News and events archive
On this page you can find an overview of news and events that occurred at the School of Catholic Theology in 2012.
Christianity and Society joins study trip to Rome
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Last month, the School of Catholic Theology celebrated its 5-year anniversary in a special way. A group of 35 students, professors, staff, management and guests visited Rome during an 8-day study trip. The program coordinator of Christianity and Society, the international officer and one of the Christianity and Society students joined the group as well.
Besides famous Roman historic sites such as the Colosseum, the Forum Romanum and the Pantheon, the group visited important churches, excavations and institutions, such as Santa Maria Maggiore, the Vatican necropolis under Saint Peter’s Basilica, the Catacombs of Priscilla, the Pontifical Gregorian University, the Dutch Embassy to the Holy See and the Royal Dutch Institute in Rome. These visits proved to be fruitful, resulting in new educational ideas and proposals for future cooperation.
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One of the highlights of the study trip was the group's audience with Pope Benedict XVI. Following the audience, the dean of the School, Prof. Adelbert Denaux, and the director, Mrs. Ada van der Velden, asked the Holy Father to bless the name signs of the School’s new premises in Utrecht.
Last but not least, meetings were held with the Vatican. The group was welcomed by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and by the Congregation for Catholic Education. In these meetings, the Vatican expressed its warm interest in and support for the Tilburg School of Catholic Theology. In particular the Master Christianity and Society was mentioned as an example of a high-quality theology program that adds value to a secularized society.
Twelve new students Christianity and Society
The School of Catholic Theology welcomes twelve new students Christianity and Society; 10 Master students and 2 Premaster students. Our new theology students come from various confessional backgrounds and countries in the world. This academic year the new group consists of British, Canadian, Dutch, Indonesian and Polish students.
As the program now enters its second week of lectures, we wish all students a fruitful and enjoyable year ahead!
WYD winner visits Christianity and Society
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Thiago Costa, the Brazilian winner of our recruitment event at World Youth Day in Madrid, visited Tilburg University in April. The School of Catholic Theology welcomed Thiago and invited him for lunch, a campus tour and a lecture in the Master’s program Christianity and Society.
Thiago’s visit was part of the prize he won: a 5-day trip to the Netherlands, which also included his air ticket and accommodation with a host family in Tilburg. Thiago expanded his visit to the Netherlands to a 10-day trip, met up with his World Youth Day friends from all over Europe, visited Amsterdam and Delft, and enjoyed various tourist sites.
Ada van der Velden-Westervelt, the School’s director, presented the winner’s prize certificate to Thiago. In return, Thiago brought a gift from Brazil, a stone miniature version of the iconic statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro. With a dictionary Portuguese-Dutch at close reach, communications went a long way. Thiago even took 6 months of English classes to prepare for his trip to Europe! It proved to be an enjoyable afternoon for all.
Alumnus Publishes Christianity and Society Book
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Wolf Legal Publishers has published a book by Christianity and Society alumnus Vitaliy Proshak. Vitaliy graduated cum laude (with honor) in September 2011. His Master thesis is now published under the title:
Juridical foundation to religious education in the post-soviet Eastern European state:
Three Models Theory of the REDCo Research Project in Application to Ukraine.
Tilburg School of Catholic Theology wishes to congratulate Vitaliy on his publishing success!
In Vitaliy’s book, written within the frameworks of the program Christianity & Society, an attempt has been made to investigate the existing juridical foundation to religious education in an Eastern European state of the post-Soviet Eastern Block. The purpose is to promote the democratic notion of religious tolerance and the development of a culture of living together in the multicultural and polyconfessional society of the Ukraine. The main research focus of this project is on the juridical foundation to religious education in Ukraine, as is presented in the national juristic canons and its interpretation in the broader European spectrum of religious education on the example of the three model theory of the REDCo research project. For this purpose, two juridical constitutional and administrative/public laws of the Ukraine were considered: the Constitution of Ukraine and the Law of Ukraine On Education.
Vitaliy’s book can be ordered online at Wolf Legal Publishers for ¤ 16,95.
Annual Lecture Christianity and Society well attended
The 2012 Annual Lecture Christianity and Society held by Cardinal Godfried Danneels on February 16, was well attended by 70 guests in the audience. This year's lecture carried the title: At the crossroads of faith and culture. Challenges facing the Catholic Church today.
In his lecture, the cardinal did not raise the issue of sexual abuse in the Church, but instead talked about the spiritual crisis that the Church faces nowadays. This crisis, according to the cardinal, is caused by the ever-widening gap between the truth as expressed by the Church and Christianity, versus modern secular life and science.
Several Dutch media wrote about the Annual Lecture (all articles are in Dutch):
"Danneels pleit voor authentieke levensstijl"
Katholiek Nieuwsblad
"Periode van ballingschap heilzaam"
Nederlands Dagblad
"Positief nieuws kerk dringt niet door in de media"
Reformatorisch Dagblad
"Kerk moet weer geloofwaardig zijn"
Het Goede Leven (Friesch Dagblad)
The Annual Lecture and the responses by the co-referees:
2012 Annual Lecture Christianity and Society
by Cardinal Godfried Danneels
Response to the annual lecture
by Dr. Kees de Groot
Response to the annual lecture
by Prof.dr. Wim van de Donk:
This response will follow soon.
2012 Annual Lecture Christianity and Society
The lecture will be delivered by Cardinal Godfried Danneels, Archbishop Emeritus of Mechelen-Brussels on the topic:
At the crossroads of faith and culture –
Challenges facing the Catholic Church todayThe challenges for faith and Church in the 21st century are immense. Within the Church there are problems with regard to vocations, celibacy and the ecclesiastical office, as well as tensions between the centre and its peripheries. The most crucial confrontations, however, are situated at the crossroads of Church and modern society, faith and contemporary culture: the fading away of God and the Holy in our culture, the presence of other religions, the enculturation of Christianity in non-Western cultures, the relation between faith and reason and faith and science, and the issue of religious tolerance. Can the Gospel be rooted anew in this new soil and how can this be achieved?
Read more about the program and keynote speaker in the invitation.
When and where
- Thursday 16 February 2012 at 15:00h
- Tilburg University, Dante-building room DZ-01, Warandelaan 2 in Tilburg
Registration
If you wish to attend this (free) lecture, please register before 1 February 2012 by sending an email, stating your name, address and telephone number.
The Annual Lecture is organized by the School of Catholic Theology in close cooperation with the Master’s program Christianity and Society.
Global / English