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Veritas | Department of Theology and Philosophy | 1

Barry University’s Department of Theology and Philosophy promotes the ongoing search for truth and the practice of justice by interpreting thehistorical and contemporary world, engaging human experience, and responding to God’s revelation through the Catholic and Dominican traditionsof reasoned analysis and faith.

Barry University co-sponsors National Symposium on CatholicHispanic MinistryBarry University recently served asan institutional sponsor at theNational Symposium on CatholicHispanic Ministry in Sierra Madre,California, June 23-25, 2014. Barrywas joined by six other leadingCatholic universities in the country insponsoring the symposium.

The National Symposium on CatholicHispanic Ministry promotes dialogue,collaboration, and pastoral educationamong ministerial leaders andtheologians who work in diverseHispanic/Latino contexts in the areasof leadership development, parishlife, multi/intercultural andintergenerational diversity, ecclesialmovements, new technologies, andsocial media. The Symposium seeksto link Christian faith with the pursuitof justice, thus embodying theChurch’s identity and mission toproclaim the reign of God.

Barry had the largest contingent ofany institutional sponsor with 12members of the community inattendance. The school wasrepresented by faculty, graduatestudents, and alumni from theDepartment of Theology. AlumniSister Hilda Mateo and Dr. PatriciaJimenez both presented papers atthe gathering. Dr. Elsie Miranda ledthe Hispanic Ministry and Education

Group and is one of the editors ofthe book that will be produced asone of the outcomes of thisgathering.

This year’s symposium was hosted byLoyola Marymount University. Othersponsoring institutions included theCongar Institute for MinistryDevelopment, Santa Clara University,Boston University, FordhamUniversity, Notre Dame, and SeattleUniversity.

From left: Rafael Capó, SchP; VictorValenzuela; Francisco Castillo, DMin; RodolfoVargas; Fr. Mark Wedig, OP, PhD; ElsieMiranda, DMin; Hilda Mateo MGSpS, DMin;Maria Montes-Lara, OP; Jorge PresmanesOP, DMin; and Patricia Jiménez, DMin.

Dear Friends:

On behalf ofthe faculty andstaff of thedepartment, Iwant to thankyou for yourinterest andsupport fortheology andphilosophy at Barry University!Through this new electronicnewsletter format, we highlightthe many accomplishments ofstudents, faculty, and alumni. AtBarry we continue to be a leaderin educating new voices intheological, ministerial, andphilosophical perspectives inchurch and academy. Ourprograms are meeting the needsof a changing church and society.For this we are very proud. Manyof our students are enthusiasticabout being a part of a welcomingand inclusive community oflearning. I want to thank you foryour support and helping to makeour department accomplish ourmission.

Fr. Mark Wedig, OP, PhD

Message from the DirectorFrom the Chair

College of Arts and SciencesDepartment of Theology and Philosophy Fall 2014

Veritas

2 | Veritas | Department of Theology and Philosophy

Theology course earns service-learning designationThe Department of Theology andPhilosophy earned the new service-learning designation for its course THE 201: Faith, Beliefs and Tradition.The designation is given to coursesthat meet the standards of communityengagement set by the university’sCenter for Community ServiceInitiatives.

The department was able to haveevery section of THE 201 officiallydesignated as a service-learningcourse (S-L). As a result, students havebeen involved in some outstandingservice projects this past year:

• The THE 201 course taught byAssociate Professor Dr. SaraFairbanks focused on immigrationissues. Her students visited KromeDetention Center with Friends ofMiami-Dade Detainees andparticipated in a Coalition ofImmokalee Workers protest againstPublix in Lakeland, Florida. They alsohelped undocumented immigrantsbegin their citizenship paperwork ata Citizenship Clinic in Miami that wassponsored by Florida NewAmericans. They also read tochildren at the Haitian Youth andCommunity Center in Miami.

• Adjunct Professor SteffanoMontano’s class participated incommunity organizing, workingclosely with the La PalomaNeighborhood Association, theCoalition of Immokalee Workers, andMiami PACT (People Acting forCommunity Together). The LaPaloma Neighborhood Associationhosted its first carnival for MartinLuther King Jr. Day, which Barrystudents helped to staff. The carnivalincluded booths from BarryUniversity’s Office of Admissions,BRANCHES United MethodistOutreach, as well as booths onliteracy and community gardening.

• Assistant Professor of Theology Dr. Raymond Ward IV taught twoservice-learning classes. In Dr. Ward’sSexuality, Sex and Morality course,

students participated in MiamiDream Center’s outreach to SouthBeach hotels about the dangers ofhuman trafficking. They also workedwith Pridelines, an LGBTQ safe spacein Miami Shores. Dr. Ward’s Theologycourse also tackled the theme ofgang violence. Students becamepositive peer mentors at the JuvenileDetention Center. In the hopes ofbreaking the school-to-prisonpipeline, they also engaged inliteracy training at BRANCHESUnited Methodist Outreach in NorthMiami and Fulford, two areas ofMiami experiencing high instances ofgang activity.

• Fr. Mark Wedig, the departmentchair, has taken up the theme ofviolence in his THE 201 course.Students were involved in advocacyto end the death penalty in Florida, aHot Spot reading program focusingon areas of the city with highincidents of gang violence, andhuman trafficking outreach throughMiami Dream Center.

Florida New Americans Citizenship Clinic

Protest with the Coalition of ImmokaleeWorkers in Lakeland, Florida

Miami PACT Assembly

News and Events


2014 Yves Congar Award recipient explores Vatican II impact on women religious

The YvesCongar Awardrecognizes thecontributionsof today’stheologianswho embodythe spirit ofCardinal YvesCongar, OP(1904-1995),by working,writing, andteaching in light of

tradition while moving that traditionforward to meet the challenges of modern times.

This year’s recipient is Sandra M.Schneiders, IHM, professor emerita ofNew Testament Studies and ChristianSpirituality at the Jesuit School ofTheology at Santa Clara Universityand the Graduate Theological Union inBerkeley, California. Schneidersaccepted the award in January atBarry University’s Miami main campusand presented the lecture, “Buying theField: Women Religious in a RenewingChurch.”

Schneiders explored how the SecondVatican Council has affected women’sministerial religious life, the struggles that precipitated it, the current stateof women religious in the CatholicChurch, and what the future may hold.

A renowned theologian and scholar,Schneiders is a noted writer on theChristian Gospels and contemporaryreligious life. She has authored therecent three-volume series ReligiousLife in a New Millennium by PaulistPress

Sandra M. Schneiders, IHM

From left: Barry University President SisterLinda Bevilacqua, Associate Professor SaraFairbanks, 2014 Yves Congar Award recipientSandra M. Schneiders, and Fr. Mark Wedig,chair of theology and philosophy.

(Photo by James Davis)

News and Events

From left: Student Luis De Prada with SandraSchneiders, and Assistant Professor Dr. MarcLavallee.

Mark Your Calendar

2015 Yves Congar Award for Theological

Excellence

With Lisa Sowle-Cahill, PhD

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

at Barry University

Lisa Sowle-Cahill, PhD, has

accepted the Department

of Theology and Philosophy’s

invitation to be the

2015 Yves Congar Award recipient.

Dr. Cahill is the J. Donald Monan

Professor at Boston College,

where she has taught theology

since 1976.


Alternative Spring Breakheads to New Orleans

Dr. Ruth Tallman, assistant professor ofphilosophy, ethics, bioethics, andaesthetics, volunteered with a group ofBarry University students at APEXCommunity Advancement Inc. in NewOrleans. APEX, which stands forAlways Pursuing Excellence, is a youthcenter located in the heart of uptown.APEX works with at-risk, inner-cityyouth, and provides a positive,supervised, and structuredatmosphere to play, learn, work, anddream. Dr. Tallman’s students plantedtrees and flowers, and completedother facility upgrades.

Doctoral student namedchaplain-priest at two SouthFlorida hospitals

This past spring, Doctor of Ministrystudent Pedro Toledo was named thechaplain-priest at Mercy Hospital andKendall Regional Medical Center. Aschaplain-priest, Toledo must meet thespiritual and pastoral needs ofpatients, family members, and hospitalstaff. At Kendall Regional, Toledo isleading the establishment of theSpiritual Care Department. He divideshis days at both hospitals, working atMercy in the morning and at KendallRegional in the afternoons. Toledo wasordained to the priesthood byArchbishop Thomas Wenski of theArchdiocese of Miami in February2014. He began his duties as chaplain-priest in March.

Ethics Bowl Team Competes in InternationalChampionships

The 18th Annual Intercollegiate EthicsBowl International Championship washeld in Jacksonville, Florida, onFebruary 27. Barry University’s teamparticipated in the event, whichbrought together over 180undergraduate students, along withfaculty coaches, judges, andmoderators from across the UnitedStates and Canada. Each fall, studentsand faculty coaches compete in 10regional competitions. Only the topwinning regional teams are invited toparticipate in the internationalchampionships, which are held each

spring in conjunction with theAssociation for Practical andProfessional Ethics annual conference.

For Alternative Spring Break, Barry Universitystudents planted trees and flowers at APEX, a youth center in New Orleans.

Student News

The Ethics Bowl Team included (from left)Cheryl Frazier, Jason Southworth (lecturer),Ruth Tallman, PhD (coach), Laura Loomer,Enrique Alvarado, Natalie Diaz, RashelCalixte, and Dianna Bellian. Not pictured:Coaches Sandra Fairbanks, PhD and JoelWilcox, PhD.

Commissioning andRecognition CeremonyThe Department of Theology andPhilosophy held its SpringCommissioning and RecognitionCeremony on May 2, 2014, at CorJesu Chapel. Patricia Jiménez andSergio Ramos were commissioned

in partial fulfillment of the Doctor ofMinistry degree. John Finol andGerardo Gonzalez were recognizedfor their Master of Arts in Theologyand Philosophy. Luis Perez wasrecognized for his Bachelor of Arts inTheology and Philosophy, and DavidCarden was recognized for hisBachelor of Arts in Philosophy.

Induction CeremonyThe Department of Theology andPhilosophy held its annual HonorsSociety Induction Ceremony for thePhi Sigma Tau and Theta AlphaKappa Honor Societies onWednesday, April 9, 2014, at CorJesu Chapel.

(From left) Sergio Ramos, John Finol,Patricia Jiménez, Luis De Prada, Gerardo,Gonzalez, and David Carden

Phi Sigma Tau Inductees (from left): CherylFrazier, Enrique Alvarado, and Philip Corr

Theta Alpha Kappa Inductees (from left):Edmund Newborn, Paolo Guazzini, MesminAugustin, Leslie Redmond, Luis De Prada,and John Finol

Spring 2014 Ceremonies


Alumni News

As part of her Doctor of Ministryproject, Patricia Jiménez developedUSHispanicMinistry.com in the hopeof giving voice to the Hispanicministry community in one centrallocation.

"With the increasing number ofHispanic/Latinos engaged in NewMedia, I found it important toembrace new mediums to reach outto Hispanic/Latino Catholics andthose who serve them,” she says.

Through the bilingual website, shestrives to showcase unique anddiverse voices from the spectrum ofHispanic ministry, from immigrantswho may only speak Spanish to thirdand fourth generation Hispanics bornin the U.S. who may only speakEnglish. The website, founded in 2011,publishes work from 18 contributors,including Hispanic ministers andtheologians from across the country.Eight contributors are students oralumni from Barry University’sInstitute for Hispanic/Latino Theology and Ministry.

“Each month we continue adding new contributors with the hope ofsomeday providing multiple dailyarticles and video posts,” Jiménez says.

She serves as the site’s webmasterand has worked for over 20 years inthe areas of youth ministry,catechesis, and teaching andadministering lay formationprograms. Jiménez maintains the sitewith her husband, Vince Olea, aDoctor of Ministry candidate at BarryUniversity and director of the SantaTeresita Youth Conference Center inthe Diocese of Fresno in California.The website was originally created toserve their Fresno community, buthas expanded its reach, with visitorsfrom 49 states and 96 countries.

In addition to posts from regularcontributors, the website includes a job board and a list of resources,organizations, formation centers, and opportunities for networking.Visitors can also sign up for amonthly newsletter. The feedback hasbeen positive.

“In presenting our website at nationalgatherings and conferences, pastoralagents across the nation have metthis small attempt with muchexcitement and support as they beginto share our articles, and comment onour site and social media networks,”Jiménez says.

The website also gave Jiménez andOlea to opportunity to provideconsultation to the Diocese of Boiseas it prepared for its Hispanic MinistryConvocation in June. Jiménez alsorecently completed a national surveyon the use of technology and newmedia for members of nationalHispanic ministry organizations.

In October, she will present herfindings at Raices y Alas, the NationalCatholic Council for Hispanic Ministryconference in San Antonio, Texas.

Jiménez says that her formation atBarry has been an incredible gift inregard to her projects.

“I believe it has the strongest courseson methodology for ministry. Itscontextual approach has really helpedshape the manner in which Iapproach ministerial questions,develop programs, and respond tothe needs of those I serve,” she says.

Doctoral alumna’s website focuses on U.S. Hispanic Ministry

Patricia Jiménez (left) with Dr. Elsie Miranda and Vince Olea.


Alumni Spotlight

Jennie Weiss Block, OP, DMin

Jennie Weiss Block, OP, DMin, is aDominican laywoman and a practicaltheologian. Since 2009, she has servedas chief advisor to renowned physicianand humanitarian Dr. Paul Farmer, andwas his chief of staff in his role asUnited Nations deputy special envoyunder President Bill Clinton. Workingclosely with Dr. Farmer, Dr. Blockassisted in the relief and recoveryefforts in Haiti following the 2010earthquake, including the creation of a center for displaced and orphaned children.

Dr. Block has a master’s degree inbusiness administration, a master’sdegree in theology, and a Doctor ofMinistry degree from Barry University.At Barry, she was the foundingdirector of the Center for DominicanStudies and an adjunct professor oftheology. She has lectured widely on avariety of topics including disability,theology, Christian hospitality, socialjustice, and Dominican life.

She is the author of Copious Hosting:A Theology of Access for People withDisabilities, widely considered to be aseminal text in the development of atheology of disability. She is the co-editor of In the Company of the Poor:Conversations with Dr. Paul Farmerand Fr. Gustavo Gutierrez. In January,she interviewed Dr. Farmer about hislatest book, social justice, medicine,and lessons from his lifelongexperience of living and workingamong thepoor, at anevent co-sponsored byBarryUniversity’sDepartment ofTheology andPhilosophy,Book andBooks, andCarrolltonSchool of theSacred Heart.

Dr. Jennie Weiss Block interviews Dr. Paul Farmer about his latest book, In the Company ofthe Poor, which she co-edited.

Library News

Lubomir Markov, associateprofessor of mathematics, recentlydonated the book The RilaMonastery: Mural Paintings, Icons,Gonfalons, and Painters by ToshoKostadinov Peykov to theMonsignor William Barry MemorialLibrary. This limited edition workcontains beautiful color plates ofthe extensive religious art found inthe Orthodox Christian RilaMonastery in Bulgaria.

Barry is one of only threeinstitutions in the United States thatowns a copy of this book. Dr. Markov, who is a native ofBulgaria, has made severaldonations in recent years to theBarry library of books and recordedmusic documenting EasternChristianity in this country.

Religious paintings at Rila Monastery in Bulgaria

(Photo courtesy of Dr. Lubomir Markov)


Faculty Highlights

Charles (Gerard) Austin, OP, STD,Dominican Scholar in Residence, wasawarded the Doctor of HumaneLetters, Honoris Causa, during thecommencement ceremony May 10,2013 at the Aquinas Institute ofTheology in St. Louis, Missouri.

SandraFairbanks, PhD,professor ofphilosophy,ethics,philosophy oflaw and politicaltheory, and JoelWilcox, PhD,professor ofphilosophy, greek

philosophy, Asian philosophy, andphilosophy of art, have a chaptertitled “Human Rights and theEnvironment” inPerspectives onValue and Reality(CambridgeScholars Press,2013) andpresented apaper, “Is HumanBehaviorNatural?”, at aconference inFinland in May.

Dr. Wilcox is currently working onother papers in environmentalphilosophy and aesthetics. Drs. Fairbanks and Wilcox presentedpapers at a conference on “Culture,Values and Justice” at the Universityof Vaasa in Finland, May 21-23. Dr. Fairbanks’ paper, “Technologyand Virtue in American Culture,” isan examination of the impact oftechnology on morality, with anemphasis on social media. Dr. Wilcox’s paper, “To What Extentis Human Behavior Natural,”examines how and to what extenthuman behavior may be considerednatural, given the enormous role thatculture plays in human life.

Deena Grant,PhD, associateprofessor oftheology andHebrewScriptures,publishedDivine Anger inthe HebrewBible. The bookexplores theaim, expressions, and outcomes ofGod’s anger in the Hebrew Bible. Itconsiders divine anger against thebackdrop of human anger in order todiscern those aspects of it that arerecognizably human from thosefacets of it that are distinctly divine.Furthermore, it examines passagesfrom a range of literary contextsacross major biblical collections inorder to distinguish those features ofdivine anger that are elemental to itsdefinition from those that are limitedto individual collections. The sum ofthese conclusions forms the answerto the question: What does the Biblemean when it describes God asangry? Dr. Grant’s book is availableat http://catholicbiblical.org.

Marc Lavallee,PhD, assistantprofessor ofpracticaltheology anddirector of theMaster of Arts inPracticalTheology andMinistry,presentedpapers at twointernational theological societyconferences in spring 2014. At theannual conference for the CollegeTheology Society, Dr. Lavalleepresented, "A Little Rule forBeginners: Benedictine Spiritualityand the New Monasticism." At thebiennial conference for theAssociation of Practical Theology, Dr. Lavallee presented, "New Pope,New Public: Reforming the RomanCatholic Church's Public Voice in theUnited States." In November 2014,Dr. Lavallee will present to theAmerican Academy of Religion,"Practical Theology from thePerspective of Catholic Spirituality: A Hermeneutic of Discernment."

Alicia C. Marill,DMin, associateprofessor oftheology,practicaltheology andministry, anddirector of theDoctor ofMinistryprogram, was akey speaker atthe 13th Annual TheologicalSymposium in the Diocese of SanBernardino, California. Sheaddressed 400 participants of theMinistry Formation Program on “The Challenges for the Church inthe Modern World.” Dr. Marill spokein four sessions, including “Prayingwith the Gospel: Cardinal O’Malley’sHomily at U.S.-Mexico Border,”“Reading the Signs of the Times:Evangelii Gaudium and Formation,”and “The Challenge of Immigrationand Reconciliation.” The sessionswere in English and Spanish.

Charles (Gerard) Austin, OP, STD (left) withDavid Caron, OP, president of the AquinasInstitute of Theology


Department of Theology and Philosophy11300 NE Second AvenueMiami, FL 33161-6695

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Elsie Miranda,DMin, associateprofessor ofpracticaltheology anddirector ofministerialformation, led aconference atthe shrine of ElCobre and ran aworkshop in the Diocese ofSantiago, Cuba, July 28-August 1.The conference, operated by theArchdiocese of Santiago de Cuba,assists the Cuban people by offeringeducation and formation courses toCuban educators, both Catholic andnon-religious. Dr. Miranda lecturedon Catholic identity andreconciliation between Cubans onthe island and those in the exile.

SteffanoMontano,MAPT,coordinator ofservice-learningand adjunctinstructor oftheology, spokeat variousconferences thisyear regardingservice-learning, including the BarryUniversity Center for CommunityService Initiative’s symposium inMarch, the American Academy ofReligion/Society of BiblicalLiterature Upper-Midwest RegionalConference in April, and the 13thBiannual Colloquium of DominicanColleges and Universities in June.

Gloria L. Schaab,SSJ, PhD,associateprofessor ofsystematictheology,director ofgraduateprograms intheology andministry, andassociate dean for generaleducation, College of Arts andSciences, published three newarticles: “Grace: The StrangeAttractor in an Evolving Cosmos”(THEOFORUM 43), “Incarnation asEmergence: A Transformative Visionof God and the Cosmos” (TheHeythrop Journal LIV), and“Charism: The ‘Strange Attractor’ inReligious Life” (The OccasionalPapers 43). She also contributedtwo entries to the Encyclopedia ofSciences and Religions on relationalontology and divine creativity. Dr.Schaab also presented two invitedlectures on “Science and Theologyin Context: Seeing from Where WeStand,” the first at Clarke Universityin Dubuque, Iowa, for EvolutionWeekend 2013 and the second at St. Mary's College of California onApril 2, 2014.

Faculty Highlights

Barry University’s Department of Theology and Philosophy

promotes the ongoing search for truth and the practice of justice

by interpreting the historical and contemporary world,

engaging human experience, and responding to God’s revelation

through the Catholic and Dominican traditions

of reasoned analysis and faith.

college of arts and sciences veritasdepartment of theology

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