Blessed John Paul II Theological Society
For the Development of Theological Reflection

Background:
The Blessed John Paul II Society is a student based society resident in Saint Patrick’s College and the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, providing a forum for theological dialogue, in an effort to foster a deeper understanding of the Catholic faith. It achieves this through hosting talks and debates on currently and perpetually relevant theological questions.

This year sees the staging of the International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin. It is appropriate, then, that the society's next event will have the Eucharist as its theme. We are delighted to have renowned scripture scholar, Frances Hogan, to deliver this talk, and you are welcome.

Frances Hogan is a lay missionary and educator working in the Catholic Church since the late 60's. She worked as a missionary in West Africa for some years. She has taught in schools in Africa and Ireland. From the mid-80's she lectured in the Milltown Institute of Philosophy and Theology in Dublin, and served four years on the Theological Commission of the Bishops. She is also trained as a Spiritual Director and Retreat giver. Since the '80s Frances has written many books and has produced many audio recordings.

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Some of our previous speakers and events:

Science & Faith: Natural Metaphors for Supernatural Understanding

Speaker: Reverend Dr Andrew Pinsent

Details: Monday 2nd April, 8pm, Renehan Hall, St Patrick’s College Maynooth.

Dr Andrew Pinsent examines the supposed conflict between Science and Faith, promoted by the neo-atheists, and recalls the many fruitful interactions between these two human activities. In this lecture, Dr Pinsent will examine principles, inspired by the scientific study of the world, that he proposes to be crucial for understanding Christian revelation and human flourishing. He proposes a metaphor for understanding the life of grace, inspired by recent scientific work in social cognition, joint attention and autism.

Speaker Biography: Rev Dr Andrew Pinsent, formerly a particle physicist at Oxford, is currently Research Director of the Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion at Oxford, a Research Fellow of Harris-Manchester College and a member of the Faculty of Theology. He has degrees in philosophy and theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University and a doctorate in philosophy from St Louis University.

"Virtuous human action  - an icon of God. St Thomas Aquinas’s vision of Christian morality"

Speaker:Reverend Wojciech Giertych, O.P., Theologian of the Papal Household in the Vatican.

Details: Monday 6th  February, 8pm, Renehan Hall, St Patrick’s College Maynooth. All are welcome.

Speaker Biography: Reverend Wojciech Giertych, O.P., is a Polish Roman Catholic priest in the Dominican Order. He currently serves in the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household as theologian to the Pope, having been appointed to this post in 2005 by Pope Benedict XVI. Fr Giertych obtained a licentiate in spiritual theology in 1983 and a doctorate in 1989 from the Angelicum in Rome where he has been a professor of moral theology since 1994.

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"Seeking and Articulating the Truth - Aspects of the Theology of Joseph Ratzinger / Pope Benedict XVI"
Monday December 5th, 8pm, Renehan Hall,
St Patrick's College Maynooth

A panel of speakers will present aspects of the theology of Joseph Ratzinger / Pope Benedict XVI: Dr D. Vincent Twomey SVD PhD (will Chair the forum), Rev Sean Corkery BD, STL, Mary MacCaughy BD, STL.

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“Ressourcement & Aggiornamento”
Reverend Joseph Carola
Monday November 14th, 8pm, Renehan Hall,
St Patrick's College Maynooth.

The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) was the most important event for the Catholic Church in the 20th Century, but its impact has been felt throughout the entire world and has profoundly marked contemporary culture. At its core, was a desire for Aggiornamento in the Church, which means "bringing up to date." This desire for renewal could only be done by looking again at the heart of Christianity, the heart of the Church, which meant a return to the most ancient and important teachings of Sacred Scripture and the Church Fathers. This "return to the sources" is Ressourcement. Rev Joseph Carola will look at the development, controversies and importance of the Council; called for the sake of bringing the Gospel to the modern world.

Speaker’s Biography:
Rev Joseph Carola, S.J., Professor of Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, will look at the development, controversies and importance of the Second Vatican Council. A native of Texas, USA, Rev Carola was ordained as a priest for the Society of Jesus in 1993. Completing his STL in Theology in the Gregorian, he was also honoured with a doctorate in Patristic Theology at the Augustinian Institute of Patristics in Rome. Among his publications are “Augustine of Hippo: The Role of the Laity in Ecclesial Reconciliation.”

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'Catholic Spirituality: God’s Initiative, Man’s Response'
Monday October 24th, 7.30pm, Renehan Hall, St Patrick's College Maynooth.

The panel includes speakers from the Dominican Friars, the Benedictines of Rostrevor, the Carmelite nuns of Knock and the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal.

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'Marriage and Family in Sacred Scripture'
Dr William Newton
Monday February 7th, 8pm, Crolly Room, Saint Patrick's College Maynooth

Speaker's Biography
Dr William Newton, Assistant Professor at the International Theological Institute, will address us on Marriage and Family in Sacred Scripture Biography: William Newton is an English married lay man with six children. He holds a PhD in Theology from the Pope John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family in Melbourne, Australia, and a Masters in Theological Studies from the International Theological Institute, Vienna, Austria. He is currently Assistant Professor on the Masters in Marriage and Family at the International Theological Institute and Tutor for Students on the Bachelor of Arts Divinity programme at the Maryvale Institute, Birmingham, England. Before studying theology he worked at the Department of Particle Physics, Royal Holloway University of London; as Software Engineer for the London Stock Exchange at Data Stream Ltd., England; as Scientific Programmer and Researcher at Earth Observation Sciences Ltd; and as University Researcher in the field of Artificial Intelligence for Automated Satellite Image Interpretation at the Department of Photogrammetry and Surveying, University College London. He is currently publishing summary of Catholic Social Teaching and editing a volume on the Theology of the Body.

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'Christ and his Priests: Reflections on a Sustaining Relationship'
Bishop Patrick O'Donoghue
Monday February 14th, 8pm, Renehan Hall, Saint Patrick's College Maynooth

Speaker's Biography
Bishop Patrick O'Donoghue, retired Bishop of Lancaster, will address us on the topic: 'Priest as Alter Christus'.  Biography: Pádraig O’Donoghue was born in Mourn Abbey, Co. Cork in 1932. He discovered a late vocation and was ordained to the Priesthood for the Archdiocese of Westminster in 1965. He worked initially in parochial work and hospital chaplaincy followed by fulltime ministry on the Diocesan Pastoral Mission Team. He spent two periods at the Archdiocesan Seminary, Allen Hall, firstly as Pastoral Director (1973-77) and then as Rector (1985-90). In between these times he was Sub-administrator (1978-85) of Westminster Cathedral and was later appointed Administrator (1990-93). In 1993 he was Ordained an Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Westminster by Basil Cardinal Hume and served as Chairman of the English and Welsh Bishops' Committee for Migrants. He was installed as Bishop of Lancaster in 2001. Since his retirement in 2009 he has been working as Assistant Priest in the Parish of Bantry in his native Co. Cork where he shares in the pastoral care of parishioners, schools and a hospital. He also assists the Bishop of Cork and Ross, Dr. John Buckley, in administering the sacrament of Confirmation in the Diocese.

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'Rahner: End or Beginning?'
Monsignor Patrick Burke
Monday February 21st, 8pm, Renehan Hall, Saint Patrick's College Maynooth

Speaker's Biography
Monsignor Patrick Burke, author of Reinterpreting Rahner, A Critical Study of His Major Themes, (Fordham University Press, New York, 2002), will address us on the topic: 'Rahner: End or Beginning?'  Biography: Msgr. Patrick Burke was born in Zimbabwe. He came to England in 1969 and was educated in London. Msgr. Burke did his undergraduate studies in Philosophy and Theology at St. Andrews, before continuing his studies at the Gregorian University in Rome where he did his STL in Dogmatic Theology. After Ordination in 1991 for the Diocese of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, Msgr. Burke did his doctoral studies in Munich and Rome. Between 1997 and 2005 he edited Faith – a theological and pastoral periodical published in England. In 2005 he was asked by then Cardinal Ratzinger to come to work in the Doctrinal Section of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Msgr. Burke also currently teaches Dogmatic Theology at the Gregorian University. Msgr. Patrick Burke currently works in the Doctrinal Section of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and also teaches Dogmatic Theology at the Gregorian University in Rome.

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'Uniqueness and Universality of Christ: In Dialogue with Religions'
Reverend Professor Massimo Serretti
Monday March 28th, 8pm, Renehan Hall, Saint Patrick's College Maynooth

Speaker's Biography
Rev Prof Massimo Serretti, professor of Christology at the Pontifical Lateran University of Rome and at the Superior Institute for Religious Science Ecclesia Mater, will address us on the Uniqueness and Universality of Christ. Biography: Massimo Serretti (1956) studied at the Universities of Urbino, Freiburg and Rome. He was ordained priest by Pope John Paul II, and is a doctor of Philosophy and Theology. He is currently professor of Dogmatic Theology at the Faculty of Theology of the Pontifical Lateran University and teaches Anthropological Theology at the Higher Institute of Religious Sciences "John Paul II" (Pesaro). Among his publications are: Knowledge and Self-Transcendence; Introduction to the philosophy of man through Husserl, Scheler, Ingarden, Wojtyla; The Mystery of the Eternal Generation of the Son; and Nature of Communion. Essays on Discernment of God; and Man as a Person. Editor of the volume, Uniqueness and universality of Jesus Christ: in Dialogue with the Religions.

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Talks of 2010:

Opening of the Year Talk:
"Abandon all hope, ye who enter here"
A Question of Eternal Life: Does Hell Have a Future?
Rev. Martin Henry
Tuesday October 12th, 8pm, Renehan Hall, Saint Patrick's College Maynooth

Speaker’s Biography
Fr Martin Henry is a priest of the Diocese of Down and Connor, ordained in 1975. He completed his undergraduate studies in Belfast at Queens University and at St. Patrick's College Maynooth; and graduate studies at Oxford. He has taught Dogmatic Theology in St. Patrick's since 1982, and is co-ordinator of the Erasmus Programme for the Faculty of Theology, since 1993. He was Review Editor of Irish Theological Quarterly from 1997 to 2007, and Acting Editor of Irish Theological Quarterly from 2000 to 2001. Research Interests include: 'The Modern God-Question'; 'Nineteenth-Century German Protestant Theology'; and 'The history of the Christian Mystical Tradition'.

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Second Talk of the Year:
'Faith and Reason in Blessed John Henry Newman'
Rev. Prof. Thomas Norris
Monday November 8th, 8pm, Renehan Hall, Saint Patrick's College Maynooth

Speaker's Biography
Fr Norris is a priest of the Diocese of Ossory and until the summer just passed was lecturer in Dogmatic Theology here at St. Patrick's.
He was a founding member of the Maynooth Patristic Symposium; member at various times of Irish Episcopal Commissions for Catechetics, Ecumenism and Theology, and is currently Joint Secretary of the Irish Inter-Church Meeting. He is also a member since 1998 of the International Theological Commission.
His research interests include: The Theological Method; 'Faith and Reason'; 'Trinitarian Ontology'; 'Philosophy and Theology of Education'; 'Cardinal Newman’s Theology of the Cross'. He has many publications including: 'Cardinal Newman for Today'; 'The Trinity: Life of God and Hope for Humanity'; and 'The Beauty of Christ. An Introduction to the Theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar'. And Other Interests are: 'Pastoral Care of Young People'; 'Linking Theology and Daily Living'; and 'New Ecclesial Movements'

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Third Talk of the Year:
'Moral Theology after Humanae Vitae'
Rev. Prof. Denis Vincent Twomey SVD
Monday December 6th, 8pm, Renehan Hall, Saint Patrick's College Maynooth

Speaker's Biography
Fr Twomey is a priest of the Society of the Divine Word since 1970.
After theological studies at Saint Patrick's College he spent a semester in Münster, Westphalia, studying under the theologian Karl Rahner, before he transferred to the University of Regensburg to do his doctoral studies under the supervision of the then Professor Joseph Ratzinger. On completing the doctorate in 1979, he though Dogma in the seminary in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands before being appointed professor at the Divine Word Missionary Theology Faculty in Vienna, Austria. In 1983, he was appointed lecturer in Moral Theology at Maynooth, and was subsequently made Professor. Since 1978, he has been a member of the Ratzinger circle of doctoral and post-doctoral students that meets once a year for a week-end seminar.
In 1986, he co-founded The Patristic Symposium, at Maynooth, to promote the study of Patrology. From 1997-2006, he was Editor of the Irish Theological Quarterly. Since September 2006, he is Professor Emeritus of Moral Theology. He is published in both German and English, including: 'The End of Irish Catholicism?'; 'Benedict XVI. The Conscience of Our Age:
A theological Portrait'; and 'Moral Theology after Humanae Vitae'.

More talks to follow....

Further Information may be obtained from:
Damien Lynch - Email: jp2@nuimsu.com