Church in the 21st Century

Foundation and History
Initiated by Boston College President William P. Leahy, S.J., in September 2002, the Church in the 21st Century initiative was originally conceived as a two-year project to examine the underlying issues raised by the sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church. The most comprehensive response to the crisis, the Church in the 21st Century included academic symposia, conferences, public lectures, publications, video and audio streaming resources, reading lists, and programs for Boston College students, staff, faculty, alumni and the general public. It broke ground on a number of previously-taboo issues facing the church and coincided with the growth of Voice of the Faithful and other lay movements committed to church reform. In 2004, the Church in the 21st Century Center became a permanent Boston College center. In January 2012, Erik P. Goldschmidt, an alumnus of Boston College and former executive vice president of FADICA (Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities) was appointed director. C21 is guided by an Advisory Committee composed of Boston College faculty, staff, students, and alumni, a Steering Committee drawn from the Advisory Committee, and selected task forces and planning groups focusing on specific issues or activities. In addition, C21 has a Student Advisory board that provides ideas and insights for the center leadership on student programming. Since 2003, C21 has published , a 24-page tabloid that reprints significant articles on contemporary Catholic issues and that has a circulation of over 160,000. The Center maintains a robust website that provides access to over 100 video streamed campus events.
Mission statement
The Church in the 21st Century Center at Boston College seeks to be a catalyst and resource for the renewal of the Catholic Church in the United States by engaging critical issues facing the Catholic community. Drawing from both the Boston College community and others, its activities currently are focused on four challenges: handing on and sharing the Catholic faith, especially with younger Catholics; fostering relationships built on mutual trust and support among lay men and women, vowed religious, deacons, priests, and bishops; developing an approach to sexuality mindful of human experience and reflective of Catholic tradition; and advancing contemporary reflection on the Catholic intellectual tradition.

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