The Theology Department is pleased to recognize 5 students with the classification of "Honors in Theology" as a result of their sucessful completion of a senior thesis recieving a grade of A- or above.The Department of Theology offers an Honors Thesis Program for particularly gifted undergraduate majors who seek a deeper, more sustained experience in the major. The program gives participants the opportunity to research a topic in depth, in close collaboration with a member of the faculty, and to undertake an extended writing project. The experience of writing a thesis can give students a more complete grasp of the nature of the scholarly life. For students seeking an advanced degree, the thesis will send a strong signal of achievement and accomplishment to graduate schools. The students recognized this year with Honors in Theology are: Read More

Rev. Brian E. Daley, S.J., Catherine F. Huisking Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame, received the Johannes Quasten Medal of Excellence in Scholarship and Leadership in Religious Studies from Catholic University’s School of Theology and Religious Studies on May 2. Father Daley is the 26th theologian to receive the Quasten Medal since the award was established in 1985. Read More

In one of his earliest public addresses, at an audience for journalists, Pope Francis spoke of how, immediately following his election, an old friend and fellow churchman had embraced him, urging, “don’t forget the poor.” The new pope said that he subsequently chose as namesake the saint “who wanted a poor church,” and concluded his remarks by exclaiming, “Ah, how I would like a church that is poor and is for the poor!”

Pope Francis’ words were invoked early on during the Indiana Catholic Poverty Summit at the University of Notre Dame last month, and the paradox of Catholic doctrine — the imperative to alleviate the poverty we encounter in others while trying to become poor ourselves — was appreciable in the gathering.

Having heard nation- and statewide overviews of the worsening plight of the poor and the increasing inadequacy of communal response, the summit participants received more intimate views of urban and rural Indiana poverty from diocesan social workers at work in Evansville, Tell City and South Bend before breaking into five respective diocesan groups to discuss the use of education, advocacy, service and prayer in battling Indiana poverty. Read More

Over fall break, Erin Moffitt and Nicole Timmerman, both senior film, television, and theatre (FTT) majors in the College of Arts and Letters, traveled with a group of undergraduate theology students to Notre Dame’s Tantur Ecumenical Institute in Jerusalem. Their mission was to create a pair of short documentaries about the experience for the Department of Theology. Read More

Yury P. Avvakumov, an assistant professor in Notre Dame’s Department of Theology, was recently selected as one of six Henry Luce III Fellows in Theology for his work on the relationship between the Latin West and Byzantine East during the 12th century. Established in 1993, the Luce Fellows Program has awarded just 136 fellowships in its 20-year existence. Read More

At the end of each academic year, the Theology Department selects two graduating seniors to receive the department's highest undergraduate awards.

 

The Gertrude Austin Marti Award in Theology is given to a graduating senior who has given evidence of qualities of personal character and academic achievement in theological studies. This year it goes to Gabriella Cozzi Read More

His Eminence Cardinal Walter Kasper, president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, will deliver the 2013 Terrence R. Keeley Vatican Lecture at 5 p.m. April 24 (Wednesday) in the Carey Auditorium in the Hesburgh Library at the University of Notre Dame. Pope Francis specifically commended the theological work of Cardinal Kasper at his first Angelus message, noting that, “(i)n these days, I have been able to read a book by a cardinal — Cardinal Kasper, a talented theologian, a good theologian — on mercy. And it did me such good, that book.”

Sponsored by the Nanovic Institute for European Studies, Cardinal Kasper will address “The Origins of Vatican II.” This lecture is free and open to the public. Cardinal Kasper will also participate in an international gathering of scholars, “The Theology of Cardinal Walter Kasper: A Celebration of his Life and Work,” which will take place at the Notre Dame Conference Center on April 25-27 (Thursday-Saturday). Read More

James C. VanderKam, the John A. O’Brien professor of Hebrew Scriptures in Notre Dame’s College of Arts and Letters, has been selected as a distinguished alumnus by his alma mater, Calvin College. “Dr. VanderKam was chosen because of his outstanding contributions to the study of the Old Testament, Second Temple Judaism, and the Dead Sea Scrolls,” says Michael J. Van Denend, executive director of the Calvin Alumni Association. Read More

Abdolkarim Soroush, the Iranian scholar, human rights advocate and religious reformer, will give a lecture on “The Qur’an, Philosophy and Law” Thursday (April 11) at 7:30 p.m. in Room 1140 of the Eck Hall of Law at the University of Notre Dame.

Soroush’s lecture is the last of a series sponsored by the Qur’an Seminar, an academic project hosted by Notre Dame to advance Qur’anic scholarship, encourage collaboration among international scholars and present public lectures by leading Muslim intellectuals.

Soroush, a former professor of the University of Tehran and now a visiting scholar at Yale, Princeton, Harvard and the Wissenschaftskolleg in Berlin, is widely considered the most influential figure in religious intellectual movements in Iran. He was named by Time magazine in 2005 as one of the world’s 100 most influential people, and both his supporters and critics have compared his role in arguing for the reform of Islam with that of Martin Luther in reforming Christianity. Read More

 

University of Notre Dame theologian and law professor Cathleen Kaveny will be among the speakers in a TEDxChange webcast discussion on the theme of “Positive Disruption” on Wednesday (April 3).

The 90-minute webcast, convened, hosted and moderated by Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, will be streamed live here beginning at noon EDT (9 a.m. PDT). Read More