This article consists of remarks made during a panel at the 2017 annual meeting of the Religious Education Association in St. Louis, MO. From his vantage point as a former law enforcement agent, the author explores issues of ethical dilemmas present in policing; the current situation of militarized police forces; community policing and its…

This article responds to the two articles by Sister Catherine Droste and Roy Bourgeois ("ISCE" Vol 7. No. 1 2015) by putting the issue of the Ordination of Women into a wider ecclesial context. Building on Pope Francis's bringing Liberation Theology into central focus, seeking justice for the poorest and vulnerable people, the article…

Reverend Father Professor Amechi Nicholas Akwanya is one of the towering scholars of literature in Nigeria and elsewhere in the world. For decades, and still counting, Fr. Prof. Akwanya has worked arduously, professing literature by way of teaching, researching, and writing in the Department of English and Literary Studies of the University of…

The institution of the seminary was established by the sixteenth century Council of Trent. Seminaries were charged with the formation of men for the priesthood. The character of seminary education was largely unchanged until the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). This article observes and comments upon the changes and developments over the past…

Vatican authority is being challenged as Roman Catholic women act upon their vocations to the priesthood, receive ordination, and openly serve their faith communities. Since 2002--when seven women were ordained by male Roman Catholic bishops--190 women have been ordained to the priesthood, including a dozen women bishops. Vatican officials dismiss…

Though the Catholic Church explicitly teaches that women cannot receive priestly ordination, opposition from within and outside the Church continues. The magisterium relies heavily upon the argument from Tradition, claiming that the action and teaching of Christ and his successors verify that he did not bestow upon the Church the power to ordain…

This reflective piece was written in response to Best's article, published in Pastoral in Education in September 2014, on Michael Marland's seminal text "Pastoral Care." It uses examples from previously published work carried out by the author, to explore some of the key concepts and ideas explored within the book and their…

Examining Malcolm Browne's photograph of the burning monk as well as appropriations of it by the Ministers' Vietnam Committee, I argue that self-immolation is a powerful rhetorical act that utilizes self-inflicted violence as a means of performing a visual embodiment of violence done by an "other." I assert that the power and resonance…

David Schoem reflects on his research study from 30-plus years ago, published as "Ethnic Survival in America: An Ethnography of a Jewish Afternoon School" (1979, 1989). Schoem points to the continuing importance of giving greater focus to meaning-making, relational identity, and deep community. Schoem argues that through a renewed focus on…

In this article, the author, a Minister of Education and Discipleship at Fridley United Methodist Church in Minnesota, describes a quilt hanging on the wall of her home and draws on it as an analogy to her ministry. Her reflection takes the form of advice for new directors of education in local churches, and she concludes by urging readers to…

Can one uphold a call from an ecclesiastical body while teaching in a college classroom? This paper will argue that the dual roles of pastor and professor can be integrated by the adoption of faith development as a learning goal. This goal seems to stand at odds with three important aspects of academic teaching: the demographic reality of…

The purpose of this article is to argue for a social activist stance in educational leadership that fundamentally addresses social change and human emancipation. This call for social activism is framed within neoliberal, neoconservative, and authoritarian populist discourses in the USA, which to social justice educators and leaders had devastating…

In an effort to encourage dialogue and reflection on matters of common concern and interest, the journal staff invite responses on selected articles from other educators, who engage the text critically and offer some reflections about its utility and validity. This article offers responses from Michael Fierro and Diana Hankins on the article…

This article presents the author's response to Joseph Reimer's essay titled, "Beyond More Jews Doing Jewish: Clarifying the Goals of Informal Jewish Education." In his essay, Reimer has presented an approach to understanding informal Jewish education. He drives home the point that many formal educational theorists have posed regarding the validity…

This article is based on the assumption that we need to rethink processes of faith formation in order to meet the need for deeper meaning and authentic relationship within U.S. culture. The author argues that an intentional, effective, and life-giving ecology of faith formation within the communion of a faith community is necessary. Elements of an…