The Summer Theology Institute was created in 1999 and provides an in-depth educational program in a dynamic and supportive environment. The Institute begins with a keynote address on Thursday evening, followed by two days of classes. Nationally recognized scholars introduce and explore specific areas of the Catholic Tradition.

Recent Institutes have focused on such topics as the Holy Eucharist, the Lay Vocation, Apologetics, Science and Religion, the New Evangelization and the New Millennium.
Anyone eager to learn more about their faith is encouraged to attend the Institute. The Institute is particularly helpful to Catholic school teachers, catechists, DRE’s, and RCIA team members.  After a one-year break the Summer Theology Institute returns in 2010 with an exploration of Pope Benedict’s encyclical:

Caritas in Veritate “Charity in Truth”

Keynote Address
Thursday, July 15, 2010
7:00 p.m.

Courses Offered
Friday, July 16 and Saturday, July 17, 2010
8:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.

2010 Faculty and Courses

Sr. Amata Miller, I.H.M. combines her knowledge and experience in economics with a passion for authentic Catholic social justice as she explores our Holy Father’s encyclical Caritas in Veritate. 

After first working as a professor of economics for many years, Sister Amata served in a number of positions including Financial Vice President for the (Sister, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary) IHM congregation, Education Coordinator and Economic Analyst for NETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby in Washington, D.C. and Chief Financial Officer of Marygrove College.  She currently serves as the Director of the Myser Initiative on Catholic Identity and Professor of Economics at St. Catherine Universityin St. Paul, Minnesota.

She has written and lectured extensively on economic justice issues, Catholic social teaching and socially responsible investing throughout the United States and abroad. She has served on the boards of many organizations and is the recipient of three honorary doctorates. Sister Amata earned a doctorate in economics from the University of California at Berkeley where she won a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship and a Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship. She earned a master's degree in economics at St. Louis University.  She believes economics should be used as a tool for social justice, equity, and fairness in the spirit of the long tradition of Catholic Social Teaching.

Course Offerings with Sr. Amata Miller, I.H.M.

Friday, July 16, 2010
2:45-4:15 p.m. -- “Naming Crises of the Current Context”

Saturday, July 17, 2010
8:30-10:00 a.m. --“Visioning Economic Alternatives”
10:15-11:45 a.m. – “Calling for Solidarity and Subsidiarity in Economic Institutions”
2:45 - 4:15 p.m. -- “Advocating a New Global Order”

Chris Stewart, M.T.S. is Chairman of the Religion Department at Kapaun
Mount Carmel Catholic High School in Wichita and for many years served as a core curriculum instructor for the Diocesan Religious Studies Program, teaching Catholic Doctrine.  He is a regular presenter at the Spiritual Life Center, including service as a faculty member of the Summer Theology Institute in 2008 where he spoke about Pope Benedict’s encyclical “In Hope We Are Saved.”

Mr. Stewart is also an adjunct professor of theology at Newman University, and is co-founder of the Catholic apostolate “Casting Nets” (www.castingnetsonline.com).  He received his Masters in Theological Studies from the Ave Maria University Institute
for Pastoral Studies in 2005.

Course offerings with Mr. Chris Stewart

Friday, July 16, 2010
8:30 – 10:00 a.m. – Veritate: Truth that Sets Us Free
10:15 – 11:15 a.m. – Caritas:  Charity—A Love Beyond Justice
1:00 – 2:30 p.m. – Evangelization:  A Message that Changes Us in Order to Change the World

Father Kent Hemberger, M.Div., M.A. is a diocesan priest and former parish pastor now serving as Director of the Spiritual Life Center. A graduate of Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, he studied at the Pontifical College Josephinum earning M. Div. and M.A. degrees before being ordained in 1988.  Just prior to his appointment as Director of the Center in July of 2008, Father participated in a nine-month program of training in spiritual direction and Ignatian spirituality at Loyola House in Guelph, Canada.

Course offering with Father Hemberger

Saturday, July 17, 2010
1:00-2:30 p.m. – Toward a Catholic Environmental Theology

Call the Spiritual Life Center to register for the Summer Theology Institute

St. Jerome, Doctor of the Church Patron saint of scholars, particularly in Scripture