PUBLISHED BY THE BOSTON COLLEGE OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
APRIL 24, 2025 VOL. 32 NO. 16
The Gospel Truth? BC researcher finds most Christian leaders don’t share their actual beliefs concerning climate change with congregants BY ED HAYWARD STAFF WRITER
Formation House residents gather for a community meal every Tuesday evening. photo by lee pellegrini
Together in Community The Clough School of Theology and Ministry’s new Formation House for students is centered on Ignatian spirituality and preparation for ministry BY KATHLEEN SULLIVAN STAFF WRITER
A small group of graduate students has had the opportunity to live together in a lay formation community guided by the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola—a new initiative launched this academic year by the Clough School of Theology and Ministry. The CSTM Formation House, which opened last August, fosters communal living, prayer, and conversation and is designed for lay students who have a sincere desire to deepen their discipleship of Jesus and intend to serve the Catholic Church in ministry after graduation. “One of the things we are seeking to develop in the student residents is a life of prayer based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius,” said Clough School Dean Michael McCarthy, S.J. “And the second thing we are developing is an identity as a minister for the Catholic Church, the people of God.” “We want the residents of the formation house to be fully immersed in the Ignatian tradition,” added CSTM Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Career Services Jacqueline Regan. “We hope that from this experience of a lay formation community that the students come away with habits of
mind and heart that will sustain them in the future.” The CSTM Formation House is located on Foster Street, adjacent to BC’s Brighton Campus. “It’s a beautiful house and we are very grateful to be in there,” said Fr. McCarthy, who expressed gratitude to University President William P. Leahy, S.J., for the support he has given the initiative. The house was created in response to conversations Fr. McCarthy had with CSTM students when he began his deanship. According to Fr. McCarthy and Regan, students expressed an interest in an intentional formation community similar to ones experienced by Jesuits and religious orders where spiritual formation and prayer would be central to daily lives and where there would be real community support. The CSTM Formation House is intended for full-time master’s students, particularly those in the Master of Divinity and Master of Art in Theology and Ministry programs, both of which have a spiritual formation requirement. It is expected that students will reside in the house for one or two years. “My hope was to have a community where members of the community would help form each other and where there would be a relationship with the CSTM in Continued on page 8
From Catholics to Evangelicals, an overwhelming majority of Christian leaders in the United States think humans are responsible for climate change, but most do not share that belief with their congregants, according to a new study by Assistant Professor of Psychology Gregg Sparkman. A survey of 1,600 U.S. religious leaders found that nearly 90 percent of Christian leaders believe in anthropogenic climate change to some degree. This includes 60 percent who believe humans play a major role and an additional 30 percent who believe that the human role is a more minor one, according to the report. Yet roughly half the religious leaders have never discussed it with their congregations, and only a quarter have mentioned it more than once or twice, the researchers found. The findings hold implications for how Christians might help address climate change, knowing their beliefs about the climate crisis align with their church’s values, according to Sparkman, senior author of the study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “Because of leadership’s silence on the matter, rank-and-file Christians think most of their leaders do not believe, and feel hesitant to even discuss climate change with their fellow churchgoers,” said Spark-
Finance, Econ, and Bio Are Tops Again Among Undergrads BY SEAN SMITH CHRONICLE EDITOR
Finance, economics, and biology remain the three most popular majors for Boston College undergraduates, just as they have for the past decade, according to statistics compiled by the University’s Office of Institutional Research and Planning (IR&P). Finance, with 1,525 majors, is the top field of study at BC for the third year in a row, having supplanted economics (1,340), Continued on page 3
Asst. Prof. Gregg Sparkman (Psychology) photo by lee pellegrini
man, who completed the study with Stylianos Syropoulos, a postdoctoral researcher at BC who is now an assistant professor at Arizona State University. “But if you inform Christians that there’s actually a strong consensus among their religious leaders on the issue, they infer belief in climate change is more common in their church generally, feel taking climate action is consistent with their church’s values, and feel voting for a political candidate who fails to take climate
Continued on page 6
INSIDE 3 Mourning Francis
BC experts discuss pope’s legacy.
4 “The Genius of St. Ignatius” C21 event focuses on Jesuit, Catholic education.
6 Digital Hygiene
BC Law’s Simana on the lessons of 23andMe’s bankruptcy.
ARTS FESTIVAL The annual Boston College Arts Festival kicks off today with a full slate of events that will run through Saturday. Details available at bc.edu/artsfestival.