Current and Upcoming Courses

Fall 2026 Courses

August 24th - December 11th, 2026

Application deadline for Fall is August 14th; add/drop deadline is September 18th.

ROC (Rochester Campus)

A202: Old Testament (Matthew Ramage, Ph.D.)

Introduction to the Old Testament introduces exegetical methodology and theology of the Old Testament. Students will consider the fruits and the assumptions of exegesis, using and examining its methodologies both as helpful tools and as products of a particular era. Hebrew poetry and narrative, ritual and ethical instruction, prophecy, historiography, and novella will be analyzed as literature, and students will also examine the development of traditions within the texts of the canon. Since Sacred Scripture is double-authored by both man and God and interpreted in the context of the Catholic Church, this course will also emphasize the theology of the Old Testament, with a special focus on the People of God, and will read spiritual readings of the Old Testament from the Church Fathers to present.

3 credits | Online
Every other Wednesday, 6:30 — 9:30pm EDT, August 26th, September 9th, September 23rd, October 7th, October 21st, November 4th, November 18th, December 2nd

A303: Interpreting the Apostle: A Catholic Introduction to St. Paul’s Letters (Michael Greve, Ph.D. [Cand.])

This course will plunge students into the theology and interpretation of the Pauline Epistles. Beyond basic knowledge of Paul’s letters and their historical context, we will also learn about their history of interpretation from the Church fathers and doctors through to the present. This will help students reflect on Paul’s import for their theology, ministry, and spirituality.

3 credits | Online
Wednesdays, 6:00 — 8:00pm EDT, August 26th, September 2nd, September 9th, September 16th, September 23rd, September 30th, October 7th, October 14th, October 21st, October 28th, November 4th, November 11th, November 18th, December 2nd, December 9th

B/C362: The Human Person and God's Governance of Creation (ST. I. 65-119) (Stephen Loughlin, Ph.D.)

This course is the second of five dedicated to a reading of St. Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae. In this course, we focus our attention upon the two remaining treatises of the prima pars: a consideration of the human person from four perspectives — psychology, epistemology, and both our pre- and post-lapserian conditions; and His governance over all creation and the roles that man, the angels, and demons play in this. This course, together with B/C 361, offers an overview of St. Thomas’ understanding of creation as it issues forth (exitus) and is guided by God to its good and completion.

3 credits | ROC and Online
Wednesdays, 6:00 — 9:00pm EDT, August 26th, September 2nd, September 9th, September 16th, September 23rd, September 30th, October 7th, October 14th, October 21st, October 28th, November 4th, November 11th, November 18th, December 2nd, December 9th

B/C419: The Life and Thought of Fulton Sheen (Edmund Lazzari, Ph.D.)

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen was one of the most influential Catholics of the twentieth century. At one point reaching an estimated television audience of 30 million, Sheen's presentation of philosophy and the Catholic faith was profound, clear, and compelling. In one of the first academic offerings ever on the topic of his life and thought, this course will examine the thought and writings of soon-to-be Blessed Fulton Sheen, highlighting his unique blend of engagement with contemporary philosophy, Carmelite spirituality, wit, charm, and the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas. In studying one of the most effective evangelists in the modern era, the course will highlight the depth of his thought, even as he expressed it in extraordinary clarity.

3 credits | Online

Every other Monday, 6:00 — 9:00pm EDT, August 24th, September 21st, October 5th, October 19th, November 2nd, November 16th, November 30th

C/D333: Catholic Bioethics at the Beginning of Life (Jean Baric Parker, D.Be.)

This course commences with an overview of fundamental Catholic theological and philosophical topics that are relevant to the study of Catholic Bioethics in general, including natural law, the moral action, true happiness and freedom, conscience, the human person, the common good, and theology of the body. This foundation serves as a springboard for examination of bioethical topics relevant throughout the human life cycle, including beginning, middle, and end-of-life topics (the latter two of which are covered in course C/D334). From that foundation, we turn to the historical and modern role of the Church in provision of medical care, and the social and ethical principles that are embedded within decision-making related to providing such care. The second half of the course involves examination of specific beginning of life ethical topics, including when human life begins, abortion, artificial contraception, natural family planning, NaProTECHNOLOGY, in vitro fertilization, gamete donation, and surrogate pregnancy. If time allows, we will discuss fetal research issues including gene editing, stem cell research, organoids, etc. Common secular arguments opposed to Church teaching in these areas are critiqued. All issues are considered in a highly practical light, with emphasis on real-life applications in pastoral, academic, and health care settings. This course will benefit health care professionals, clergy, chaplains, diocesan and pastoral workers, life science researchers, teachers, ethics committee members, and ‘Catholics in the pew’ who are interested in learning more about applying Catholic bioethical principles to real-life situations that they and their loved ones may encounter. Notable guest lecturers who are recognized in their field will offer expertise and viewpoints for several of the topics.

3 credits | ROC and Online

Tuesdays, 6:00 — 8:30pm EDT, August 25th, September 1st, September 8th, September 15th, September 22nd, September 29th, October 6th, October 13th, October 20th, October 27th, November 3rd, November 10th, November 17th, November 24th, December 1st, December 8th

C217: Fundamental Moral Theology (Taylor Patrick O'Neill, Ph.D.)

This course introduces the field of moral theology. Students will contemplate the purpose of moral theology in the life of the Church, its methods, and the problems it addresses. Topics will include happiness, action theory, sin, conversion, vice and virtue, and methods of moral decision making.

3 credits | Online
Every other Wednesday, 6:00 — 9:00pm EDT, September 2nd, September 16th, September 30th, October 14th, October 28th, November 11th, December 2nd, December 9th

C226: Liturgical and Sacramental Theology (Rev. Peter Van Lieshout, S.T.L.)

An historical, anthropological and theological investigation of Christian worship and sacrament with special attention to: the Roman Catholic Sacraments of baptism and Eucharist; a historical overview of liturgical practices, texts, and theology from Jewish and scriptural origins to the 20th-century reforms of the Second Vatican Council; basic principles of liturgical and sacramental theology; and groundwork for interpreting liturgical documents and ritual texts from pastoral practice, multi/inter-cultural concerns, and ecumenical considerations.

3 credits | ROC and Online
Every other Monday, 6:00 — 9:00pm EDT, August 31st, September 14th, September 28th, October 19th, October 26th, November 9th, November 23rd, December 7th

C302: Christology and Trinitarian Theology (Siobhán Latar, S.T.D.; Apolonio Latar, S.T.L.)

This course treats the biblical, historical, and dogmatic dimensions of Christology and Trinitarian theology. It aims to treat the person and mission of Jesus Christ, showing the mutual illumination and inseparability of anthropology and Christology, as well the unfolding of Trinitarian theology from the revelation of God fulfilled and completed in Christ. Central to the course will be an in-depth reflection on the statement of Gaudium et spes 22: “Only in the mystery of the incarnate Word does the mystery of man take on light.... Christ, the final Adam, by the revelation of the mystery of the Father and His love, fully reveals man to man himself and makes his supreme calling clear.” The course will thereby introduce students to an understanding of Jesus Christ as a union of two natures in one divine person, and the One Triune God as a communion of three persons in one divine nature.

3 credits | Online

Every other Tuesday, 6:00 — 9:00pm EDT, September 1st, September 15th, September 29th, October 13th, October 27th, November 10th, November 24th, December 8th

CP601: Introduction to Catholic Philosophy (Marco Stango, Ph.D.)

This course centers the student upon the discipline of philosophy as it has been developed and practiced within the Catholic Intellectual Tradition. The methods particular to philosophical investigation will be examined as the philosopher seeks to articulate the nature of wisdom, how it can be attained, and especially incorporated into the entirety of one’s life. The student will understand the differences between philosophy, the sciences, and theology, as well as their respective complementarities, with a focus upon the supportive and illuminative role that philosophy plays in theological education.

3 credits | Online

Every other Tuesday, 6:00 — 9:00pm EDT, August 25th, September 8th, September 22nd, October 6th, October 20th, November 3rd, November 17th, December 1st

CP611: Our Search for Meaning: The Beginning of the Greatest Conversation (Ancient Philosophy) (Marco Stango, Ph.D.)

A survey course from the beginning of philosophy with the pre-Socratics, through Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, and ending with the Cynics, Skeptics, Epicureans, Stoics, and Neoplatonism. In particular, those problems posed by Heraclitus, Parmenides, Socrates, and Plato that are important to the philosophical tradition will be considered, Aristotle’s philosophy will be surveyed as a whole, and the themes that are central to post-Aristotelian philosophy will be examined.

3 credits | Online

Every other Thursday, 6:00 — 9:00pm EDT, August 27th, September 10th, September 24th, October 8th, October 22nd, November 5th, November 19th, December 3rd

CP631: Metaphysics (Marco Stango, Ph.D.)

This course examines the basic concerns and principles that undergird the whole of reality and guide the way by which we think of the ultimate things to which the mind can aspire: existence, essence, the categories of being, the transcendentals, the analogy of being, and the existence and creative activity of God. This course acts as a capstone study to the whole of philosophy and is preferably engaged upon at the end of one’s certificate/degree studies.

3 credits | Online

Every other Tuesday, 6:00 — 9:00pm EDT, September 1st, September 15th, September 29th, October 13th, October 27th, November 10th, November 24th, December 8th

D214: Spiritual Formation (TBD)

This course provides a broad introduction to the ways in which people appropriate the mystery of faith, the process entailed in that appropriation, and an overview of the history of that process and the types of experiences which have emerged in that history. Students can achieve reflective understanding of their own practice, develop it more consciously, and be enabled to appreciate and assist others in this area of ministry.

3 credits

TBD

D215: Introduction to Pastoral Theology (Jessica Cole, D.Min.)

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the nature and function of pastoral theology. The discipline of pastoral theology is the practical application of theological study to ministry and practice. Through basic pastoral skills, best practices, self-reflection, as well as case studies, students will engage in theological reflection on the act of ministry, ever mindful of how to best communicate and encourage people to come into or deepen their relationship with Christ and his Church.

3 credits | Online

Every other Tuesday, 6:00 — 9:00pm EDT, August 25th, September 8th, September 22nd, October 6th, October 20th, November 3rd, November 17th, December 1st

W500: Academic Research and Writing (TBD)

This course is intended for students who have never written or have been long removed from the task of writing a research paper. It will focus on research methods and techniques with an emphasis on: selecting a topic, identifying sources, as well as writing and grammar principles and style. Students will be afforded guidance and suggestions on how to compose a research document written on a scholarly level. Students will also receive helpful information for constructing theological questions and arguments.

1 credit

TBD

Spring 2027 Courses

January 4th - April 23rd, 2027

(Note: Add/drop deadline is January 29th)

ROC (Rochester Campus)

A203: New Testament (Matthew Ramage, Ph.D.)

New Testament will introduce students to the literature, history, and theology of the New Testament. It focuses on key books of the New Testament with a primary focus on Jesus of Nazareth, the four canonical gospels, and the development of early Christianity.

3 credits | Online

Every other Wednesday, 6:30 — 9:30pm EST, 1/6, 1/20, 2/3, 2/17, 3/3, 3/17, 3/31, 4/14

B/C310: Catholic Social Teaching (Maria Morrow, Ph.D.)

This course examines the development of Catholic Social Teaching from an historical and theological perspective. Students will become familiar with the numerous social documents of the Church, beginning with Rerum Novarum. The content and implications of these documents will be discussed and evaluated. The life and work of Dorothy Day and other key figures in the area of Catholic Social Teaching will be offered as examples of how we can integrate social teaching into our ministries and spirituality.

3 credits | Online

Every other Monday, 6:00pm — 9:00pm EST, 1/11, 1/25, 2/8, 2/22, 3/8, 3/22, 4/5, 4/19

B/C363: Principles of Human Morality: Happiness, Human Action, the Passions, Habits, Virtue, Vice/Sin, Law, and Grace (ST. I-II. 1-114) (Stephen Loughlin, Ph.D.)

This course is the third of five dedicated to a reading of St. Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae. In this course, we begin to examine the return (reditus) of all creation to God, its Creator, Sustainer, and Governor, but particularly regarding the return that the human person, made to God’s image and likeness, might make to God. This first part of the two parts that comprise the secunda pars, lays out the principles of human morality, whereby the human person might take up his life and begin the journey to his beatitude. St. Thomas considers these within seven treatises. The first deals with the nature of human happiness and beatitude, followed by a brief examination of the principles involved in human actions properly considered (wherein the human person is the principle of his own action, as having free will and control over what he does). What follows is an extensive treatment concerning the human passions (or emotions), and those principles by which we train them (through habit), turning them to the good (virtue) and away from vice and sin. He then completes this examination by appealing to two areas that constitute principles external to but vital to human moral activity, namely law and grace.

3 credits | ROC and Online

Wednesdays, 6:00pm — 9:00pm EST, 1/6, 1/13, 1/20, 1/27, 2/3, 2/10, 2/17, 2/24, 3/3, 3/10, 3/17, 3/31, 4/7, 4/14, 4/21

B/C380: Source and Summit: Reflecting on the Eucharist at the Heart of the Church (Siobhán Latar, S.T.D.)

Identified by the Second Vatican Council as the "Source and Summit" of the Christian life, this course will reflect on the nature and significance of the Eucharist in the life of the Church. Combining both an historical and thematic approach, we will examine the developing understanding of the sacrament of the Eucharist through time, as well as theological themes of Eucharistic spirituality, including: the significance of the Eucharist to Ecclesiology, the Eucharist and the Marian and Petrine dimensions of the Church, the understanding of the three-fold nature of the Body of Christ, the Eucharist as sacrament, etc. We will rely on the reflections of the Fathers, the Councils, and recent papal encyclicals, among other texts.

3 credits | Online

TBD

B301: The Gift of Meaning: The History of the Church (TBD)

“All those in history who have really done anything with the future have had their eyes fixed upon the past” (G.K. Chesterton). This course will provide a survey of Church history, tracking the Church of God across time and space from Pentecost to our present day. The course content will privilege a theological approach to history: it will investigate the historical unfolding of the Church’s doctrines, charisms, and spiritualities, and will assess the temporal development of the institutional Church. The investigations undertaken will be accompanied by a determined effort to learn from history for the sake of the present.

3 credits

TBD

C/D334: Catholic Bioethics at the Middle and End of Life (Amanda Achtman, Lic.)

This course examines a range of issues and controversies, from the determination of death itself, to euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, advance directives, hospice and palliative care options, organ donation, extra/ordinary care, and artificial nutrition and hydration. Topics are grounded in a broader discussion of Church views on suffering and death. Additional cutting-edge bioethical issues such as gender dysphoria, artificial wombs, CRISPR gene editing, and COVID-related ethics, are considered, alongside classic landmark ethical cases and helpful narratives from the rich history of Catholic health care. Secular bioethical frameworks and arguments are examined. Issues are considered in a highly practical light, with emphasis given to real-world applications in pastoral, academic, and health care settings.

3 credits | Online

TBD

C/D398: Catechesis and the New Evangelization: Content, Method, and Challenges (Matthew Kuhner, Ph.D.)

In Catechesi Tradende, Pope St. John Paul II contends that “the definitive aim of catechesis is to put people not only in touch but in communion, in intimacy, with Jesus Christ...” (§5). Taking this statement as a point of departure, this course explores the nature, content, and method of catechesis. It does so in the context of the call for a New Evangelization, which proposes a renewed emphasis on the Church’s missionary nature and the mission-character of discipleship itself. After addressing the history of catechesis and its sources in Scripture and Tradition, the course will focus upon the Church’s penetrating reflection on catechesis in the 20th and 21st centuries. Attention will be given to present-day challenges, as well as recent catechetical models which attempt to address these challenges. The general aim of the course is to answer two fundamental questions: (1) “what is catechesis?” and (2) “how can catechesis bear fruit in our age?"

3 credits | ROC and Online

Every other Tuesday, 6:00pm — 9:00pm EST, 1/5, 1/19, 2/2, 2/16, 3/2, 3/16, 3/30, 4/13

C215: Introduction to Theological Studies (TBD)

This course orients students to the various aspects of Catholic theological studies and the way Catholic theology functions in the faith community. Key issues such as faith, revelation, Scripture, tradition, the magisterium, and theological method are explored with an eye to how they are integrated into the entire discipline of theology. The course aims at helping to develop a framework in which to understand how one engages in theological reflection. Specific theological terms will be defined and discussed. (Formerly "Orientation to Theological Studies")

3 credits

Every other Thursday, 6:00pm — 9:00pm EST, 1/7, 1/21, 2/4, 2/18, 3/4, 3/18, 4/1, 4/15

C216: Grace, Nature, and Christian Anthropology (TBD)

Using the Catechism of the Catholic Church as a touchstone, this course will consider what it means for the human person to be created and redeemed in Jesus Christ. In the first part of the course, we will outline main dogmatic issues in the theology of nature and grace, including sin and justification, original sin and evolution, free will and predestination, and the role of Mary. In the second half of the course, we will consider main themes in theological anthropology as they appear in the teachings of Pope St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis.

3 credits

TBD

CP605: Beyond Deception: Logic and the Freedom of the Mind (Stephen Loughlin, Ph.D.)

An examination of the three activities that define reason (Understanding, Judgment, and Discursive Reasoning) and the development and practice of the techniques that perfect them (definition, the judgment of truth and falsity, the manipulation of propositions, and the formation of a sound argument). The course considers the defects that commonly affect sound reasoning (fallacies), the distinction between sound and cogent reasoning (deductive vs. inductive reasoning) and the criteria that govern the difference between the two, and lastly what constitutes Normative Persuasion Dialogue and how such is to be distinguished from other speech acts.

3 credits | ROC and Online

Mondays, 6:00pm — 9:00pm EST, 1/4, 1/11, 1/25, 2/1, 2/8, 2/15, 2/22, 3/1, 3/8, 3/15, 3/22, 4/5, 4/12, 4/19

CP612: History of Philosophy: Medieval (Marco Stango, Ph.D.)

A survey course beginning with St. Augustine, through the rise of Scholasticism, and to its end. Emphasis is placed upon the thought of St. Augustine, Boethius, St. Anselm, St. Bonaventure, St. Thomas Aquinas, John Duns Scotus, and William of Ockham. The relations between faith and reason, and metaphysical, anthropological, and ethical teachings will be emphasized as they develop the thought received from the ancient Greek philosophers and prepare the way for the rise of modern philosophy.

3 credits | Online

Every other Tuesday, 6:00pm — 9:00pm EST, 1/12, 1/26, 2/9, 2/23, 3/9, 4/6, 4/20

CP671: Classic Texts in Catholic Philosophy (Marco Stango, Ph.D.)

This course introduces students to a close reading of a classic works from the Catholic philosophical tradition. For this reason, the works that may be studied include texts from the ancient, medieval, modern, and contemporary age. According to the model presented in Fides et Ratio by St. Pope John Paul II, “faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth.” The classics of philosophy selected for this course are examples of the attitude described in the encyclical letter, either because they present an understanding of reason that is open to faith, or because they present in an exemplary way the modality in which philosophical reason works once informed by faith. This course is the capstone course for the Master of Arts in Catholic Philosophy.

3 credits | Online

Thursdays, 6:00pm — 9:00pm EST, 1/7, 1/14, 1/21, 1/28, 2/4, 2/11, 2/18, 2/25, 3/4, 3/11, 3/18, 4/1, 4/8, 4/15, 4/22