should be an “emphasis on

SJU‟s Catholic Jesuit educa-

tion.” However, of the 21

U.S. Jesuit institutions with

an enrollment over 4,000

students, Saint Joseph‟s is

by far the largest (of only

three universities) that does

not offer graduate study in

theology, ministry, religious

studies or a related field.

A supportive note from

key leaders in the Diocese

of Camden—Most Rev.

Joseph Galante, Bishop of

Camden; Msgr. Dr. Roger

McGrath, Vicar General;

Sr. Roseann Quinn, Dele-

gate for Lifelong Forma-

tion; and Linda Robinson,

Director of Lay Ministry

Formation—praised the

proposed Masters degree

During the academic year

of 2010-2011, department

members developed a pro-

posal for a 36-credit Master

of Arts in Theology and

Society degree, hopefully to

begin in fall of 2012.

The program design has an

integrative approach to the

study of the various theo-

logical disciplines and to

theology‟s engagement with

society and culture.

Courses in Bible, historical

theology, ethics, systematic

theology, and interreligious

relations interlace with one

another, encouraging an

interdisciplinary grasp of

the study of theology. The

courses also explicitly relate

to the 21st century U.S.

and global contexts.

The proposal notes that the

program offers an essential

contribution to the mission

of SJU to “foster a lived

awareness of the challeng-

ing and mutually enriching

interaction between Chris-

tian faith and diverse con-

temporary culture.” In

keeping with SJU‟s Jesuit

character, the program

aims to prepare “men and

women with and for oth-

ers” by integrating the

study of theology with

current issues in and fea-

tures of American society.

In addition, the proposal

cites the university‟s 2010-

12 Bridge Plan that speci-

fies that to continue Saint

Joseph‟s “momentum to-

wards preeminence” there

Department Proposes Master of Arts in Theology and Society degree

Saint Joseph's University

Good News FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES SPRING 2011

From the Chair Dr. Shawn Krahmer

T h u r s d a y ,

April 11 - At

8 a.m. we left

for San Vin-

cente de Paul

School, run

jointly by Fe

y Alegria and Amanacer .

I was tired. This was just

another school. Except it

wasn‟t jus t another

school. None of them are,

really. It was a school for

street kids, all of whom

were rescued from the

streets, placed into the

proper age level shelter/

orphanage, provided with

bed and food, and then

bussed to school.

They were so thrilled to be

in a supporting, loving,

educational environment

that they were there, de-

spite the general strike. So

were their teachers. Public

schools were closed, buses

weren‟t running, but these

kids loved being there so

much they had made the

effort to walk to school

anyway. I am in awe of

those who possess the gifts

and tenacity to work with

these children and for

them.

There were posters all over

the building, a renovated

home, posters identifying

children‟s rights and re-

sponsibilities: “All children

have a right to food. Chil-

dren have a right to be

t r e a t ed w i th k i nd -

ness. They have a right to

know both their father and

their mother….”

The paragraphs above are a

small part of my reflections

from a recent study tour to

Bolivia with students in my

“Faith, Justice and Jesuit

Missions in Bolivia” class.

Each time I return to cam-

pus after this week abroad,

I find that I am further

changed. I feel the discon-

nect between how much I

possess and the generosity

of those who have less. I

have much less patience

with SJU students who

don‟t value the privilege of

the education they have the

chance to acquire. I also

know that I must keep

teaching this course, al-

though it isn‟t comfortable

and familiar territory or the

discipline in which I for-

mally trained. What else

can I do with such revela-

tory experiences if I don‟t

use them to teach theology,

so that there will be more

and more graduates of SJU

who understand and care

about the plight of the

poor?

for “integrating the study

of theology with contem-

porary issues and chal-

lenges in American society.

Such an integration is criti-

cal for those in leadership

roles in parishes, women

and men committed to

serving the Church and its

people in that sacred mar-

ketplace where society and

Church converge.”

The proposal has been

submitted to the Office of

the Provost to begin the

approval process to imple-

ment this exciting new

program of study.

A collaboration among Boston

College, Catholic Theological

Union, Katholieke Universiteit

Leuven, Lund University ,

Pontifical Gregorian University,

and Saint Joseph‟s University, the

book has already been praised as

“stunning in its scope, erudition,

and creativity, this work is

without parallel or peer” and “a

watershed contribution to a new

era in the Jewish-Christian

encounter.”

Dr. Philip A. Cunningham is the

US coordinator of a 5-year

international project that has just

published Christ Jesus and the

J e w i s h P e op l e Tod a y : N ew

Explorations of Theological Inter-

relationships. It asks the question:

“How might we Christians in

our time reaffirm our faith claim

that Jesus Christ is the Savior of

all humanity, even as we affirm

the Jewish people‟s covenantal

life with God?”

Faculty Publications

Major New Book in Catholic-Jewish Relations Published

Faculty on hand were (back row,

r to l): Drs. Bruce Wells, Shawn

Krahmer (chair), Gerard Jacobitz,

Gerald Beyer and (front row far

left) James Caccamo.

New Honor Society Members Inducted

On April 27 the Department

inducted several new members

into the Alpha Xi chapter of

the National Honor Society for

Re l i g iou s S tud i e s and

Theology, Theta Alpha Kappa.

In the front row (r to l) are

inductees Lori Ann Rizzo,

Jamila Smith, Angela Siegel

(this year‟s Undergraduate

Achievement Award winner),

and Emily Holmes.

Gerald J. Beyer

“Poland in 1980 and Wisconsin in

2011: History Rhymes,” Politics

Daily, Feb 24, 2011,

“Conference on Race and the

Church Asks: Are All Welcome?”

Nat’l Catholic Reporter, Feb 17, 2011.

“Neither Socialist nor Libertarian:

Pope Benedict‟s Caritas in Veritate

on the Proper Role of Government

in the Economy,” Josephinum Journal

of Theology 17/1 (2010): 157-67

“The Pope or the Tea Party?” (with

John Gehring), Nat’onal Catholic

Reporter, Oct 19, 2010.

“Przydałby się nam Tischner

dzisiaj,” Gazeta Wyborcza, June

28, 2010. (Newspaper interview on

the 10th anniversary of the death of

Fr. Jozef Tischner, the Solidarity

movement‟s philosopher/chaplain.

Also, a TV interview on the legacy

of Tischner‟s thought on “Religia

TV,” Poland, June 20, 2010.

James F. Caccamo

Living Worship (co-author), a two-

disc, multimedia educational soft-

ware program for teaching worship

in seminary or M.Div. settings. Disk

1 studies worship in a congregation,

while Disk 2 offers interviews of

leading liturgists.

David Carpenter

“Tapas” in Brill's Encyclopedia of

Hinduism. Volume 2. Sacred Texts and

Language, Ritual Traditions, Arts,

Concepts: 865-869.

Peter Clark, S.J.

“Concierge Medicine: Medical,

Legal and Ethical Perspectives,”

with J. Friedman, D. Crosson, &

M. Fadus, Internet Journal of Law,

Healthcare and Ethics 7/2.

“Heroin Addiction: An Ethical

Analysis of New York City‟s Her-

oin Manual,” Journal of Health 12/1.

“Surgical Vaccine: Should Male

Circumcision Be Mandatory in

Sub-Saharan Africa?” with J. Eis-

enman, S. Szapor in Bioethics: Issues

and Dilemmas, T. Pace, ed.

“Telemedicine: Medical, Legal and

Ethical Perspectives,” with K.

Capuzzi & J. Harrison, Medical

Science Monitor 16/12.

[continued on back page]

Page 2 GOOD NEWS

Faculty Tenure

was awarded to two

department members

this spring !

Gerard Jacobitz,

Assistant Professor,

specializes in

Systematic Theology.

Bruce Wells

studies Hebrew Bible.

He was also promoted

to the rank of

Associate Professor.

Congratulations!

Drs. Bruce Wells, Gerard Jacobitz

Joining the faculty on a fulltime

basis this fall is the department‟s

new ass‟t professor of Catholi-

cism in America, Dr. Katie Oxx.

Her academic work integrates

the history of American Catholi-

cism into the study of American

religious history, paying special

attention to the variegated inter-

actions between Catholics and

Protestants of various sorts,

particularly in Philadelphia.

Indeed her research into the

religious history of Philadelphia

will be a notable asset to the life

of the SJU community.

Since completing her doctorate

in 2006, she has revised her

dissertation on the relations

between religious communities

in early national Philadelphia

into a wider exploration of the

role of space and place in the

context of lived urban religion.

She is currently

studying five

early Catholic

churches to map

Catho l i c i sm ‟s

emergence in

Philadelphia.

Dr. Oxx has served as an adjunct

professor at SJU and already is

known as a creative and engaging

teacher.

Welcome aboard!

Unions and Social Policy in Eastern

Europe Symposium,” Indiana Uni-

versity, Oct 22, 2010.

“On the Possibility of Human Soli-

darity: Insights from Evolutionary

Perspectives,” Catholic Theological

Ethics in the World Church Confer-

ence, Trento, Italy, July 2010.

James F. Caccamo

"Creating Helpful Discussions

about Worship" & “Teaching Wor-

ship Planning: Content and Con-

text," (with T. Johnson) at the Cal-

vin Institute for Christian Worship's

"Calvin Symposium on Worship,”

Grand Rapids, MI, Jan 28-29, 2011.

Founded the Technology Ethics

Interest group in the Society of

Christian Ethics to spur research on

technology ethics from the per-

spective of Christian tradition. At

the SCE's January 2011 conference

in New Orleans, the Group held its

first meeting on “Deepwater Hori-

zon: Technology, Failure, and the

Ethics of Engineering.”

Peter Clark, S.J.

"Extraordinary Scholarly & Service

Contributions Beyond the Class-

room,” Assoc. of Catholic Colleges

& Universities, Washington, D.C.,

Jan 31, 2011.

Gerald J. Beyer

“Can Poland‟s Solidarity be Global-

ized? Insights from Evolutionary

Biology,” Internat‟l Conf: “Ethical

Pluralism and Global Solidarity” at

Metropolitní Univerzita Praha, Pra-

gue, Czech Republic, Apr 29, 2011.

“Solidarity by Grace or Nature

Alone? Catholic Theology in Dia-

logue with Evolutionary Biology on

the Possibility of Human Solidar-

ity,” Inaugural Lecture of Gudorf

Chair in Catholic Theology and

Culture Lecture Series, University of

Dayton, March 10, 2011.

“Celebrating the 31st Anniversary

of the Pastoral „Brothers and Sisters

to Us.‟” Keynote at the Archdiocese

of Cincinnati‟s Forum on Race:

“Are All Welcome? Race in the

Church Today.” University of Day-

ton, Jan 29, 2011. Close to 300

people attended the event, the first

time a U.S. Archdiocese devoted an

entire day to the topic of race. The

organizing committee cited Beyer's

2009 America article "Why Race Still

Matters: Catholics and the Rise of

Obama," as the catalyst that sparked

their preparation of the event.

The Ideals & Discourse of Solidar-

ność: From Communism towards a

Republic of Equals. Paper at the

“Solidarities of Communism: Trade

"Ethical Decision-Making in

Catholic Hospitals Today," Holy

Redeemer Hospital, Meadowbrook,

PA, Mar 10, 2011.

"Ethical Decision Making at the

End-of-Life," Old St. Joseph's

Parish, Philadelphia, PA, Mar 6 and

Neighborhood Hospice, West

Chester, PA, Feb 14, 2011.

Philip A. Cunningham

“The Catholic Church and the

Inquisition,” with Rabbi A. Iser,

Congregation Brith Achim, King of

Prussia, PA, May 15, 2011.

"Theological Implications of

Archbishop Bustros‟ Interview,"

Anti-Defamation League, New

York, Mar 24, 2011.

Corrector for a doctoral defense at

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in

Belgium: D. Bolton “Justifying Paul

Among Jews and Christians? An

Investigation of the New Perspec-

tive on Paul in Light of Jewish-

Christian Dialogue,” Feb 14, 2011.

“Theology of Jewish-Christian

Relations Today: An Assessment of

Academic and Ecclesiastical Think-

ing,” Consultation: Christian Self-

Understanding in the Context of

Judaism, World Council of

Churches, Istanbul, June 18, 2010.

Department Welcomes Dr. Katie Oxx

Faculty Presentations and Activities

Page 3 SPRING 2011 “By its very nature, a

University develops culture

through its research, helps

to transmit the local

culture to each succeeding

generation through its

teaching, and assists

cultural activities through

its educational services. It is

open to all human experience

and is ready to dialogue with

and learn from any culture.

A Catholic University shares

in this, offering the rich

experience of the Church's

own culture. In addition, a

Catholic University, aware

that human culture is open

to Revelation and

transcendence, is also a

primary and privileged place

for a fruitful dialogue

between the Gospel and

culture. “

- Pope John Paul II,

Ex Corde Ecclesiae,

Apostolic Constitution on

Catholic Universities

Millicent Feske

“Rachel‟s Lament: The Impact of

Infertility, Pregnancy Loss, and

Newborn Death on the Religious

Faith of Ordinary Christians,” an-

nual meeting of the American Acad-

emy of Religion, Atlanta, GA, Nov

1, 2010.

Allen Kerkeslager

“How to Start a Program to Protect

the Environment, Improve Commu-

nities, and Create Jobs: Learning

with the Genesee River Wilds Pro-

ject,” Wheeling Jesuit University,

Mar 2010.

“The Edict of Flaccus and the Vio-

lence in Alexandria in 38 CE,” an-

nual meeting of Society of Biblical

Literature, Atlanta, GA, Nov 21,

2010.

Umeyye Isra Yazicioglu

“Perhaps Their Harmony is Not that

Simple: Said Nursi‟s Interpretation

of the Relationship between Modern

Science and the Qur‟an,” American

Academy of Religion Annual Meet-

ing, Oct 30-Nov.1 2010.

“Abraham, Sarah and Hagar in the

Muslim Tradition,” at The Jewish

Community Center in Manhattan,

Oct. 2010.

Philip A. Cunningham

"The Triune One, the Incarnate

Logos, and Israel‟s Covenantal Life"

with D. Pollefeyt in Cunningham, et

al, eds., Christ Jesus and the Jewish

People Today: New Explorations of

Theological Interrelationships, 183-201.

"Jews and Christians from the Time

of Christ to Constantine‟s Reign" in

A. Lindemann & R. Levy, eds.,

Antisemitism: A History, 47-62.

"John Paul II, Lower Manhattan &

the Power of Religious Symbolism,"

Jewish Exponent, Sept 16, 2010.

Faculty Publications (continued from p. 2)

The Department of Theology and Religious Studies is committed to a rigorous presentation of the methods

and content of both the scholarly study of Christian Theology and the academic discipline of Religious

Studies. We view these combined disciplines as an important component within the liberal arts curriculum

of a Roman Catholic university in the Jesuit tradition. We therefore take seriously our charge to engage

students in the serious and critical study of religious experience, practice, thought and inquiry, both

historically and in the contemporary world.

Phone: 610-660-1850 Fax: 610-660-3217 E-mail: porreca@sju.edu

Saint Joseph's

University

Visit Us at:

www.sju.edu/

academics/cas/

theology

Department of Theology & Religious Studies

Chair: Dr. Shawn Krahmer, BE209 Admin Ass‟t: Ms. Joni Porreca, BE218

New Course

THE 337-HON: Jewish and

Christian Interpretations of the

Bible. [Prof. Philip Cunningham

and Rabbi Alan Iser.]

This course examines why the

Bible has been a source of conflict

between Christians and Jews, and

why that is currently changing—as

seen in recent official Catholic

instructions.

Allen Kerkeslager

“Athletics,” “Cyprus,” “Cyrenaica,”

“Gymnasium;” articles in J. Collins

& D. Harlow, eds., Dictionary of

Early Judaism (Eerdmans, 2010).

Bruce Wells

"The Hated Wife in Deuteronomic

Law," Vetus Testamentum 60:131-146

"Competing or Complementary?

Judges and Elders in Biblical and

Neo-Babylonian Law," Zeitschrift für

altorientalische und biblische Rechts-

geschichte 16: 77-104.

Department Member Spearheads Environmental Strategic Plan

Meet Our Faculty:

Gerald J. Beyer Associate Professor, Social Ethics

James F. Caccamo Associate Professor, Social Ethics

David Carpenter Associate Professor, History of Religions

Peter Clark, S.J. Professor, Ethics

Philip A. Cunningham Professor, Catholic-Jewish Relations

Mario Farrugia, S.J. Assistant Professor, Systematics

Millicent Feske Assistant Professor, Systematics

Vincent Genovesi, S.J. Professor, Ethics

Gerard Jacobitz Assistant Professor, Systematics

Allen Kerkeslager Associate Professor, Religions of the Ancient World

Shawn Madison Krahmer Associate Professor, Historical Theology (Chair)

Kathleen Oxx Assistant Professor, Catholicism in America

Bruce Wells Associate Professor, Hebrew Bible

Umeyye Isra Yazicioglu Assistant Professor, Islam

Dr. Allen Kerkeslager is the prin-cipal editor of the recently com-pleted "Triple Divide Trail Sys-tem Strategic Plan." The strate-gic plan promotes water resource conservation, natural flood con-trol, outdoor recreation, fishery replenishment, education, and economic revitalization spanning about 230 miles from Rochester, NY to Williamsport, PA.

"Triple Divide Trail" describes the trail's passage over a triple continental divide separating the headwaters of three watersheds of national import: the Allegheny River, which empties into the Ohio River and thereby the Mis-sissippi River; the Genesee River, which empties into Lake Ontario; and Pine Creek, the largest tribu-tary of the Susquehanna River‟s West Branch and so is a major feeder of Chesapeake Bay.

Since the plan com-bines and builds on existing projects, many of its features have already been adopted by state, regional, and local planning agencies in both states.

The plan is available in PDF format on the website of the Genesee River Wilds Project:

www.geneseeriverwilds.org

Dr. Bruce Wells ran in the 5-mile Narberth Run on Apr. 23, 2011. He finished an impressive 147th out of 513 runners in a time of 41 minutes exactly. His com-ment? “I was beaten by one 7-year-old, two 9-year-olds, and one dog.”