Research essentials: Get published
News 17 AprilACU Library is running a session ‘Research Essentials: Get Published - strategic publishing for success’ on 18 April - book now.
14 July 2021
Share
ACU has recruited some of the world’s leading Catholic theologians to spearhead a new international project aimed at reconstructing theologies of Catholicity.
‘Theologies of Catholicity’ is a five-year project which will draw on original and classic sources to provide new insights for contemporary life, following the model of mid-20th-Century ressourcement theologians who did the groundwork for Vatican II.
It has already drawn the interest of such luminaries as the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Professor Rowan Williams.
Professor Stephan van Erp, Professor of Fundamental Theology at KU Leuven, joins ACU as one of the chief investigators. Professor Van Erp is a leading expert on 20th- and 21st-Century Catholic systematic theology.
Professor Judith Wolfe, Professor of Philosophical Theology at the University of St Andrews, also joins ACU as a chief investigator. Professor Wolfe is an international expert in systematic and philosophical theology.
Dr Philip McCosker, former Director of the Von Hügel Institute for Critical Catholic Inquiry and Vice-Master of St Edmund’s College in Cambridge, and now fulltime with ACU, is the lead chief investigator. He is an expert in historical and systematic theology with a particular interest in ressourcement theologies.
The project will be situated in ACU’s Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry. Director Professor Peter Howard said the Church was ripe for a major international project which brought depth and plurality into the discipline through the lens of core beliefs, while striving for a sense of wholeness and oneness which is the original meaning of the word “catholic”.
“We have lost sight of the richness of theology as a discipline because of a renewed, particularly American, focus on religious studies. Religious studies stand outside looking at religions and religious practice, while theology stands inside and asks, ‘What does it mean to be a person of faith?’ Theology needs to reclaim its ground and do the constructive work to build a fresh core of scholarship for our age.”
Professor Howard said it was essential that the Church returned periodically to its core texts and re-examine them in the light of a changing world.
“Every age reads texts differently for its own purpose. It’s like turning on a set of lights and seeing a room. When you turn on one set of lights, you think you know what the room looks like, but if you turn on a different set of lights, the room looks different and you see things you didn’t realise were there before.”
He said going back to original texts ensured they remained part of the culture of Catholic faith in the future. “It’s not simply historical work for retrieval, it’s about what questions we can ask of the texts to illuminate faith and what do those doctrines mean for us and our way of life. How we think about our environment, sexuality, relations of power, the workplace: through this new optic of catholicity everything is open to theology. It shifts doctrine from something we absorb by osmosis and recite to something which shapes the ways we think about and structure every aspect of our lives and world.”
Professor Howard said the strides the Church made in the 20th Century were dependent on the work of ressourcement theologians such as Henri de Lubac, Yves Congar, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Romano Guardini, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Erich Przywara, and, in the next generation, Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI). He noted that the Theologies of Catholicity project has already revealed that the ressourcement theologians were pushing understandings of catholicity in surprisingly radical directions: “For these thinkers catholicity is primarily a quality of God and only secondarily and derivatively a quality of creatures – this has far-reaching implications not just for theology and ecclesial life, but also for ecumenical and inter-religious relations as well as the relations between faiths and secular life.”
“Vatican II was such a breath of fresh air for the Church that it in itself became a key source for subsequent theology and there’s been a tendency to ignore the source texts and approaches that led to it. This project will restore that scholarship to the Church.”
Professor Howard said just as the ressourcement work of the mid-20th Century grew out of the post-war period of disillusionment, the new work of theology needs to respond to the different religious and secular conditions of the 21st Century including the environmental crisis, increasing polarisation and fragmentation in many areas of life, the influence of religious fundamentalisms, religious plurality, and the secularisation of major segments of society. Theologies of Catholicity will uncover fresh ways for the Church to contribute to the common good in our shared world.
ACU Library is running a session ‘Research Essentials: Get Published - strategic publishing for success’ on 18 April - book now.
ACU is proud to announce the official launch of the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Program, and to introduce the Sunflower Champions who will support individuals with hidden disabilities.
Several improvements have been made to this year’s round. These include a reduction in the number of academic domains, an enhanced Notice of Intent process, revised committee structures and more stre...
A message from Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Enterprise) Professor Abid Khan: A comprehensive roadmap will chart our research future in line with Vision 2033 and Australia’s higher education se...
Include an additional survey item in the Student Evaluation of Learning and Teaching (SELT) survey for units that are offered in Semester 1 (202430) and Professional Term 3 (202415).
The process to determine a finding of Poor Academic Practice following an allegation of academic misconduct has substantially changed. Read more to learn about the key updates.
Introducing the new Research Ethics, Research Integrity and Research Compliance webpages.
The first Aquero lecture of the year is kicking off this week on Thursday, ‘You are what you eat and how you sleep!’ divulging the lessons learned from 50 years working with elite athletes.
All staff are encouraged to participate in ACU’s annual flu vaccination program to help maintain their health and wellbeing. All staff, including casuals and sessional staff, are eligible to participa...
Register to attend and hear our newest professors from the Faculty of Health Sciences, Professor Laura Miller and Professor Gert-Jan Pepping, speak about their impactful work being undertaken in teach...
All staff and students are invited to a commemorative prayer service ahead of ANZAC Day, to remember and honour our service men and women who exemplified courage and self-sacrifice in service of our c...
Last call to recommend a process improvement - survey extended until close of business Friday 19 April
The Professional Services Hub model provides portfolios and faculties with a greater level of proactive coordination and integration across professional services. This ultimately improves services for...
The Centre for Education & Innovation is hosting virtual Q&A sessions with Assessment Panel Chair, Associate Professor Alison Owens to assist you in the preparation of your application.
Are you considering undertaking a systematic or scoping review? ACU Library has two one-hour introductory webinars designed to get you started.
All potential cases of academic misconduct must be lodged through the Student Academic Misconduct Management System (SAMMS). Read more to familiarise yourself with the new process.
A message from Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) Professor Hayden Ramsay: We have the opportunity to build on strong foundations already in practice.
See the latest opportunities for funding, training and external engagement. This edition includes news about workshops, research technology training, funding and award opportunities and industry engag...
Register to attend the first online talk hosted by the HBMRC, as Executive Dean Health Sciences Professor Suzanne Chambers AO shares ‘Career building: tips from the edge’.
Looking to advance your career in teaching and learning? Enrol in the Graduate Certificate in Higher Education (GCHE) to get started next week.
Visit Service Central to access Corporate Services.