Drs. Clifford and Glendinning Take Part in Vatican Symposium
Dr. Catherine Clifford and Dr. Chad Glendinning recently attended the second Inclusive Governance in a Synodal Church Symposium in Rome on June 2–5, 2026. The first Symposium was held in Rome on April 28-30 2025. Both Drs. Clifford and Glendinning spoke at the first Symposium, with Clifford presenting “Inclusive Governance in a Synodal Church: Approaches to the Exercise of Authority by Lay Persons,” and Glendinning presenting “Canonical Issues associated with Ministerial Public Juridic Persons.” At the second Symposium, the keynote address was given by the Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops, Mario Grech. He endorsed the Symposium’s approach to integrating lay people into the governance of the Church and spoke of it as a shared search to discern the will of God as a community. Click here to read more about the Symposium.
Vatican II: Event and Mandate Presented to Pope Leo in Rome
The first two volumes of “Vatican II – Event and Mandate” were presented to the Pope in Rome. Volumes 1 and 5 are now available in Open Access on the Peeters Publishers website!
“Vatican II at 60: Re-Energizing the Renewal,” Co-edited by SPU Professor C. Clifford, wins Catholic Media Award
Congratulations! “Vatican II at 60: Re-Energizing the Renewal,” Co-edited by SPU Professor C. Clifford and Stephen Lampe, wins Catholic Media Award in the category “The Future of the Church” Orbis books, 2025
Webinar Recording! Prof. C. Clifford In Conversation with Bishop Alain Faubert: Implementation of the Synod
June 17, 2025 A Conversation with Bishop Alain Faubert, moderated by Peter Meehan. Keynote Presentation from Journey of Encounter – Pilgrims of Hope Embracing Synodality St. Jerome’s University, Waterloo, ON. https://usptheoresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Bringing-Home-the-Synod.mp4
Prof. Clifford, Co-Editor of New Collection from Liturgical Press
The Liturgical Press is thrilled to announce the release of their new collection of essays on Vatican II: “Legacy and Limits of Vatican II in an Age of Crisis” edited by SPU Professor C. Clifford, along with K. Kolberg, M. Faggioli, and E. Hannenberg. The Liturgical Press describes the collection as “A renewed approach to the critical study of the event and documents of Vatican II, necessary for responding to the challenges facing today’s church. Packed with new insights from some of today’s most highly regarded voices on the Second Vatican Council, The Legacy and Limits of Vatican II in an Age of Crisis enacts the living tradition of the church by proposing a richer history to be told sixty years from its celebration, and a broader theology to inspire our work today.” ISBN: 9780814689288, 8928 eISBN: 9780814689295, E8929 eFormats Available Details: 344 pgs, 6 x 9 x 3/4 Publication Date: 04/09/2025
Prof. C. Clifford Moderates Webinar for the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches.
18 March 2025, Prof. C. Clifford moderated a webinar of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity (DPCU) jointly hosted an ecumenical webinar titled “The Bishop of Rome and Christian Unity.” This was the first in a series of webinars envisioned by WCC’s Commission on Faith and Order (FO), in collaboration with various Christian Communions, to explore Christian unity in the lead-up to the Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order. The next conference, themed “Where Now for Visible Unity?” is scheduled for October 2025 near Alexandria, Egypt.
Professor Clifford Shares Experiences of the Synod on Synodality
January 21 2025 During the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the Methodist Ecumenical Offices in Rome hosted a Webinar to share the experiences of the delegates to the Synod on Synodality. Prof. C. Clifford was among the five fraternal delegates to the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops of the Catholic Church The webinar was sponsored by the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome, Legation of the Armenian Church to the Holy See, Anglican Centre in Rome, and Reformed Churches Ecumenical Office in Rome.
Monthly Graduate Seminar with Center on the Churches, Truth, and Reconciliation With Indigenous Peoples
Tuesday, October 8 12:00 pm in G 342 The Centre on the Churches, Truth, and Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples hosts a monthly Graduate Seminar. Doctoral students and faculty meet regularly in the Graduate Seminar to explore and present scholarship on the topics of Truth and Reconciliation. The seminar supports all graduate students in-person and online who are interested in using the lens of decolonization for their work. Contact Prof. Sheila Smith at cctr@ustpaul.ca for more information about how to prepare for this meeting
Echoes from the Synod
On November 5 Saint Paul University hosted Sr. Nathalie Becquart and SPU’s Prof. C. Clifford in a panel discussion of their recent experiences at the Synod in Rome. https://usptheoresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Vid-Echos-from-Synod-Becquart-Clifford.mp4
New Publication Co-edited by SPU Prof. C. Clifford
SPU Research and Practice in Theology is pleased to announce new book on Vatican II, co-edited by C. Clifford Vatican II AT 60: Re-engergizing the Renewal