis and struggling with war. After doing so much research I conclude that many of the salvation oracles were written in time of struggle and war. Did you experience some of what is talked about in those prophetic books? Sometimes the prophets are angry with God… What gives you hope, Sister? My faith is that first source of hope. I always try to remember that Jesus never promised us an easy life. So if we start from there, then we can keep going. I think it’s faith that helped me hope. The word of God in the prophetic books does not end with doom and judgment but with hope and salvation. Then seeing the faith of other people as well: whether they are NGOs or just volunteers who came from over the world trying to help.
Has your faith changed these past years as a result of what has happened in Iraq? Yes. I come from a Syriac Catholic family. Like most of the Christians in Iraq, we didn’t work hard for our faith. It was passed to us. I was born, I was taken to church for baptism and confirmation, as well as first communion. So everything was given to me. I didn’t work hard for it. But then, when we were faced with ISIS, then overnight we had nothing. We didn’t have anything except our faith. That’s when it hit me. Not just me, I think all Christians in Iraq. The first question was, why us? What have we done wrong? And questions like that, how could God allow this and all these questions. And we all asked these questions. Then we had to answer them for ourselves if we wanted to move on. When I was faced with these questions I started believing in the real God. I think before that it was just that easy faith. I didn’t have to work for it.
Yes, yes. We were angry with God because you see… I don’t think anyone can imagine this, or even if people can imagine it, it’s just so far from them that they won’t be able to see it fully or imagine it fully, but in first days of displacement, people did not have anywhere to go. They were under the trees; they were at the churches sitting there waiting for someone to give them food. Children were crying. It was so hot in August. People were outside because there was nowhere to go. They were exhausted, tired, and of course you would get angry at God for allowing all this happen. I mean, why these people? Why these children? But with all this to happen, you realize that God has nothing to do with this. It’s just the evil in the world. And it depends on how much we allow this evil to get into us. It will make our world worse. So, as people of faith, we started working towards helping these people. So it wasn’t enough for us as a community, it wasn’t enough that we gave them food to eat, but it was time to gather people and sit in prayer. And that’s what we did. We sisters were ourselves displaced. So we were feeling what they were feeling. We didn’t even have a place either. We had a convent in Kurdistan but overnight that convent had to receive 74 sisters. So they didn’t have room for us. We were grateful to the Archbishop who gave us a seminary to live in for almost a month and a half or so. So we lived in a seminary, but it was time to gather the people also. To tell them it’s okay to be angry at God. To go ahead, talk to him as you want. At the end of the day, people realized that it was a first step to know who God really was. Now after the Nineveh Plain has been liberated from ISIS, many of our people have returned from the exile to rebuild their homes and villages. Many people are willing to start from zero again because we are part of this land and country and God want us to serve him here. P
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The temptation is to become inured to the polarization, bullying and chaos in the political culture, Campbell said. “But in tuning it out, we normalize the behavior,” she said. “And when we normalize the behavior, then we expect it to continue.” Instead, Network has a proactive plan to “mend the gap,” especially for those suffering because of economic and other injustices, Campbell said. Network was founded in 1971, after the Second Vatican Council, by a group of sisters who wanted to engage in political activism for social justice at the federal level. It now includes thousands of men and women who support Network’s lobbying efforts, which draw on Catholic social teaching.
The Gospel is About Fighting for a Vision Excerpt from Global Sisters Report
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June 15, 2018
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by Heidi Schlumpf
This June 13, CTU welcomed Sr. Simone Campbell, SSS, back to campus for a special presentation. In these “challenging times,” it is not enough to fight against injustice, said Social Service Sr. Simone Campbell, executive director of Network, a Catholic social justice lobby, and organizer of the Nuns on the Bus campaign. “If you push back against something, you reinforce the very thing you’re pushing against,” she said at a presentation June 13 at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. “You get stuck because you’re both pushing.” Instead, Campbell said, “the Gospel is about fighting for a vision,” the one Jesus articulated about the kingdom of heaven. “That vision, I believe, our nation needs to know about and we need to fight for,” she said. Campbell told stories, described policy and legislation, and gave advice and encouragement to members of the crowd gathered at Catholic Theological Union, many of whom shared concerns about what she called “the rise of hate and a permission for racist tendencies to get expressed.” “We as a nation are better than this,” she said after telling stories of people she has met who struggle to feed their families, are homeless, have no health care or are mired in student debt. But to effectively influence the political process will require spiritual sustenance, said Campbell, who has 14 years of experience as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C.
“Absent a deep prayer practice, we’re doomed.” — SR. SIMONE CAMPBELL, SSS
“I believe our only way out of this mess is by rooting ourselves in a deeper faith…into the depth of divine love that can help us break through in very hateful times,” she said. “Absent a deep prayer practice, we’re doomed.”
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Campbell explained Network’s priorities, which include a fair tax policy, just wages and a family-friendly workplace. She decried policies and labor practices that leave workers unable to live on what they make, with no ability for recreation or saving for retirement, or with no paid sick time. Although the question-and-answer portion of the presentation showed audience members’ discouragement with individual issues and the political process in general, Campbell seemed undaunted. She said she recently sent House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Catholic Republican from Wisconsin, a personally annotated copy of Pope Francis’ new exhortation, Gaudete et Exsultate (“Rejoice and Be Glad”), although she said he refuses to meet with her. Next week, she will give a workshop to House Democrats on how to talk about faith. “I hope to get people talking about what really matters,” she said. Campbell said it is possible for Democrats to gain control of the House after this year’s midterm elections but cautioned that politicians from both sides of the aisle need to be committed to governing, not just partisanship. “We have to expect more…It’s up to us to say, ‘We’re better than this,’ “ she said. “When petty party politics undermines the common good, we have to stand up.” Quoting Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si’, On Care for Our Common Home,” Campbell urged Catholics to “dare to turn what is happening to the world into our own personal suffering and thus to discover what each of us can do about it.” But it will require a willingness to take a risk and “let God take over our lives,” which comes not just from academic assent to faith but the deep spirituality of contemplative practices “deeply rooted in a gospel of love that triumphs over all,” she said. “That’s how I try to live my life: trusting,” she said. “I don’t see any other way out of this.” To save their sanity and to save democracy, activists cannot get distracted by the viciousness and hate, she said. Grounded in the Gospel values, Catholics can lift up “who we really are” and even reach out in love to those with whom they disagree, she said. “It’s possible to solve problems together,” she said. “We’ve got some work to do.” P Reprinted with permission of National Catholic Reporter Publishing Company, Kansas City, Missouri.
Building a Bridge with Rev. James Martin, SJ The following are closing remarks from Fr. Martin’s presentation on March 24 sponsored by the Bernardin Center at CTU. This excerpt has been edited for clarity. To view Fr. Martin’s entire address, and other CTU presentations, go to: learn.ctu.edu A story that’s come to mean a lot to me is the story of Zacchaeus. I would invite you to think of Zacchaeus as an image of the LGBT Catholic. Now, it’s not a perfect image, and it’s not a one-to-one correspondence. But as an emblem of someone who is on the margins, think of Zacchaeus. So Jesus is going through Jericho. It’s towards the end of his ministry. Jericho was a very big town— the longest continuously inhabited town in the world. It’s still there; you can go see it. Probably tens of thousands of people lived there. It’s at the end of Jesus’ ministry, so we can presume he is with quite a few people… They’re going through Jericho. Zacchaeus is the chief tax collector. At the time, according to the Sacra Pagina series, the chief tax collector would’ve been seen as the “chief sinner” in the area. Let’s be clear: I’m not equating LGBT people with sinners, because we’re all sinners. But he would have been seen as one of the most marginalized people in the town. Zacchaeus is described as short in stature. The Gospel says Zacchaeus could not see “on account of the crowd.” Now how often does the crowd get in between the LGBT person and Jesus? How often are we in the crowd?
”You can stand with the crowd, who grumbles at the extension of mercy to people on the margins, or you can stand with Jesus and Zacchaeus. For me, I choose to stand with Jesus.” — REV. JAMES MARTIN, SJ
So what does Zacchaeus do? He climbs a sycamore tree…Imagine how undignified that would have seemed. To climb up a tree because, as Luke says, he wanted to see “who Jesus was.” Isn’t that beautiful? So because the crowd gets in the way Zacchaeus, like the LGBT person, has to literally go out on a limb. He has to go to great lengths just to see who Jesus was. So Jesus is coming through Jericho. Thousands of people around him. Maybe a crowd this big following him. And who does he point to? The holiest person, the religious leader, the wealthiest person? Who does he point to? To Zacchaeus I want to come to your house. Zacchaeus comes down and—the Greek is great: statheis—he stood there. He stood his ground like so many LGBT people have to do. Then comes my favorite line in the story: “And the crowd began to grumble.” Just go online and that’s what you’ll see. Go across the street of Holy Name Cathedral and you will see, “and all in the crowd began to grumble.” An extension of mercy to someone on the margins always makes people angry. But Zacchaeus stood his ground. He comes down and he says to Jesus, “Anyone I have defrauded I will repay four times over.” An encounter with Jesus provokes a conversion. I don’t mean “conversion therapy,” which someone suggested recently. I mean metanoia, the change of mind and heart that Jesus calls all of us to. An encounter with Jesus provokes conversion. So in this ministry and in this time it seems to me that there are two places that you can stand. You can stand with the crowd, who grumbles at the extension of mercy to people on the margins, or you can stand with Jesus and Zacchaeus. For me, I choose to stand with Jesus. P
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Hispanic Theology and Ministry Program Celebrates 35th Anniversary by Carmen Nanko-Fernández
Catholic Theological Union celebrated the 35th anniversary of its Hispanic Theology and Ministry Program (HTMP) by honoring a pioneer in the field and giving him a peek into the future that his theologizing and this program continue to shape. On May 25, 2018, HTMP celebrated its anniversary and the legacy of Latino theologian-pastor Msgr. Arturo Bañuelas, a recipient of the CTU honorary degree in ministry, with a conference entitled Nuevas Generaciones Doing Teología y Pastoral en y de Conjunto. The panel featured presentations by three emerging scholars with responses by Bañuelas and Latino theologian the Rev. Dr. Edwin Aponte, Executive Director of the Louisville Institute. Two of the scholars, John DeCostanza, DMin, 2018, and William Becerra, DMin candidate, were classmates in the CTU ecumenical doctor of ministry program with a concentration in Hispanic Theology and Ministry (HTM).
TOP TO BOTTOM Carmen Nanko-Fernández with Msgr. Arturo Bañuelas at the panel in his honor at CTU. From left, Dr. C. Vanessa White, Carmen Nanko-Fernández, Laura Jakubowski Aponte, and Rev. Dr. Edwin Aponte at CTU.
DeCostanza, the Director of University Ministry at Dominican University in River Forest, became the first doctor of ministry student to graduate with an HTM concentration. His work focuses on assessing and re-imagining the identity of Catholic universities that are Hispanic-Serving Institutions. Becerra, Associate Director of the Office of Hispanic and Ethnic Ministries of the Diocese of Joliet, is the first Óscar Romero scholar from that diocese. His research surveys Latinos/as in lay ecclesial ministry. Jennifer Owens-Jofré, 2018 PhD from the Graduate Theological Union, presented her research on the implications of devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe in the cultivation of Latina lay leadership. The work of these three scholars at the intersections of theology and ministry demonstrated the commitments and impact of HTMP. The celebration capped an anniversary year of new initiatives that continue to grow the outreach of HTMP, consistent with its founding mission to provide theological education that is historically, culturally, pastorally, and theologically situated in Latino/a contexts. For 35 years HTMP has offered courses and extracurricular programming that resources Latinos/as and others who accompany Hispanic communities. In the past 15 years HTMP has expanded academically to include a certificate in HTM, an MAHTM, and a DMin with HTM concentration. Students may also pursue HTM concentrations through other CTU degree programs or by adding an HTM certificate to their coursework. This anniversary year HTMP expanded even further! Effective as of the 2018/19 academic year, the Association of Theological Schools granted CTU approval to offer the MA-HTM with an exception to the residency requirement. This action means that the MA-HTM is the first CTU degree program with a distance education option to be taken entirely online. Under the leadership of Eddie DeLeón, Assistant Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Preaching, a certificate aimed at preparing ministers to preach within Latino/a communities was developed. Certificado en Predicación Católica is an 18 credit program with courses available in Spanish and in English.
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Since 1982 the Hispanic population in the U.S. has grown exponentially to the point that Latinos/as constitute the plurality of the Catholic Church under the age of thirty. At the same time the numbers of Latinos/as in pastoral and theological leadership remain disproportionately low. With the hopes of encouraging new generations of Latinos/as to pursue graduate studies in ministry and theology CTU and Dominican University inaugurated a coordinated program whereby qualified students may obtain a Bachelor of Arts degree at Dominican and a MA-HTM at CTU in an accelerated timeline. The vision of HTMP remains rooted in a commitment to a Latino/a understanding that ministry and theology are intrinsically intertwined as teología y pastoral en y de conjunto. Such a vision requires that Latinos/as and allies who accompany Hispanic communities be prepared in ways that value the relationship between ministry and Latino/a ways of theologizing, praying, worshipping, and interpreting the bible. Such a vision is fueled by the hope that Latinos/as will soon reach a critical mass in the church and theological education, exercising leadership in prominent roles as ministers, teachers, activists, and theologians. If the past is any indication, HTMP will continue to play a role in setting the table for the fiesta.” P
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“By his caring presence, his limitless energy for good works, and his compassionate ministry, [ Father O’Donnell ] has made St. Columbanus a beacon of hope in its community.” — CHICAGO CARDINAL BLASE J. CUPICH
For starters, there’s the parish food pantry that serves more than 500 people 49 of 52 Wednesdays a year, the building of a new playground that gives kids a safe space to be kids and an athletic center that gives older kids an alternative to gang life. The parish also is the site of Augustus Tolton Catholic Academy, an acclaimed elementary school focusing on science, technology, religion, engineering, arts and math. The parish opens its doors to the wider community, hosting its popular “Pop Up Clergy” program from time to time in front of the church, complete with a grill for barbecuing. The event brings neighbors and police together to foster friendship and understanding. The most recent in early May attracted 150 people. For his efforts, Father O’Donnell was named the 2018 Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award recipient by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the U.S. bishops’ domestic anti-poverty and social justice program. Chicago Cardinal Blase J. Cupich in a statement called Father O’Donnell’s work of building a parish “a living example of Pope Francis’s vision of a field hospital church that exists to serve humankind and spread the Gospel of a loving God.” “By his caring presence, his limitless energy for good works and his compassionate ministry, he has made St. Columbanus a beacon of hope in its community and an example of faith in action far beyond its borders,” he said.
That interest convinced then-Cardinal Francis E. George to appoint Father O’Donnell as pastor. “Cardinal George said he would rather have me because I have the desire to serve the black community than to have somebody who had more experience but didn’t have the desire,” Father O’Donnell recalled. As for the future, Father O’Donnell has eyes on opening a community service center to help residents prepare for the GED test and apply for work. He has even thought of opening a coffee shop “to create some jobs in the area.” The priest acknowledged Park Manor is going through changes, like many other Chicago neighborhoods: longtime residents have either moved away or died; violence has increased; locally owned businesses have closed; and poverty is growing. Such factors motivate Father O’Donnell to do his best while partnering with others interested in building an inclusive, welcoming community. “St. Columbanus has been here since 1909 and has been an anchor in Park Manor,” he said. “We’re trying to figure out what more we can be doing to better the life of the neighborhood.” P Reprinted with permission of Catholic News Service, Washington, D.C.
In nominating Father O’Donnell for the award, Olivia Silver said she wanted to call attention to the “good things that were happening at the parish and the good things that Father Matt was doing.” Silver, a member of Chicago’s Holy Name Cathedral and a St. Columbanus volunteer, called the priest an “innovative pastor who gives his entire heart to his parish, his community and his loved ones.” Father O’Donnell takes little credit for the parish’s accomplishments, citing instead parish staff for the success of the many ministries. He said he strives to “empower the people in the parish to take the responsibility to run the different aspects of the ministry that we have.” Father O’Donnell also credited the “good priests around me to give me on-the-job training” in the work of a pastor. The young priest has long held an interested in serving in the African-American community. His internships before ordination were in other South Side parishes where he “fell in love with the liturgy, the music, the preaching” and discovered that the hospitality of the neighborhoods was “very giving.” A period spent at the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans strengthened his desire for his chosen ministry.
A Challenge for CTU’s Future: Join The Way Society Looking out into the next fifty years and beyond, CTU is embracing this moment to build membership in The Way Society, our community of donors who have named CTU in their wills or other estate plans. The “Way” refers to the first name given the Church in the Acts of the Apostles and signifies the generous pooling of resources that sustained the first followers of Jesus. We are seeking to add 50 new society members in this anniversary moment to secure in perpetuity support for CTU’s strategic priorities and ongoing operations. If you have already included CTU in your estate plan, please let us know so we can recognize your legacy of generosity. If you would like to join The Way Society with this very personal form of support, contact Colleen Kennedy, Vice President of Institutional Advancement, at 773.371.5417 or ckennedy@ctu.edu.
HAPPENINGS
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A Bernardin Scholar Fernando Rayas speaks at a Theology on Tap event at Dusek’s Tack Bar in the Pilsen neighborhood. For the past two years, Rayas has organized South side Theology on Tap events in Chicago, this past year collaborating with CTU’s Bernardin Center, Commonweal Magazine, St. James Parish, and St. Benedict the African Parish. B CTU has twenty-nine full-time faculty members, who are distinguished, worldrenowned scholars and theologians. The faculty is pictured here in the courtyard at KAM Isaiah Israel Synagogue before the 2018 Graduation ceremony. C CTU student Bemnet (Ben) Melaku, CM, reads a prayer at the “Community Prayer for Peace” walk organized by Witness, a CTU student organization focused on social justice through education, reflection, and action. D Msgr. Arturo Bañuelas, who received CTU’s Honorary Degree in Ministry this year, has dedicated his life to ministry and advocacy on behalf of farmworkers and immigrants on all sides of the border.
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E CTU honored Sr. Katarina Schuth, OSF, with its Honorary Degree in Theology this year. In addition to her outstanding contributions to the study of theological education, Sr. Katarina also has served on CTU’s board of trustees, as well as the board for the Bernardin Center and the Catholic Common Ground Initiative. F Cardinal Blase Cupich met with CTU faculty, Sr. Dawn Nothwehr, OSF, Sr. Maria Cimperman, RSCJ, and Dr. Gina Wolfe in Sarajevo at the Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church in July. G Archbishop Christophe Pierre [left], Apostolic Nuncio from the Vatican to the U.S., was awarded CTU’s 2018 Blessed Are the Peacemakers award at its annual Trustee Dinner in April. H Carolyn Parmer and her late husband John received the Diakonia Award at this year’s Blessed Are the Peacemakers Trustee dinner, in honor of their exceptional commitment to education and service. Carolyn’s niece, CTU alumna Claire Noonan, DMin ’10, introduced her aunt at the dinner. I Lailatul Fitriyah (left), Presidential Fellow in World Religions at University of Notre Dame, listens to Tamar Manasseh (right), founder of Mothers Against Senseless Killings and current Rabbinical student at Israelite Academy. Fitriyah, Manassaeh, and CTU DMin student Rev. Matthew O’Donnell, pastor of St. Columbanus, were participants in the In Good Faith panel discussion, in which Jews, Christians, and Muslims share perspectives on issues that matter to our faith communities and to our world. In Good Faith is an initiative of the Bernardin Center at Catholic Theological Union in partnership with First Analysis Institute of Integrative Studies.
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KUDOS ANNOUNCEMENTS
Marian Diaz has joined CTU as Director of Continuing Education. Marian has familiarity with CTU, having obtained an MA from CTU with a concentration in Biblical Studies. She holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Barry University in Miami, also with a major in Biblical Studies. Marian will oversee continuing education at CTU, including our Summer Institute,and will project direct the $1 million “Thriving in Ministry” grant awarded to CTU by the Lilly Endowment.
Sr. Lucianne Siers, OP, has been appointed as the new Director of the Institute of Religious Formation (IRF) and the Hesburgh Sabbatical Program. She comes to CTU after serving on the Leadership Team of the Dominican Sisters of Grand Rapids and holds a DMin from The Catholic University of America with a concentration in Missiology and Catechesis; an MA in Theology from Boston College; an MA in Religious Education from Aquinas College; and a Certificate in Spiritual Direction from Fordham University. Prior to her service in leadership to her congregation, she was Executive Director of Partnership for Global Justice.
Sr. Sallie Latkovich, CSJ, was elected to her community’s leadership team at their Chapter during Easter week. CTU offers congratulations and prayers and will greatly miss Sallie’s involvement at the school. For the past nine years Sallie has served as Director of the Biblical Lands Study and Travel Programs. Sallie also took on the directorship of the Summer Institute, has taught courses, and led TR groups, and assisted in outreach in the Continuing Education department.
Rev. Steve Bevans, SVD, has published a review of “Remembering the Reformation: Martin Luther and Catholic Theology,” edited by Declan Marmion, Salvador Ryan and Gesa E. Thiessen (Fortress Press, 2017) in Mission Studies 35 (2018):159-60.
Catholic Theological Society (CTSA) on June 8 honored Rev. Robert Schreiter, CPPS, with a special forum and panel discussion celebrating his 70th birthday, convened by Edmund Chia, former CTU faculty member and former student of Fr. Schreiter’s.
At the June 8 CTSA conference, Rev. John Pawlikowski, OSM, was honored with a festschrift, Righting Relations After the Holocaust and Vatican II (Paulist Press), edited by Elena G. Procario-Foley and Robert A. Cathey.
Carmen Nanko Fernández is the originator, coordinator, and one of the four authors for “Theology en la Plaza,” a new monthly column in the National Catholic Reporter. In June, Rev. Leslie Hoppe, OFM, participated in the “Building Bridges Seminar” sponsored by Georgetown University at the University of Sarajevo in Bosnia Herzegovina. This seminar brings together Christian and Islamic scholars to discuss some aspect of their religious traditions by studying texts from the Bible and the Quran. This year’s topic was inequality (gender, religious, ethnic, and socioeconomic). Leslie presented a paper on inequality in the Old Testament.
IN LOVING MEMORY
Dr. C. Vanessa White received the F. Sadlier Dinger Award in recognition of outstanding wisdom, vision, and leadership serving the ministry of Catechesis in Chicago and around the United States. The award was presented in May during the annual National Conference for Catechetical Leadership.
Grace Chen-McClone, beloved wife of Kevin McClone, died of lymphoma on March 3, 2018. Grace served as adjunct lecturer in Pastoral Care at CTU since Fall 2010. Please continue to hold Kevin and their son Matthew in your prayers.
PRESENTATIONS / PUBLICATIONS
Rev. Archimede “Archie” Fornasari, MCCJ, died on June 21, 2018, at the age of 93. Fr. Archie worked as a formation director and faculty member at CTU from 1976 to 2009. He is fondly remembered at CTU for his passion, his gentle spirit, and the unpretentiousness that marked his keen intellect.
The following list includes a representative sample of some of the amazing scholarly work that CTU’s faculty is doing: Br. John R. Barker, OFM, published “Breaking the Word: Scriptural Reflections.” Emmanuel 124.2 (March/April 2018), 112-24.
MALKA SIMKOVICH NAMED DIRECTOR OF CATHOLIC-JEWISH STUDIES PROGRAM AND CROWN-RYAN CHAIR IN JEWISH STUDIES Malka Simkovich, PhD, was named director of the Catholic-Jewish Studies program and Crown-Ryan Chair of Jewish Studies in fall 2017. The Catholic-Jewish Studies Program has been a part of CTU since its inception in 1968. The Crown and Ryan families established the half-time chair in 2001, providing for an ongoing presence of a Jewish scholar at CTU. Recently the two families generously re-committed to make the role a full-time academic chair in the 2018/19 school year. More on this extraordinary gift in the next edition of Logos. P
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Sr. Laurie Brink, OP, was interviewed by Catholic News Service on the historical and biblical accuracy of a new movie on the Apostle Paul. “New Testament prof sorts out plausible, implausible in new ‘Paul’ movie” was published on March 9, 2018, in several Catholic newspapers including the Catholic Philly, The Boston Pilot, and The Compass News.
Rev. Stephen Parke, MDiv ‘82, died on May 25, 2018, in Colorado Springs after a period of short illness.
Sr. Jeanette Willenborg, OSF, died at Our Lady of Angels Retirement Home in Joliet, Illinois, on June 23, 2018. John A. Wanner, MDiv ‘77, died on June 27, 2018, at the Laurels of Shane Hill in Rockford, Ohio, where he had been a patient.
ALUMNI NEWS BIBLE LAND TOUR S Sr. Susan Francois, CSJP, MA ‘15, Sr. Sarah Kohles, OSF, MA,’15, and Sr. Christa Parra, IBVM, MDiv ‘15, were all contributors to In Our Own Words: Religious Life in a Changing World. (Sr. Sarah was co-editor of the volume.) On September 13, the three CTU alumni will participate in a special panel discussion on the book at CTU. See the events insert for more information. Tom Cook, MA ‘12, and Dannis Matteson, MA ‘15, a married couple who met at CTU, have recently helped open a Retreat and Learning Center in the Edgewater neighborhood of Chicago. EncounterPoint provides a sacred space to encounter spirit, self and others through retreats, days of reflection, collective meals, discussion groups, guest speakers, performances, liturgies and more. Julia McStravog, MA ‘14, began her role as the Program Manager for the Programs on Ethics, Religion, and the Holocaust in the Mandel Center at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum this past year. Previously Program and Research Specialist in the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Julia was just appointed a member of the National Council of Synagogues and the USCCB Jewish-Catholic Dialogue. Rev. James Donohue, CR, MA ‘88, has a new a book coming out co-written with David McCarthy to be released in November 2018. It is called Moral Vision: Seeing the World with Love and Justice (Eerdmans). Jerry Galipeau, DMin ‘99, is transitioning ministries after working at World Library Publications for 17 years, the last nine as Vice President and Chief Publishing Officer. He has begun a new phase of ministry as the Executive Director of Mission Integration at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford, Connecticut.
Celebrate CTU’s 50th anniversary year in 2018–2019 by taking one of three special tours of the biblical lands: O C T O B E R 5 – 2 0 , 2 018 The Birth of Christianity: Greece and Turkey F E B R UA RY 7 – 17, 2 019 The Land of Egypt J U N E 15 – 2 8 , 2 019 The Holy Land: Israel and Jordan
Y. Franklin Ishida, DMin ‘01, received a Doctor of Divinity (Honoris Causa) from the Academy of Ecumenical Indian Theology and Church Administration in Chennai, India. The Norbertine Community of St. Norbert Abbey has elected Dane Joseph Radecki, OPraem, MDiv 77, as the seventh abbot in its 125-year history. Peter J. Ductrám, MA ‘02, MDiv ‘15, has written three bilingual practical guides called “Guides for Parish Dialogue” that intends to assist parishes in their monthly meeting as a follow up of their diocesan Encuentros. Each book is based on three major documents from His Holiness Pope Francis: Evangelii Gaudium, Laudato Si and Amoris Laetitia. These are designed for parish ministerial leadership, pastoral council, parish staff, adult accompaniment (not limited to Hispanic Ministry). These books have the endorsements of Dr. Hosffman Ospino (Boston College), Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller MSpS. (Archdiocese of San Antonio), Elizabeth Roman (President of National Catholic Council for Hispanic Ministry), Fr. Alejandro Cardinale (President of La Red) and several other renowned Latino/a Leaders. The texts will be available early this summer through Our Sunday Visitor. Mary Foley, MDiv ‘03, a Registered Nurse at Loyola University Medical Center, has been selected to join the Nursing Board at the American Health Council. On April 21, 2018, Christine Riley, MDiv ‘08, received the Alumni Medal for the Class of 1993 of Saint Ignatius College Prep Chicago (celebrating their 25th reunion). Francis Efren C. Zabala, OMI, DMin ’04, was appointed President of Notre Dame University in the Philippines and was installed in a formal ceremony on July 4. He is the ninth President of this Oblate (OMI)-owned institution in Cotabato City in Central Mindanao, Philippines.
COUR SES / R ETR E ATS
F E B R UA RY 14 – 2 4 , 2 019 Christian History and Spirituality in Art and Architecture Online lecture in preparation of travel to Italy. A P R I L 2 7 – M AY 18 , 2 019 Biblical Study and Travel Online lecture in preparation of travel to the Bible Lands. M AY 2 4 – J U N E 2 , 2 019 Walking as a Disciple: A Retreat in the Holy Land A retreat experience with site visits, prayer, and reflection.
Discover more about our travel programs at: ctu.edu/travel
CALL FOR ENTRIES TO HONOR CTU ALUMNI DURING ANNIVERSARY YEAR On the occasion of Catholic Theological Union’s 50th Anniversary, it is a wonderful moment to reflect on and recognize the incredible contributions that have been made and continue to be made by those who have graduated from CTU. Celebrating the work of our alumni is a vital part of telling the CTU story. Please consider nominating an alum for this collection of stories. Candidates will be CTU alumni whose lives exemplify the school’s mission in preparing effective leaders for the Church, ready to witness to Christ’s good news of justice, love, and peace, as well as embodying CTU’s vision as a transformative force in the Church and world for affirming human dignity and the sacredness of God’s creation. Selected candidates will be featured in Logos, on the Alumni Access portion of CTU’s website, and through CTU social media. To submit a nomination, please visit: ctu.edu/50at50 P
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Celebrating 50 Years Please save the date to join the CTU community for two milestone events commemorating half a century of CTU’s important legacy to the Church and the world. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2018 The Founding of Catholic Theological Union a special Sunday at CTU SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2019 50th Anniversary Mass St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church Hyde Park, Chicago
Nominate a CTU Alum Today On the occasion of Catholic Theological Union’s 50th Anniversary, it is a wonderful moment to reflect on and recognize the incredible contributions that have been made and continue to be made by those who have graduated from CTU. Highlighting the work that our alumni do is a vital part of telling the CTU story, and we want to ensure we learn the stories of CTU alumni from all corners of the globe. See page 11 of this issue of Logos to learn more, or go online to: ctu.edu/50at50
Logos is published twice a year with information for alumni, donors, and friends of Catholic Theological Union. PUBLISHER EDITORS Rev. Mark R. Francis, CSV Zach Czaia Colleen Kennedy