THEOLOGY & ECOLOGY GROUP SESSIONS
2006--Connie Lasher, St. Joseph's College of Maine will examine Balthasar's process of "engagement" between theology and sources outside of theology that lends to facilitating a fruitful dialogue between theology and ecology. Terry Nichols, University of St. Thomas, will respond. Key theological works on which Lasher will reflect are Balthasar’s The Glory of the Lord: A Theological Aesthetics (focus on vol. 5, The Realm of Metaphysics in the Modern Age), and Theo-Logic (focus on vol. 1, The Truth of the World).
2005--Theology and ecology were related to the resurrection of the body. Aurelie Hagstrom of Providence College shared her research on using the bodily assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary as a test case for a Christian response to the present ecological crisis. Colleen Carpenter Cullinan, EarthRise Farm, reflected on fruitful themes pertaining to the body in Terry Tempest Williams’ Refuge, Red, and Leap.
2004--Our third session in Reston, Virginia centered around the challenge that environmental racism poses to Catholic theology. Sylvia Washington, MSE, Ph.D., ND, Visiting Illinois Humanities Council Scholar at Northwestern University spoke on "The Right to Life: Examining the Impact of Environmental Racism on Humanity in Postmodern Societies." Responses were given by Alex Mikulich, Saint Joseph College and Rev. Bryan Massingale, Marquette University.
2003--Moral theologian William French (Loyola University of Chicago), feminist theologian Elizabeth Johnson (Fordham University), and sacramental theologian Kevin Irwin (Catholic University of America) explained (1) why they have chosen to research and write on the ecological crisis from their specialized fields, (2) the most fruitful ways of addressing it that they have developed thus far, and (3) directions for future research. The floor was open subsequently to attendees who shared their ways of addressing ecological concerns from their specialized fields of inquiry. Our goal was not only to learn from some who have dedicated their professional lives to developing theological responses to the adverse effects caused by human activities on other species and physical systems, but also to stimulate interest in further research.
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