Posted: 01/13/2005
I teach and research theology because I am convinced that God
has sent me to do this through my religious superiors for the
purpose of serving the Church. I have studied ecclesiology because
a deeper understanding of it will help the Christian churches
to deepen their union. I have studied the Fathers of the Church
because I have always found in them a freshness, spark, and wisdom
that inspire me to love more passionately the Christian way and
because I think that presenting the Fathers to others can help
them also to this greater love. God has worked powerfully through
my teachers to bring me closer to his way, and I wish to be such
an instrument for the good of others. My work contributes to what
I see as the unique character and work of the Marquette ' s Theology
Department in at least these four ways. First, to the extent that
there is a Jesuit manner of being a theologian, I incarnate this
manner in part. Second, my work in ecclesiology contributes to
the ecumenical orientation of the Department and to its expertise
in ecclesiology. Third, my assignment to the systematic section
of the Department and my familiarity with and love for the earlier
witnesses of our tradition contribute to our Department ' s orientation
toward a unified cultivation of theology as a discipline straddling
the fault lines of American specialized study. I can in this way
also contribute to our department ' s rootedness in the catholic
tradition, even in its consideration of the most contemporary
issues. Fourth, my European contacts contribute to the international
reach that our department prizes.
