KEYNOTE PRESENTATION

This year’s keynote invites high school theology teachers to reimagine their classrooms as spaces not only for imparting information but also for fostering transformation. Drawing on the Ignatian framework of Who Will You Become? An Ignatian Introduction to Catholic Theology, we will consider how engaging our students’ imaginations can shape how they see the world and discover how the Catholic theological tradition can enrich their lives. By incorporating spiritual exercises into our teaching, we can help students encounter theology not merely as an academic subject but as a way of life. 

Fr. Ryan G. Duns, SJ, is a Jesuit priest, teacher, and theologian who writes at the intersection of philosophy, systematic theology, and contemporary culture. He is the author of two books—Spiritual Exercises for a Secular Age and Theology of Horror—and is the co-author of the recently published Who Will You Become? An Ignatian Introduction to Catholic Theology. He currently serves as Associate Professor and Chair of the Theology Department at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

BREAKOUT SESSIONS

Dr. Abigail Bodeau is Assistant Professor of Sacred Scripture at St. Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology. She was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. She first fell in love with theology at Creighton University, where she studied theology and economics. After graduating from Creighton, she completed a Masters of Theological Studies from the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Bodeau comes to Cleveland from Baylor University. She completed her PhD in the Department of Religion in May 2024, specializing in prophetic literature. Her dissertation analyzed how ritual practices function in the book of Jonah. In her spare time, you can often find Dr. Bodeau baking, knitting, and exploring different ways of making things by hand.

Dr. Cary Dabney currently serves as a Professor of Systematic Theology at Walsh University, specializing in Catholic Moral Theology, Christology, and American Catholicism. In addition to his role at Walsh University, Cary was appointed Chair of the Board of Trustees for St. Mary Seminary & Borromeo Graduate School of Theology by Bishop Edward Malesic of the Diocese of Cleveland in the fall of 2022.

Cary currently holds a BA in Philosophy and Religious Studies, with a minor in Interdisciplinary Greek Language Studies from Youngstown State University, received his Master of Divinity from Harvard University’s Divinity School, and achieved a Doctorate in Systematic Theology from Duquesne University. Cary also holds a Catechetical Certification from St. John Catholic Seminary in the Archdiocese of Boston.

Prior to his appointment at Walsh University, Cary served in lay ministry and community leadership for nearly a decade in various dioceses, parishes and urban communities  including 3 years as the Director of the Office of Ministry to African American Catholics in the Diocese of Cleveland, 3 years as a Master Catechist in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, and 2 years as the Director of Faith Formation at St. Teresa of Calcutta parish in the Archdiocese of Boston. Cary has also served as a consultant and writer for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishop’s Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism. He currently is a member of St. Agnes + Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Cleveland, Ohio.

Dr. Paul V. Murphy is Professor of History and Director of the Institute for Catholic Studies at John Carroll University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto, and his research focuses on the religious and cultural history of 16th and 17th century Italy. He is the author of Confessions: The Autobiography of Pedro de Ribadeneira and Ruling Peacefully: Cardinal Ercole Gonzaga and Patrician Reform in Sixteenth-Century Italy. He teaches courses on the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, and the history of religious life.