The establishment of the Loyola Institute at Trinity College Dublin,
offering an academic programme in Catholic theology, has been described
as, “a milestone in the institutional development of Catholic theology
in Ireland.”
Speaking at the official launch of the Institute, which is the first
of its kind in Ireland, Trinity College Provost, Dr Patrick Prendergast,
said the Loyola Institute would be, “ideally placed,” to address
religious, ethical and societal questions in an academic forum and in
the public domain.
However, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin moved swiftly to
clarify that the new institute does not fulfil the canonical
requirements for training for ministry in the Church.
In a statement,
Archbishop Martin said he appreciated the desirability of finding ways
to facilitate the teaching of Catholic theology in a university setting
in Ireland.
However, he said, the vocation of the Catholic theologian
was an ecclesial vocation and could not be, “independent of reference to
the teaching authority of the Church.”
He suggested that the Loyola Institute, unlike the theological
faculties within state universities elsewhere around the world, does
not, “fit into the recognised models for Catholic theological institutes
and for the rooting of the teaching of Catholic theology within the
ecclesial community.”
He added that it could not therefore be formally recognised as an
Institute of Catholic Theology and its degrees would not fulfil the
canonical requirements for admission to Holy Orders and for other
ecclesial roles.
A spokeswoman for the Jesuits in Ireland, one of the eight orders
behind the Loyola Institute Trust that provided an endowment to fund the
Loyola Institute at Trinity College Dublin, told ciNews, “What
the Archbishop says is correct and this was the understanding of
parties involved in the formation of the Loyola Institute at the outset
of discussions.”
She added that the new institute was a new model
facilitating the teaching of theology in the Catholic tradition in a
university setting.
Elsewhere in his address at the launch of the new Institute, which
will be headed by Redemptorist, Dr Cornelius Casey, Provost Dr Patrick
Prendergast said that through its research and teaching, the Loyola
Institute would equip students to analyse changes in the role of
religion in current culture and also its pluralisation.
It would also
help them analyse the new challenges facing societies in an age of
globalisation and of great technological advances, he said.
“Students will study the theology of a tradition that has marked
Irish history and identity and has created intercultural connections. They will discuss and debate contemporary views on the role of religion
in the public sphere and contribute to debates about the position of
faith communities in pluralist democracies,” according to Dr
Prendergast.
Welcoming the new Institute, Fr Thomas Layden SJ, Provincial of the
Irish Jesuit Province said the eight religious congregations associated
with the initiative, welcomed the establishment of the new Institute for
education and research in theology in the Catholic tradition on the
campus of a, “great university.”
“We are pleased to support and collaborate, in the spirit of
dialogue, with the Loyola Institute’s core mission of considered
academic reflection on Christian faith, social justice and contemporary
culture, in the context of a rich intellectual and spiritual tradition
spanning some two millennia,” Fr Layden said.
The new Institute is the outcome of discussions between the College
and the eight Catholic religious congregations associated with the
Milltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy.
Dr Cornelius Casey CSsR,
the inaugural Director, has developed the first undergraduate
programme, a Moderatorship in Catholic Theological Studies and the first
intake into the course will begin in 2013/14.
The course has been designed to provide students with a knowledge of
the Catholic theological, intellectual and cultural tradition, and of
critical issues that arise in the study of its origins, formative
periods and foundational documents.
The Loyola Professorship in Catholic Theology has been approved by
Trinity’s Council and will be advertised internationally.
To mark its
foundation, the Loyola Institute is to host an international conference
on Theology in the University: International Experiences and
Contemporary Issues, in the autumn of 2013.