Inside the Core: Catholic Intellectual Tradition  

Fr. Stanley Jaki

"A university is a reproductive organ of cultural community. Its constitutive endowment lies not in buildings or equipment, civil status or revenues, but in the intellectual life of its professors. Its central function is the communication of intellectual development." (Bernard Lonergan, 1951, in his Collection, "The Catholic University in the Modern World")

This forum consists of faculty talking about their recently published or soon-to-be published books.
It is co-sponsored by the University Core, the Catholic Studies Program, the Catholic Studies Center, the Department of Religion, and the Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology.

Fr. Haffner with the Holy Father, Pope Francis.

The ninth scheduled event in the series (and the sixth and last event for the spring semester) will be given by two professors, Fr. Paul Haffner and Fr. Joseph Laracy, both of whom are Catholic priests and whose research relates both science and religion, on Wednesday, April 21 at 4 p.m. (via TEAMS). They are also both scientists and are carrying on the legacy of Seton Hall's famous Fr. Stanley Jaki, whose work is celebrated in their scholarship. Fr. Haffner and Fr. Laracy will be presenting on their recent book, Stanley Jaki Foundation International Congress 2015 (Gracewing 2020), a compilation of scholarship from the conference held in honor of Fr. Jaki in 2015.

Fr. Stanley Jaki was Distinguished Professor of Physics at Seton Hall University, as well as being an internationally known scientist in his field. Born in Hungary and a member of the Benedictine order, Father Jaki "taught at Seton Hall from 1965 until his passing in 2009 and served as a visiting professor and lecturer at universities all over the world, including as Visiting Scholar for the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton; Fremantle Lecturer at Balliol College, Oxford; Hoyt Fellow at Yale University; and the Farmington Institute Lecturer at Oxford University," and Fr. Jaki "also delivered the prestigious Gifford Lectures at the University of Edinburgh," according to the Seton Hall website.

He was listed by Aleteia as one of five Catholic Scientists who "shaped our understanding of the world." As noted, again, on the SHU website, a New York Time article says, notes, "In later works Father Jaki explored the boundary between science and religion; he believed the two were compatible and mutually reinforcing." Fr. Haffner is the President of the Stanley Jaki Foundation (since 2013), and Fr. Laracy is the Treasurer.

Fr. Laracy in the Seton Hall Observatory.

Seton Hall is fortunate to have Fr. Haffner and Fr. Laracy teaching for us. Both of the priests' academic credentials epitomize, as did Fr. Jaki's, the fruitful links between faith and science. Fr. Haffner holds an S.T.D., from Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Summa cum laude, with his dissertation focusing on the works of Stanley Jaki. He holds an M.A., in Physics, from Corpus Christi College, Oxford University, as well as a B.A., in Theology, Pontifical Gregorian University, and B.A., in Philosophy, Pontifical Gregorian University. As described on the cover of his new and co-authored book’s website, he is the author of over 40 books and 150 articles on philosophical and theological themes, and many of his books have been translated into other languages, including Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian. His CAST/Physics/CORE III course, The Popes and Science, explores the scientific accomplishments of a list of Popes, over centuries.

Fr. Joseph Laracy, a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark, serves as assistant professor of systematic theology at Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology, and also teaches in other departments, including both Catholic Studies and the Core. Father Laracy earned the STD (Fundamental Theology) degree from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome as well as the SM from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and BS from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is deeply interested in the links between science and theology, and his accomplishments as both a scholar and priest affirm, as do Fr. Haffner's, the fruitful links between these disciplines. As it tells us on his campus profile, "in the course of his studies, he held engineering positions with Lucent Technologies (Wireless Terminal Interoperability Laboratory), Ball Aerospace and Technologies (NASA Deep Impact Mission), and Light Source Energy Services. He also served as a teaching assistant for a course on the Physics of Nuclear Weapons, Warfare, and Arms Control." We are grateful he teaches for us in the Core, as he brings this extensive background in science and theology to his classes.

We are excited to listen to these two scholars share from their recent publication on Wednesday afternoon, an appropriate culmination to the series for the year.
Join the event live on April 21, at 4 p.m. by clicking here!

Learn more about their book here!

Categories: Faith and Service, Nation and World