Digital Commons Network^™

Après Kamloops, Le Déluge: Institutional Church, Indigenous Oppression And The Catholic Intellectual Tradition, Michael W. Higgins

Mission Integration & Ministry Publications

Editor’s Note: on May 27, 2021, it was announced that 215 unmarked graves were discovered on the grounds of a former residential school for Indigenous (“First Nations”) children in Kamloops, a town in the Canadian province of British Columbia. In the following weeks unmarked graves were also found at similar institutions in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and elsewhere in British Columbia. Between 1863 and 1998, more than 150,000 Indigenous children were taken from their families and placed in these boarding schools, which numbered more than 130, many of them, like Kamloops, the largest, operated by Roman Catholic religious orders. Opened in 1890, …

In His Saintly Patience, John Henry Cardinal Newman Lifts Up The Church’S People, Michael W. Higgins

Mission Integration & Ministry Publications

This Oct. 13, John Henry Cardinal Newman will be made a saint. It’s about time.

A Victorian of immense productivity in a generation of prolific high-achievers, Newman is of special significance at this moment for two reasons: his championing of the role of the laity in Catholicism, and his penetrating insights into the nature of the university and the liberal arts.

Sacred Heart University Chapel: Celebrating 10 Years, 2009-2019, Office Of Mission And Catholic Identity

Mission Integration & Ministry Publications

The 10th Anniversary 2019 Edition. The Chapel of the Holy Spirit was dedicated on September 27, 2009.

The Martyrdom Of Thomas Merton: An Investigation (Book Review), Michael W. Higgins

Mission Integration & Ministry Publications

Journalists Hugh Turley and David Martin are not investigative journalists of the stature of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein and they did not have the resources or the backing the latter had when they wrote their exposés of political skullduggery and ethical malfeasance. But they do benefit from the pioneering work of Seymour Hersh, whose 1974 disclosure of CIA spying practices on antiwar activists provides some underpinning to their central thesis in The Martyrdom of Thomas Merton.

Contemporary Catholic Conversations 2017-2018, Curtis Center

Mission Integration & Ministry Publications

The Curtis Center at Sacred Heart University is a new initiative within the Office of Mission and Catholic Identity. The goal of the Curtis Center is engage SHU and the wider community in topics of interest and concern in today’s world.

The Center will host the annual inaugural series “Contemporary Catholic Conversations” during the 2017-18 academic year, a lecture series that will feature expert presenters and meaningful discussions.

Bishop Walter W. Curtis was on the cutting edge in 1963 when founding this university. He was energized by the Second Vatican Council to face the issues of his day, which led …

Priest, Writer, Mentor, Misfit: Understanding Henri Nouwen, Michael W. Higgins

Mission Integration & Ministry Publications

Two decades ago, on September 21, 1996, while on the way to St. Petersburg to shoot a documentary based on his acclaimed spiritual meditation, The Return of the Prodigal Son, Henri Nouwen—priest, writer, professor, and pastoral mentor—died of a heart attack in his homeland of the Netherlands. His friends and countless admirers were stunned. Prolific author of more than three dozen books, and a much-called-upon speaker and preacher, Nouwen was a large presence in Catholic circles and a growing influence in Protestant ones as well. His loss was felt not only in his immediate community but around the world.

Synod Revealed The Muscle, Muck And Mire Of A Living Church, Michael W. Higgins

Mission Integration & Ministry Publications

When Pope Francis ushered in the Synod on the Family with his opening address he pointedly observed that he wanted the Synod Fathers to speak with candour, without fear and without self-censoring. The past two turbulent weeks of the Extraordinary Synod of Catholic Bishops in Rome is over. But the ripples will be with us for some time to come.

Infinite Horizon: The Prairie Spirituality Of Ronald Rolheiser, Michael W. Higgins

Mission Integration & Ministry Publications

Ronald Rolheiser, president of the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio Texas (but a native of the Saskatchewan prairie), is one of the most popular Catholic spiritual writers and syndicated columnists at work today.

What some critics see as Rolheiser’s complacency, his supposedly uncritical embrace of modern secular society, is actually borne of his remarkable faith and confidence in God’s abiding presence and care. Like the philosopher Charles Taylor, a fellow Canadian and Catholic, Rolheiser is keenly aware that modern liberal values such as tolerance and benevolence, and especially respect for individual dignity and freedom, have deep Christian roots.

Why Won't The Pope Treat His Faithful Like Adults?, Michael W. Higgins

Mission Integration & Ministry Publications

When Pope Francis summoned bishops from around the world to gather in Rome for a synod on the family this fall, and when he instructed his staff to prepare a questionnaire inviting serious input from the Roman Catholic world, bishops moved quickly to adjust the generic template to their local constituencies. Information was gathered, sifted and systematized in preparation for the gathering.

But there are signs that the papal nerve may be wavering a mite. Vatican authorities have actively discouraged, if not directly forbidden, the public release of the materials gathered.

Francis, The Incremental Pope, Michael W. Higgins

Mission Integration & Ministry Publications

The biggest obstacle Pope Francis faces in his resolve to decentralize the church’s governance apparatus is the simple fact that his immediate two predecessors spent decades centralizing that very structure.

Larger Than Legend: Saving Chesterton From The Chestertonians, Michael W. Higgins

Mission Integration & Ministry Publications

The article discusses the life and works of theologian Gilbert Keith Chesterton and the author's appreciation about his contributions to the Catholic Church. The author mentions that Chesterton has been his inspiration and he has been organizing an academic conference on his life and thought. He also tackles Chesterton's characteristics, who he referred as critical thinker, and his stance as anti-Semitism.

Mission And Catholic Identity [Booklet], Office Of Mission And Catholic Identity

Mission Integration & Ministry Publications

‌The Office of Mission and Catholic Identity at Sacred Heart University has as its primary purpose the articulation, promotion and transmission of the Catholic Intellectual and Spiritual Tradition.

Seeing With Feeling, Michael W. Higgins

Mission Integration & Ministry Publications

Book review by Michael W. Higgins.

Haughey, John C. In Search of the Whole: Twelve Essays on Faith and Academic Life. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2011.

A Study Of Primary Schools In The Elias Piña Province On The Dominican Haitian Border: Immigrant Haitian Access To Education In The Dominican Republic In The 2010 Post-Earthquake Era, Matthew D. Kaye

Mission Integration & Ministry Publications

The research question of the study asked "In the post 2010 earthquake, what are the conditions faced by Haitian immigrants in accessing primary public education in the Dominican Republic"? Within the context of primary education, the study takes place in the town of Comendador, the capital of the Elías Piña province in the Dominican Republic. Using a mixed methods approach, incorporating ethnographic methods and database analysis, the study documents the voices of Haitian and Dominican parents, Dominican school personnel, non-governmental organization (NGO) officials and community stakeholders. Within the construct of access, there are six areas of focus: educational policy, curriculum …

The Journalist As Theologian: A Tribute To Gregory Baum, Michael W. Higgins

Mission Integration & Ministry Publications

The article features Gregory Baum, mathematician, theologian, ex-Augustinian friar, dissenter and pioneering sociologist of religion. In an interview in 1996, he provided a diagnosis of the Roman Catholic Church mentioning that it was undergoing a governance crisis of immense proportions and that there was a need for a new system. Baum, Professor Emeritus of Theological Ethics and the Sociology of Religion at McGill University, considers himself a journalist fascinated with ideas.

Prophet Of The Electric Age: Marshall Mcluhan’S Post-Curial Catholicism, Michael W. Higgins

Mission Integration & Ministry Publications

The author explores the Catholicism of Herbert Marshall McLuhan, a Canadian literary scholar and communications theorist. The author notes that McLuhan's Catholicism seldom surfaces in the writings of his biographers. Higgins believes McLuhan's Catholicisim deserves a fuller exploration since faith was profoundly constitutive in his life and thought. The author also claims that McLuhan's reasons for conversion differentiated him from the conventional intellectual.

The Catholic Intellectual Tradition And Its Dynamics, Jean Ehret

Mission Integration & Ministry Publications

Throughout the papers of this book, the CIT appears not to be an abstract concept but a dynamic reality, a powerful source of inspiration for imagining creative ways to face the challenges of life in today’s world. Critical voices question the reference to Catholicism, others to a tradition. While addressing these issues helps to prevent the CIT from becoming the victim from either unreligious or traditionalist misconceptions, a synthetic approach will try to reveal fundamental dynamisms of the CIT that allow to identify it without reducing its inherent complexity and historical diversity, including its expressions yet to come.

Who Is Marc Ouellet?, Michael W. Higgins

Mission Integration & Ministry Publications

Cardinal Ouellet, in spite of his capacity for stirring resistance, is approachable, personable, and a man of deep faith.

Rebel With A Cause: The Religious Landscapes Of David Adams Richards, Michael W. Higgins

Mission Integration & Ministry Publications

The article focuses on the depiction of religion in the literary works of author David Adams Richards. It notes that his novel "God Is: My Search for Faith in a Secular World," declares that God is present regardless of whether people believe in Him or not. It also relates the life of Richards who was born in Newcastle, New Brunswick in 1950 and whose fiction delves into the economic devastation affecting people in his hometown. It adds that his novel "Passion," includes religious concepts such as kenosis, betrayal and Gethsemane.

Engaging The Catholic Intellectual Tradition - Sacred Heart University's Common Core: The Human Journey, Michelle Loris

Mission Integration & Ministry Publications

At Catholic universities we have lofty and ambitious learning outcomes for our graduates. We want to provide our students with the knowledge, ideas, skills, and critical abilities needed to understand} reflect upon, and act with purpose and effect in our increasingly complex, ever-changing, global-world. We want to equip our students with the intellectual abilities, spiritual discernment, and moral and ethical principles that will enable them to distinguish between those things which inspire the mind, satisfy the soul, and advance the human good - and those things which do not. We want to develop in them the intelligence and compassion needed …

Vormort: Una Sancta Catholica Et Apostolica, Jean Ehret, Erwin Mode

Mission Integration & Ministry Publications

Foreword from the book:

Ehret, Jean and Erwin Möde, eds. Una Sancta Catholica et Apostolica: Einheit und Anspruch des Katholischen. Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder, 2009.

The Catholic Character Of Catholic Universities, Anthony J. Cernera

Mission Integration & Ministry Publications

The signs of the times, that we are living in the midst of, are dramatic, suggesting perhaps radical challenges, but potentially wonderful opportunities, for humanity and the Church, e.g., globalization; the pervasiveness of secularization in the Western world; the encounter with Islam and the increased importance of inter-religious dialogue; the geographical shift of the center of Catholicism; the scientific-technological revolution; the reality of the poor; and the emerging crisis of global warming are among the most significant.

As the Catholic Church emerges as a truly global church, Catholic universities have an essential role to play in its mission in the …

The Priestly Imagination: Thomas Merton And The Poetics Of Critique, Michael W. Higgins

Mission Integration & Ministry Publications

The article looks at the representation of ideals of the poet-priest in the works of Thomas Merton. It provides an analysis of Merton's poetics of critique. For Merton, John the Baptist represents the model anchorite as well as the first Cisterician and the greatest Trappist. The indivisible and comprehensive dimensions of Merton as a whole man are represented by John the Baptist, John of the Cross and John the Beloved. The two types of Merton's poetics of critique are ecclesial/monastic and societal.

A Secure Border: In Canada Religion & Politics Don't Mix, Michael W. Higgins

Mission Integration & Ministry Publications

The article focuses on the separation of religion and politics in Canada. It cites that Canadian politicians are collectively nervous about introducing religious issues in the political arena. It notes that reelected Prime Minister Stephen Harper has an affirmed intellectual attachment to religion. It states that religion, particularly Catholicism, surfaced at several points during the election, around the editorial table, or in caucus.

Considerations, Spring/Summer 2008, Center For Christian-Jewish Understanding

Mission Integration & Ministry Publications

CCJU welcomes Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks gives 15th Anniversary CCJU Lecture.

The Latin Liturgy And The Jews, Anthony J. Cernera, Eugene Korn

Mission Integration & Ministry Publications

Pope Benedict XVI's recent letter to bishops authorizing wider use of the 1962 Roman Missal, commonly referred to as the Latin Mass, has provoked strong reactions from Jews and Catholics worldwide who are committed to furthering the historic work of reconciliation begun at the Second Vatican Council with the “Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions” (Nostra Aetate, 1965). Many are concerned that some language in the missal harkens back to the Adversus Judaeos tradition within Christianity, which for some 18 centuries saw Jews as a threat to Christian society. This tradition was forthrightly and …

Henri Nouwen, Thomas Merton, And Donald Nicholl: Pilgrims Of Wisdom And Peace, Michael W. Higgins

Mission Integration & Ministry Publications

Thomas Merton, Donald Nicholl, and Henri Nouwen, twentieth-century spiritual writers and thinkers, were, for significant chunks of time, contemporaries. To some degree they spoke out of similar contexts. To some degree they addressed similar crises.

Mission Matters, Winter 2006, Center For Mission Education And Reflection

Mission Integration & Ministry Publications

Highlights: CURTIS Week -- Father Greg Boyle, "Gang" priest, to speak -- Mission matters: a personal viewpoint, by Jeffrey Cain, Ph.D. --New Center for Strategic Planning for Not-for-Profit Organizations -- New staff, Mandy and Mark Pittman -- Dolls for Mississippi.

Defined By Spirituality?, Michael W. Higgins

Mission Integration & Ministry Publications

Pierre Elliott Trudeau was a man of intense, intelligent, and reflective faith, and this critical dimension of the man needs to be rightly considered when assessing his role and impact on Canadian society.

Nostra Aetate Awards Ceremony And Lecture, October 20, 1998, Center For Christian-Jewish Understanding

Mission Integration & Ministry Publications

On October 20,1998, the Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding honored His Eminence Jean-Marie Cardinal Lustiger and Chief Rabbi Rene-Samuel Sirat with the prestigious Nostra Aetate Award. Presenting the awards were Dr. Samuel Pisar and His Eminence John Cardinal O’Connor. The event took place at the Sutton Place Synagogue, New York City and was emceed by Mitchell Krauss, former CBS news correspondent. As part of the CCJU Awards Ceremony, Cardinal Lustiger and Chief Rabbi Sirat each delivered a paper, both of which, in addition to Dr. Pisar’s and Cardinal O’Connor’s comments, are published here.