Newsletter in English
President’s Letter
Dear members and friends of the European Society for Catholic Theology,
In the last months, members of our society have been active on numerous levels. Particularly important has been Gerhard Kruip’s commitment to the regular publication of our journal. ET-Studies has found a regular rhythm of publication and met a lot of interest.
Martin M. Lintner has moved the preparations for our next international congress in Brixen forward, the details of which you have all recently received in a separate Newsletter.
I have personally represented the European Society for Catholic Theology at an international ecumenical meeting on the future of theology, held in Oslo. Members of the Presidium have met with the new prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Mgr. Ludwig Müller, and have decided on a joint initiative for young theologians in a joint meeting with representatives of the Congregation for Catholic Education. On both issues we will inform you further in a future newsletter, after discussion in the Presidium and Curatorium. Furthermore, the volume of collected essays from our international congress in Vienna is currently in preparation and will appear in good time for our next congress.
It pleases me to report on further events. My predecessor Eamonn Conway took part in the Bishop’s Synod in October as theological advisor and shared the concerns of our Society during a meeting with representatives of the international Catholic theological network INSeCT. Other members of our society were involved in a process of dialogue with the German bishops, or at organised sessions in their local sections, or in the context of the joint research project of our society with INSeCT on the right use of power. In Lithuania, one of our members, Fr. Dr. Kestutis Kevalas, has been appointed auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese of Kaunas. We congratulate him on this occasion and wish him God’s blessing.
The situation of theology in Europe is more complex than ever before: financial, political, social and ecclesial developments pose new challenges for theology. In this situation, it is encouraging to experience so much collaboration, constructive dialogue and joint commitment to theology in our European countries and beyond. I should like to thank you all wholeheartedly for your commitment and hope you will enjoy reading this newsletter.
With kind regards,
Sigrid Müller
President
Curatorium Meeting in Strasbourg 18-19 Feb 2012
The meeting of the Presidium took place in February together with a meeting of the representatives of the national sections, the so-called Curatorium. The meeting followed a regional conference, which had great support from the many participants, mainly postgraduate students from many French theological institutions. Our hosts were Marie-Jo Thiel and Frédéric Trautmann, whom we thank most sincerely for their excellent organisation and hospitality.
The Curatorium had a full agenda. Martin M. Lintner described the preparations for the coming international Junior Congress (28.8.2013) and full Congress (29.8 – 2.9.2013) of ET in Brixen on the theme “God in Question: Religious Language and Secular Language”. All details with regard to the conference can be found in the special Congress Newsletter that has been sent out. This Newsletter can also be found in different languages on the Congress webpage www.et-kongress.info.
Stephen Bullivant reported on the progress of the international work project on the theme “Redeeming Power: Overcoming Abuse in Church and Society”. An initial conference will launch the project on 4-5.9.2012. With this research project, ET will involve itself in the activities of the worldwide association of theological organizations, INSeCT, on a responsible use of power in the church and in society.
The next regional conference will take place in Salamanca Friday 8.2.2013 on the theme “What counts as quality in theology?”. This will be followed by a meeting of the Curatorium on 9-10.2.2013. We would like to thank Juan Pablo García Maestro and João Duque for organising this.
The regular conversation of the members of the Presidium with representatives of the Roman Curia ha resumed this autumn. The Curatorium has gathered a number of topics that it intends to pursue.
The editor-in-chief of ET’s journal, ET-Studies, reported on the progress of planning and printing the journal. This year three issues will be got ready to make up for the delays in previous years. Issue 2011/1 (“Christology”) has been sent out already; issue 2011/2 (“Sexual Abuse”) is about to be dispatched by post; issue 2012/1 (“Solidarity in Europe”) is already with the printer. We thank Gerhard Kruip for his work and ask all ET members to check their addresses on the ET Homepage so that the journal is delivered to the correct address.
Members’ subscriptions will be adjusted for the coming year. Will each of the national sections check whether their share of members’ subscriptions, as currently calculated, is sufficient for the needs of their own activities. The Presidium will check their running costs and will propose an adjustment of the basic amount over and above the cost of the journal and beyond its attempt to support young theologians.
We ask everyone, who is able, to promote theology in Europe financially by supporting up and coming theologians through generous donations. Generous donations can also be used to establish local foundations. To do any of this, please contact Sigrid Müller, Pierre Van Hecke (to promote the aims of the Society), Slavomir Dlugos (to support up and coming theologians), or Eamon Conway (to boost the funds of the Peter-Hünermann Foundation for promoting theology in Europe).
ET, together with representatives of other theological Societies and church representatives, would like to strengthen the position of theology as an academic discipline in European universities through contact with political representatives of the European Union and Commission, and would like to invite possible international dialogue partners to engage with the Presidium. Contact at the present time for the international strengthening of European theology has a context in the ecumenical “Graz Process”.
ET has established a working group to draw up a reference list for the ranking of European theological journals. The “Leuven list”, LITaRS, will serve as a foundation document, which will be expanded with other national works of reference.
The meeting closed with a report from each national section. We were especially glad that, after the election of Bishop Karl Golser, the Italian section had a new representative. The upturn of the Polish and French sections, and the prospect of a possible coming together of Spanish and Portuguese members is very pleasing. The presidium thanks all the members of the Curatorium for their work and commitment.
Bishop’s Ordination
On 27 September 2012 our member Fr. Dr. Kestutis Kevalas was ordained as auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese of Kaunas (Lithuania).
We congratulate Mgr. Kevalas on his ordination and pray that he will receive every blessing throughout his ministry.
Regional Conference 2013
On Friday 8th February a Regional Conference will take place in Salamanca (Spain) on the theme of the quality of theological education in theological faculties and institutions in Europe.
All our members and interested colleagues are kindly invited to take part in this conference.
ET-Studies: Upcoming Issue and Back Issues
The 2011/2 issue of our Journal has been sent to all our members recently. The content of the upcoming 2012/1 issue is now available on our website.
The content of all back issues of the Journal is available on the Peeters publisher’s website. Full content is available for our members .
Essay Competition
Like in 2009 and 2011, the ESCT organises also this year an Essay Competition for Emerging Theologians, the prize of which will be rewarded during the next international conference to be held in Brixen in the summer of 2013. The regulations for this prize can be found in the invitation letter to the conference, viz. on the pages 6 and 7.
Book Prize: “Theological book of 2011-2012”
Thanks to generous sponsorship, ET is in a position to award up to two prizes for outstanding theological books at the coming international Congress of the European Society for Catholic Theology in Brixen on 29.8 – 1.9.2013. The regulations for this prize can be found in the invitation letter to the conference, viz. on the pages 8 and 9.
Check your data
In order to send out our journal, it is indispensible that we have the correct addresses of all our members. We kindly ask our members to verify that the address data stored in the Society’s database is correct. You can do so by logging in to our website with your email-address and your password (www.eurotheo.eu).
Free Membership 2013
The European Society for Catholic Theology offers a one-year (2013) free membership to up to 40 junior theologians.
In order to be eligible, you must be preparing for a doctorate in Catholic Theology (or equivalent) at a European institution or must have obtained a doctorate in 2011 or 2012.
In order to apply for the free membership, you need to register online (instructions onhttp://www.kuleuven.be/eurotheo/home/member_info/) and mention your application for free membership in the “Supporting Statement”. A recommendation letter of a senior theologian (preferably your promotor) should be sent to the Secretary-General (pierre.vanhecke@theo.kuleuven.be).
