Conference: Christianity in Europe. Questions on Unity
4-7 November 2024
4 th November
9:45 a.m.
Opening of the conference
10:00 a.m.
Session 1: Panel discussion [POLISH/ENGLISH, translated]:
The experience of synodality. In search of unity that respects plurality
Card. Grzegorz Ryś, Bp Jacek Grzybowski, Bp Sławomir Oder, Myriam Wijlens, Jerzy Sojka
12:30 p.m.
Lunch break
2:00 p.m.
Session 2: Some national or regional experiences with the synodality
[POLISH/ENGLISH, translated]
Aušra Vasiliauskaitė (Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania)
Hopes and challenges of the synodal process from the Lithuanian ecclesial perspective
Radoslav Lojan (Catholic University in Ružomberok, Slovakia)
The experiences with the synodal process in Slovakia
Josef Mikulášek (Palacký University Olomouc, The Czech Republic)
Unity and diversity of the Catholic Church in the Czech Republic based on the experience of the synodal process
3:00 p.m.
Coffee break
3.20 p.m.
Józef Kloch (The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow, Poland)
Synod chases synod. The feasibility of their ideas and the context of the passing of time
5:00 p.m.
Visit in The Upper Silesian Pantheon in Katowice for the conference guests
5th November
9:30 a.m.
Session 1: Ǫuestions from the Synod
Myriam Wijlens (University of Erfurt, Germany )
The Synod on Synodality: the process, the outcomes and the challenge of implementation in a worldwide Church
10:30 a.m.
Coffee break
10:50 a.m.
Session 2: Question of the doctrinal unity
Michael Seewald (University of Münster, Germany)
The unity of the Church and the mutability of her doctrine
Damian Wąsek (The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow, Poland)
The role of ecclesial structures in sustaining the doctrinal unity of the Church
12:30 p.m.
Lunch break
2:00 p.m.
Session 3: Europe: The pluralistic identity and the Christian unity
Alexandre Palma (Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Lisbon, Portugal)
Europe, Christianity and the Church: roots and fruits
Alberto Lo Presti (Lumsa University, Rome, Italy)
Decentralization and identity: Europe and Christianity
3:00 p.m.
Workshops for students
5:30 p.m.
Banquet for the conference guests
6th November
9:30 a.m.
Session 1: Cultural pluralism and Christian unity in the global perspective
Margit Eckholt (University of Osnabrück, Germany)
Translation and „esprit de finesse“. Theology in Europe in the service of synodal learning processes in a culturally plural Church
Dirk Ansorge (Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology in Frankfurt, Germany)
Catholicity on trial: ecclesiological reflections on unity and diversity in the global Church
10:40 a.m.
Coffee break
11:00 a.m.
Session 2: Public responsibility of theology. What can unite us?
Jean Ehret (Luxembourg School of Religion & Society, Luxembourg)
How to do theology to foster unity?
Alex Villas Boas (Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Lisbon, Portugal)
Theology between genealogies of power and genealogies of political spiritualities: an archaeological task to think about unity in plurality in the 21st century
12.30 p.m.
Lunch break
2:00 p.m.
Session 3: Emerging scholars
Patryk Zając (University of Vienna, Austria; University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland):
Political epistemology and the unity of mankind: Catholic Christianity’s contribution to enhancing the human epistemic condition
Krzysztof Piętak (University of Warsaw, Poland)
Reconciling Christianity with modernity: an attempt to vindicate Epicurus’s legacy within the Catholic Church
3:00 p.m.
Workshops for students
5:30 p.m.
Visit at The Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice. Chamber music concert in the Boleslaw Szabelski Auditorium
7th November
9:30 a.m.
Session 1: Christians for the European integration today. Some insights
Urszula Pękala (Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany)
Reconciliation – a New European Order after the World War II? Experiences from Franco-German and Polish-German Relations
Jerzy Sojka (Christian Theological Academy in Warsaw, Poland)
The Communion of Protestant churches in Europe and the European integration
10:45 a.m.
Coffee break
11:15 a.m.
Student workshops report
11:45 a.m.
Conclusion
12.30 p.m.
Lunch
