Karl Rahner Consultation 2026: “Theology in a Synodal Church”
This year’s Karl Rahner Consultation will feature two papers, one focusing on the influence of Joseph Maréchal on the early Rahner and a second focusing on the application of Rahner’s thought to the topic of migration. The consultation will take place on Saturday, June 13, within the annual convention of the Catholic Theological Society of America at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch Hotel.
Andrew Barrette will discuss Rahner’s early reading of Maréchal.
Andrew Barrette, Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Philosophy Department at Boston College, will present the first paper, “Foundations in the Theology of a Synodal Church: Reflections on the Early Rahner’s Understanding of Intelligence.” Synodality is often understood in terms of the practice of dialogue. In a synodal Church, all have the ability to speak and all have the duty to listen. Barrette’s paper will explore the underpinnings of this process. With Rahner, he raises awareness about the operations of intelligence. Human intelligence is a participation in being itself. The presentation of any one aspect of being intimates the reality of being. Participation in it helps explain the unity of the intellect. The synodal Church, Barrette will argue, focuses on collective discernment, participation, and dialogue. These depend on the operations of intelligence, in which the mind anticipates the whole of being. They also depend on the unity of the intellect, which is unified because it participates in being. Three years ago, Barrette published a translation of Rahner’s work of 1927, “The Foundations of a Theory of Knowledge with Joseph Maréchal” (Philosophy and Theology 35: 1&2 (2023): 275-321).
Robert Lassalle-Klein will show the relevance of Rahner to migration.
Robert Lassalle-Klein, Emeritus Professor at Holy Names College (and now at Santa Clara University), will examine the topic of migration. His paper is called “Homo Sapiens Migrans: Theological Anthropology for a Migrant Synodal Church.” He will argue that migration reflects something transcendent, namely, the history of human beings and the Church. In Rahnerian thought, he contends, the Church is “an action ad extra” of the “economic Trinity.” Indeed, the Church is the expression of God in history. The choices of migrants, according to this understanding, embody God’s grace. Rahnerian thought suggests (according to Lassalle-Klein) that God’s very self is being offered to human beings in the experience of migrants. They participate in the suffering of Christ and make his passion and death present. By its response to the forced deportation of migrants, the Church calls its members to recognize in them the suffering Christ. “Homo Sapiens Migrans” is not just a political and cultural topic in social media, but a manifestation of God’s very engagement with humanity. To explore the most important textual references in ‘Homo Sapiens Migrans,’ please click on this link.
Layla Karst, Associate Professor of Liturgical Theology at Loyola Marymount University, has been invited to respond to the papers by Barrette and Lassalle-Klein. Matthew Cuff (Ph.D. Candidate in systematic theology, Boston College) will moderate the session. To read titles of previously published “Rahner Papers” click here.