Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies at USC

Do you have plans this afternoon? If not, join Dr. Shannen Dee Williams Albert LePage Assistant Professor of History at Villanova University for a discussion on Why Black Catholic History Matters." The event will take place TONIGHT, Tuesday, February 16, at 7:00pm EST, 4:00pm PT. Event Description: ... Expanding calls for reparation for slavery and segregation in the United States have drawn specific attention to how the denial of Black history and the whitewashing of American history uphold systems of white supremacy and anti-black discrimination. In this talk, Dr. Shannen Dee Williams will draw upon the largely suppressed history of Black Catholic nuns in the United States to demonstrate why any Catholic plan to atone for the church’s own histories of slavery, segregation, and anti-black racism must mandate the teaching of Black and Black Catholic history in every Catholic school, seminary, and religious formation program. Sign up here: https://kings.zoom.us//tJAoce6srzwqG9znk4yVVaKA1iFK2M7Pdptn

Pledges of the Saints: The Cult of Relics in the Catholic Tradition Event description: "The physical remains of saints are often referred to as pignora, that is, as security deposits or pledges of continued concern that the saints, although in heaven, continue to show for those who venerate them. This lecture will discuss the origin of the cult of relics, the process by which these cults, originally concentrated on the tombs of saints, become mobile, and how the veneration of... saints led to the dismemberment of saints' bodies and the distribution of relics throughout Christendom. it will also consider the resulting anxieties about relic's authenticity, the efforts to control and regulate the cult of relics, and the competition that relics have received from other types of scared or sanctified objects." Register Here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/newman-and-the-limits-of-dogma

Generations in Dialogue Spotlight: Tia Noelle Pratt, Ph.D. Tia Noelle Pratt, PhD is a sociologist of religion specializing in systemic racism in the Catholic Church. For twenty years, Dr. Pratt has researched and written about how systemic racism impacts African-American Catholic identity. She is currently working on a book project with funding from the Louisville Institute and the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. Her research confronts the long-standing conven...tional wisdom that being both African-American and Catholic form a disparate identity. As a sociologist, Dr. Pratt’s work is rooted in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition and the principles of Catholic Social Teaching. Learn more about Dr. Pratt by visiting the IACS Website! https://dornsifecms.usc.edu/iacs/generations-in-dialogue/ (From left to right) Clayton Fordahl, Andrew Lynn, Tia Noelle Pratt, Jane Lankes, Fr. John A. Coleman, Brad Vermurlen

As we conclude the 2021 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, consider taking a moment to pray, "A Litany for Christian Unity" by clicking on the images below. Source: Benedictine Daily Prayer: A Short Breviary (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2005, p. 1731)