A public lecture about the interplay of faith and reason drew almost 100 people into a little slice of Paris in the middle of Sydney last week.
Professor Tracey Rowland, the John Paul II Chair of Theology at the University of Notre Dame Australia, took her audience on a sweeping intellectual history tour beginning with the treatment of revelation in Vatican I document Dei Filius through to Pope Francis’ encyclical letter Lumen Fidei.
For Prof Rowland, the Scholarship at the Cathedral lecture series, held this time at the Chapter Hall at St Mary’s Cathedral, is “a great initiative” which operates on a similar principle to the Collège des Bernardins in Paris fostering Catholic intellectual life in the CBD.
“It’s a real source of encouragement for students and scholars and something that enriches the faith of all the intellectually engaged members of the Community, Catholic or otherwise, who are welcome to attend the lectures”.
In so doing, it helps to overcome the anti-intellectual tribalism which is often associated with the Church in Australia, she said.
“Being a Catholic is not about membership of a social tribe – it’s about believing certain things and living a certain way in union with the Trinity.”
Scholarship at the Cathedral is an initiative of the Sydney Archdiocese in partnership with The Institute for Ethics and Society of The University of Notre Dame Australia. In 2018, a series of public lectures with eminent intellectuals, both Australian and international will take place at St Mary’s Cathedral.
This event is sponsored by Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP. For details see the Scholarship at the Cathedral Facebook page.