In the News: Catholic Faith at Hope College

In the News: Catholic Faith at Hope College

Father Bill VanderWerff joins Hope College students for dinner before an annual blessing of dorm rooms. Photo by Aaron Estelle.

As the St. Benedict Institute seeks to add a chaplain to its ranks, the leaders of this campus Catholic center at Hope College, a Christian institution of higher education in the Dutch Reformed tradition, know the ideal candidate will be someone who can form relationships with students and engage the academy in ecumenical discussion. He also should have a strong background in Scripture.

“We are guests on a Protestant campus that loves the word,” said Jared Ortiz, a Catholic assistant professor in the religion department at Hope and co-founder of the St. Benedict Institute. “And we need someone who loves Protestants.”

Read the rest at Our Sunday Visitor.

In the News: SBI and Restorative Justice Conference Featured in Holland Sentinel

It's going to be a bit of an unusual conference. The public can attend, but the organizers cannot.

"Hope for Restoration: Radical Hospitality and Prison Reform" was conceived and organized by inmates from the Richard A. Handlon Correctional Facility in Ionia. Although they cannot be at the conference, the Calvin Prison Initiative Students from the R.A. Handlon Correctional Facility will have a chance to watch recordings of the proceedings later. 

The Saint Benedict Institute is hosting "Hope for Restoration: Radical Hospitality and Prison Reform," a daylong conference on restorative justice, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, March 4, in the Maas Center at Hope College.

The conference developed after Eric Boldiszar connected with Jared Ortiz, Ph.D., of the Hope religion faculty and executive director of the Saint Benedict Institute.

"He read an interview with me in the FAITH Grand Rapids magazine a few years ago," Ortiz said. "He invited me to the prison to speak to his restorative justice reading group. I did and was very blessed by the exchange. We kept up a correspondence."

Read the rest at the Holland Sentinel.

Jared Ortiz Discusses Upcoming Restorative Justice Conference with Catholic Radio's Al Kresta

Hope College professor and Saint Benedict Institute director Jared Ortiz was a recent guest on Ave Maria Radio's Kresta in the Afternoon show with Al Kresta. Dr. Ortiz spoke about the Saint Benedict Institute's upcoming conference "Hope for Restoration: Radical Hospitality and Prison Reform."

Listen to the audio archive here.