The Catholic Institute of Sydney will be able to confer a new three-year degree—the Bachelor of Religious Sciences—from next year in response to increasing demand from lay people for ecclesiastically accredited philosophical and theological formation.
Coordinated by the newly established Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Higher Institute of Religious Sciences (HIRS) at CIS, an institute approved earlier this year by the Holy See, the degree is only the second of its kind to be offered in the English-speaking world after the United Kingdom.
It’s an “impressive achievement” for the archdiocese, the institute and its outgoing president Professor Isabell Naumann ISSM, said deputy president and academic dean Professor Rohan Curnow.
“Sr Isabell shepherded the application through the approval process at the Dicastery for Culture and Education very promptly which was a testament to her knowledge of the workings of the dicastery and the relevant accreditation requirements,” Professor Curnow said.
“It’s also a clear indication of Sr Isabell’s administrative prowess, her ability to get matters in order, and the level of esteem that the dicastery holds for the CIS and its work.”
Offered both part-time and full-time, the Bachelor of Religious Sciences is two years shorter than the five-year Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree undertaken by seminarians studying for the priesthood and other interested students.
Busy people working in lay ministries, religious in consecrated life, men preparing for the permanent diaconate or people who teach religious education and engage in other forms of service within the church will find it most attractive, Professor Curnow said.
It will be offered in conjunction with an Australian university degree, the Bachelor or Master of Divinity from CIS partner the University of Notre Dame Australia.
“So, graduates of the Our Lady Seat of Wisdom HIRS will hold a degree accredited civilly by UNDA and ecclesiastically by CIS, and a CIS degree means, ultimately, a degree from the Holy See,” he explained.
Offered initially only in person at CIS’ Strathfield campus, flexible delivery methods will be incorporated into the program in due course to enable students from other dioceses across Australia and Oceania to undertake the degree.
Students will gain a comprehensive understanding of philosophy, Sacred Scripture, dogmatic theology and it will also give them a grounding in pastoral and moral theology, canon law and other related fields at a level and breadth appropriate to a three-year program.
Sr Naumann said she was pleased her efforts to have the institute established at the CIS come to fruition.
“It will be an excellent program for us here in Sydney and for other dioceses as well and will be a great contribution in facilitating more Catholic theological education,” she said.
CIS is a partner institute of the University of Notre Dame Australia and offers ecclesiastical and Australian university degrees in theology, philosophy and ministry.
For information about the new Bachelor of Religious Sciences degree or other degrees offered at CIS contact Professor Curnow via email at [email protected] or call 02 9752 9522.