The 2016-2017 Academic Year in Retrospect October 10, 2017 Dear Friends, It has been three years now since, in fall 2014, the Leuven Newman Society returned to the world of the academic search for truth. Inspired by Bl. John Henry Newman s ideal of cultivating Christian scholars with clear heads and holy hearts, the past year saw manifold events organized by the LNS to indeed foster this search: a lecture series and professional seminar, a film series, and lunchtime discussions. During the past academic year, the LNS, providing a stimulating forum in which to encounter questions of import for the Catholic faith, managed to attract the attention of a great number of students and professors to participate at our events and lectures delivered by renowned scholars such as, for instance, Prof. Em. Richard Swinburne or Dr. William E. Carrol. Not only were the participants allowed to go deeper into certain very interesting topics, but they also had fun while doing so since the lecturers did always manage to marry the sense of wonder with the sense of humour. Reading on, you ll find a retrospective of the past year s highlights. Our activities this year would not have been possible without the support of the KUL Institute of Philosophy and the Sint Kwinten church (both the Anglophone community and the Nederlandstalige Gemeenschap of the Parochie Leuven). Our sincere gratitude goes to them for the kindness they showed in providing us with spaces for our discussions, film screenings, and prayers. On behalf of our board, I wish to thank you and all of our friends for your support. We look forward to seeing you soon! Yours, LNS President, 2016-17 1
About Us The Leuven Newman Society is a society of university students affiliated to KU Leuven, and its main goal is to promote the dialogue between faith and reason. We are sometimes asked if the LNS is a gentlemen society reserved to new men only. The answer is a witty no, and a further explanation follows saying that the LNS takes as its patron and intellectual example the life of blessed John Henry NEWMAN and that we do welcome both new men and new women. In a nutshell, then, the LNS encourages Flemish and international students and faculty members to explore the Catholic faith, pursuing Bl. John Henry Newman s ideal of clear heads and holy hearts and to this end we organise several academic sessions (seminar and lectures), film nights, and promote the involvement in the life of the Church. History Various institutes, reading groups, and societies in and around Leuven in the last few decades have been named after Bl. John Henry Newman. The current LNS has its origins in the organization founded by Dr. Andrew Meszaros (Theology) some years ago. With Dr. Meszaros s support, it was refounded on the same model by a group of students from various faculties in the fall of 2014. The Board of 2016/17 President and Social Media Vice President and Academic Chair Vice Academic Chair Chair for Culture Vice Chair for Culture Chaplain Jakub Betinský (Research MA. Cand., Philosophy) Michaël Bauwens (Ph.D. Cand., Philosophy) Viktor Poletko (Ph.D. Cand., Philosophy) Jeff Schonk (MA. Cand., Philosophy) Theresa Yang (MA. Cand., Theology) Fr. Aaron Wessman (Ph.D. Cand., Theology) 2
Fall 2016 Lectures in Dutch It is an ongoing practice of the LNS to welcome to our lectures all Dutchspeaking students, and we therefore complement our English events with a number of those in Dutch. This year we had the pleasure to host two Dutch lectures, of which the first was entitled En dus bestaat God: argumenten voor de God van de filosofen (Hence God exists: arguments for the God of the philosophers) and the second one was God of Grondwet? (God or constitution?). Shortly put, the former taking place on Wednesday, December 7 was given by the Dutch philosopher Jeroen De Ridder who offered several arguments for the existence of God from a book he recently published and co-authored with Emanuel Rutten a speaker at a previous Newman Society lecture. The respondent was KU Leuven rector Rik Torfs who, with his usual wit, commented on the arguments offered. As for the latter, on Wednesday, October 12, this was a debate between two philosophers, Patrick Loobuyck and Guido Van Heeswijck, on the role of religion(s) in the Belgian constitution and the public space. They both participated in the parliamentary hearings on a possible new preamble for the Belgian constitution which would set out a specific interpretation on the relation between the state and religion, and debated this issue again at this Newman Society event. Swinburne at Leuven One of the great honours of the fall semester was the presence of Prof. Em. Richard Swinburne (Oxford), who delivered his lecture entitled The Implausibility of Physical Determinism on Wednesday, November 16. He argued, in his quintessentially analytic manner, for the understanding of causation not exclusive of the realm of the spiritual and his presentation was challenged by the respondent Prof. Sylvia Wenmackers (KUL). 3
Film nights at the university Along with the lectures of the fall semester, we also organised two film nights under the university roof, and both of them were introduced by KUL s professors who, after the screening itself, led the discussion reflecting on the main points presented in these films. On Thursday, November 10, Professor Henning Tegtmeyer chose for our students one of Tarkovsky s classics, Nostalgia (1982). Next, on Thursday, December 8, Professor Andrea Robiglio decided to engage the students with 1949 s classic, The Fountainhead, which is based on the book of the same name by Ayn Rand and directed by King Vidor. 4
Spring 2017 Fides & Ratio series and American intellectual life The spring semester s Fides & Ratio series lectures were all delivered be renown intellectuals from over the pond, and were kicked off on Monday, March 12, by the LNS s returning friend, Dr. William E. Carroll (Oxford), who, in his lecture After Darwin, Aquinas: A Universe Created and Evolving, presented a compelling argument for how Darwin paved the way for the reconsideration of the importance of the work of Thomas Aquinas. On March 28-29 of the same month, we were pleased to welcome Mr. R. R. Reno, editor of First Things magazine, who shared many enlightening thoughts from his recent book Resurrecting the Idea of a Christian Society. Both his seminar and lecture were filled with probing questions enquiring into the nature of patriotism, solidarity, cosmopolitanism, state-church relationship, etc. 5
Right at the beginning of the Easter break, on Wednesday, April 5, the LNS offered a lecture examining the idea of religion freedom. Delivered by Prof. Brett Scharffs (Brigham Young University), the lecture entitled Why Religious Freedom? strived to bring its audience to the better understanding of the basic reasoning behind the necessity of this kind of freedom. At last, with the spring semester leaning toward its end, on Wednesday, May 10, we were proud and pleased to witness the crowded lecture hall awaiting the beginning of Prof. William Cavanaugh s presentation on The Wars of Religion as the Foundation Myth of the Modern State. Largely based on his 2009 book The Myth of Religious Violence: Secular Ideology and the Roots of Modern Conflict, his lecture centred on the so-called migration of the sacred, which, having moved from the church to the modern nation state and henceforth sanctifying the concept of national sovereignty, is perhaps now moving on (or have already moved?) to the market place but all this speculation shall find its fuller formulation in Cavanaugh s next book as he jokingly announced. With Professor s kind permission, the audio recording of this lecture can be found on the LNS s YouTube channel. 6
One night, one film Our film night series did continue this semester as well, and on Wednesday, March 15, together with many students and Professor Tegtmeyer, we saw and discussed The Mission (1986), directed by Roland Joffé a trilling story about courage, search for meaning, and perseverance. Corpus Christi procession in the streets of Leuven On the sunny afternoon of Thursday, May 26, some of the LNS board members had the honour to be the canopy bearers for the Corpus Christi procession. Last year this pious and spectacular act of the return of the sacred to the public places occurred in the streets of Leuven for the first time it is said since 1968. Weekly events of both fall and spring semester Wednesday lunches & Thursday evening Masses offered by our chaplain at the St. Kwinten s church. 7
Facebook s weekly quote Being helped by a gifted volunteer, our Facebook page managed to attract many visitors thanks to a weekly quote of a thought-provoking and open-hearted person. Here s a collage to give you a taste of this beautiful work. 8
Thank you once again for a great year. We hope to see you soon! newman.leuven@gmail.com newmanleuven.be 9