2023 Task Force Invitations

The 2023 CBA Annual General Meeting is scheduled, July 22-25, as a hybrid meeting at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska and virtually via Zoom. Save $75 by taking advantage of advance registration which closes June 1. Registration for in-person participation closes July 1, while registration for virtual participation closes July 14.

CBA Members and Member Candidates are encouraged to participate in all program elements (Major Presentations, Research Reports, Continuing Seminars, and Task Forces). The conveners of this year's Task Forces have issued the following invitations:

• Addressing Representations of Jews and Judaism in Catholic Exegesis,Homiletics, and Catechesis

• The New Feminist Biblical Criticism

Addressing Representations of Jews and Judaism in 
Catholic Exegesis, Homiletics, and Catechesis

Dear colleagues,

On behalf of the Task Force on “Addressing Representations of Jews and Judaism in Catholic Exegesis, Homiletics, and Catechesis,” I'd like to invite you to participate in our 2023 sessions.

Last year we began work on a series of "fact sheets" designed to combat harmful misrepresentations of Jews and Judaism in North American Catholic media. These were presented at a webinar facilitated by members of our Task Force for the Association of Catholic Publishers. A fact sheet is a single page synopsis of common misrepresentations accompanied by corrections. In short, what not to say and what should be said instead.

So far, we have produced fact sheets on the following topics:

• Jesus and Women 
• Pharisees 
• Sectarianism 
• Lepers and Leprosy 
• Jewish Responsibility for the Death of Jesus 

This year we will be continuing the preparation of fact sheets focusing on the following topics:

• The Jerusalem Temple: addressing the misrepresentation that the Jerusalem temple was a corrupt institution devoid of spirituality; prevented people – especially gentiles – from having a real relationship with God; etc.

• Messianic Expectation: addressing the misrepresentation that Jews rejected Jesus because he wasn’t a militant messiah who would deliver them from Roman oppression; all Jews were expecting a messiah; etc.

• Ritual Purity: addressing the misrepresentation that Jewish purity laws oppressed and marginalized people – especially women; Jesus freed people from these laws; etc.

• Dietary Laws: addressing the misrepresentation that Jewish dietary laws prevented Jews from interacting with non-Jews; the new covenant established by Jesus abolished food laws for Jews and non-Jews alike; Mark 7 and parallels

• Marginalized and Outcast: addressing the misrepresentation that Jewish society marginalized and cast out the poor and the vulnerable; Jesus did the opposite

Our Task Force sessions will focus on discussing drafts of these fact sheets.

We welcome your input.

If you are interested in drafting one of these yourself, please contact Chris Seeman (cseeman@walsh.edu) by June 1.

The New Feminist Biblical Criticism

This year at the CBA, the Feminist Hermeneutics Task Force is planning a special session on Monday morning entitled “Strategies for the Future: Challenging the Hegemony of Androcentric Biblical Scholarship.” This session is about sharing ideas around the topic of the future of the field of Biblical Studies in relation to the session title. 

All CBA members are cordially invited to join in the conversation at this special session. 

Our best wishes, 

Carol J. Dempsey, OP, Sarah Kohles, OSF, Eloise Rosenblatt, RSM, Cheryl Exum, Susanne Scholz, Linda Maloney