Research institute for Catholic Liturgy -- conference

PRESS RELEASE

The Research Institute for Catholic Liturgy

Contact: Dr. Daniel G. Van Slyke
Work(734)337-4193
email: dvs@liturgysociety.org

International Conference Marks Contributions of Cardinal Medina

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Some of the world's most acclaimed scholars of the Catholic liturgy will speak at an international conference Oct. 27-30 marking the contributions of Cardinal Jorge A. Medina Estévez, former prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. The conference will be held at the Colombiere Center in Clarkston, Michigan.

Titled Sacrificium laudis: The Medina Years (1996-2002), the conference celebrates the golden (50th) jubilee of Cardinal Medina’s ordination to the priesthood. He served as bishop of Valparaíso, Chile, before being called to Rome by Pope John Paul II to head the Vatican congregation in charge of liturgy and sacraments.

Cardinal Medina completed the task of revising the liturgical books of the Roman Rite in response to the mandate of the Second Vatican Council (1963-65). As protodeacon of the Roman Church, he announced to the world from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica the election to the papacy of his long-time friend, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Benedict XVI.

"This conference will showcase the talents of international, American, and local scholars of the liturgy," said conference organizer Fr. Neil J. Roy, editor of Antiphon: A Journal for Liturgical Renewal. "Some of the speakers are not only distinguished scholars in their own right, but are official consultors to the Holy See. This means that Church authorities recognize and value the expertise of these scholars in the field of liturgy and sacramental theology."

Conference speakers include:

Carmina Magnusen Chapp, Ph.D., Academic Dean of the Religious Studies Division at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, Penn., will speak on “Trinitarian Theology and the Missale Romanum: Issues in Translation.”

Msgr. Peter J. Elliott, Director, John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family, Melbourne, Australia, and Consulter of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, will speak on ““Liturgical Translation: A Question of Truth.”

Robert Fastiggi, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Detroit, Mich, will speak on “The Sacraments, Obedience and Ecclesial Communion.”

Rev. Manfred Hauke, Professor of Dogmatics and Patrology, Theological Faculty of Lugano, Switzerland, will speak on “The Theological Battle about the Rite of Exorcism, 'Cinderella' of the New Rituale Romanum.”

Rev. Jo Hermans, secretary for liturgy of the Dutch Bishops Conference, and professor at two major seminaries in Holland.

Helen Hull Hitchcock, Cofounder and member of the Executive Committee of Adoremus, editor of Adoremus Bulletin.

Dennis McManus, Ph.D., Director, Intercultural Forum for Studies in Faith and Culture, Pope John Paul II Cultural Center, Washington, D.C.

Monica Migliorino Miller, Ph.D., Professor of Theology, St. Mary's College, Madonna University, Orchard Lake, Mich.

Daniel Van Slyke, STL, Ph.D., Professor of Theology, Ave Maria College, Ypsilanti, Mich., will speak on “De exorcismis: The Ancestry and Theology of the New Rite of Exorcism.”

In addition to these addresses, the conference will feature beautiful liturgies marked by Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony. Fr. Samuel Weber, OSB, professor at Wake Forest University, N.C., will be the chant master at the Liturgy of the Hours.

The conference will begin at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 27, and close after lunch on Sunday, Oct. 30. Admission is $330, and includes three daily meals, housing, and a guided tour of Detroit’s historical Catholic churches.

The Columbiere Center is located on 420 rolling acres of mature pines and hardwoods in Clarkston, Mich., less than an hour drive from Detroit. To register visit the web site of the Research Institute for Catholic Liturgy at www.liturgicalrenewal.org.

EDITORS: To arrange interviews with the conference speakers or to talk to event organizers, contact Dr. Daniel G. Van Slyke: work (734)337-4193; Email, dvs@liturgysociety.org