The Reform of the Church is Not a Change but a Commitment: Dr. Emilce Cuda

Welcome to the twenty-fifth episode of the second season of What Matters Most, featuring Dr. Emilce Cuda.

Today’s episode is the keynote lecture Emilce gave on May 5, 2023 at the Pope Francis and the Future of the Church: Prospects and Challenges for Renewal conference held at St. Mark’s College on  May 4-6, 2023. Her paper was titled, “The Reform of the Church is Not a Change but a Commitment.”

Emilce Cuda asks people who want to understand Pope Francis in North America to read the encyclicals, read Laudato Si’ and Fratelli Tutti, read Praedicate Evangelium on the Roman Curia, where the mission of the Church and the Christian is described as in the Gospels to touch the suffering flesh of humanity. 

I am so happy to bring this lecture to all of you who were unable to be at the conference. In the coming weeks, we will bring you the keynote lecture of  Dr. Massimo Faggioli also.

Dr. Emilce Cuda is an Argentinian theologian, university professor, and Roman Curia official.  In 2021, Pope Francis appointed her to serve the Holy See as an official in the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, first as head of the office and then as Secretary.  In the spring of 2022, Francis appointed her to the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences and to the Pontifical Academy for Life.  She views her mission as assisting the Holy Father in preaching the gospel by building bridges that are about the peripheries.

Born in Buenos Aires, Emilce completed a cycle of studies at the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina that resulted in Bachelor, Master, Licentiate, and Ph.D./STD degrees. She also studied philosophy at the University of Buenos Aires.  She has an MBA from the Commercial and Economic Sciences University.   In December 2022 the National University of Rosario in Argentina bestowed upon her a Doctorate of Humane Letters in honoris causa.

Upcoming Events:

On September 13, CCE is presenting a film on AI with Regent College and VST in which we screen a film called The End of Humanity followed by a panel discussion. This event is now sold out, but pay attention for news of a livestream.

On October 29, we will have a webinar on the American election featuring Steve Millies and his new book, A Consistent Ethic of Life: Navigating Catholic Engagement with U.S. Politics. We will also have a Canadian respondent. Much more to come on Fall 2024 and other speakers!

On December 5, we will have Matt Hoven presenting in-person on his new book on Fr. David Bauer, Hockey Priest. Matt will be interviewed by Clay Imoo, Canuck Clay! 

Finally, the CCE is presenting a conference in 2025, The Promise of Christian Education: Past, Present and Future,  MAY 1-3, 2025, at ST. MARK'S COLLEGE, VANCOUVER, CANADA. Please consider sending in a proposal for a paper. If you are a graduate student and we accept your proposal to present a paper, we will cover your conference registration fees and the cost of the conference banquet. You do not have to present a paper to come. You can purchase a conference pass and simply attend all of the sessions. Consider joining us in Vancouver in 2025. You should also know that the plenary or keynote addresses are free and open to the public,

Three Confirmed Plenary Speakers: 

Dr. Margaret MacDonald, St. Mary's University, Halifax

Dr. Samuel Rocha, University of British Columbia, Vancouver

Reverend Dr. Stan Chu Ilo, De Paul University, Chicago

What Matters Most is produced by the Centre for Christian Engagement at St Mark’s College, the Catholic college at UBC. The CCE is a centre at St. Mark’s College that explores the Christian and Catholic intellectual tradition and seek to learn from others, other Christians, members of other religious traditions, and from those who do not claim any particular or formal religious affiliation.

Thanks to Martin Strong, Kevin Eng, and Fang Fang Chandra for all of their help and support in crafting this and all the other episodes. I also want to thank our donors to the Centre, whose generosity enables this work to take place at all: Peter Bull, Angus Reid, and Andy Szocs. In addition, the Cullen Family, Mark and Barbara, continue to support the work and outreach of the CCE, particularly in our lecture series and support of our conferences. 

Since St. Mark’s Centre for Christian Engagement seeks to enable the creation of a culture of encounter and dialogue, let me invite you into that discussion. Send me questions, send me ideas for guests, send me comments. Please follow me on Twitter, Threads, or BlueSky @biblejunkies, or on Facebook, at Biblejunkies, or on Instagram @stmarkscce. Or email me or Ms. Fang Fang Chandra at cceconferences@stmarkscollege.ca. Let us know what you think.

If you are enjoying the podcast, please let people know by rating and reviewing What Matters Most on your favourite podcasting platform. It really does help people find these inspiring conversations!

John W. Martens

Director, Centre for Christian Engagement, St. Mark's College at UBC