Theology @ K.U.Leuven Newsletter

Welcome

Dear Alumni and Friends of the Faculty of Theology, K.U. Leuven,

Welcome to this Christmas edition of the Alumni Newsletter where once again we have much to report.

KU Leuven Reaffirms Its Catholic Identity and Commitment to the Catholic Tradition and Community

On 22 December 2011, the discussion on the Catholic identity of the university, launched by Rector Mark Waer about a year ago, came to a conclusion in the final decision of the Board of Trustees.

The mission statement of our university first clearly affirms that the new corporate name “KU Leuven” (instead of “K.U.Leuven”) “stands for Catholic University of Leuven”.

Immediately thereafter the mission statement clarifies the university’s role as a Catholic university: “From its Christian perspective, KU Leuven endeavours to be a place of open discussion of social, philosophical and ethical issues and a critical centre of thought in and for the Catholic community.” In his message to the university community, Rector Mark Waer highlights the importance of this mission statement: “This document describes the university’s Catholic tradition, its identity, its value system, its role as a critical centre of thought in and for the Catholic community, and emphasises its openness for all worldviews.”

The Dean of our Faculty, Prof. Lieven Boeve, who has represented us in the debate stressed that the discussion is not about whether we are a Catholic institution, but about the way in which being Catholic will be expressed in the profile of the university. He did so especially in his statements in the Flemish newspaper De Standaard, 19 December 2011. Below is the full translation into English.

 

For those interested, see also the report that was carried by the National Catholic Reporter shortly after the decision of the Board of Trustees.

Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies

On 1 August 2011 the Faculty of Theology officially changed its name to the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies (Faculteit Theologie en Religiewetenschappen).

On the crossroads of academy, church and society, the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies aspires to constitute one of the most important theological research environments, and this both regionally and internationally. Anchored in the Roman Catholic tradition, and situated in a secularised and religiously pluralised context, theological research in Leuven is characterised by its profound hermeneutical-theological approach, in which the relation between text and context, fact and interpretation, historicity and normativity, theory and praxis, are closely held together. In constant dialogue with the disciplines of philosophy, history, literature, and other scientific approaches to religion, such profile is realised through historical-, systematic- and practical-hermeneutical research activities. Within this profile, theology and religious studies are explicitly conceived of as intrinsically related to one another. For this reason the “and” in “Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies” has to be understood in an inclusive way.

The change of the name, therefore, does not imply a change in the identity of our Faculty. Rather, it reflects the increased attention we have been giving to interdisciplinary research in recent years, as well as the programmes on offer for students and doctoral researchers alike. The faculty found inspiration in similar names of institutions abroad, such as the ‘Faculté de theologie et de sciences religieuses’ of the Université Laval, the ‘Faculté de theologie & de sciences religieuses’ of the Institut Catholique de Paris, the ‘Department of Theology and Religious Studies’ of the University of Glasgow and the ‘Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies’ of Groningen.

(See also “A Short History of the Faculty of Theology” on the Faculty’s website.)

Valedictory Lecture of Prof. Joseph A. Selling

On 25 May 2011, on the occasion of his being conferred the title “Emeritus”, Prof. Joseph A. Selling (Theological Ethics) delivered his valedictory lecture, “From Moral Theology to Theological Ethics: Revival or Revision in the Post-Conciliar Church?” The celebration took place in the Promotion Room of the University Hall.

Prof. Selling giving his valedictory lecture

As a theologian, Prof. Selling identified himself “a child of Vatican II” on account of his involvement in the radical post-conciliar changes in the Catholic Church’s moral theology, but also on account of his being the first lay person appointed to a full-time teaching position in theology at KU Leuven since the founding of the Faculty in 1432!

In his lecture, he also outlined how theologians shifted in their concerns after Vatican II from asking the question, “To what extent is a person guilty of sin, and under what conditions can a sin be forgiven?” to “What is right and wrong under different circumstances?” The Church, he said, should no longer be issuing encyclicals about moral theology “as if the rest of the world had no ethics, no values or no insights into the meaning of morality,” but should rather place herself in dialogue “with anyone who is interested in seeking the meaning of a good, responsible, ethical life.”

He concluded his lecture with words of hope for the continuing struggle among Catholic theologians to redefine Christian Ethics: “We need to think about how we think about things. To really understand ethics and to talk about it intelligently, we need to inaugurate a Copernican revolution of the mind and begin with thinking and talking about who we are and where we are going. This is Christian Ethics. Hopefully, some day it will also be Roman Catholic Ethics.”

For this newsletter, Prof. Selling kindly devoted some time for an interview.

Do you still keep good contact with your former students?

Yes, last Summer I visited India and met a number of them. After visiting with one of my former students in Tamil Nadu, I went to Marymatha Major Seminary (Trichur, Kerala) to represent the Faculty for our affiliation. I taught a course there and afterwards travelled to the major seminary in Jalandhar, Punjab, where I taught another course.

What would you expect most from your former students and all young people who studied theological ethics in our Faculty and are now back in their home country?

I hope that they always try to realize how they are related to real people, having in mind a whole picture of people living in their own circumstances. For instance, in Kerala on the southwest coast of India, most people have been open to the outer world and the situation is rather tolerant. There, Christian churches exist side by side with many other religions and philosophies. In Punjab, an inland region of North India more isolated from other, more developed parts of the country, people generally remain poor and Christians are a very small minority. So, while both communities are Catholic Christians, they each facing totally different realities.

Second of all, I would like my former students to listen to people so that they can see what is really needed to help them. Pastoral work is no longer about telling people to be obedient to what the Church teaches, but about helping them to take responsibility for their problems. In order to be able to listen to people, one must first show oneself to be trustworthy. To do this, my ex-students have at their disposal the theological tools they have acquired in our Faculty.

Thank you, Prof. Selling, for the interview!

A video of Prof. Selling’s valedictory lecture is available on YouTube. You can also visit Prof. Selling’s website at: http://www.christian-ethics.be.

A New Function for The American College

The American College of the Immaculate Conception, the seminary which operated under the auspices of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), was closed in June 2011 due to the low number of seminarians.

Since its foundation in 1857, the American College formed and educated young men for the priesthood, primarily for dioceses in the United States. In conjunction with classes at KU Leuven, the College provided programmes of human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral formation for seminarians. At the close of the 2010-2011 academic year, the College was home to 19 seminarians in formation. With its closure, the Pontifical North American College in Rome is now the only European seminary governed directly by the USCCB.

On 19 August 2011, representatives of the USCCB and the Board of Directors of the American College signed an agreement providing for the future use of the property, thus renewing the long-standing cooperation between the USCCB and KU Leuven to promote theological and philosophical studies in Belgium. The agreement entrusted the seminary building to KU Leuven, which in turn committed itself to renovating the building and updating its facilities.

Besides serving as a residence for university students, the building will now house the Peter Kindekens Fund. This Fund, named after the first Rector of the American College, was jointly established by the USCCB and KU Leuven in close consultation with the Bishops’ Conference of Belgium and the French-speaking sister university in Louvain-la-Neuve. Its aim is to support educational and research activities which preserve and further the spiritual legacy of the American College. The Fund will also grant new scholarships in accord with its goals and administer existing scholarships already associated with the American College.

The Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies was closely involved in all negotiations on the future of the American College, which has played an important role in the recent history of the Faculty. The Faculty will also remain a structural partner in the implementation of this new initiative.

On the new function of the American College see the information on the website of the faculty here.

The Second Year of the International Sisters’ Community (Father Damien Community)

The International Sisters’ Community (Father Damien Community) greeted its second year after its foundation on 15 September 2010. This community, situated in the vicinity of our Faculty and Saint Anthony’s Chapel, where Father Damian is buried, offers religious sisters a place where they can live with each other in community while studying at our Faculty.

View of the building from Pater Damiaanplein

The first members of the community were six religious sisters and five lay women from various countries: Belgium, Ghana, India, Lithuania, Poland, the Philippines, and Vietnam in the first semester—with the addition of Nigeria and the United States of America in the second semester. It currently numbers nine sisters and two lay women. Each sister has her own room. They share a prayer room, a kitchen and dining area, a living room, laundry and bathroom facilities, as well as a garden. Uncommon as it may be for sisters from different congregations to live together in a single community, they have expressed their appreciation for this unique experience. Here, they share the life of prayer with others who have similarly professed religious vows, and help each other in the challenges they meet away in this new country.

Some of the students living in the sisters' community

Our Faculty, which had for years been lobbying for such a place for the sisters, was finally able to reach an agreement with the University regarding the use of this building. The initial concern of the Faculty was that a number of religious sisters would not be able to live in the university residences due to the limited coverage of their scholarship. Moreover, due to delays in visa processing, some of them only arrive in Leuven shortly before the beginning of the academic year – a situation which makes it very difficult for them to find rooms that suit their needs.

The different physical and administrative needs of the community’s daily life are addressed by communication with the respective services of the University. The Resident Assistant, Ma. Marilou Ibita, a doctoral student from the Philippines, suggests, however, that the main challenge of this community is twofold: (1) fully integrating the residents, who come from diverse backgrounds and whose composition changes from year to year; as well as (2) providing, as a vibrant Christian community, support for the University’s Catholic identity.

We strongly hope that the presence of this community will encourage young religious　sisters who wish to study in Leuven in the future, and that their challenges will receive greater attention from international alumni.

Sisters in the prayer room. A special thanks for Sr. Chibugo Lebechi (right) for her guidance during the writing of this report.

For more information, please contact: admissions@theo.kuleuven.be.

New Task for Prof. Jacques Haers

Prof. Jacques Haers, SJ has recently been nominated to the post of Academic Director at the University Centre Saint-Ignatius Antwerp (UCSIA: Universitair Centrum Sint-Ignatius Antwerpen).

In 2003, UCSIA launched the international, multi-disciplinary academic forum to stimulate exchange of research among scholars of diverse disciplines both within Belgium and without. This aim fits well with Prof. Haers’ long-term commitment to multi-disciplinary research and education as the coordinator of the Centre for Liberation Theologies and – in past years – of the Advanced Master’s Programme in Conflict and Sustainable Peace. We wish Prof. Haers every success in his new career, and hope for greater collaboration between UCSIA and our Faculty during his tenure.

Though Prof. Haers continues as a member of our Faculty, this new appointment does accordingly diminish his responsibilities within the Faculty. As such, some of these have been assumed by the newly-nominated professor in Systematic Theology, Prof. Kristof Struys, since 1 October 2011. Prof. Struys’ research has centred on the theology of Walter Kasper, particularly the theological-hermeneutical foundations of his Christology and Trinitarian theology; pneumatology and fundamental theology; as well as the theology of salvation history. He is also a priest of the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels where he is episcopal vicar for ecclesiastical formation and director of the programme for the formation of deacons.

Library Renovation

The renovation of the Maurits Sabbe Library, which started in the Summer of 2010, is approaching its completion. The coordinating librarian, Ms. Veronique Verspeurt, gave us an update of the project.

The stairs from the MTC to the entrance of the library

When did the work start?

The planning started already several years ago. Many people worked very hard to make sure that everything was planned and designed the right way – not in the least our Dean, academic librarian Prof. Kenis, librarian Veronique Verspeurt, and our architect Marie Verlinden, and many technical staff of our University. The actual construction started in August 2010.”

What has been renovated?

The renovation has five goals. First, since our preciosa room was getting too small, we have planned an extra 600 meters of book shelves. This ensures that we have enough room for new collections of early prints and manuscripts acquired by the library in the last few years – and other collections in the years to come.

Second, we wanted our library to be more easily accessible for people with wheelchairs. With these works, the entrance has been fitted with a convenient ramp next to the existing stairs. Also, the new elevator is now large enough to accommodate wheelchairs, and the access to the library desk has also been made wheelchair-friendly.

The elevator next to the stairs

Third, the locker room has been doubled in size. We will not only have nice new lockers, but there will be more lockers and larger ones. For backpacks and bigger bags we will also provide extra-large lockers, so people will no longer have to leave their luggage unattended at the entrance of the library.

Fourth, the library will have enlarged storage and comfortable consultation rooms for the Faculty’s Center for the Study of the Second Vatican Council. Previously, the Center was located in the basement of the building. Now it will be in the new part of the building, with extra tables and facilities for visiting scholars.

Finally, to attend to the great need for extra space in the reading rooms, especially for graduate and post-graduate students working on their thesis and research, we will provide research and resource areas in different spots in the library. Thus, young researchers who are working on the same topic will be able to work in the same area and share research facilities. The second floor will constitute one of the largest areas and will provide space for ten young researchers.

When precisely is the work expected to finish?

The official date is 12 January 2012, but many finishing touches (fitting doors, placement of signage, etc) will still have to be done during the next three months. As with all construction work, there is always the possibility of unforeseen delays. No doubt, we will have our fair share of that too. Hopefully everything will be completed by Easter.

The temporary entrance. You can see the new entrance in the back which will be opened soon.

A special thanks to Veronique

For more updates, visit the blog of the Maurits Sabbe Library.

Who’s Who in the Faculty: Interview with Prof. Yves De Maeseneer

Yves De Maeseneer is Professor of Fundamental Theological Ethics at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies. From 2000 to 2007, he was a member of the Research Group Theology in a Postmodern Context. His doctoral dissertation was entitled Seraph crucifixus: Aestheticisation under Theological Critique. A Posthumous Confrontation of Hans Urs von Balthasar’s ‘Herrlichkeit’ and Theodor W. Adorno’s ‘Ästhetische Theorie’ (2004). He was a Visiting Fellow in Münster (Fall 2003), Manchester (Fall 2005) and Kinshasa (2008-2009). Since 2010 he is the Coordinator of the Research Group Anthropos, an interdisciplinary platform of theological ethicists and fundamental theologians who are developing a renewed theological anthropology.

Professor, in your own words, tell us a little about yourself.

Well, let’s see. I was born in Gent. I’m married to Nele and the proud father of two children: Jona, a 2-year old son and Mari, 6-month old girl. What else? (pauses). Not many people know this, but ethics was in fact my first love when I arrived at our Faculty to study. I felt that spirituality was the key to a just world, which, on looking back, was of course a very instrumental view of spirituality to hold (smiles). But then, after my first yearly essay in ethics I switched directions in favour of systematic theology under the direction of Professor (now emeritus) Georges De Schrijver, who was into liberation theology. Interestingly, though, Prof. De Schrijver had also worked on Hans Urs von Balthasar, and it was on von Balthasar that I ultimately ended up writing my doctoral thesis under the supervision of Professor Lieven Boeve.

What more lies behind your initial move from ethics to systematic theology?

When I was 17 years old I was very idealistic about the possibility of building a better world, but after a few years as an activist in environmental groups and North-South solidarity movements, I became very disenchanted by the fact that nothing was really changing. This was at the end of the 1990s and it led me to a sort of crisis. I felt that my hopes were not built on solid grounds. I was looking for deeper sources of action, or deeper sources to justify my ethical commitment. In a certain sense this was representative of the traditional tension between action and contemplation. Perhaps you could say that when I was younger I was an activist and then at a certain moment I made a switch. I realized for myself that if I were merely to remain an activist I would run up against a wall because on its own it was not enough to sustain me. I was hungry for something more than simply activism.

So that explains my spiritual ‘turn’ towards contemplation. And that is reflective of two leanings within me: on the one hand, a deep commitment to justice, and on the other, love for literature and writing. So, you could say the Arts – or in this case, the Beautiful–and the Good are my two passions. And so, in a way, that explains my focus on the Good in the beginning, and then a switch to the Beautiful a bit later. But, I was fortunate to have a promoter who was himself living that tension, which I suspect was also a struggle for him. (De Schrijver started with von Balthasar, then moved to liberation theology, and only after his retirement returned to von Balthasar and took up his aesthetics again.) So I was struggling myself and I think that at the stage of writing my PhD I was much more into aesthetics, although I did find along the way some theologians who had rediscovered the role of the imagination for the political and ethical realm. And that also explains why I was able to ultimately bring Theodor Adorno into my work.

It’s interesting that you portray one of your promoters as having moved from aesthetics through a sustained moment of social justice reflection (in his case, liberation theology), and then at the end of his career returning to aesthetics. It’s sort of the left-handed mirror-image of your own trajectory, where, as you indicate, your first love was ethics, you entered a moment of disenchantment that led you to aesthetics, and now it seems you’ve come full circle, returning to ethics.

Very much so, and I think that my experience in Africa, in Kinshasa (Congo) was key to this. I must confess that at a certain point in my post-doctoral research I also became somewhat disenchanted with aesthetics, which I think has more to do with a dissatisfaction with any theology that is too one-sided. It was only after leaving the university environment for two years and working first in Antwerp with Catholic solidarity projects for the poor, becoming part of the church of the poor, and then in Kinshasa where I was confronted with enormous suffering and even despair, that I rediscovered my love for theology – which, this time, was able to integrate my two passions, for the Good and the Beautiful.

When you say you rediscovered your love for theology, did that momentarily go away as a result of some fatigue from too much academic theology?

I think so. After seven years of research (four years as a doctoral researcher and then another three years as a post-doctoral research fellow), I thought I had lost it. In a very real sense, I had to go away in order to find my love for theology again. And it was because I was confronted by the questions from African students in Kinshasa, which were theological questions in their truest sense, coming from their own experiences. Up until then I had the feeling I was dealing with theological questions only in an abstract sense. But then, already starting in Antwerp, I began to face questions from urban pastors, which to me were deep theological questions, but which emerged out of their own struggles and daily realities, rather than just from having read other theologians.

Is there a dichotomy then between academic theology and a theology that is lived or experienced?

The odd thing about me is that, left to my own devices, when I’m walking through the Theology Library for instance, I’m in fact attracted to the more abstract books (chuckles). I really do appreciate the more contemplative element in theology–debates about the Trinity for example. Even as a moral theologian, I can be passionate about wrestling with this mystery. On the other hand, this passion always has to have some link to my dealings in the world in which I live. For instance, I’m currently a volunteer at the correctional facility in Gent. I lead, along with others, a 10-week catechesis session for a group of prisoners who are interested. This, for me, is one example where the theological questions I’m passionate about can intersect with the lives and concerns of real people.

Would it be fair to say that your biographical odyssey is marked by a going away in order to return?

There’s in fact something I forgot to mention a bit earlier on in the interview. After I finished my initial Master’s in Religious Studies, I then left the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies for studies in Arts and Literature, before returning to complete my studies in Theology. So, in answer to your question, yes indeed. More than Odysseus, I would say I’m actually very much inspired by St. Francis of Assisi, who not only had a very itinerant lifestyle, but as you know had a very strong dismissive attitude to all things ‘academic’– he was even against books! I would not go that far (laughs).

But then, as you’ve said, you’re also attracted to abstract theology. So you have these two poles within you. Do you bring this to bear in your current domain of fundamental theological ethics?

I think the focus in my academic work is the link between ethics and systematic theology. I don’t think I will ever become an expert in a field of applied ethics, even though I have the deepest respect and appreciation for those who have that competence. For instance, today in my seminar we had a long discussion about the gift of self and how our capacity to give of ourselves finds its source in the life of the Trinity and is oriented towards participation in the life of the Trinity. And I believe that such insights from what are usually associated with dogmatic theology are in fact very challenging for ethical reflection.

Tell us briefly about your research project, Anthropos.

Anthropos is a research project run by Professor Lieven Boeve and myself. It’s in that sense an interdisciplinary encounter between systematic theology and theological ethics reflecting on a topic that both disciplines have in common, namely, the question of what it means to be a human being coram Deo. I think it’s important because many of the issues we are facing in theological ethics today are in fact about theological anthropology. For instance, the whole discussion about sexual ethics has to do with one’s view on the human body and the human person. And, rather than discard old notions, our research project investigates the extent to which these notions can possibly be retrieved and made to dialogue with today’s pluralist environment. In this way we seek to avoid the danger of some other trends that attempt to translate theology directly into a one-size-fits-all formula that would then be good for everybody. As Professor Boeve has demonstrated in his own work, I also don’t believe that such an approach of one-to-one translation without recontextualization is viable in today’s context.

What do you find most challenging when teaching fundamental theological ethics? Put differently, what do you most want to communicate when teaching the subject?

I think theologians – and I include students of theological ethics in this – could dare to be more creative than they are. It’s because one day they will become teachers themselves. And I believe that good teaching is in fact based on a spirituality of learning. You’re always learning and are forced to learn again what you are talking about. I think this holds especially true for ethics, where our discourse pertains to the life of human beings. Last year, in one of my classes, I included an article by Peter Ochs on “morning prayer as redemptive thinking.” His point was that theological thinking should start in prayer. And I believe this is true. Of course, thinking is something else than prayer. But the fundamental attitude is receptivity. When it comes to thinking, you are actually studying something you receive. It’s not just a matter of receiving the word, but also the world. For instance, it’s good to want to know what the Church teaches. But, for me, what the Church teaches is as important as how the Church learned what she is teaching. And is she still in that learning process? Of course, even for me, this remains a real challenge: how to teach and be receptive to learning at the same time? The whole idea of a university as a learning community taps into this–less a community of learned people, more one of people who are always learning: students, doctors, and professors alike.

Since we’re about to celebrate Christmas, share with us a reflection on what this feast means to you.

I suppose that if my spirituality could be described in one word, it would be: “waiting”. So, for me, Advent is as important as Christmas itself. The notion that we are in this world to wait for God to be born is fundamental for me. In the film, Des hommes et des dieux (Of Gods and Men, 2010) – a film I consider key in understanding the meaning of Christmas today – there’s a wonderful scene where the prior of the community mentions that Christmas wants to be born in us. We are all then, in a sense, theotokos, bearers of God in us. All of our life, including the mystery of our suffering, is then summed up in Christmas: the birth of God in us.

This is the night,
Immense night of the beginning.
And nothing exists except love,
Love that now begins.
By separating sand from water,
God has prepared the earth like a cradle,
In which He would come.

This is the night,
Happy night of Palestine,
And nothing exists except the child,
Except the child of life divine.
By assuming our flesh,
God our desert did refresh.
And made it a land of boundless spring. 

This is the night,
The long night in which we grope,
And nothing exists except this place,
Except this place of ruined hope.
By stopping in our abode,
God, as with the bush, did forebode
The world on fire will fall. 

(Translation of the Christmas hymn appearing in the film Des hommes et des dieux)

Past Conferences

60^th Colloquium Biblicum Lovaniense (Leuven, 26-28 July 2011)

This annual international conference in biblical studies is jointly organised by the theology faculties of KU Leuven and the Université Catholique de Louvain. Begun in 1949, it has provided a forum for encounter and exchange of ideas among scholars in the fields of the Old and New Testaments. This year’s colloquium centred on the topic “The Apocryphal Gospels within the Context of Early Christian Theology”. Its president was Prof. Dr. Jens Schröter (Berlin). The conference programme of the papers offered can still be found here. 

2011 International Congress of European Society for Catholic Theology (Bratislava–Vienna, 25-28 August 2011)

The conference took place in two cities close to one another – Bratislava, Slovakia and Vienna, Austria. Pre-conference sessions took place in Bratislava, where doctoral students were offered the opportunity to present their research, whereas Vienna hosted the main conference. The theme of the conference was “Exploring the Boundaries of Bodiliness: Theological and Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Human Condition”. Papers presented reflected on the role of theology in mediating the dual reductionisms with respect to “bodiliness”: both the extreme materialisation of the body and its acute spiritualisation. The discussions were premised on the conviction that theology’s appeal for a more holistic vision of the body, mind and soul can offer invaluable help in the rethinking of corporeality in our society today.

The Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, KU Leuven, was prominently represented this year with 8 students and 7 professors. Notably, one of our doctoral students, Johan de Joode, won first prize in the essay competition. Concerning his essay, de Joode notes: “In my essay, I explored the consequences of our bodiliness for our cognition and thus our theology. Drawing on cognitive linguistics, it was clear that all thinking about God is fundamentally rooted in the experience of our bodiliness. The book of Job provided a set of examples to illustrate how Job challenges everyday theological images of God as a shepherd, a warrior for Israel, a refuge. Job describes God as a predator, a lion, a warrior attacking him. All these images share the idea of a God who does not protect, but pervades the individual's boundaries. This is combined with a set of images that shows how God limits Job, giving his body boundaries it does not want, does not need. Thus, I tried to illustrate how Scripture challenges Scripture. God allows for the critical rethinking of theology in light of experience. Hence, using metaphor to challenge metaphorical thinking should be at the essence of our theological writing. This study ultimately leads us to ourselves, to our images, to our thinking, to our body.”

Johan being presented with a token of his success in the essay competition

Asked about his experiences at the conference, Johan said it provided him a wonderful opportunity to meet many scholars and priests from all over Europe, including a representative of the Vatican. He did not fail to mention the regular meals which afforded the participants the opportunity to experience the “taste of the exquisite Austrian cuisine.” In fact, he expressed hope that all scholars in theology will get involved in future conferences organised by the association: “I highly recommend this conference to my junior and senior colleagues. We could write essays or books for the competitions, participate in the (pre-)conference, become a member of the ESCT. I would especially like to challenge Biblical exegetes to increase their investment in society. After all, all our efforts are futile if they do not at some point serve to enhance, challenge, correct, confirm or inspire our understanding of God.”

Our Dean, Prof. Lieven Boeve at the conference in Austria. Prof. Boeve was the International President of the Society from 2005-2009.

Prof. Pierre Van Hecke, Secretary General of the ESCT since 2008, driving home his point at the conference.

For more on the conference, visit: http://www.kuleuven.be/eurotheo/congresses/.

Between Hermeneutics and Exegesis: Cases from the Pauline Letters and the Gospel of Mark (Leuven, 14-15 October 2011)

This international conference was organised by the Research Group “Exegesis, Hermeneutics and Theology of the Corpus Paulinum and Corpus Johanneum” on the occasion of the 85^th birthday of Prof. dr. em. Jan Lambrecht, SJ. During this conference papers were presented by Ben Vedder (Nijmegen), Thomas Söding (Bochum), Morna Hooker (Cambridge), Sandra Hübenthal (Tübingen), John Barclay (Durham) and Geert Van Oyen (Louvain-la-Neuve). At the culmination of the conference, Veronica Koperski (Miami) presented to Professor Lambrecht the first copy of his new book, Understanding What One Reads II: Essays on the Gospels and Paul (2003-2011) (Annua Nuntia Lovaniensia, 64).

More information about the conference can be found on the following blog.

8^th International Leuven Encounter on Systematic Theology (LEST) Conference (Leuven, 26-29 October 2011)

This year’s conference was organised around the theme, Tradition and the Normativity of History, and attracted many junior and senior scholars from all over the world. The conference featured six plenary sessions with 12 speakers, and 44 paper presentations by senior scholars and 34 by junior ones. Throughout the conference, scholars brainstormed and exchanged ideas on the mutual determination and tension between history and cultural traditions.

This year's LEST featured several keynote addresses. Mathijs Lamberigts, our very own Professor of Church History, presented his paper, “Discontinuity in the Teaching of the Roman Catholic Church: The Case of Nostra Aetate”. He discussed how best to understand the place of Vatican II within the history of the Church's conciliar tradition, asking whether the Council is “best understood as a response to the crisis of the moment (modernity, for example, as has often been said), or [whether] it represents a truly significant (re-)appropriation of revelation – where (re-)appropriation can also be understood as a reorientation or even a rupture.”

In her address entitled “Chattel Slavery as Dangerous Memory”, Shawn Copeland, Associate Professor of Theology at Boston College, reflected on the ways “dangerous” memories could influence our contemporary theology. She considered how “dangerous memories” such as black slavery in the United States and the Shoah in Europe can help shape the theology of today and the future.

Other keynote addresses were those of Henri-Jérôme Gagey of Institut Catholique, Paris) (“From History to Historicity: The Case of the Resurrection”); Terrence Tilley of Fordham University, USA (“Has Salvation a History?”); and Eric Saak of Liverpool Hope University, UK (“Questioning Normativity: Systematic Theology as an Instrument of Evil”).

Participants during one of the plenary sessions of the LEST conference

This 8^th edition was convened by Profs. Lieven Boeve and Terrence Merrigan, with the collaboration of Colby Dickinson. The conference website can still be consulted here.

Upcoming Conferences

International Conference - Migration as a Sign of the Times: Perspectives from Social Sciences and Theology (Salzburg, 12-14 April 2012)

This conference will highlight the uses of interdisciplinary approach to analyse issues related to migration. Its 2012 edition will engage perspectives from different fields of study, including sociology, politology, discourse analysis, philosophy and theology. It is aimed at enhancing the evolving theology of migration.

Senior and junior scholars are invited to submit paper proposals (ca. 300 words) before January 31, 2012.

For information and registration visit: http://www.uni-salzburg.at/migration2012

Colloquium Biblicum Lovaniense LXI: Old Testament Pseudepigrapha and the Scriptures (Leuven, 26-28 July 2012)

The 2012 colloquium will not only focus on the well-known Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, composed before or around the beginning of our era, which were already collected in the early-twentieth century collections, but also on comparable texts found among the Dead Sea Scrolls as well as somewhat later Old Testament pseudepigrapha. Concretely, contributors are asked to tackle one or more questions from the following clusters of questions. (1) What is the relation between a specific Old Testament pseudepigraphon (or group of related pseudepigrapha) and the scriptures? For example, does the pseudepigraphon use scripture, and, if so, how? Are we dealing with interpretation of scripture? With extension, or expansion? Are those pseudepigrapha parabiblical works? What is the function of the work’s pseudepigraphic attribution? More generally: is a specific relation to the scriptures essential to these pseudepigrapha? (2) How does the phenomenon of Old Testament Pseudepigrapha relate to the canonical process, both when those pseudepigrapha were produced, and when they were transmitted, translated, and collected? What internal and external evidence do we have for a formal or qualitative differentiation between pseudepigrapha and scriptures? (3) What was the function of Old Testament Pseudepigrapha in Christianity? In general, the issues of the use of and/or allusions to the well-known pseudepigrapha in the New Testament and Early Christian literature have extensively been dealt with. What were the attitudes of early Christians towards Old Testament pseudepigrapha? And why did Christians compose such pseudepigrapha? What does this tell us of Christian views on the Hebrew scriptures?

More information on this colloquium, including online registration, can be found here.

The Regulars

Recent Doctoral Defenses

Hearty congratulations to the following recent doctors promoted at our faculty:

Beata Toth, Logos and Love: The Theological Contours of a Fragile Unity. Promoter: Prof. Terrence Merrigan. Defended: 01.04.11.

Helen Dantis, Consecrated Religious Life as Building Contrast / Kingdom Communities through the Preferential Option for the Poor. Promoter: Prof. Jacques Haers. Defended: 26.04.11.

Roger Djop Yafwamba (ICP), Théologie Africaine de Pratiques Charismatiques de Guérison/ Cas du Katanga. Promoter: Profs. Hans Geybels/René Tabard. Defended: 12.05.11.

Vitalis Mshanga, The Future of Ecumenism in the Light of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification with Reference to the Church in Tanzania. Promoter: Prof. Peter De Mey. Defended: 16.05.11.

Hans Debel, The Pluriformity of Pluriformity: A Reassessment of the Hermeneutical Framework for the Text-Critical Analysis of the Hebrew Bible. Promoter: Prof. Bénédicte Lemmelijn. Defended: 25.05.11.

Jude Likori Omukaga, A Theological Ethical Reflection of the Right to Food Approach of Asbjørn Eide to the Problem of Hunger. Promoter: Prof. Johan De Tavernier. Defended: 27.05.11.

Marina Riemslagh, (In)correcte gespreksvoering Fundamenteel en empirisch onderzoek naar de ethiek van het pastorale gespreksproces. Promoters: Profs. Axel Liégeois/Jozef Corveleyn/Roger Burggraeve. Defended: 30.05.11.

Izunna Okonkwo, The Transformative Power of the Eucharist with Special Attention to the Harrowing Problem of Hunger. A Theological Exploration with South East Nigeria as a Point of Reference. Promoter: Prof. Joris Geldhof. Defended: 31.05.11.

Huiberdina Johanna Cornet, The Sixteenth-Century Arnhem Mystical Sermons. Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague (NL), Ms. 133 H 13. Context, Sources, and Aspects of Mystical Theology. Promoters: Profs. Rob Faesen/Kees Schepers. Defended: 01.06.11.

Victorino Cueto, “Tactics of the Weak”: Exploring Everyday Practice with Michel de Certeau. Towards a Theology of Everyday Life. Promoter: Prof. Jacques Haers. Defended: 07.06.11.

Gregory Obanado, The Decline of Sufi Brotherhoods. A Denudation of Islam in Nigeria. Promoter: Prof. Emilio Platti. Defended: 27.06.11.

Patrick Chilambwe, Towards the Ethics of Investing: Is There Such a Thing as Ethical/Socially Responsible Investing? Promoter: Prof. Johan Verstraeten. Defended: 01.07.11.

Philip Mattathil (ICP), Discours symbolique et théologie trinitaire: la pneumatologie de Saint Ephrem. Promoters: Profs. Johan Leemans/ Yves-Marie Blanchard. Defended: 04.07.11.

Gesila Uzukwu, The Unity of Male and Female in Christ: An Exegetical Study of Gal 3:28c in Light of Paul's Theology of Promise. Promoter: Prof. Reimund Bieringer. Defended: 05.07.11.

Charles Ddungu, Fostering the Participation of Laypersons in Pastoral Ministry: Toward Contextual Formation of Lay Ministers and Leaders of Small Christian Communities in Tanzania. Promoter: Prof. Annemie Dillen. Defended: 05.07.11.

Lambert Nieme Kadiamonoko, Fondements theologique et ontologique de l'impératif d'exister de l'humanité. Réflexion à partir de l'éthique du future. Promoter: Prof. Johan De Tavernier. Defended: 06.07.11.

Antony Binz, No One Can Separate Us from the Love of God in Christ Jesus: A Theocentric Interpretation of the Gospel of God for an Ecclesial Purpose in Romans 1-8. Promoter: Prof. Reimund Bieringer. Defended: 06.07.11.

Veneranda Mbabazi, Access of Women to Leadership Positions of Business Organizations: A Matter of Equality or a Matter of Leadership Style? Implications for the Catholic Church in Uganda. Promoter: Prof. Johan Verstraeten. Defended: 06.07.11.

Frédérique Poulet (ICP), Au cœur du mystère de l’iniquité, le sens de l’action eucharistique. Penser la théodicée sur un mode sacramental. Promoters: Profs. Joris Geldhof/ Patrick Prétot. Defended: 05.09.11.

John Kennedy Arockia Jockim Raj, Transgressions and Fire in Amos 1.3-2.16 in the Context of the Redaction History of the Book of Amos. Promoters: Profs. Bénédicte Lemmelijn/Jésus Asurmendi. Defended: 16.09.11.

Fernando Alangaram Sahayadas, Development or Diversion?: A Comparative Study of the Catholic Social Teaching in Gaudium et Spes and The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. Promoter: Prof. Johan Verstraeten. Defended: 27.09.11.

Mezgebu Kassa, Theanthropic Ethics in Conversation with Autonomy and Heteronomy. Promoter: Prof. Johan De Tavernier. Defended: 04.10.11.

Georges Njila Jibilakiyi (ICP), Le témoignage comme langage. Eléments de la pneumatologie de Hans Urs von Balthasar pour le renouveau du discours christologique africain. Promoters: Dr. Joeri Schrijvers/Vincent Holzer. Defended: 24.10.11.

Terence Bateman, The Primacy of Particularity for a Contemporary Hermeneutical Theology: Francis Schüssler Fiorenza’s Reconstructive Hermeneutics in Dialogue with An Incarnation Epistemology. Promoter: Prof. Lieven Boeve. Defended: 25.10.11.

Elke Verbeke, Hebrew Hapax Legomena and Their Greek Rendering in LXX Job. Promoter: Prof. Bénédicte Lemmelijn. Defended: 09.12.11.

Inge Van Wiele, De dag en het uur van het breken van het brood. De samenkomst op de eerste dag van de week en de betekenis van de eucharistie in het werk van Lucas. Promoter: Prof. Joseph Verheyden. Defended: 19.12.11.

Recently-published Books by Faculty Members in English

Dillen, Annemie and Anne Vandenhoeck. Prophetic Witness in World of Christianities: Rethinking Pastoral Care and Counselling. Zurich: LIT, 2011.

Lambrecht, Jan. Understanding What One Reads II: Essays on the Gospels and Paul. Leuven: Peeters, 2011.

Leemans, Johan, Brian Matz and Johan Verstraeten, Reading Patristic Texts on Social Ethics: Issues and Challenges for Twenty First Century Christian Social Thought. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2011.

Leemans, Johan et al. Episcopal Elections in Late Antiquity. Berlin: De Guyter, 2011.

Schelkens, Karim. The Council Notes of Edward Schillebeeckx 1962-1963. Leuven: Peeters, 2011.

Schrijvers, Joeri. Ontotheological Turnings: The Decentering of the Modern Subject in Recent French Phenomenology. Albany, NY: State University of New York, 2011.

Van Hecke, Pierre and Jacques Paul. From Linguistics to Hermeneutics: A Functional and Cognitive Approach to Job 12-14. Leiden: Brill, 2011.

Verheyden, Joseph and Herman Teule, eds. Heretics and Heresies in Ancient Church and in Eastern Christianity: Studies in Honour of Andebert Davids. Leuven: Peeters, 2011.

Verheyden, Joseph and Theo Hettema, eds. Paul Ricoeur: Poetics and Religion. Leuven: Peeters, 2011.

Verheyden Joseph, Tobias Nicklas and Andreas Merk. Ancient Interpretation of ‘Violent Texts’ in the Apocalypse. Goettingen: Vandehoeck and Ruprecht, 2011.

Verheyden, Joseph, Willhelmus Weren and Huub Van den Sadt. Life beyond Death in Matthew’s Gospel: Religious Metaphor or Bodily Reality? Leuven: Peeters, 2011.

Next edition

Don’t forget that this is also your newsletter and one that will benefit from your input! In forthcoming editions we would love to include news from your own region. Do you have information or updates that would be of interest to other alumni? Then send it to us at theology@theo.kuleuven.be. Many thanks!

In the meantime, we wish you and yours a very blessed Christmas and a joyful New Year!

Editorial Team: Satoshi Kikuchi, Michael Muonwe, Emmanuel Nathan, Wei Hsien Wan (with thanks to our guest writers).

Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Peter De Mey, Chair of the Theology Programmes in English