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 School of Ministry, 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 School of Ministry 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 School of Ministry as a part of the ongoing celebration of the council.
The University of Dallas has announced a new assistant vice president for marketing and communications. Clare Venegas, who has over 20 years of executive management and strategic communications experience in the private, public and nonprofit sectors, begins her new role on Aug. 3.
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+ Read MoreAssociate Professor of English Greg Roper, Ph.D., BA '84, and Associate Professor of English Andrew Moran, BA '91 PhD '04, have co-edited a book to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Rome Program and the 25th anniversary of the Eugene Constantin Campus (aka, of course, Due Santi): "Due Santi and the University of Dallas: Un Piccolo Paradiso."
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