Spirituality and Leadership in Church and Society: Summer School for Porticus Düsseldorf Scholars

15 - 25 September 2010

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Leadership is “in”, a subject that is discussed everywhere. A lack of leadership is blamed for corruption and slow development in Africa, for the global financial and economic crisis, for a sense of cynicism and lack of participation in politics in many societies. Although there is an element of “jumping on the leadership bandwagon”, a superficial interest that will pass, the problems that people hope could be faced with better leadership are real enough. What is leadership? What forms does it take? What kind of leadership is lacking?

To these questions we could add another: Is there a lack of leadership because there is a lack of emphasis on its spiritual and religious dimension? In fact, leaders of major organizations, in business, government and civil society, are recognising more and more the need to draw on spiritual resources in order to face the challenge and the strain of leadership in today’s society. This leads us, therefore to a second set of questions: what is spirituality? Which spiritualities are appropriate for leadership? Is it possible to talk of a “spirituality” in general terms, akin perhaps to the way “natural law” has been seen, or should we strive to develop an “overlapping” spirituality among the various religions of the world?

Our third area of study, therefore, is the connection between religious faith (seen theologically) and a spirituality for leadership. In this summer school, we will focus on ecumenical perspectives on this link, but the interreligious aspect will not be absent. Where possible, too, we will link our discussion to the various socio-religious situations in Central and Eastern Europe.

The Summer School will be led by Sr. Helen Alford, OP, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) and Dr. Donna Orsuto.

Program Features:

+ daily liturgical celebrations
+ lectures and discussions with professors from the various pontifical universities and institutes, Vatican officials and experts
+ guided visits to significant churches and historical sites

+ opportunities for guided discussion and theological reflection
+ common meals and fellowship

 

REGISTRATION

 

Registration for this program is not open to the public. For more information, Porticus Düsseldorf Scholars should contact:

Sr. Helen Alford, OP
Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences
Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas

Largo Angelicum, 1

00184 ROMA
Italia

alford@pust.urbe.it

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