Winter Forum Series
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Continuing Enrichment Opportunities for Adults and Young Adults
Sponsored by Waterloo Catholic Faith FormationOur popular Summer and Winter Forum programs offer Catholic adults and young adults an opportunity to learn and grow in a comfortable, familiar environment. We choose presenters from among pastors, pastoral leaders and academic experts on both the local and diocesan level. We ask them to address a variety of timely and important issues which shape the lives of adults and young adults in the Church and society today.
2025 Winter Forum programs will be conducted online via GoogleMeet.
A subscription is not necessary to participate on the GoogleMeet platform.Use this link to join the discussion:
https://bit.ly/winter-forum-25
Our Summer and Winter Forum programs are made possible in part by a grant from the
Archbishop Kucera Center for Catholic Intellectual and Spiritual Life at Loras College.• • •
2025 Forum Schedule
Thursday, January 23. 6:30-8:00pm
OnlineWhat Did the Synod on Synodality Accomplish--and What Did It Leave Undone?
Presented by Matthew ShadleIn October Catholic bishops and lay people from throughout the world met in Rome to conclude a three-year process of consultation which began at the parish level and advanced through national, regional and universal discussions. This "synodal process" was designed to identify the concerns and needs which the Church must address in order to be more effective in its mission of evangelization to the world. Pope Francis said the process, empowered by the Holy Spirit, will help the church become "a church “that listens to our brothers and sisters speak of their hopes and the crises of faith present in difference parts of the world.” In this presentation, Matthew Shadle will discuss what the Synod accomplished and how it might shape the future of the church.
> Read :"10 Key Questions and Answers About the Synod's Final Document".
> Read the final Synod document here.• • •
Thursday, January 30. 6:30-8:00pm
Online
The Legacy of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Confessing Churches in Germany?
Presented by Martin Lorhman and Jacob KohlhaasDietrich Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheran pastor and theologian known for his opposition to National Socialism and his involvement in the Confessing Church, which resisted the nazification of German Protestantism. He was executed in 1945 for his role in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler and is recognized for his influential writings on Christianity's role in the secular world. There is a widespread debate among Bonhoeffer scholars about whether we have reached a new "Bonhoeffer moment" with the rise of nationalist and popularist politics in Europe and the United States. In this presentation Martin Lohrman and Jacob Kohlhaas will discuss Bonhoeffer's legacy and what lessons we might learn that are applicable to current circumstances.
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> Read "Both Right and Left Claim Bonhoeffer--His Ideas Fit Neither".
The Future of Immigration Policy in the United StatesPresented by Tom Chapman and Catholic Charities Legal Staff> Learn more about how the Church serves immigrants here.
Immigration, which has long been a contentious issue in American society, became a decisive factor in the 2024 elections. In this presentation representatives of Catholic Charities' legal staff will discuss what we will know at this point about the new administration's measures to address the immigration issue, who is or is likely to be most at risk, and what individuals or faith communities can and can't do to support and protect those at risk. Following that analysis, Tom Chapman, director of the Iowa Catholic Conference, will provide an overview of the moral and political rationale for comprehensive immigration reforms advocated by the Catholic bishops of the United States.
> Read Migration and Catholic Social Teaching.• • •
Thursday, February 13. 6:30-8:00pm.
Online
Making Sense of the 2024 Election
Presented by David CochranAccording to some observers, the 2024 election was an historic turning point which will reshape both political parties and the political future of the country. How permanent are the shifting trends which shaped the election? How do they compare with previous historic moments in American history? How significant are defections from the traditional Democratic base among white males, Latinos, and white Catholics? Was inflation the key factor? In short, how bizarre was the 2024 election? In this presentation David Cochran will give a political scientist's perspective on the recent election and discuss the current state of American politics in light of principles articulated by the Catholic Church in its social doctrine.
> Read David Cochran's article "Making Sense of the Election" in Commonweal.• • •
Learn More About Our Presenters
Tom Chapman is the executive director of the Iowa Catholic Conference, the public policy voice for the Catholic bishops of Iowa. Tom is a native of Spirit Lake and a graduate of Briar Cliff University in Sioux City. He worked as a reporter for KMEG-TV and on the staff of Mercy Medical Center in Sioux City before coming to the Catholic Diocese of Des Moines in 1991. He served as director of communications, editor of The Catholic Mirror and chancellor for the Des Moines diocese before being appointed executive director of the ICC in 2007. Tom is a member of the boards of the Iowa Mediation Service and the Iowa Alliance for Choice in Education. He and his wife Paulette live in Urbandale, Iowa
David Cochran is professor of political science at Loras College in Dubuque. He grew up in Texas and earned his MA and PhD degrees from the University of Maryland. He has taught at Loras since 1996, and offers a range of courses primarily in the areas of political thought and American politics. His primary research interests are in religion and politics, multiculturalism and democracy, and the morality of war, topics on which he frequently publishes, lectures and leads workshops. He is co-author with his father, Clarke Cochran, of Catholics, Politics and Public Policy (Orbis, 2003) and author of The Catholic Vote--A Guide for the Perplexed (Orbis, 2008), Catholic Realism and the Abolition of War (Orbis, 2014) and The Catholic Case Against War—A Brief Guide (Notre Dame Press, 2024). David and his wife Christine live in Dubuque.
Jacob Kohlhaas is Assistant Professor of Moral Theology at Loras College in Dubuque, where he teaches courses in Christian values, social justice, and sexual ethics. He attended Wartburg College in Waverly and earned an MA from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and a doctorate in Systematic Theology from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh where he served as Graduate Assistant and Adjunct Faculty member. In addition to the theology of parenthood he haswritten and presented on sexual ethics, environmental ethics, ecclesiology, and ecumenism. He is the author of Beyond Biology--Rethinking Parenthood in the Catholic Tradition (Georgetown University Press 2017) and co-author with Mary Doyle Roche of Modern Catholic Family Teaching--Commentaries and Interpretation (Georgetown University Press 2024). Jacob and his wife Kelly are the parents of two children and live in Dubuque.
Martin Lohrman is Assistant Professor of Lutheran Confessions and Heritage at Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque where he teaches courses in Christianity in the Modern World, Foundations of the Church, Lutheran Confessions, and Spiritual Practices. He earned a BA from Valparaiso University, a Master of Divinity from Wartburg Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Philosophy from The Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. Prior to joining the Wartburg faculty in 2014 he taught courses at The Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Reformed Episcopal Seminary, and La Salle University. He is the author and translator of several books, including Book of Harmony--Spirit and Service in the Lutheran Confessions (Fortress 2016), and Reformation Commentary on Scripture--Samuel, Kings and Chronicles (IVP Academic 2016). He lives in Dubuque with his wife Carrie and three children.
Matthew A. Shadle is the Academic Assessment Coordinator at the University of Iowa. He earned his MA and PhD in theology from the University of Dayton in Ohio and previously served as a professor of Catholic ethics at Loras College in Dubuque and Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia. His academic work has focused on the development of Catholic social teaching and its intersection with fundamental moral theology and the social sciences, with a special focus on war and peace, the economy, and immigration. He is the author of Interrupting Capitalism--Catholic Social Thought and the Economy (Oxford, 2018),The Origins of War--A Catholic Perspective (Georgetown, 2011) and “No Peace on Earth--War and the Environment” in Green Discipleship--Catholic Theological Ethics and the Environment (Anselm Academic, 2011). He is widely published in various journals and produces the Window Light substack. He and his wife Gisella live in Peosta.• • •
Our Commitment to Adult Formation
The Catholic Parishes in Waterloo are committed to providing formation, education and spiritual growth opportunities for adults of all ages.
We value the individual's life experience, respect the diversity of personal convictions, and welcome the wisdom of every participant.
We will never intentionally embarrass or offend participants.• • •
For more information contact:
Director of Adult Faith Formation • 1425 Kimball Ave. Waterloo IA 50702
Phone: 319-234-0498 • Email: DBQwcaf@dbqarch.org
[Last Update 12.26.24]
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