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  The Rights of Refugees in a Globalizing World

  David Hollenbach

  Fr. Hollenbech speaks of the plight of refugees displaced around the world. He outlines the situation of the numerous displaced, the considerations and challenges faced by those seeking to solve the problem, offers recommendations for actions, and gives signs of hope for action against such an injustice.

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  To Be Both Black and Catholic

  Cyprian Davis

  Fr. Davis reflects on his own history of becoming Catholic and eventually a Benedictine monk as an African American. He tells of his formation and later of the various developments that challenged the Black Catholic community in America, including the Civil Rights Movement and the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the subsequent riots.

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  The Missing Piece: The Renewal of Catholic Americanism

  David J. O'Brien

  David J. O'Brien gives a reflection on American Catholicism. He cites three main points in his talk: the Catholic culture wars are over; the emergence of a new Catholic identity and integrity; and, the notion towards a renewed sense of Catholicism in America.

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  The Faith of a Theologian

  Avery Dulles

  Cardinal Dulles speaks on the interdependence of faith and theology from his own life experiences. He reflects on the necessity for orthodoxy to remain as the irreformable and infallible truth while pushing for a renewed call for its importance.

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  My Life as a "Woman": Editing the World; and, Liberal Catholicism Reexamined

  Margaret O'Brien Steinfels

  Margaret O'Brien Steinfels recounts her story as a woman in a high role in the workplace and the Catholic sphere. She highlights the supposed desire of American Catholics for a women's revolution in many aspects of Catholic life and the Church's response to such stances and voices. Peter Steinfels argues for an emergence and prominence in liberal Catholicism as a heroic stance to take amid the pains of the Church and of the world.

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  A Feeling for Hierarchy

  Mary Douglas

  Mary Douglas gives a talk on the interdependence of anthropology and faith in her own life. She remarks, especially in the topic of hierarchy, that the relation between religion and anthropology is a natural one. For her, connections are made through many media, such as Scripture, family structure, workplace interactions and university studies.

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  Catholicism and Human Rights

  Mary Ann Glendon

  Mary Ann Glendon speaks on the relationship between the Universal Declaration of Human RIghts of 1948 and Catholic social thought. She remarks on the great connection between the many ideals shared by the two and the effect that one had on the other in their respective developments and documents. She shares the message of hope that one will complement the other in the global practice for the common good and well-being of all mankind.

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  Catholic and Intellectual: Conjunction or Disjunction?

  Marcia L. Colish

  Marcia L. Colish lectures on the apparent disconnect that is being formed in the contemporary world of the notion that Catholicism could not be related to anything rational. She highlights the idea that throughout history and through her practice, the Church in her institutions and universities has been a supporter of intellectual formation and development, not an inhibitor.

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  Memoirs and Meaning

  Jill Ker Conway

  Jill Ker Conway reflects on the meanings and influences that certain memoirs had upon her formation, including those of social worker Jane Adams and birth control activist Margaret Sanger. She emphasizes the notion of a drama as a reflection of the human condition and the role that religious traditions have in promoting real memoirs that inspire and motivate.

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  The Poor and Third Millennium

  Gustavo Gutiérrez

  Gustavo Gutiérrez reflects on the meaning of liberation theology and the preferential option for the poor. He explains that the preferential option comes from the goodness of God, who loves the poor because they are “closest to an unjust and early death.” The preferential option for the poor therefore demands that ethics influence economics.

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  A Catholic Modernity?

  Charles Taylor

  Charles Taylor talks on the idea of modernity and Catholicism being reconciliable in a way. He states that throughout history there have been examples of other types of thought such as humanism that have conflicted with Catholicism, but that these were in a sense assuaged over time. He now points the listener to modern times, and the duties Catholics have in addressing the problems of their day relies on a synthesis between Catholicity and modernity.

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  The Church in the World: Responding to the Call of the Council

  J. Bryan Hehir

  J. Bryan Hehir lectures on the topic of Vatican Council II, and especially on the topic of The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes. Hehir reflects upon the foundations of Gaudium et Spes, the interpretations and discourses on the document during the Council itself, and the role the document plays within the modern world for the Church and Her adherents.

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  What Made Catholic Identity A Problem?

  Philip Gleason

  Philip Gleason talks on how the issue of holding a Catholic identity held many Catholics back in the early to mid twentieth century. Before the reforms of Vatican Council II and the opening ot the Church unto the world, he argues that many Catholic institutions, especially universities, were marred by intellectual immaturity, and that only by addressing the shortfalls of that identity could the Church become mature in the modern world.

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  A Catholic Scholar's Journey Through the Twentieth Century

  Monika K. Hellwig

  Monika K. Hellwig speaks on the development of Catholicism in the twentieth century. She recounts her early formational years in Europe and the differing styles of traditions held by Catholic groups at that time and eventually the sways caused by Vatican Council II. She augments these talks with the idea of an evolving tradition, rather than a static one.

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  The Joys and Responsibilities of Being a Catholic Teacher

  Louis Dupré

  Louis Dupré uses his experience as a university professor to reflect upon the core principles of education, especially in a liberal arts setting. He outlines that a liberal education provides a medium through which spiritual legacies, contemplative minds, and moral truths are transmitted all through the sense of wonder held by the student and teacher. This, he says, is done especially well at the Catholic university.

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  What It Means to be a Catholic in the United States in the Year 1991

  John T. Noonan

  John T. Noonan, Jr. describes the situation of the US Catholic in the late 20th century. He addresses claims of a changed Christianity and of a Christianity that will not stand the test of time. Within his speech, he remarks that the teachings and tradition of the Church, along with interpretations of Scripture, are taught and done in such a way that aligns with the context of the times. By doing so, he reinforces the longevity and indissolubility of the Church Herself.

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  Counsel, Commitment, Comfort and Joy

  Sidney Callahan

  Sidney Callahan speaks of the importance of searching for the truth. In her mind, she reflects on how this relates to the counsel people find in the truth, the commitment they have to God and to one another, and the comfort and joy of living out their vocations in accord with the will of God.

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  Realizing Catholicism: Faith, Learning, and the Future

  Walter J. Ong

  Father Ong gives a insightful talk on the relation of the Church's Tradition in comparison to the ideas of Romanticism, the mentality of change in America, the development of technology, and the importance of the past to guide the way into the future. Father Ong highlights these ideas to better explain the essence of the term Catholic in that it is related and encompassed throughout the whole of scholarship.

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  A Pilgrim's Progress in a Catholic University

  Timothy O'Meara

  Dr. O'Meara speaks on his own experiences of being in a sense a pilgrim around the world in his own studies and experiences. He reflects on the many places and people that he has visited and encountered as well as the opportunities presented by the secularizing world in the wake of Vatican Council II. He shares a message of hope for all Catholic universities that they might be witnesses to both ecumenism and to the Catholic identity in the modern world.

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  Re-discovering Church

  Rosemary Haughton

  Rosemary Haughton speaks on how experience in varying fields of study can influence the theology and faith experience of the learner. She uses the experiences of her own life and those of the saints in relation to re-discovering Scripture and re-discovering the vision of the Church to encounter joys and hopes to challenge the joys and pains in the world.