2006
The tenth anniversary has provided an opportune moment for the Initiative to reflect on our first ten years and to develop strategic directions for the future. In these first ten years, we have developed two major annual events, a Spring conference and a lecture in June in Washington, D.C. At the lecture we also present our annual award “to an individual, group, or institution which has furthered reconciliation and/or dialogue on important issues within the church.”
The invitational conference gathers about fifty people, a combination of committee members and pastoral leaders chosen for their expertise in the topic being discussed. Participants engage in dialogue about a topic of pastoral importance, listening to people with different views and trying to name the agreements, disagreements, and neuralgic issues under each topic.
Click here [1] to see the list of conference topics.
Click here [2] to see the list of the annual lectures, now named in honor of Msgr. Philip J. Murnion, and which began in 1999.
Click here [3] to see the list of the annual Cardinal Joseph Bernardin Honorees.
The Initiative also has co-sponsored these conferences:
- Church Architecture: How Do We Seek Common Ground About Holy Ground?–Two weekend sessions, one at the Liturgical Institute, Mundelein, and the other at the College of the Holy Cross, 2000-2001
- The Church Women Want–Four sessions at The College of New Rochelle, 1999-2001
- Meetings of College Presidents and Bishops–the College of the Holy Cross, 2002, and the Center for Spirituality, Saint Mary’s College, 2003-2004
- U.S. Catholic Church: The Challenge of Communion–Two-day conference at the Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural Theology, DePaul University, and Catholic Theological Union, 2010
The Initiative Report, the quarterly (now biannual) newsletter, began in March of 1997 and continues to this day. While no longer physically mailed, it is available, along with past issues, by clicking here [4]. Additionally, to sign up for the newsletter, please click here [5].
Click here [6] to see the list of CCGI publications and other helpful resources.
Over the years, the Initiative has also offered talks, workshops, and consultations with numerous other groups wishing to promote dialogue in the church.
At the conference in March 2006, the committee assessed the work of the Initiative, naming what we have done well and what we have not done well. After that evaluation, the group asked three questions:
- What have we learned about dialogue in the church in the last 10 years?
- How has the context changed in relationship to our task of seeking common ground in the church?
- How do we respond to that new context and move the Initiative forward within it?
The commitee’s answers led to the publication of the 10th Anniversary Statement: “Reflecting on the Past, Looking to the Future” [7].