Interview: Mary Kate Holman

Original Publication Date: April 14, 2023 This episode features an interview with Dr. Mary Kate Holman, then an assistant professor of theology at Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois, and now assistant professor of religious studies at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. We discussed the twentieth-century French theologian Marie-Dominique Chenu, O.P., as well as Dr. Holman’s research and writing about him. The conversation covered Chenu’s roles as a scholar who revolutionized the study of the medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas and as a theological guide for the worker priest movement in post-World War II France. We also discussed the part Chenu played at the Second Vatican Council and his relationship with liberation theology in the years that followed. We ended by discussing Chenu’s continuing relevance, particularly as a source of wisdom as we experience increasing religious disaffiliation in the United States. See the original post for an edited transcript of the interview. The Window Light Podcast is a feature of Window Light, the newsletter for expert analysis on the fields of Catholic theology and ministry, explorations of historical theology, commentary on current events, and theological and spiritual reflections. The podcast features interviews with scholars and practitioners in the fields of theology and ministry. Be sure to subscribe to the Window Light newsletter for regular posts and other features! Get full access to Window Light at windowlight.substack.com/subscribe