February 03, 2016
Mr. Marc DelMonico presented his dissertation for the degree of Doctors of Philosophy on Friday, December 11, 2015, at 2:00p.m. His dissertation is titled, "Communication, Communion and Conflict in the Theologies of Gregory Baum and Patrick Granfield."
Final Examination of
Mr. Marc DelMonico
for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
Friday, December 11, 2015
2:00p.m., Caldwell Room 125
Abstract:
"Communication, Communion and Conflict in the Theologies of Gregory Baum and Patrick Granfield"
Director: Rev. Paul McPartlan, Ph.D.
Communion, communication, and conflict are interrelated realities of great importance for the life and mission of the church. These realities themselves and the relationships between them are in need of theological refinement and assessment, because conflict necessarily affects the church's ability to communicate the message of salvation, and to experience communion.
Within a North American and Roman Catholic context, Canadian theologian Gregory Baum (b.1923) and U.S. theologian Patrick Granfield (1930-2014) present ways of perceiving the relationships between these three realities. Through an analysis of the salient dimensions of their respective theologies, this dissertation explores their respective understandings of the church, and identifies ways in which their approaches complement each other, with particular attention paid to the themes of communion, communication and conflict.
Baum reflected on these three realities with respect to the church's life and mission to the world, articulating an ecclesial spirituality. Granfield did so primarily with respect to the church's institutional life. Considering their works together offers a means to deepen the church's experience of the mystery of communion via a renewed approach to its communication of the divine promise, while acknowledging conflict as a force which need not be destructive, but which can be harnessed for creative growth.
The works of both men show that the implementation of an ecclesiology of communion in the church today requires an awareness that communion is more than simply a theological notion of union with God, that communication in the church is more than speech alone, and that conflict in the church need not be divisive or destructive. Rather, communion in the church must always be concretely expressed in order to be experienced, communication is the sharing of the whole person, and conflict can be attended to in a way which strengthens communion and does not undermine it. By their attention to these three realities in the church, both Baum and Granfield have provided important reflections, not only on how the church lives and functions, but on how it can remain faithful to its divine calling and mission in a continually challenging and complex era.
About Marc:
Marc DelMonico is a small business co-founder and an independent, credentialed lay Roman Catholic ministry consultant in the areas of liturgy, liturgical music, parish leadership, as well as in social justice advocacy and Catholic Social Teaching. He is a trained systematic theologian with areas of expertise in ecclesiology and ecumenism and a substantial background in liturgical and biblical theology. He has several published peer-reviewed articles in various theology and ministry journals.
Marc was born and raised in Utica, NY, and graduated from Notre Dame High School in Utica as class valedictorian. He graduated at the top of his class with a B.A. summa cum laude with honors in Theology and Philosophy from Saint Bonaventure University in New York State, where he also minored in Justice, Peace, and Conflict Studies. After several years of lay ministry service at a parish in Utica, NY and a Franciscan-run soup kitchen in Philadelphia, Pa., he pursued and received a Master of Divinity degree and a Master of Arts degree in systematic theology, with distinction, from the Washington Theological Union, Washington, D.C., in 2006 - one of a handful of lay students to simultaneously complete both degrees in the history of the school. He began his doctoral studies in Historic & Systematic Theology at The Catholic University of America in 2006, completing his coursework under the thoughtful guidance of his academic advisor, the late Fr. Patrick Granfield, OSB. He also received the Washington Theological Consortium's Certificate in Ecumenical Studies in 2008.
While pursuing doctoral studies, Marc has served as a ministry and liturgical consultant with a number of parishes, Catholic religious communities and advocacy organizations. He has taught in the Education for Parish Service program for the Archdiocese of Washington. In 2012, he co-founded a website design and online digital communications studio, Perisphere Media, at which he serves as Partner and Executive Producer. The studio presently boasts a team of 10 professionals and over 50 small business and nonprofit clients from across the country.
Marc looks forward to continuing his consultation and business activities while pursuing full-time academic work in theology.
TRS 728K Vatican II: History and Theology
TRS 760A Theological Foundations
TRS 862A Contemporary Problems in Ecclesiology
TRS 840 Liturgical Theology
TRS 862D Method in Ecclesiology
WTC 702 Intro to Medieval Latin & Literature II
GER 500 Reading for Comprehension
TRS 742A The Liturgical Year
TRS 780A Intro to Study of Religion
TRS 897 Directed Research in the Ecumenical Movement
FREN 500 Reading for Comprehension
TRS 743A Liturgical Catechesis
TRS 766C Catholic/Orthodox Dialogue
TRS 862C Eucharist and Church
TRS 765A History & Theology of the Ecumenical Movement
TRS 868H La Nouvelle Theologie
TRS 897 Directed Research on the Church, Relig. & the Internet
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