In the Fall 2008 semester, Fr. Michael Sweeney offered a course, “Theology of the Laity: the Role of the Lay Person in the Catholic Church,” at St. Dominic’s Parish in San Francisco. Joseph Ratzinger, while still a cardinal, remarked that we likely should speak of a sort of “world office” of the lay person in the Church; in other words, along with the clergy, the laity have an office in the Church. In this course Fr. Sweeney suggested that we should, indeed, speak of a lay office in the Church, which is ordered to the Church’s secular mission.
The course met in one of the two classrooms in a temporary building in the parking lot of St. Dominic’s; not so convivial as DSPT’s Berkeley campus, but certainly adequate. Eight students took the course, six as auditors, and two for full graduate credit as special students. The students were introduced to MOODLE, the new internet program being used by the GTU, permitting them to access course notes, the course reader, and magisterial documents posted at the Vatican website and on the website of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. DSPT filmed the class presentations, and posted them on MOODLE, so that students could refer back to the class presentations when they wished.
For all of the students, the class was their first graduate course in theology. They were particularly interested in the ways in which the role of the laity can be practically applied to life in the Church and world, and concerned that very few lay Catholics are aware of the mission that has been entrusted to them. The course was timely, in that it corresponded to the presidential election, and afforded lots of opportunity for reflection upon the practical implications of the role – and responsibilities and rights – of lay Catholics. The students who enrolled in the class would likely not have attended a class at our Berkeley campus. Most had jobs that would preclude anything but evening classes, and fighting rush hour traffic to make a 7:00 p.m. class at DSPT would also have denied them dinner. In order to accommodate people’s schedules, the format of the class called for two hours of in-class presentation (mainly lecture) and one hour per week using MOODLE.
After having offered a course in San Francisco, Fr. Sweeney remarked that the use of St. Dominic’s as a satellite campus, particularly once the parish refurbishes the school building for the sake of adult faith formation and education, is something that DSPT should seriously pursue. He is committed to teaching there again himself because the venue gives working students access to DSPT programs that they would, otherwise, not be able to enjoy. DSPT is continuing to look at ways to offer flexible class times to meet the needs of working people.
Candidates Needed for Online Marketing Survey
Do you have at least two years of professional or technical experience and feel that your work would benefit from studies in theology? Would you be interested in integrating your faith into your career? The Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology (DSPT) is evaluating a possible new master's-level degree program – a Master of Theological Studies – and we need qualified candidates to participate in a brief online survey in early February to determine the need for such a program. Please contact Heidi McKenna at hmckenna@dspt.edu if you would be willing to participate.
