Biennial Catholic Social Tradition Conference to take up Vatican II’s invitation to discern the signs of the times

2025-03-18T13:00:00-04:00

Scholars of theology, sociology, political science, ethics and more will gather for the upcoming Catholic Social Tradition Conference from March 20 to 22 at the University of Notre Dame.

Hosted by the Institute for Social Concerns, “Signs of the Times: Interdisciplinary Responses to Religious Nationalism” will remember the 60th anniversary of two significant Vatican II texts, Gaudium et spes (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World) and Dignitatis humanae (Declaration on Religious Freedom). Released on the final day of Vatican II, these texts together invited serious consideration of the role of the church and other religious communities in relation to the state.

The three-day conference invites historical, constructive and comparative approaches to examine religious nationalism as a significant sign of the time in contemporary national and international contexts. Interdisciplinary scholars from around the world will present a range of educational, historical, social and legal perspectives. To encourage dialogue, the keynote presentations are all panel discussions and will feature moderated Q&As from attendee submissions.

Each biennial conference takes its theme from seminal Catholic social tradition texts, such as the 2023 Conference titled “Justice Sown in Peace⁠ — Celebrating 60 years since Pacem in Terris.”

“This is the institute’s eighth biennial Catholic Social Tradition Conference. Scholars and practitioners from around the world are able to work together to understand and apply the Church’s social teaching to the challenges we face,” said Suzanne Shanahan, the Leo and Arlene Hawk Executive Director of the Institute for Social Concerns.

This conference is also part of the 2024–2025 Notre Dame Forum focused on the question “What do we owe each other?” and is supported by 16 campus partners.

The Institute for Social Concerns is an interdisciplinary institute rooted in Catholic social tradition that responds to the complex demands of justice through justice education, research for the common good and critical conversations.

For more information, visit socialconcerns.nd.edu/cst2025.

Originally published by Todd Boruff at socialconcerns.nd.edu on March 18.

Video: Kola Owolabi on studying lesser-known composers

2021-02-25T13:00:00-05:00

“Music just really speaks to me. I feel like I'm at my happiest when I'm making music or thinking about music,” said Kola Owolabi, professor of organ at the University of Notre Dame.

Owolabi is interested in a broad range of musical repertoire and enjoys finding works by less-well-known composers. Recent recording projects include pieces by 20th-century African-English composer Samuel Coleridge Taylor, as well as a composition by 17th-century French composer Georg Muffat, who was a contemporary of the renowned J. S. Bach, yet “most professional musicians have never played a piece by Muffat,” Owolabi said.

When preparing these works for performance, Owolabi emphasizes the importance of studying the lives of the composers and how the music was used.

“It can give you a much richer sense of what you can add to your performance,” he said. “How can I play this, and excite people about this, and make it feel as if it was composed today?”

In his role as head of the Graduate Organ Studio for Sacred Music at Notre Dame, Owolabi encourages students to have a breadth of perspective and divergent skills. Graduates will need to not only play the organ, but also be able to fill many roles as part of a pastoral staff.

“Notre Dame really sets them up well for that,” he said.

You can also watch this video on YouTube.

Originally published by Todd Boruff at al.nd.edu on Feb. 22.

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Biennial Catholic Social Tradition Conference to take up Vatican II’s invitation to discern the signs of the times

Video: Kola Owolabi on studying lesser-known composers