Upcoming Doctoral Defense Rev. Christian Irdi '14, C'15, C'21, Archdiocese of Perth I S M A E L R O D R Í G U E Z J R . ’ 2 2 , D I O C E S E O F DA L L A S Can you tell us a little bit about your academic background? Prior to seminary, I obtained a double degree in law and commerce and worked as a lawyer for a couple of years. After obtaining a philosophy degree from the Catholic Institute in Sydney, Australia, I obtained my Bachelor of Sacred Theology (STB) from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross. Finally, I obtained my Licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL) from the Pontifical Gregorian University in fundamental theology; and now, I am currently working towards my doctorate in the same field. What is the title of your doctoral thesis? How did you choose your topic? My doctoral thesis is titled, Nature and Grace in the Thought of John Milbank and Joseph Ratzinger: Contrasting Engagements with Secular Culture. My interest in the Church’s teaching on nature and grace grew when I studied the works of Joseph Ratzinger during my second-cycle studies in fundamental theology. Moreover, a pastoral concern also served as a motivation for choosing this topic. In Australia, we are faced with a very secular culture, and I wanted to examine in greater depth both the philosophical and theological underpinnings of it. In short, I chose the topic in order to better understand the secular culture that we are trying to evangelize.
A major challenge in one’s first year of doctoral studies is defining one’s research question. It requires months of reading in search of a topic which is novel but also substantive enough to enable one to produce a doctorate. During this painstaking process, Fr. John Cush, academic dean at the College and professor of theology and contemporary culture; Dr. Tracey Rowland, a renowned Ratzinger scholar; and my doctoral supervisor, Fr. Joseph Carola S.J., of the faculty of theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University, helped me select and narrow down my topic. Can you provide a brief summary of your thesis? I examined the thought of two theologians, namely, John Milbank and Joseph Ratzinger, who had both drawn on the insights of Henri Cardinal de Lubac. Specifically, I compared the way in which their respective approaches to the question of nature and grace gave rise to their particular engagements with and approaches to our post-modern, secular culture. As I say, the pastoral objective of the project is to better understand the culture which we are attempting to evangelize. How are you preparing for your upcoming doctoral defense? I am mostly rereading the doctorate carefully and trying to synthesize its major points in order to coherently present and defend the work.
Rev. Christian Irdi '14, C'15, C'21 (Perth)
Can you explain the process of a doctoral defense at a Pontifical Roman university? The defense consists of presenting one’s thesis to a panel composed of a “preside,” who presides over the defense, along with two readers. The first reader is one’s doctoral supervisor, who is allotted time to speak about the thesis and to ask clarifying questions. The second reader serves more or less like a prosecutor. His job is to challenge the work generally by asking the tougher questions. The whole process can basically feel like defending a case inside a courtroom! What advice would you give someone who is thinking about pursuing doctoral studies at a Pontifical Roman university? Firstly, I would advise future doctoral candidates to pick a topic that interests them, because they will be working on the same topic for years. Secondly, in the case of priests, they should view their doctoral studies in light of their pastoral work. There is a real priestly sacrifice to studying full-time. One is always a priest before one is an academic. What helps one to persevere, in addition to finding the right support, academic discipline, and determination to finish, is the thought of doing it out of service for the people back in one’s diocese. Placing one’s studies in this perspective helps prepare one better to serve the people of God. n
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