A Loyola Professor aims to dispel some of the ignorance surrounding the fundamental motivations of the Roman Catholic Church.
Michael Anthony Novak, visiting professor, will hold the lecture, “We The People: A Vision of The Church Still Unachieved” on Nov. 30. The lecture is part of one of the oldest lecture series at Loyola, the Yamauchi Lecture Series.
Novak’s lecture will focus on some of the ideas put forth by the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, such as calls for Catholic laity to take a more active role in the church. Novak’s lecture will explore changes in the Catholic community that started more than 50 years ago. The topics will include lay religious educators involved in teaching or evangelism, liturgical and music ministers, Eucharistic ministers and the variety of social justice ministries that lay Catholics are involved in.
“One thing that sort of quickly faded away after the council was theology or the logic of why this ‘turn to the laity’ was being promoted,” Novak said by email. “That is, the task of increasing the laity’s involvement in the Church went forward, but the justification was sort of left behind.”
Novak believes this lecture is also a chance for students, faculty and locals to discuss issues relevant to theology and Catholicism.
“I think that not making this idea of the church as clear as the intended effects of the idea has led to some confusion and conflict within the church. I want to explore with the audience where all this came from, and see if I can offer any clarity on these matters,” Novak said.
Novak said he hopes his lecture will broaden the attendees’ perspective and possibly give them more knowledge about Catholicism as a religion as well as help them to develop a better understanding of the church.
“For Catholics, ideally, I would hope that attendees gain a more nuanced and realistic picture of what the church is intended to be, and the potential for discovering what they have to offer within it. For those who are not Catholic and attend, a greater understanding of how Catholicism intends itself to work, which is not necessarily the picture one might get in an Associated Press news story,” Novak said.
Timothy Cahill, chairman of the Religious Studies department, said the lecture would be pertinent to local Catholics.
“Novak’s remarks will be an especially good chance for local Catholics to consider ways that Catholics can work towards enriching their common identity. I’m confident that this lecture will provide food for thought on many current topics, such as the newly implemented changes to the English-language Roman Catholic Missal,” Cahill said.
The Yamauchi Lectures in Religion began in 1985 in memory of Professor H. James Yamauchi, former chairman of the Religious Studies department who taught at Loyola for 10 years. The goal of the lecture series is to bring discussion of religious scholarship to a wider audience. There is one lecture in the fall semester and one in the spring.
“The Yamauchi Lecture series was set up to give our local community a chance to see what types of issues engage Loyola faculty in their professional lives,” Cahill said.
Novak’s lecture will be at 7 p.m. in Nunemaker Auditorium. This lecture is free and open to the public.
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