In a synodal church, ministerial identity is relational; apart from the ministers and disciples who constitute the local church, one’s own ministerial identity and function lose their meaning. Problematically, the U.S. implementation of Ex Corde Ecclesia frames the theologian-bishop relationship in juridical terms and dislocates this relationship from the rest of the local church. To reposition the theologian in relation to the ministers and disciples who constitute the local church, I argue that the theologian is an installed minister in the local church who requires an installation rite that gives ecclesial recognition to this synodal, relational, and ministerial identity.

For Pope Francis, the Church’s catholicity emerges through inculturation where grace builds on culture. In the Indian subcontinent where Latin rite, Tamil Catholicism is located, colonialism now inextricably woven into Tamil culture complexifies the inculturation process. Drawing on the qualitative research of Selva Raj and vignettes from my own Tamil family, I argue that Tamil Catholics subvert coloniality by reinterpreting colonial symbols and reconfiguring colonial structures to function as authentic expressions of their own faith and culture. Interrogating iconography and popular piety, I further contend that this work of inculturation simultaneously reinscribes the very coloniality Tamil protagonists aim to subvert.

God calls each of us by name to fulfill a specific purpose and along this journey of becoming, God places educators and exemplars to shape and equip us to fulfill this call. Like all of the faithful, this is also true for those called to serve the Church as theologians. As academics, we know the vital role that educators play in student learning. Educators enable students to construct a compendium of knowledge, to learn how to learn, to develop a love of learning, and to become life-long learners. As Catholics, we know the essential role that exemplars play through our own veneration of saints such as Anthony of Padua, Josephine Bakhita, and Francis and Claire of Assisi. By embodying the values and the teachings of Jesus while navigating the personal challenges of their context, culture, and place, exemplars provide a model for us as we strive to embody these same values and live these same teachings while navigating our own personal challenges in a different context, culture, and place. My doctoral dissertation is dedicated to the educators and exemplars who most significantly shaped me as a human person, a missionary disciple, an ecclesial minister, and a Catholic theologian: Amma and Appa – Veera Rajaratnam, Ph.D. and Augustine Rajaratnam, M.Sc., M.Sc.

The experiences I gained as a youth minister and in campus ministry have informed my understanding of the term ‘Church’ and the lived reality that it describes. These ministry experiences serve as a constant source of reflection and theological questions for me:  What is the role of the ‘lay’ person in the Church?  What is it that distinguishes a minister (lay or ordained) from a baptized disciple?  How do ministers and disciples differ in their participation of the singular mission of the Church – evangelization? ...