Holy Cross to Present Lectures Exploring Changes in Catholicism

The Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture at the College of the Holy Cross will present a number of distinguished speakers in March who will offer theological and historical insights on how practicing Catholicism has changed and continues to change — from approaching faith in the context of overcoming poverty and oppression, to changing notions of the personal experience of prayer, and the coming Church-mandated changes to the Roman Missal.

All of the events will be held in Rehm Library, in Smith Hall, at Holy Cross and are free and open to the public. To learn more and to listen to lectures online, visit www.holycross.edu/crec.

On Wednesday, March 16 at 4:30 p.m., J. Matthew Ashley will present a lecture titled “Living with Hope in a Crucified World: Resurrection Faith, Ignatian Spirituality and Liberation Theology.” Ashley, chair of the Department of Theology at the University of Notre Dame, has focused his research on political and liberation theology, Christian spirituality, and the dialogue between theology and science. Author of Interruptions: Mysticism, Politics and Theology in the Work of Johann Baptist Metz, he is currently completing a book on the impact of Ignatian spirituality on three 20th-century Jesuit theologians. His lecture is supported by the Deitchman Family Lectures on Religion and Modernity.

On Monday, March 21 at 4:30 p.m., James McCartin, associate professor of history at Seton Hall University, will discuss “Spirituality and the Transformation of 20th-Century American Catholicism.” McCartin is the author of Prayers of the Faithful: The Shifting Spiritual Life of American Catholics. Whether "praying in tongues" or working on behalf of social justice or participating in public protests as outpourings of prayer, lay Catholics have consistently expanded their notions of praying. And in doing so, McCartin suggests, they reshaped and redefined American Catholicism.   On Tuesday, March 22 at 7:30 p.m., a panel of experts on liturgy will discuss “New Words for Worship: Coming Changes in Catholic liturgy.” Later this year, the Church will enact changes in the liturgy for all English-spoken Masses. Three scholars — Joanne Pierce, associate professor of religious studies at Holy Cross; Edward Foley, Capuchin, Duns Scotus Professor of Spirituality and professor of liturgy and music at the Catholic Theological Union; and Rev. John Baldovin, S.J., '69, a Holy Cross trustee and a professor of historical and liturgical theology at Boston College — will discuss the impetus behind these changes and the implications for clergy and all practicing Catholics.

About The Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture:

Established in 2001 and housed in Smith Hall, the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture provides resources for faculty and course development, sponsors conferences and college-wide teaching events, hosts visiting fellows, and coordinates a number of campus lecture series. Rooted in the College's commitment to invite conversation about basic human questions, the Center welcomes persons of all faiths and seeks to foster dialogue that acknowledges and respects differences, providing a forum for intellectual exchange that is interreligious, interdisciplinary, intercultural, and international in scope.  The Center also brings members of the Holy Cross community into conversation with the Greater Worcester community, the academic community, and the wider world to examine the role of faith and inquiry in higher education and in the larger culture.