The Rev. Richard P. McBrien presented his lecture, "The Future of the Church: Challenges in the New Millennium." at 4 p.m. on Friday, March 6, in Jones Auditorium as part of the Most Reverend John McCarthy Lecture Series on the Catholic Church in the 21st century.

In this lecture, McBrien discussed how the Catholic Church, having entered the 21st century with a new pope, is being challenged to undergo renewal and reform in the spirit of Vatican II.

He assessed the changes likely to occur in the institutional operations of the church, explore new missionary priorities for an increasingly globalized, multicultural church, and consider what direction the church is heading in the new millennium. Will the Catholic Church of the Third Christian Millennium be simply an extension of the Second, will it be more like the First, or is it more probable that it will be radically different from both? Can the promise of Vatican II still be realized more than 43 years after its final adjournment?

McBrien is the Crowley-O’Brien Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of 20 books, including Catholicism, which has been translated into German, French, Danish and Chinese. A completely revised and updated edition was published in 1994. The new edition received a first-place award from the Catholic Press Association. His other books include: Caesar's Coin: Religion and Politics in America (1987); Lives of the Popes (1997), a selection of the History Book Club and subsequently translated into Dutch, Portuguese, and Polish; and Lives of the Saints (2001). His latest book, also published by Harper (now HarperOne), is entitled The Church: the Evolution of Catholicism (2008).

St. Edward's created the lecture series to honor Bishop John McCarthy, who led the Diocese of Austin from 1985 to 2001, and to underscore the university's commitment to its Catholic roots and Holy Cross heritage.    (St. Edward's University)