Swift Hall, First Floor Common Room

REGISTER HERE Cosponsored by the History Department and the Medieval Studies Workshop In the early fifteenth century, the general council assembled at Constance and, representing the universal Church, put an end to the scandalous schism which for almost forty years had divided the Latin Church between rival lines of claimants to the papal office. It did so by claiming and exercising an authority superior to that of the pope, an authority by virtue of which it could impose constitutional limits on the exercise of his prerogatives, stand in judgment over him, and if need be, depose him for wrongdoing. This...

Modernity and post-modernity share an evolving notion of autonomy, conceived along nominalist lines, that runs counter to earlier concepts of human freedom developed by the likes of Irenaeus and Anselm. Persona creatus is today displacing homo gratus, both culturally and politically. What is at stake in this evolution? Fundamental theology, obviously, and anthropology too. Perception of the body as well, together with the legislation or policies by which we try to reinforce our sense of autonomy and our claims to ‘dignity’ in the sphere of the body. So what if this sense is mistaken? What if we have autonomy wrong?...

In the wake of a synodal process that reflected on “the vocation and mission of the family today,” (RF 1) Pope Francis recently released a sweeping and rich post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia on love in the family, in which he invites Christian families to “value the gifts of marriage and the family, and to persevere in a love strengthened by the virtues of generosity, commitment, fidelity and patience” and invites everyone to “be a sign of mercy and closeness wherever family life remains imperfect or lacks peace and joy” (AL 5). Spouses Anna and Michael Moreland will consider how the themes and...

When St. Augustine innocuously yet infamously stole some pears in his youth, he confessed that he did it simply because he was in love with his own ruin.  Have you ever looked at your sins as the way you destroy that which you do not like about yourself?  Fr. Meconi’s talk will draw from this Augustinian insight that sin is really a form of self-sabotage, a way of keeping ourselves away from an intimacy and a love we all know we in no way deserve.

Due to unforeseen personal reasons, Carol Zaleski’s visit has been postponed. We hope to reschedule this event for a future date. Carol Zaleski (Smith College) REGISTER HERE cosponsored by the Medieval Studies Workshop and the Theology & Religious Ethics Workshop The idea of Purgatory – “that second kingdom,” as Dante puts it, “where the human soul is cleansed and made fit to ascend to Heaven” — is present in germ throughout world religions, fully articulated (and discriminated from ‘hell lite’) by the Catholic tradition, rejected by the Reformers, yet never wholly suppressed. Carol Zaleski will speak about the idea of...

Burcht Pranger (University of Amsterdam) REGISTER HERE Open to current University of Chicago students. Dinner will be served. Readings will be provided for all participants. Others interested in attending, please contact us. This master class seminar will cover three major works by Anselm of Canterbury: Proslogion, Cur deus homo and theFirst Meditation. The discussion will revolve around the question: how to read Anselm properly and comprehensively? Most often Anselm’s discourse in his various works is compartmentalized into either rational, theological or meditative text blocks. By focusing on texts that differ as to their outlook, we will try at once to honor the differences...

cosponsored by the Theology and Religious Ethics Workshop and the Early Christian Studies Workshop When modern persons think about assistance for the poor the two major categories that tend to dominate are the motivations of the donor (altruism) and the effects of the donation (social justice).  Though both of these attributes were part of classical Christian thinking, they stood on a deeper foundation: a description of the type of world God had made. And so, charity was as much about metaphysics as it was morality.