Save the Date - What Keeps Us Together When We Disagree ?

International Conference at the LSRS in cooperation with the Faculty of Catholic Theology of the University of Bonn and the European Society for Catholic Theology, March 21-22, 2024

21.03.2024

Organizers: 
Prof. Dr. Jean Ehret (LSRS) & Prof. Dr. Jochen Sautermeister (UBonn).

Topic:

The Catholic Church is a global player that has managed to keep a visible and institutional unity over the centuries. The 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops and the process that prepared this meeting showed the rich diversity inside the Church as well as the tensions that exist among different ways of living the faith. How to preserve the unity among the faithful is who all claim to be truthful to the Gospel is a real challenge. 

From the point of view and experience of the Church’s intellectual life, considering various “lifeworlds” (Lebenswelten) as loci theologici (“Ad theologiam promovendam,” §8) validates the pluralism of cultural, religious, and moral aspects as well as of theological positions. Again, one can ask what keeps us together when we strongly disagree on matters that we consider as essential for Christian faith and lifestyle and how we can live this unity. Can there be a way of engaging in respectful discussions, strongly disagreeing, and yet not denying one another to be Christians? Which attitudes do Catholics need to adopt so that divine grace can act?

To answer this question, this conference gathers both academics and practitioners as speakers, working in various disciplines and areas. The presence and contribution of T. Halík offers a strong reference, rooted not only in sociology and theology, but also in the author’s biography and pastoral work. A generous time management (20 min. for the paper presentation, 20 min. for Q&A, 20 min. for coffee break) offers the possibility to listen, to discuss, to and to enter informal exchange. The setting of the LSRS allows participants to take part in the discussions or to withdraw from them for a time of personal reflection. Luxembourg’s geographical and institutional situation opens a perfect space for dialogue as it is not dominated by one major Academic tradition. The collaboration with the European Society for Catholic Theology stresses the European approach. Conference observers from different regions will bring in a global perception from their respective perspective. The goal is to stimulate a transdisciplinary approach that “situates all the knowledge and produces its fermentation [sic] within the space of Light and Life offered by the Wisdom that emanates from God’s Revelation.” (Veritatis Gaudium 4c [our translation]).

The event will take place from March 21 to 22, 2024.