Few options exist for scholars who want to analyze contemporary events in light of the teachings of the Catholic Church. A new think tank in Washington, D.C., is working to change that.

Called the Intercultural Forum, this new hub for Catholic intellectuals was launched in March 2001 on the third floor of the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, D.C., under the leadership of Dominican Father Joseph Augustine Di Noia.

The Intercultural Forum has a unique relationship with its host institution. “We are to the John Paul II Center somewhat [as] the Woodrow Wilson Center is to the Smithsonian,” says Father De Noia.

In other words, the JPII Center is an interactive museum open to the public, and the Intercultural Forum is its exclusive, scholarly research branch.

The primary mission of the forum is to bring together pre-eminent scholars from throughout the world to research, discuss and publish materials related to the teachings of John Paul II. “The impact of John Paul II is monumental,” says Father Di Noia. “We can proceed down some of the paths that he has opened up.”

An example of the forum in action: At a series of lectures it presented last fall, Cardinal Avery Dulles, widely regarded as the dean of American Catholic theologians, addressed an audience of around 200 people — half of them bishops — on “The Church and Contemporary American Culture.”

“It is important to understand that Catholicism is a revealed religion that comes to the culture from outside rather than just growing out of the culture,” says Cardinal Dulles, commenting on his lecture.

“The dominant culture of the United States was established at the time of the Declaration of Independence. It was a sort of cross between a biblical religion and a rationalistic form of deism.

“Catholicism prospered in that kind of culture, but part of the modern problem is that the culture has been rapidly transformed by contemporary popular culture, which is largely shaped by electronic media, and that culture tends to be focused on instant satisfaction, pleasure and utilitarianism. It is difficult for the Church to assert itself in contemporary American culture because [the culture] does not respect any moral absolutes or the obedience to God and to revelation.”

Cardinal Dulles says he has been asked by Father Di Noia to participate in the Intercultural Forum's planning process, and hopes to do so in 2002.

Meanwhile, two other speakers from the fall-lecture series, Prof. Kenneth Schmitz, emeritus professor at the University of Toronto, and Dominican Father Benedict Ashley, professor at the Center for Health Care Ethics at St. Louis University, have been invited by Father Di Noia to help formulate a growth plan for the forum.

An important part of the plan will be the establishment of chairs to oversee research in 10 defined areas.

These include the culture of life, Jewish-Catholic relations, Eastern Christianity, science and faith, and religion and the arts.

Scholars will be able to spend up to three years working on specific projects in these and related subjects.

“There is great potential for addressing topics of urgent interest to the Church and to the public,” says Father Di Noia.

The chairs will be selected by an advisory board and will have a doctoral or equivalent degree in philosophy, theology, history or a related field.

The appointments are expected to be announced beginning around September 2002, said Father Di Noia.

One promising side development already in evidence: the Intercultural Forum's growing relationship with one of its Washington neighbors, the Catholic University of America.

“Both institutions are fortunate to have each other as neighbors and, in a sense, partners in this new evangelization,” says Vincentian Father David M. O'Connell, Catholic University president.

“The university studies questions and issues that impact and contribute to the advancement of human cultures from the Catholic perspective. The Intercultural Forum, in turn, takes the fruit of that Catholic scholarship and tests it against the realities of the world, drawing important conclusions that contribute to the evangelization of cultures that has been the enduring vision of Pope John Paul II.”

The Intercultural Forum recently conducted a 10-week seminar on the thought of Pope John Paul II, accredited at the Catholic University and attended by 20 students.

That seminar, conducted by Schmitz and Father Ashley, explored the major writings of John Paul II, with special emphasis on his social documents, his letter to artists and the Church's inter-religious dialogues.

Schmitz says he is enthusiastic about the future of the Intercultural Forum and acknowledges that, shortly before the issue of human cloning reached the papers, scholars had been discussing stem-cell research at the Intercultural Forum.

“Prior to the most recent developments, we had a discussion on stem-cell research in which we had some geneticists, philosophers and theologians discussing the issue together, informing one another and hearing one another's views,” he explains. “We very much want to be part of the cultural debate on these things.”

Mary Ann Sullivan is based in New Durham, New Hampshire.