In answer to questions such as "Can I go?" and "Can we read the papers?" I should say a word or two about the nature of this event. The Symposium grew out of discussions between priests and theology graduates at the various events organised by the Faith Movement for students and by seminarians during their studies. We have two major events for students each year and a number of series of talks in various places to give a coherent presentation of Catholic doctrinal, moral and spiritual teaching. At these events, there was an obvious need for those who had studied theology to go into matters rather more deeply. The Symposium is designed to meet this need.
It is a relatively small group: we were just under 30 participants and that is about right for a lively discussion. The presentations assume the ability to discuss theology at graduate level and a reasonable familiarity with what might be called the Faith "School" of theology. It would probably be right to say that participation is generally by invitation from among those who have been at Faith events for some time. The majority of the participants are priests. There are also a number of laymen and women (including Sr Andrea Fraile of the Sisters of the Gospel of Life).The papers from the Symposium are not published as "proceedings" but make their way into the Faith Magazine after some fairly rigorous peer review and editing. The discussions generate a lot of new ideas for papers which eventually get written subject to the demands of pastoral and other work. The priests are mostly working in parishes and the laity are in full time work and/or have family responsibilities.
Perhaps the most important thing to say is that we value Catholic philosophy and theology very highly. At the heart of the crisis in the Church today is a crisis in philosophy and theology provoked by the growing "dictatorship of relativism" so eloquently highlighted by Pope Benedict. We are trying to respond positively and determinedly to this crisis with complete loyalty to the Magisterium and, by God's grace, with personal holiness of life as an absolute first priority for priests, religious and laity.
10 comments:
Is that champagne they're drinking in the first photo...? Maybe I should've gone after all!
Yes - but only for Fr Standen's 50th birthday. We don't have champagne all the time :-)
You're making me jealous, Father. Talking theology, patristics, canon law, scripture, tradition or simple common sense here in Malaysia is often an exercise in futility.
We have Jesuit priests who, for all their scholastic formation, uphold the 'right' of a child to choose his own faith when he grows up and so makes the Church's requirement of infant baptism optional. Sigh...
Sometimes talking to people in the same community of faith is necessary re-charge one's spiritual batteries.
Thank you for answering my question of attendance at the Symposium.
I have to admit that I did not pick up on the exclusivist nature of the Faith Movement Symposium. If I had known that attendance was through the privilege of invitation I would, of course, not have asked.
Given the exclusivist and privileged nature of the Faith Movement Symposium, I wonder if it was wise to 'advertise' it so widely via your blog. Alternatively, it is always good to know where people stand.
Gosh, I'd heard of "champagne Socialists", Father - but "champagne theologians" is a new development. ;-)
Hey Mat, calm down a bit! I did take the trouble to try and explain the nature of the symposium. "Exclusivist and privileged": Why not just "specialised"?
I wouldn't expect to be invited to a symposium of physicists who shared a particular view of string theory. But I might be interested to read some of the results of their discussions.
My advice would be: if you would like to attend the Symposium, the best way is to start going to the Summer and/or Winter Sessions. Make use of the ample opportunities there to talk to Faith priests and religious about the topics that interest you, and read the Faith magazine. If you are able to, go to the year-round Faith Forums that are designed for university students and graduates which go into more detail than the Sessions do. Invite priests or religious who are connected with Faith to talk at your parish or university - they will certainly do so. That way you will gain a clear understanding of the issues the Faith movement feels are important, and will potentially have something to contribute at the Symposium.
The Symposium only works because everyone has something relevant to contribute from their own specialism or life experience. It is a far cry from the discussions at most scientific conferences I attend, which usually consist of a few people scrapping over their pet theories while everyone else snoozes. I was fortunate enough to attend this year's Symposium because after much discussion the organisers felt I had something specific to contribute from my own discipline (evolutionary biology) but others present have vastly different specialisms and experience.
The Faith movement is far more accesible and transparent than most other Catholic organisations. The Sessions and Forums are open to all and are either free or extremely cheap. Faith goes to great lengths to make its ideas available to anyone who is interested for free: all its books, pamphlets and magazine back issues are permanently available for free on its website, as are podcasts of past Session talks. How many other Catholic groups do this?
Post-talk discussions always have to be curtailed at Sessions and Forums because the sheer numbers present, although they are usually continued in smaller groups over a pint or two that evening. The restriction on Symposium numbers is not designed to keep things secret from others (otherwise why advertise it on the Faith website?). It is a pragmatic device to allow lengthy and complex discussions to continue for longer and be more constructive.
Fr Tim
I understand perfectly the nature of the Faith Movement Symposium, it is 'selective' which by definition makes it exclusive. I also accept that the "specialist" culture of the Symposium cannot lend itself to inclusivity.
Not quite sure why I need to 'calm down a bit' though - I'm not criticisng the Cult status of the Faith Movement, far from it - I've always liked it!
Sorry if I misunderstood you, Mat. I'm not used to seeing the words "exclusivist and privileged" used in a positive sense :-)
I see my esteemed colleage Fr Ruscillo was in his usual animated mode in the first picture! The only question for me was his animation due to some theological point or why liverpool fc are not doing too well lol
fr paul harrison
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