“CTU is constantly morphing—it is not a stagnant institution. Peacebuilders, Catholics on Call, the Bernardin Center, the Augustus Tolton and Oscar Romero Scholarship Programs—these are a testament that CTU listens and responds and is not just resting on its laurels. There is always something fresh,” said JoAnne.

Catholics on Call hosted more than 120 vocation directors, campus ministers, volunteer directors, and others who minister to young adults to their annual Partner Conference on September 22 and 23, 2011. The two-day conference, Engaging Young Adults for Church Vocations, featured speakers who shared best practices of reaching out to young adults and encouraging them in their vocational discernment.

The Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers celebrated their 100th anniversary in 2011 with many events held throughout the country. CTU was pleased to host The Maryknoll Centennial Symposium: Church in Mission: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow from October 6 through October 8, 2011. Rev. Edward Dougherty, MM, Superior General of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, expressed his gratitude to CTU: “We are indebted to the faculty and staff at Catholic Theological Union at Chicago not only for their hospitality during these few days but also for their collaboration and support over many years of partnership.”

In November, Catholic Common Ground Initiative (CCGI) announced that Bishop Michael Warfel of the diocese of Great Falls/Billings, Montana, was named as chair of the CCGI Advisory Committee at their annual meeting in the summer and that they had launched their newly updated website, www.catholiccommonground.org.

In addition to providing academic insight and guidance in the classroom, many CTU professors also provide leadership to organizations in their field. Significantly, both the president of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States (ACHTUS) and the Convener of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium (BCTS) are currently counted among CTU’s faculty.

Catholic Theological Union invites you to participate in a series of lectures on Islamic Mysticism and Spirituality with Scott Alexander, Associate Professor of Islam. This course will attempt to answer questions regarding Sufism, the word most commonly associated with the rich traditions of Islamic spirituality and mysticism, by tracing the historical development of Sufi ideas, praxis, and institutions from the early second/eighth century to the present.

In October of this year, we will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council. That Council, which brought together in Rome bishops from around the world, would turn out to have a profound effect on the life of the Catholic Church, touching virtually every aspect of the Church’s life – from the style of our liturgical prayer to the ways of exercising authority and our way of conceiving of the Church’s mission to the world. Safe to say, the Church is still sorting out the meaning of the Council and still debating its implications.

The presidents of Catholic Theological Union and DePaul University, Rev. Donald Senior, C.P., and Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, C.M., formally announced on October 5, 2011, at a breakfast gathering of Board members, faculty, and staff from both schools, that these two Chicago-based Catholic institutions have formed an academic alliance.