
Catherine E. Clifford
Professeure titulaire | Faculté de théologie
Profil
Catherine E. Clifford est Professeure titulaire de théologie systématique et historique. Ses recherches et ses publications sont focalisées principalement dans les domaines de l’ecclésiologie, l’œcuménisme, ainsi que l’histoire du concile Vatican II. Ses intérêts se portent tout specialement sur les questions de la conversion et du renouveau des églises, le développement des doctrines, l’unite et la diversités des confessions chrétiennes au sein du mouvement mondial du christianisme. Catherine a été déléguée nord-américaine au Synode « Pour une Église synodale : communion, participation, mission », qui s’est tenu à Rome en 2023-2024. Ses travaux récents réfléchissent sur cette expérience et sur la mise en œuvre des orientations du Synode. Elle est une prof dynamique qui aime bien s’engager avec les étudiants venant des tous horizons. Ces cours explorent les évolutions de la théologie et de ses méthodes en réponse a des grandes questions d’actualité.
Ph.D. (Theology), University of St. Michael’s College, Toronto
S.T.L., Université de Fribourg, Suisse
Certificat des etudes superieures, Etudes Oecumeniques, Institut Oecumenique de Bossey
B.A. (Hons. Religious Studies), University of Waterloo
Membre de la Faculté des études supérieures et postdoctorales
- Écclésiologie
- Vatican II
- Synodalité
- Oecuménisme
- Théologie sacramentaire
- Christianisme mondial
- Communities of Grace: A Catholic Theology of Ecclesial Recognition.
A study of Vatican II’s theology of the Catholic recognition of the ecclesial reality of other Christian churches and communities, its post-conciliar reception and interpretation, and its continuing significance for contemporary ecumenical dialogue. This recognition is the very basis of all Catholic ecumenical commitment. (Under Contract, Liturgical Press) - Vatican II : Event and Mandate. Volume V: North America and Oceania.
This volume is part of a series of commentaries that surveys the intercontinental and intercultural reception of the documents of Vatican II. (Forthcoming 2025, Peeters; also in German Translation: Vatican II: Ereignis und Auftrag. B. V. Herder, Forthcoming 2025.)
Livres
- Communities of Grace: A Catholic Theology of Ecclesial Recognition. Liturgical Press, (Liturgical Press, Under Contract, 2026).
- Clifford, Catherine E., Massimo Faggioli, Richard Lennan, Ormund Rush, eds. Vatican II: Event and Mandate. Vol. 5: North America and Oceania. Peeters, Forthcoming 2025; also in German Translation: Vatican II: Ereignis und Auftrag. B. 5. Herder, Forthcoming 2025.
- Kristin Colberg, Edward P. Hahnenberg, Massimo Faggioli, Catherine E. Clifford, eds. The Legacy and Limits of Vatican II in an Age of Crisis, Liturgical Press, 2025.
- Clifford, Catherine E. and Stephen Lampe, eds. Vatican II at 60: Re-Energizing the Renewal. Orbis, 2024. [Catholic Media Association Book Awards, 2025: Third Place, “Future of the Church”]
- Sandra Arenas, Edo Bedjira, Catherine Clifford, et al., eds. Das Zweite Vatikanische Konzil – Ereignis und Auftrag. Band 1. Allgemeine Einführung und Hermeneutik. Herder, 2024. [English Edition, Vatican II: Legacy and Mandate. Vol, 1. General Introduction. Peeters, 2025.]
- Clifford, Catherine E. and Faggioli, Massimo, eds. The Oxford Handbook on Vatican II. Oxford University Press, 2023.
- Catherine E. Clifford and Paul-Andre Durocher, “Epilogue,” in Looking to the Laity. Edited by Anne-Louise Mahoney. 129-136. Toronto: Novalis, 2021. [Winner, Third Place, “Future Church” category, Catholic Media Association Book Award, 2022]
Articles et chapitres de livres
- “The Primacy of the Bishop of Rome and the Synod,” One In Christ (2025), Forthcoming.
- “Women: Protagonists in a Synodal Church,” Journal of Moral Theology (2025) Forthcoming.
- “Power and the Exercise of Authority in Service to the People of God,” Studia Canonica 58 (2024): 201-223.
- “Pope Francis, Synodality, and Christian Unity: Leaning into the Distant Goal of Vatican II,” One In Christ 57, no. 1 (2024): 1-21.
- “Benedictine Wisdom for a Synodal Church,” Eastern Journal of Dialogue and Culture 17, no. 1 (2024): 15-31.
- “Still Receiving the Hierarchy of Truths,” in Concilium 60, no. 1 (2024): 125–134. (Also in German, French, Italian, Spanish translations.)
- “Power and the Exercise of Authority in the Service of the People of God,” Studia Canonica 58 (2024): 201-223.
- “The ‘Hierarchy’ of Truths in a New Context,” Theological Studies 85, no. 1 (2024): 10-33.
- “Pope Francis’ Synod Reforms Show Voices of the Laity Can No Longer Be Ignored,” National Catholic Reporter (10 May 2023), at: https://www.ncronline.org/opinion/guest-voices/francis-synod-reforms-show-voices-catholic-laity-can-no-longer-be-ignored
- “Synodality and the Renewal of Mission in the Archdiocese of Gatineau (Canada): A Case Study,” Studia Canonica (2022) 629-645.
- “Toward a Spirituality of Receptive Ecumenism,” in Receptive Ecumenism and Transformative Ecclesial Learning. Edited by Paul D. Murray and Paul Lakeland, 429-438. Oxford University Press, 2022.
- “Sources for the Study of Vatican II,” in The Cambridge Companion to Vatican II, edited by Richard R. Gaillardetz, 339-352. Cambridge University Press, 2020.
- “Preface,” in Pope Francis, Rejoice and Be Glad: On the Call to Holiness in Today’s World. Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete et Exsultate. Study Edition. Xiv-xix. Paulist, 2018.
- “The Priority of Social Justice in the Teaching of Vatican II,” in Turning to the World: Social Justice and the Common Good since Vatican II. 165-177. Edited by G. Rompré and C. N. Still. McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2018.
- “Style is Substance: John W. O’Malley and the Interpretation of Vatican II,” Theological Studies 79 no. 4 (2018): 745-760.
- « Bringing Home the Synod, » Journey of Encounter: Pilgrims of Hope Embracing Synodality Conference, Concerned Lay Catholics, Saint Jerome’s University, 15-18 June, 2025
- “One Step Forward on Women’s Synodal Journey: From Reflection to Action,” WUCWO (World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations) and World Women’s Observatory [webinar], 24 February 2025
- “The Synod: What Happened? What Didn’t? What’s Next?” Sacred Heart University Panel Discussion, October 31, 2024: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEpq499Ybk8
- “Eastern Catholic Churches in Full Communion with Rome: A Model of Future Unity?” Methodist-Roman Catholic International Dialogue, Seoul, South Korea, 21-29 September 2024
- Keynote speaker, “Leaning into the Distant Goal of Vatican II: Pope Francis, Synodality, and Christian Unity,” Pope Francis and the Future of the Church: Prospects and Challenges for Renewal, St Mark’s College, 4-6 May 2023
- “After Fifty Years: Does Vatican II Still Matter?” Conversations for Our Times, St Basil’s Parish, Ottawa, 6 March 2022, at: https://youtu.be/dUtAISeWuxM?si=VrnQ7BqjjBtkLyGF
- “What is Synodality?”, For A Synodal Church webinar series, Research Center on Vatican II and 21st Century Catholicism, Saint Paul University, 3 November 2021, at: https://vimeo.com/644595415/8c619864ec
- Interview regarding the election of Pope Leo XVI, CBC News Live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKGBI9KzyFk; https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.6753506
- Interview regarding the Election of Pope Leo XVI, CTV News, Ottawa: https://www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/article/white-smoke-in-rome-brings-joy-to-ottawas-catholic-community-as-new-pope-elected/
- Michael Swan, “Canadian Indigenous, Religious Leaders, Optimistic about New Pope,” Canadian Affairs 9 May 2025, at: https://www.canadianaffairs.news/2025/05/09/canadian-indigenous-religious-leaders-optimistic-about-new-pope/
- CBC News Live, Special Coverage, The Death of Pope Francis, Interview with Adrienne Arsenault, 21 April 2025
- Alex Fontaine, “François, Pape du Nouveau Monde, n’est Plus, » Le Devoir, 21 April 2025. https://www.ledevoir.com/monde/europe/869860/pape-francois-mort
- Interview, Hugh Cameron, “How Pope Francis Radically Reshaped the Catholic Church,” Newsweek 21 April 2025. https://www.newsweek.com/how-francis-radically-reshaped-catholic-church-2035465
- Interview, Michael Swan, “Pope Francis Transformed Church for the Generations,” Canadian Affairs, 21 April 2025, /
- Interview, Luke Mondato, “Francis Remained a Pastor to the End,” Catholic Register 23 April 2025. https://www.catholicregister.org/item/2097-francis-remained-a-pastor-to-the-end
- Interview, Joshua McElwee, “Pope Francis Gave Women Vatican Roles but Held Back on Wider Changes,” Reuters, 21 April 2025. https://www.reuters.com/world/pope-francis-gave-women-vatican-roles-held-back-wider-changes-2025-04-21/
- Mathieu Perrault, “Jorge Mario Bergoglio (1936-2025), Quelques Avancées pour les Femmes, » La Presse 25 avril 2025, https://www.lapresse.ca/international/2025-04-25/jorge-mario-bergoglio-1936-2025/quelques-avancees-pour-les-femmes.php
- CBC Special with Piya Chattopadhyay, On the Funeral and Legacy of Pope Francis, Saturday, 26 April 2025. https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-141-cbc-radio-specials/clip/16142527-pope-francis-laid-rest-rome
- Interview, Quinton Amundson, “Church Expected to Follow Synod’s Pathway,” Catholic Register 1 May 2025, https://www.catholicregister.org/item/2129-church-expected-to-follow-synod-s-pathway
- Interview (video), Jonathan Monpetit, The National, CBC News, 6 May 2025. The Future of Synodality and the Next Pope.
- lInside the Vatican, Podcast, America Magazine, 28 October, 2024 https://www.americamagazine.org/voices/inside-vatican?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAlsy5BhDeARIsABRc6Zuem05_3_IZ0HkvXnZfiJcmKeLzV66TT-Raq1mlInhL5K72nGG-CqMaAsZOEALw_wcB
- l Christopher White, “The Vatican Synod Agenda Calls for Transparency. But on Women Deacons, It’s Lacking,” National Catholic Reporter, 31 July 2024 https://www.ncronline.org/node/278206
- l Christopher White, “Pope’s Study Groups Reflect Evolving Nature of the Synod Process, Theologians Say,” National Catholic Reporter, 1 May 2024 https://www.ncronline.org/vatican/vatican-news/popes-study-groups-reflect-evolving-nature-synod-process-theologians-say
- Directeur, Centre de recherche pour l’étude du Concile Vatican II et du catholicisme au XXIᵉ siècle, Université Saint-Paul (2011–)
- Président élu, Catholic Theological Society of America (2025–2026)
- Consultant théologique, Bureau du Synode général, 2024–
- Délégué nord-américain, XVIᵉ Assemblée générale ordinaire du Synode, « Pour une Église synodale : communion, participation, mission », 2023–2024
- Membre (invité), American Society of Theologians (2019–)
- Coprésident, Groupe d’études sur Vatican II, American Academy of Religion (2017–2021)
- Consultant, Conférence des évêques catholiques du Canada (CECC) ; Commission pour l’unité des chrétiens, les relations avec les juifs et le dialogue interreligieux (2019–)
- Dialogue méthodiste–catholique romain international (2017–)
- Forum chrétien mondial (2016–2018)
- Comité consultatif éditorial, One In Christ (2025–)
- Conseil exécutif, Catholic Theological Society of America (2015–2016 ; 2024–)