The University of Dallas continued its celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Second Vatican Council on Wednesday October 16 with a panel discussion on the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium. The Second Vatican Council met from 1963 1965 and is hailed by many Catholic theologians and historians as the most significant event in Church history in the past century. The event, co-sponsored by the Department of Theology and the Neuhoff Institute, offered the university community the opportunity to hear from a panel of nationally renowned scholars on how this central document, which describes the nature and structure of the Church, continues to effect the life of the Catholic Church.
The first panelist, Fr. Roch Kereszty, O.Cist. of the Theology Department described the reception of the document over the past fifty years. This reception has included both positive developments and exaggerated developments, the "confusion and the renewal", Fr. Kerestzy explained. His presentation also highlighted the importance of the Trinitarian structure of the Church. Dr. Dan Luby of the Neuhoff Institute discussed the impact that the treatment of the role of the Laity in the Church in chapter 4 of Lumen Gentium has had on Catholicism. His presentation focused on the universal call to holiness, the development of lay ecclesial ministry, and mission of the laity to act as "leaven in the world" as key developments. Dr. Bruce D. Marshall Lehman Professor of Christian Doctrine at Southern Methodist University's discussed the themes of ecumenism and interfaith relations in Lumen Gentium and two other key documents published by the council. His presentation described the challenge, laid out by the fathers of the council, of holding together the apparently contradictory ideals of valuing the dignity and truth that is to be found in other Christian denominations and non-Christian religions while at the same time upholding the unique nature of the Roman Catholic Church.
The event was well attended by a number of students, faculty and members of the university community who participated in a discussion with the panelists and a reception after the presentation. This panel conversation was the third collaboration between the Department of Theology and the Neuhoff Institute as a part of the ongoing celebration of the council.
As it begins a new fiscal year, the University of Dallas is pleased to announce organizational changes designed to strengthen relationships with the broad range of university stakeholders, and the addition of a new leadership position for the 52-year-old Rome Program.
+ Read MoreWe teachers dream of reaching our students, of sharing our passion for what we have learned with eager, intelligent, receptive students. Alas! how rarely most of us seem to...
+ Read MoreThe University of Dallas is pleased to announce that of the five UD students who submitted applications for the State Department-sponsored Benjamin Gilman International...
+ Read More
