“Catholic leaders must be prepared to respond to the tremendous technological changes of our time,” said Brett Robinson, associate professor of the practice and director of the Church Communications Ecology Program. “Each new wave of technological transformation, from the printing press to artificial intelligence, has transformed the ways we come to know the world and one another. We want to provide leaders with the theological and philosophical vision to navigate this new environment with virtue and wisdom.”��

Seventeen participants were selected from across the United States. The cohort of Church leaders includes executives, educators, media professionals and seminarians.��

The CCEP participants take part in a six-week online course with theology, philosophy and communications faculty from Notre Dame and Mount Saint Mary’s University. An immersive workshop will be held in April in Pittsburgh, where participants will visit the Carnegie Mellon Argo AI Center, the Andy Warhol Museum and the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media at Saint Vincent College. The program culminates in June at Notre Dame, where leaders will share their transformational ideas with their peers and faculty.��

“Like a natural ecosystem, communities are interconnected systems in need of support and preservation,” said Robinson. “The Catholic tradition can lead us to a deeper awareness of the ways in which technology reshapes culture and how we are called to respond to that change in light of our faith.”��

In July 2019, the McGrath Institute was the . The planning grant supported a summer symposium for more than 30 theologians and Church leaders to consider the impact of technological change on congregational vitality. The CCEP in 2020.��

The Church Communications Ecology Program is made possible by a $1 million grant from the Lilly Endowment.��

The 17 members of the 2021 CCEP cohort are:��

• Sister Peter Verona Bodoh, Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia Motherhouse, Nashville, Tennessee
• Bo Bonner, senior adviser, mission initiatives and director, Center for Human Flourishing at Mercy College of Health Sciences, Des Moines, Iowa
• Sister Matthew Marie Cummings, O.P., professor of education at Aquinas College, Nashville
• Melissa Downs, dean of innovation and academic programs at John Paul II High 91��Ƶ, Plano, Texas
• Fiona Holly, reference-outreach librarian at Conception Abbey and Seminary College, Maryville, Missouri
• Allie Howard, teacher at Saint Joseph Grade 91��Ƶ, South Bend, Indiana
• Randy Kraft, seminarian at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary, Wynnewood, Pennsylvania
• Bill Maier, ​​secretary for communications for the Diocese of Brooklyn and head of DeSales Media Group, New York City
• Bud Marr, associate provost at Mercy College of Health Sciences, Des Moines, Iowa
• Dave Plisky, director of product and innovation for DeSales Media, New York City
• Nicholas Powers, teacher at All Hallows High 91��Ƶ, New York City
• Louden Redinger, seminarian at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary, Wynnewood
• Renée D. Roden, writer, New York City
• Matt Romkey, vice president of enrollment and marketing at Mercy College of Health Sciences, Des Moines
• Frank Santoni, director of the Social Innovation Lab at John Paul II High 91��Ƶ, Plano
• Will Sipling, writer and researcher covering the intersection of media and religious studies, Dallas
• Jane Wageman, teacher at Marian High 91��Ƶ, Mishawaka, Indiana

To learn more about the Church Communications Ecology Program and this year’s cohort, visit .

Contact: Brett Robinson, director of communications, McGrath Institute for Church Life, 574-631-6109, brobins6@nd.edu

Originally published by Brett Robinson at on ������.��24.

“Seminary culture has improved significantly since the Church’s sexual abuse crisis first came to light, but there is still room for improvement,” said , the McGrath-Cavadini Director of the McGrath Institute for Church Life. “Our research indicates we are not stuck in the past, we have been moving forward and we have the power to keep and to increase this momentum for the building up of the One Body and Spouse of the Lord Jesus Christ, His Church.”

The benchmarks respond directly to the needs articulated by seminarians in a national study commissioned by the McGrath Institute to assess sexual misconduct policies at seminaries. The five benchmarks are: 1) systematic training of seminarians, faculty and staff regarding harassment policies, 2) internal and external reporting and investigation procedures, 3) victim support, 4) periodic assessment of internal policies and 5) consistency and portability of standards to suit local conditions.

The study of seminaries sponsored by the McGrath Institute and conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate found that even though incidents of sexual misconduct are uncommon, there is low awareness of seminary protocols for reporting such misconduct. The study led to the formation of the McGrath Seminary Study Group, a group of bishops, seminary rectors, faculty and expert lay consultants who developed the proactive policy guidelines.

Several members of the study group offered insights on the value and timeliness of the guidelines.

“These benchmarks for seminary sexual misconduct policies are an important step towards a culture of transparency and accountability in the Church,” said Michael Brough of Leadership Roundtable. “They are also a model of co-responsibility, where laity and ordained work together to address challenges facing our Church.”

“These benchmarks for sexual misconduct policies have been put together by real experts in the field of seminary formation as well as lay leaders,” said Bishop Andrew Cozzens of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. “This is just the sort of collaboration we need to make sure our seminaries are safe places where vocations can flourish and where we can continue to work to eradicate the scourge of sexual abuse.”

The McGrath Institute hopes that the benchmarks will be a call to action for seminaries and houses of formation. The McGrath Seminary Study Group invites all seminaries and houses of religious formation to publicly commit to the benchmarks and to revise and update their own policies to reflect them.

“This historic, grassroots collaboration was initiated, funded and led by laity but always with the support of clergy and later of bishops. It models the co-responsibility described by Pope Emeritus Benedict and followed by Pope Francis,” said Father Ken Davis, O.F.M., prefect of formation for the Province of Our Lady of Consolation.

��

Contact: Amanda Skofstad, assistant director of media relations, 847-525-7492,��

The Church Communications Ecology program will assist Church leaders in the work of strengthening parish communities in a digital culture where social disruption, distraction and disconnection threaten established institutions and traditions. The program’s “communications ecology” approach will give parishes a framework to create healthy environments where ministry, teaching and outreach can thrive.

“The sacraments which form the life and being of the parish are all, in their own way, communications of the Word who continues to make Himself flesh,” said John Cavadini, the McGrath-Cavadini Director of the McGrath Institute. “Our communications strategy must be conformed to this primal and ongoing communication if our parishes are to thrive in the flesh instead of languishing in abstraction and virtual reality.”

Brett Robinson has been named academic director of the Church Communications Ecology program at the institute. He has a doctorate from the University of Georgia and conducts research at the intersection of technology, culture and Catholicism. Robinson has served on the faculty at Notre Dame and Saint Vincent College and has been the director of communications for the McGrath Institute for the last five years.

“The revitalization of Catholic parishes requires that we pay attention to the forms of communication that lead to deeper communion,” said Robinson. “An awareness of the ways in which media and technology shape our psychology and social dynamics must be taken into account when thinking about how to enhance Catholic identity, trust and vitality at the parish level.”��

In July 2019, the McGrath Institute was the recipient of a planning grant from Lilly Endowment. The planning grant supported a summer symposium for more than 30 theologians and Church leaders to consider the impact of technological change on congregational vitality.��

Beginning in fall 2020, the newly established Church Communications Ecology program at Notre Dame will invite leadership cohorts from select dioceses to join a learning community of their peers to focus on how to enhance parish vitality through closer attention to communication ethics and practices in the digital age. The program will culminate with a summer conference at Notre Dame where parish leaders will share their findings with their learning community peers.��

The Church Communications Ecology program is the third McGrath Institute project to receive Lilly Endowment funding since 2016. The provides a weeklong retreat for diocesan priests on the Notre Dame campus in the summer. The began in 2018 and supports pastoral leaders as they seek to balance the early years of their career in ministry with familial and financial commitments.��

Contact: Brett Robinson, director of communications, McGrath Institute for Church Life, 574-631-6109, brobins6@nd.edu.

Originally published by Brett Robinson at on Dec.��12.

Christmas nativity scenes recreated by cultures from around the world are on display in six University of Notre Dame campus buildings from Nov. 28 through Jan. 31. The third annual International Crèche Exhibit and Pilgrimage features 30 crèches on loan from the Marian Library at the University of Dayton. The exhibit is sponsored by the .

A prayerful pilgrimage to view the crèches will be held Dec. 4 (Sunday). The event begins at 2 p.m. with a brief presentation by , McGrath-Cavadini Director of the McGrath Institute for Church Life, and an activity for children at the Eck Visitors Center. The pilgrimage will move from the Eck Visitors Center through campus to the other displays and end at the Main Building. Pilgrims are invited to bring the baby Jesus from their home crèche for a blessing. All are welcome.

“During the Advent and Christmas seasons, the presence of the animals in the nativity scenes calls us to reflect on the participation of all of creation in joyfully welcoming our Lord in his infancy,” said Cavadini.

The theme of the exhibit is “The Friendly Beasts: Imagining the Animals at Christ’s Nativity,” borrowing the title from a traditional Christmas hymn. The crèches selected for this year’s display feature a diverse array of animals. Some scenes include donkeys, sheep and cows thought to be present at Jesus Christ’s birth while other sets reflect creative cultural interpretations such as alligators, frogs, a polar bear and a rooster.

The crèches will be on display in the Eck Visitors Center, Morris Inn, Coleman-Morse Center, Main Building, Geddes Hall and Hesburgh Library. Visitors are encouraged to make self-guided tours of the crèches using booklets available at all exhibit sites.

The nativity sets were created by artists from Brazil, Ecuador, France, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Italy, Kenya, Peru, the Philippines, Switzerland, the United States and Venezuela.

The Christmas crèche originated with St. Francis of Assisi in the year 1223. St. Francis recreated the night of Christ’s birth in a cave near the town of Grecio, Italy, to arouse the devotion of the town’s inhabitants.

The McGrath Institute for Church Life at Notre Dame partners with Catholic dioceses, parishes and schools to address pastoral challenges with theological depth and rigor. By connecting the Catholic intellectual life at Notre Dame to the life of the Church, the McGrath Institute for Church Life forms faithful Catholic leaders for service to the Church and the world. For more information, visit .

Contact: Brett Robinson, director of communications, McGrath Institute for Church Life, 574-631-6109, brobins6@nd.edu

A will take place May 1 (Sunday) at the University of Notre Dame. The procession will begin at 1pm at the Grotto of our Lady of Lourdes and end at Geddes Hall with a crowning ceremony, blessing and reception.

“Mary is the most inculturated person in the Church because she is the the mother of all people,” said , McGrath-Cavadini Director of the Institute for Church Life at Notre Dame. “We are so happy to restore the gift of this beautiful tradition honoring Mary, the Mother of God, for whom this university was named.”

A statute of Mary will be blessed at the Grotto and processed through campus accompanied by prayer and song. The procession will travel to the Coleman-Morse Center and then pass by the Main Building on the way to the Geddes Hall Chapel where Mary will be crowned and enshrined. A final blessing will be offered by Fr. Terry Ehrman, C.SC. and a reception will follow on the 3rd floor of Geddes Hall.

“Events like this nourish the Catholic imagination,” said Cavadini. “A May crowning and procession is a beautiful way to participate in a devotional practice that makes the faith more accessible, and it offers an inspiring spectacle for those who want to know more.”

The event is free and open to the public. Those who are planning to attend are encouraged to register at maycrowning.nd.edu. The website also contains rare footage of a Marian procession at Notre Dame in the 1950s.

In the event of rain, the event will be moved indoors to Geddes Hall Chapel. Registered participants will receive updates via email regarding the weather and other important event details.

connects the intellectual life of the academy to the pastoral needs of the Catholic Church. Dedicated to forming faithful Catholic leaders at all levels of Church life, the institute partners with dioceses, parishes and schools to offer programming and resources in theology education, faith formation and leadership development.

Contact: Brett Robinson, 574-631-6109 or brobins6@nd.edu

An interdisciplinary conference featuring a range of scholars including , archbishop of Abuja, Nigeria, will explore the concept of human dignity against recent philosophical challenges. The conference, titled “,” will take place April 3-5 (Sunday-Tuesday) at the University of Notre Dame.

Cardinal Onaiyekan will open the conference at 7 p.m. April 3 by delivering the 2016 Human Dignity Lecture at McKenna Hall. The conference, which is free and open to the public, will feature noted philosophers and theologians including Cyril O’Regan, Leon Kass, Gustavo Gutiérrez and David Walsh.

Philosopher Ruth Macklin has claimed that the concept of human dignity is “useless,” denoting nothing more than respect of individual autonomy. Likewise, Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker has called human dignity “stupid” because it curbs “the modern conception of freedom.” ”The End of Dignity?” aims to rebuff such claims by considering the positive contribution that a society rooted in the inherent dignity of human persons offers.

“The erosion or outright dismissal of the concept of human dignity raises foundational questions about human persons and the communities we wish to inhabit,” said , McGrath-Cavadini Director of the . “What would society look like if the language of human dignity were eliminated from public discourse?”

The aim of the conference is to renew the discourse around the concept of human dignity by recovering its philosophical and theological foundations.

“Modern philosophies that fail to adequately deal with vulnerability and suffering obscure a conception of human dignity grounded in human encounter, the other, and the phenomenon of love,” said Cavadini.

The 2016 Human Dignity Lecture and “The End of Human Dignity?” conference is sponsored by the Institute for Church Life and the . For a full list of conference speakers and to register, visit .

Contact: Brett Robinson, Institute for Church Life, 574-631-6109, brobins6@nd.edu

Christmas Nativity scenes from around the world will be on display at the University of Notre Dame from Nov. 18 through Jan. 31.

Créches from Around the World: Mexico

The 31 crèches, on loan from The Marian Library at the University of Dayton, will be located at several sites on the Notre Dame campus. The University’s is sponsoring the exhibit to celebrate the Christmas season and highlight the beauty and diversity of religious culture.

The theme of this year’s exhibit is “Love Incarnate with Us Dwells,” a lyric from a traditional Christmas hymn, “O Hearken Ye,” by Alfred S. Burt and Wihla Hutson. The theme is focused on the tenderness of God as it is revealed in the Nativity sets on display.

This year, the crèches from Canada, Australia, South America, Europe and the United States will be on display in the Eck Visitors Center, the Morris Inn, Geddes Hall, the Coleman-Morse Center and the Main Building. The exhibit will open at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday (Nov. 18) in the Eck Visitors Center auditorium with a lecture titled “Dwelling with Love Incarnate: Living the Mystery of the Nativity in Family Life,” from , professor and director of the .

At 2:30 p.m. Dec. 6 (Sunday), the public is invited to meet at the Eck Visitors Center to make a pilgrimage in prayer and song while visiting the exhibit locations. Notre Dame’s president, , will welcome pilgrims to the Main Building. Families are encouraged to bring the baby Jesus figures from their own crèches for a blessing. Refreshments will be served.

The lecture and pilgrimage are both free and open to the public. Visitors are invited to take a self-guided tour of the exhibit using a full-color booklet that can be found at any of the display sites. Each crèche reflects the particularity of its native culture while pointing to the universal joy experienced by Christians at the birth of Jesus Christ. Full details, including times and locations, are available at .

Contact: Brett Robinson, Institute for Church Life, 574-631-6109, brett.t.robinson.146@nd.edu