CSTM is an inaugural member of the Collaborative Theology Initiative
The Clough School of Theology and Ministry is an inaugural member of the Collaborative Theology Initiative (CTI), a groundbreaking partnership by Jesuit Superior General Arturo Sosa, S.J., that brings together Jesuit theology centers around the world to foster global Jesuit theological education, formation, and research. With a mission that builds on Pope Francis鈥檚 call to cultivate a theology that bridges divides and addresses global challenges, the CTI will prepare students for ministry in a rapidly changing world by strengthening theological education and encourage intercultural dialogue.
鈥淭he CTI is a timely and innovative hub of intellectual encounter and partnership that has the potential to transform our ways of approaching theological education in our Jesuit schools of theology,鈥� said CSTM Dean Michael McCarthy, S.J. He and CSTM colleagues Gandaf Wall茅, S.J., special assistant to the dean, and Jennifer Bader, associate dean of academic affairs, are the school鈥檚 representatives on the CTI鈥檚 coordinating committee.
Gandaf Wall茅, S.J.
Other institutions involved in the CTI are the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University (Berkeley, CA); Regis St. Michael鈥檚, Toronto School of Theology in the University of Toronto (Canada); Hekima University College (Nairobi, Kenya); Loyola School of Theology at Ateneo de Manila University (Philippines); Vidyajyoti College of Theology (Delhi, India); and Jnana-Deepa Pontifical Athenaeum of Philosophy and Religion (Pune, India). In its early stages, the CTI is focused on English-language formation centers but ultimately will expand to include all interested Jesuit theology formation centers.
The CTI is comprised of four working groups: Curriculum, Pedagogy, Faculty Development, and Resource and Capacity Development. These committees will design collaborative projects such as co-taught courses, global symposia, and a digital resource hub. The initiative also includes plans for student and faculty exchanges, intercultural training workshops, and collaborative grants to enhance technological infrastructure at member schools.
md传媒国产剧 College hosted a meeting on July 29-31 at which 13 CTI leaders (and two others online) gathered to report on progress since the CTI was formed in Nairobi in 2024, identifying action plans for the next three years for each working group. The committees will have ongoing meetings and work on implementing the action plans and determining what resources are needed. The coordinating committee, which has tentative plans to reconvene next summer in the Philippines, will approve plans and distribute resources.
Fr. McCarthy, Fr. Wall茅, and Bader also serve on the Faculty Development working group. Associate Dean for Finance and Administration Maura Colleary is on the Resource and Capacity Development committee. Associate Professor Margaret Guider, O.S.F., represents CSTM on the Curriculum committee, and another CSTM representative, to be determined, will serve on the Pedagogy working group.
The questions for the CTI are: what should be the content of the theology being taught and how should it be taught in the 21st century?
Reflecting on the summer meeting, Fr. Wall茅 said, 鈥淭here was a lot of emphasis on opportunities for lay students, for women, especially from places in the world where women are left behind in terms of theological formation. We discussed extending solidarity and creating opportunities for lay people to receive good theological formation in order to teach or minister in the Church.
鈥淲e are also interested in promoting Ignatian spirituality, and doing that with a global perspective by seeing how that spirituality is being approached in different contexts.鈥�