The Catholic Intellectual Tradition at BC

Is it possible?

Apparently James Keenan, S.J. is spearheading this, along with Professor Kalscheur. Since Fr. Keenan is involved, I am skeptical that this will really reflect the Hellenistic roots of the Catholic Intelletual Tradition that our Holy Father discussed during his lecture at the University of Regensburg.

From the email sent out to the graduate students at BC:

Last year Greg Kalscheur, Assistant Professor at the Law School, and I began chairing a committee entitled, the Catholic Intellectual Tradition (CIT).

This year, under the auspices of the Provost, Dr. Bert Garza, Greg and I and our committee are rolling out a three-year program for the BC faculty to examine more concretely the CIT at BC.

The first event was a working luncheon held on two consecutive days (October 3 and 4) to enable as many faculty as possible to attend. Over 175 faculty members participated in these luncheons and they provided us an opportunity to discuss our individual understanding of the Catholic intellectual tradition, share our hopes and fears about the tradition's relationship to Boston College faculty, and identify ways that we could subsequently hold sustained critical discourse on the Catholic intellectual tradition.

For our second event, we have invited Associate Professor Steve Schloesser History) to speak on the Catholic intellectual tradition. His paper, "The Unbearable Lightness of Being: Resourcing Catholic Intellectual Traditions for Higher Education" will be presented on Tuesday October 31 (Halloween), at 4.30 in the Heights Room. Professors Ali Banuzizi (Psychology) and Ray Madoff (Law) will be the respondents. Cocktails follow.

Steve Schloesser, S.J. faculty page

Looking at his "representative publications" I don't see anything really appealing. Perhaps his paper will be more interesting, but I will be surprised if it is.

"Over 175 faculty members participated in these luncheons and they provided us an opportunity to discuss our individual understanding of the Catholic intellectual tradition, share our hopes and fears about the tradition's relationship to Boston College faculty, and identify ways that we could subsequently hold sustained critical discourse on the Catholic intellectual tradition."

Beautiful: Share our hopes and fears. And pray tell, what might those fears be? An authoritarian Church clamping down and stifling academic freedom? Boohoo.

"Sustained critical discourse." More critical than constructive I bet. Why doesn't he say: "ways that we could bring the Catholic intellectual tradition to light at Boston College"? Or "ways that we could expose our students to the Catholic intellectual tradition and help them better appreciate it"? I think that this is just another attempt at subversion.

Ps 58
The wicked go astray from the womb,
they err from their birth, speaking lies.
They have venom like the venom of a serpent,
like the deaf adder that stops its ear,
so that it does not hear the voice of charmers
or of the cunning enchanter.

O God, break the teenth in their mouths;
tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
Let them vanish like water that runs away;
like grass let them be trodden down and wither.
Let them be like the snail which dissolves into slim,e
like the untimely birth that never sees the sun.
Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns,
whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!