LMU, MSMC present ‘Vatican II at 50’ series through 2016

Marking one of the great events in the history of the Catholic Church, Loyola Marymount University and Mount St. Mary’s College will co-host a symposium Oct. 11 on the groundbreaking reforms of the Second Vatican Council, opened by Pope John XXIII in 1962.The symposium is the first in an eight-part series to be held over four years and called: “Vatican II @ 50.”“The series calls attention to a great reforming event in the life of the church,” said Jesuit Father Thomas J. Rausch, T. Marie Chilton Professor of Catholic Theology at LMU. “There were three such great reforms; the Gregorian Reforms in the 11th Century, the Reformation in the 16th Century and the Second Vatican Council.”The inaugural symposium at LMU, “The Church in the Third Millennium: Identity and Mission," will be held Oct. 11, 3-5:30 p.m., in Ahmanson Auditorium in University Hall. It will feature a discussion by theologians and scholars of evangelization, recovering the dignity of the laity and the explosion of lay ministries, and rediscovering the Asian Church.Participants in the 3 p.m. panel discussion are Father Rausch; Jesuit Father Dorian Llywelyn, LMU associate professor of Theological Studies; Dr. Laurie Wright Garry, MSMC associate professor of Religious Studies; Jesuit Father Allan Figueroa Deck, LMU Charles S. Casassa Chair of Catholic Social Values; and Dr. Tracy Tiemeier, LMU assistant professor of Theological Studies.Following a break a response session with Q&A will feature Dr. Michael Horan, LMU professor and director of its Theological Studies Graduate Program; Religious Sister of Charity Edith Prendergast, director of the archdiocesan Office of Religious Education; and Dr. Mark Fischer, St. John's Seminary professor of Pastoral Theology.The series will continue at Mount St. Mary’s College in the spring, then alternate fall and spring at the two schools through 2016.“The series will entail looking back and looking ahead at the church, its theology, its mission and its faith,” said Father Rausch. The symposium’s first two events are part of universal observance of The Year of Faith, which was declared by Pope Benedict XVI to celebrate the anniversary of Vatican II. A reception will follow the Oct. 11 event, which is open to the public but space is limited. RSVP is requested; for additional information contact LMU’s Center for Religion and Spirituality, (310) 338-2799.