Contemporary Sacred Art: Conversations on Art & Faith

by Dr. Michela Beatrice Ferri

INTERVIEWS

WCAT Radio “Two Wings Seminar” Presentation
Listen to “Dr. Michela Beatrice Ferri – What is the meaning of the expression ‘Contemporary Sacred Art’ ?” on Spreaker.

Telepace Trento
http://www.telepacetrento.it/archivio-video/spart/861 

TESTIMONIALS

TBA

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michela Beatrice Ferri, Ph.D. in Philosophy, born in Italy, is a Roman Catholic professor and writer and teaches for Holy Apostles College & Seminary in Cromwell, CT, USA.

Michela’s BA thesis in Philosophy, discussed in 2005 at the Università degli Studi di Milano, is dedicated to Edmund Burke and to the birth of the Modern Sublime (“Burke e la genesi moderna del sublime”). Her MA thesis in Philosophy, discussed in 2007 at the Università degli Studi di Milano, is dedicated to the concepts of “time” and of “art” in the first reception of Phenomenology in Italy (“Tempo e arte nella fenomenologia italiana”).

In February 2012, Michela received her Doctorate in philosophy (Ph.D.) at the Università degli Studi di Milano, with a dissertation dedicated to the reception of Phenomenology in the United States of America. Her Ph.D. dissertation is the first work ever appeared in Italy, in Europe, and in North America focused on the history and on the analysis of the reception of Husserlian Phenomenology in the North America. She is the Editor of the great volume: “The Reception of Phenomenology in North America” – https://rd.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-3-319-99185-6#toc – published in June 2019 by Springer Nature – Springer International Publishing.

Michela is recognized as one of the leading experts in the field of Sacred Art and is the author of a volume dedicated to the dialogue between Catholic Faith and Art, devoted to an inquiry about Contemporary Sacred Art entitled Sacro Contemporaneo. Dialoghi sull’arte, published in 2016 by the Roman Catholic publishing house Áncora Editrice based in Milan, Italy. In this book, she presents dialogues that she has had with the major Roman Catholic art historians and with the most important Contemporary Artists operating in Italy. This book is published in English by En Route Books and Media.

Michela is also journalist. She works for several Roman Catholic journals, writing about Philosophy, Theology, History, Aesthetics, Sacred Art, History of Art and History of Architecture, Church, and Jewish Studies.

Since 2009, Michela has been married to Luca Stucchi, Catholic, Engineer and MS in Computer Science.

OTHER ACADEMIC BOOKS

It’s Everybody’s World: We either Live Together or Die Together

by Robin Arthur

TESTIMONIALS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Robin Arthur is a newspaper editor and a journalist who won the Pan-Asia Journalism award in 1995. This book is a sequel to Global Healing, which he released in June 2019. He has written several other books including Can the Poor Inherit the Earth, which is an opinion on Third World development paradigms and which won acclaim from UN organizations including UNESCO and UNDP. His first novel, The Island of Habarra, provides a glimpse into the sad narrative of expatriate workers who leave families and home behind to work in the oil-rich Persian Gulf. In Canada, Arthur worked to develop an appreciation of interfaith dialogue, and between 2011 and 2016 convened three very successfully staged Spiritual Diversity Conferences, paving the way for the establishment of an Interfaith Council in the city of Halifax.

OTHER ACADEMIC BOOKS

Elements of Christianity: The Beauty of the Christian Faith

by Tonino Vicari

This book attempts to make accessible to the average reader the basic elements of Church teaching concerning morality, natural law, and supernatural truths that have been passed down through the Holy Scriptures and Tradition from the time of the Apostles from Jesus Christ himself. 

Hardback: $39.95 | Paperback: $19.95 | Kindle: $9.99

TESTIMONIALS

“With his training in architecture and theology, Tonino Vicari demonstrates the beauty, wisdom, and logic of the Catholic faith in this compelling volume. Drawing upon Scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and outstanding works of art, Elements of Christianity makes an ideal textbook for   higher level catechetical classes and adult education. In 1802 François-René de Chateaubriand published his Genius of Christianity as a response to the anti-clericalism of the French Enlightenment. In a similar way, Tonino Vicari has published a book on the beauty of the Catholic faith that responds to the secular culture of today.” – Robert Fastiggi, Ph.D. Professor of Dogmatic Theology, Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Detroit, Michigan

“Tonino Vicari has produced a handy compendium of our Catholic faith tradition, which will be of great help to students entering into their studies and a resource for those who teach them.” – Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP, author of The Narrative Spirituality of Dante’s Divine Comedy

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tonino Vicari is a husband, father, author, and educator. He received his Master of Arts in Theology from Sacred Heart Major Seminary. He has been involved in teaching the Catholic Faith for the past 12 years. He lives in the Coachella Valley with his wife, and two children. His hobby includes fine art landscape photography.

OTHER CATHOLIC ACADEMIC BOOKS

The Nostalgia for a New Christendom

by Mario Ramos-Reyes

Hardback: $29.95 | Paperback: $24.95| Kindle: $9.99

TESTIMONIALS

“This important work by Mario Ramos-Reyes traces the influence of Jacques Maritain’s mature social and political philosophy in Latin America in the mid-twentieth century. Maritain’s Catholic philosophical foundation for a democratic pluralist society appealed to a generation of Latin American political and social thinkers who sought to build a democratic order in Latin America based on the dignity of the human person and Catholic social teaching. Ramos-Reyes expresses a hope that after the tragic eclipse of this vision, which was attacked from both the right and the left, this kind of democracy inspired by a Thomistic Catholic philosophy may come once again to be politically fruitful in Latin America and around the world.” – Dr. Lawrence Feingold, Professor of Theology and Philosophy, Kenrick-Glennon Seminary

“While everybody will not agree with the politics of this book, Latin Americanists should find the argument universally fascinating and enlightening because of its implications for the embeddedness of philosophy and religion (and philosophers and priests) in Latin American politics.” – Elizabeth Kuznesof, Professor and Director of the Center for Latin American Studies, University of Kansas

“Amid historical vicissitudes, Mario Ramos Reyes has sought the essentials of Maritain’s spirit: a Constitutional Democracy and the rule of law based on a Christian ethos. These still provide answers to this unmade world between postmodernism and woke ideologies and to this Latin America that, bleeding between socialist Christian utopias and its military-conservative reactions, has not yet found its path to institutional stability.” – Gabriel J. Zanotti, Professor, of UCEMA, and academic director of the Friedman-Hayek Center, and the Acton Institute, Buenos Aires, Argentina 

“Ramos-Reyes is a tragic optimist. The eclipse of Christian Democracy is indisputable. Even its resurgence can seem little more than a nostalgic dream. And yet, to draw from Scripture, he asks whether these ‘dead bones can rise again.’ He tells us that if they do, it will be at the summons of a new generation of Latin American thinkers and activists.” – James Hanink, Past President, American Maritain Association

“In The Nostalgia for a New Christendom, Mario Ramos-Reyes has written a thoughtful analysis of the thought of Jacques Maritain and its influence on Latin America. He both analyzes skillfully the insights and the failures of the Christian Democratic movement that Maritain inspired and offers an impressive defense of the relevance of Maritain’s philosophy of human dignity for the twenty-first century.” – Carl Strikwerda, former president Elizabethtown College and former dean College of William and Mary

“I recall reading William Cavanaugh’s book, Torture and Eucharist, and his call for a more radical, supernatural, Eucharistic approach to politics and his criticism of Maritain as a proponent of the Christian Democratic vision that Cavanaugh thought had marginalized and neutered the Church. Then, liberation theology took up so much of the debate. Against that was a traditional conservatism that called for a Catholic country that did not make much room for liberalism in the best sense. Then, of course, the strong secularization brings with it the legalization of abortion and the rejection of the family. Yes, where have you gone, Jacques Maritain? Well, at least there is an answer to this: the writing of Mario Ramos Reyes.” – Daniel Philpott, University of Notre Dame

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

OTHER CATHOLIC ACADEMIC BOOKS

Politics, Law & Religion in Times of COVID

Editors, Jane F. Adolphe, Fulvio Di Blasi, and Robert L. Fastiggi

TESTIMONIALS

“This conference was superbly conceived and really useful. Involving scholars and practitioners from many countries […] What was learned […] was not only what happened around the world between 2020 and 2022 but what should not be allowed to happen again.” – Iain Benson, professor of law, University of Notre Dame, School of Law, Sydney, Australia

“The closure of churches by governments during the COVID pandemic has taught us that we can no longer take for granted the precious freedom to practice our faith.” – Charles LiMandri, Esq., LiMandri & Jonna, LLP

“Many churches in the West failed their spiritual covid-test. They carried a high viral load of fear – fear of disease, fear of man, fear of death – and showed low levels of spiritual antibodies. The gospel of freedom from fear was rarely preached in a way that challenges secular powers or popular sentiment.” – Douglas Farrow, professor of theology and ethics, School of Religious Studies, McGill University, Montreal

“The essence of totalitarianism is when a government assumes complete control not only over the outward behavior of citizens but also over their inner lives, the way they think and evaluate the world.” – Rev. Piotr Mazurkiewicz, Professor of Political Science, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University, Warsaw, Poland

JANE F. ADOLPHE, EDITOR

​JANE F. ADOLPHE is a canon lawyer and a civil attorney (New York, Alberta); a professor of Law at Ave Maria School of Law (AMSL), in Naples, Florida; and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Notre Dame, School of Law, in Sydney, Australia. She has served as an external and internal legal advisor to the Papal Secretariat of State, Section for Relations with States.

FULVIO DI BLASI, EDITOR

​FULVIO DI BLASI is an attorney (Italy), a legal mediator, and a Thomistic philosopher. He directs the Thomas International Center for Philosophical Studies (United States) and has taught at the University of Notre Dame (United States), the LUMSA Law School (Italy), the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (Rome) and the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (Poland).

ROBERT L. FASTIGGI, EDITOR

ROBERT L. FASTIGGI is a professor of dogmatic theology at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, Michigan, where he has taught since 1999. He previously taught at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas (1985-1999). He is a coeditor of the English translation of the 43^rd edition of Denzinger-Hünerman (2012) and a member of the Pontifical Marian Academy International.

IAIN T. BENSON

​IAIN T. BENSON is an attorney (Ontario, British Columbia), professor of Law at the University of Notre Dame Australia, Sydney, and extraordinary professor of law at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontain, South Africa. He has also served as a visiting professor in law at the University of Western Ontario, Canada (2014) and as a fellow of Massey College, University of Toronto (2015).

JOHN CARPAY

JOHN CARPAY is an attorney (Alberta) and president of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, (https://www.jccf.ca/), which he founded in 2010 with the mission of defending the rights and freedoms of Canadians through litigation and education. He formerly served the Canadian Taxpayers Federation as Alberta Director from (2001-2005).

DOUGLAS FARROW

DOUGLAS FARROW is a professor of theology and ethics at McGill University, Montreal, Quebec. He previously taught in the United Kingdom at King’s College London, after completing his doctorate there under Colin Gunton.

CHRISTOPHER A. FERRARA

​CHRISTOPHER A. FERRARA is an attorney (United States) and civil rights litigator in cases involving the civil and constitutional rights of Catholics and other Christians. He successfully obtained an injunction against the COVID-related church closures imposed by California Governor Gavin Newsom and the “vaccine mandate” imposed by the ex-Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo. He has authored many books and articles on subjects ranging from Catholic issues to quantum mechanics.

REV. PIOTR MAZURKIEWICZ

REV. PIOTR MAZURKIEWICZ is a Catholic priest (Archdiocese of Warsaw, Poland), and professor at the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University (Warsaw), where he directs the Institute of Political Science and holds the Chair of Social and Political Ethics in the Department of Historical and Social Studies. He serves the Polish Bishops’ Conference as an advisor and has served a three-year term (2008-2012) as the General Secretary of Bishop’s Conferences of the European Union (COMECE).

JANET E. SMITH

JANET E. SMITH is an author, speaker, and lecturer (find her online at https://janetsmith.org/), who retired from the Father McGivney Chair of Life Ethics at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, Michigan. She has authored many books and articles on Humanae Vitae and has distributed more than two million copies of her talk, Contraception: Why Not, (now in its 3^rd edition). She served three terms as a consultant to the Pontifical Council on the Family, and eight years on the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission III.

GRÉGOR PUPPINCK

GRÉGOR PUPPINCK is the director of the European Centre for Law and Justice. He has served as an expert representing the Holy See in committees of the Council of Europe, since 1999. He lectures on human rights, international law, and constitutional law at the law schools of the Universities of Mulhouse and Strasbourg (2003-2012). In 2016, he was an appointed member of the Panel of Experts on Freedom of Religion and Belief of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe/Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.

MICHAEL ARTHUR VACCA

MICHAEL ARTHUR VACCA is an attorney (Michigan), and the director of ministry, bioethics, and membership experience for Christ Medicus Foundation (CMF) CURO. From 2010-2012, he served as a legal advisor for the Holy See’s Pontifical Council for the Family in Rome, Italy, where he advocated for the defense of human life, religious freedom, and the natural family on the international, regional, and national levels.

OTHER CATHOLIC ACADEMIC BOOKS

The Gender Revolution: A Global Agenda (A Tool for Discernment)

by Marguerite A. Peeters, Ph.D., with a Foreword by Robert Cardinal Sarah

Wherever one lives in the world and whatever one’s age and occupation, it has today become difficult to escape the influence of the global political and cultural norm of “gender equality”. Each continent, each government, each people can observe sociological developments in its midst that are linked to the gender perspective, to gender. These developments cannot be “neutral” nor without consequences for their cultures, their identity, their future. This book seeks to expose the global agenda of the gender revolution and share with those caught up in it the fullness of divine life.

Paperback: $14.95 | Kindle: $9.99

TESTIMONIALS

“Marguerite Peeters meets and extends the convictions and exhortations of John Henry Newman, who said that only men and women of faith who ‘profit by what every day and hour teaches us, as it flies’ can discern and apprehend the overwhelming presence of God in the world. … We recommend this book and very much hope that it will be widely read throughout Africa and that it will elicit honest dialogue worthy of the greatness and dignity of man, created in the image and likeness of God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” —from the foreword, by Robert Cardinal Sarah, Prefect emeritus of the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Archbishop emeritus of Conakry (Guinea)

“As a revised understanding of one’s sexual identity increasingly becomes integrated into the fabric and social structure of society, this author does something quite remarkable. She brings stunning clarity to the confusing dissonance of the culture of gender ideology. The author demonstrates how the confusion regarding one’s sexual identity has resulted from an inversion of the objective and subjective understanding of the nature of a person’s sexuality, where the objective biological reality has become the servant to the subjective understanding of the masculine and feminine. Undaunted, the author identifies the true nature of problem, namely, gender ideology’s distorted understanding and biased misrepresentation of what it means to truly love, placing the love of self and right to choose over the primordial fullness of the relationship of mutual love between a man and woman.” —Joseph P. Michael, Th.D., author of Apologia Pro Sancta Maria: Mother of the Church, Mater Ecclesiae

“Marguerite Peeters accurately assesses our socio-political landscape concerning the assault upon both our philosophical and theological anthropologies. She provides the historical context and a future hope as rich as that of Tolkien’s Middle Earth where he describes Frodo’s experience with the Ring at the start of his quest–‘…with determination etched upon his face, Frodo stepped forward into the wasteland. . . . Desolation surrounded him, but within his heart burned a flame that would not be extinguished—a light to defy the encroaching shadows.’ We, too, are living under the shadow of Sauron, yet, like Frodo, move forward with the kind of hope that we know will prevail. Peeters offers within the pages of this book, in true Petrine style, a reason for that hope.” —Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP, co-author with Ronda Chervin of Catholic Realism: A Framework for the Refutation of Atheism and the Evangelization of Atheists

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marguerite A. Peeters directs Dialogue Dynamics, a Brussels-based institute specializing in the analysis of political and cultural developments at the level of global governance. She has authored several books on the globalization of the Western cultural revolution, the gender revolution and postmodernity.

 

See the EWTN interview with Jesús Colina entitled “In the Wake of Cultural Revolution” (June 18, 2008).

ABOUT THE FOREWORD

Robert Cardinal Sarah is a Guinean prelate of the Catholic Church. A cardinal since 20 November 2010, he was prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments from 23 November 2014 to 20 February 2021. Sarah previously served as secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples under Pope John Paul II and president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum under Pope Benedict XVI.Sarah has been a vocal advocate for the defense of traditional Catholic teaching on questions of sexual morality and the right to life, and in denouncing Islamic radicalism. He has called gender ideology and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) the “two radicalizations” that threaten the family: the former through divorce, same-sex marriage, and abortion; the latter with child marriage, polygamy, and the subjugation of women. [from Wikipedia]

OTHER CATHOLIC ACADEMIC BOOKS