Category Archives: Catholic Biblical Association

Happy Birthday, CBA!

Happy birthday to us! In 1936, a group of Scripture scholars were charged with merely revising a Catholic, English-language New Testament translation. Two French-born biblical scholars in this group co-organized a permanent association & in New York on October 3 the CBA was born!

Happy Feast of St Jerome

This from the Catholic Biblical Association –

Wishing you a blessed feast day of Saint Jerome, our patron saint.  Saint Jerome is a Doctor of the Church and the Patron Saint of Scholars and in particular of the Catholic Biblical Association. He was born in 331 AD in what is now known as Croatia and eventually lived the last 30 years of his life in a cave in Bethlehem, dying in 420.  Arguably, his most famous line is “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ” which occurred in his commentary on Isaiah.  His learning was a way of purification for him. He is most famous for his translation of the Scriptures in Latin (the Vulgate).

May the Lord richly bless all our endeavors and keep us faithful. May our work help in the building up of His kingdom.

Joe Atkinson

Amen and amen.  I love Jerome.  Happy Jerome day to one and all.

News For Members of the CBA

Recordings from the 2022 AGM

Members now have access to the recordings of the Major Presentations & Liturgies during the 84th International Meeting of the CBA, July 30-August 2, 2022 (Santa Clara University and Zoom).

© You may not copy, reproduce, distribute, publish, display, modify, create derivative works, transmit, or in any way exploit any content posted by CBA, nor may you distribute any part of this content over any network, sell or offer it for sale, or store any of the content on an electronic device.

To access the recordings, check your email and visit the link provided there.

CBA Annual Meeting Registration is Open

Registration Open….

The 2022 CBA Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held July 30th – August 2nd as a hybrid at Santa Clara University and via Zoom.  The registration invitation was sent last month. The in person registration fee will be $150 (housing and meal plans are separate) and the virtual registration fee will be $75 until June 1st.  A $75 late fee will be added to each registration fee after June 2nd. In order to keep the registration fee affordable, CBA is absorbing a large part of the real cost of registration. In-person registration closes July 4th. Virtual registration closes July 24th.

When registering (for either in-person or virtual participation), you are encouraged to sign up for either a Continuing Seminar or Task Force. Since these are held simultaneously, please select only one. The the 31 Research Reports offered on Sunday and Monday are available to all registrants, but do not require advance sign up.

The link to register and more information about the AGM may be found by clicking here.

“A Multi-linear Digital Discourse in Theory and Practice: An Example Concerning Archeology and Mesopotamian and Biblical Religion”

September 22, 2021
6:00 p.m. GMT +2 (12:00 p.m. EDT | 9:00 a.m. PDT)

The Faculty of Theology of the San Damaso University (UESD) is presenting a round table entitled “A Multi-linear Digital Discourse in Theory and Practice: An Example Concerning Archeology and Mesopotamian and Biblical Religion,”

The roundtable will be presented in English and broadcast in live-stream through the University’s YouTube channel.

Via CBA.  The program is here.

This Year’s CBA Meeting Will Be Online Only… Bummer… But Understandable From the Committee’s Point of View

From CBA, this email-

Given the ongoing concerns for Covid-19 containment, in particular in Washington DC area, after wide consultation, the Executive Board decided to move the 2021 Annual General Meeting to a fully Virtual online format. We had hoped to manage some kind of Hybrid model, but the concerns for the safety of our membership must take precedence during these unpredictable times.

1.) The Executive Board encourages all Task Forces and the Continuing Seminars to meet this year during the regular time of our meeting (July 31- August 4, 2021) via Zoom and or other software which CBA will provide if necessary. Further details will be emailed to the chairs of the groups in the near future.

2.) The Executive Board encourages the Program Committee to present the Research Reports from last year and the current year during the 2021Virtual meeting.

3.) Although in 2020, the terms of all office-holders in CBA were extended by one year, we will hold nominations and approval by the Committees for the relevant open positions. Any questions or concerns, please contact the Interim Executive Director, Archie Wright at wrightat@cua.edu.

4.) The Board, when it meets virtually during the conference, will assume the responsibility, normally vested in the Annual General Meeting, for election of New Members. The Board encourages all current members to seek out established scholars and nominate new, young scholars for membership in the CBA.
Let us pray for a quick end to this virus and for the health of all our members.

The Executive Committee on behalf of the Executive Board,
Harry Attridge (Chair)
Gina Hens-Piazza (President)
Archie T. Wright (Interim Executive Director)

CBA Continuing Seminar on the Deuterocanonicals

The Seminar met today.  The lead off paper was on Ben Sira, and who doesn’t like him?  It was an exceptionally interesting presentation on an interesting topic:

These online sessions (in the absence of actual in person conferences) are a godsend.  Seriously.  Sorry for all the slides.  I’ll stop now.  But the whole session was so very good.

Save the Date for CBA 2021

The 83rd International Meeting of The Catholic Biblical Association is scheduled for July 31-August 3, 2021 at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. Much of the program that had been planned for 2020 is being carried over to 2021. In January 2021, members will receive an email with more information about the program.

The CBA Annual Meeting Has Been Cancelled

CBA writes

Dear CBA Member:

Given the conditions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic (including the uncertainty of the course of the pandemic itself, the likely need during the summer to limit mass gatherings and keep social distance, the restrictions by academic institutions on supported summer faculty travel, etc.) the Executive Board reviewed what were the best options concerning holding our regular Annual Meeting, which was to be in DC this summer.  After wide consultation, it was decided that the wisest course of action was to postpone the 2020 meeting.  Five steps where approved that will help with continuity:

1.)  Most elements of this year’s meeting will simply be featured in our 2021 Meeting which will be at the same venue, The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. 

2.)  The Executive Board encourages all Task Forces and the Continuing Seminars to meet this year during the regular time of our meeting (August 1-4, 2020) via Zoom or other software which CBA will help with when necessary. Further details will be emailed to the chairs of the groups in the near future.

3.) The Executive Board encourages the Program Committee to carry forward the Research Reports to next year’s meeting in the hope that people will be willing to share what further research they had done.

4.)  The terms of all office-holders in CBA will be extended by one year for all who are able to continue.  The work of the Nominations Committee will be held over for the next elections in 2021.  Those unable to continue in office are to notify the Executive Director (atkinson@cua.edu).

5.)  The Board, when it meets electronically on August 1, will assume the responsibility, normally vested in the Annual General Meeting, for election of New Members.
With all these extraordinary procedures in place, we hope to safeguard the smooth operations of CBA during this time of uncertainly.

Let us pray for a quick end to this virus and for the health of all our members.

The Executive Committee on behalf of the Executive Board,
Harry Attridge (Chair)
Gina Hans-Piazza (President)
Joseph C Atkinson (Executive Director)

The CBA Annual Meeting: Update

The Coronavirus is affecting our lives in various ways. I hope you all are keeping well and safe. Given that our Annual General Meeting is planned for Aug 1-4, it is wise to wait for a period of time to see how things settle out. CBA will make a decision on, or before June 10th to either proceed with the Annual Meeting or to cancel it. We will follow whatever the Government Health Agencies of the US require or suggest at that time.  Above all, we want everyone to be safe.

Please do not make any air reservations until we make a definite determination.
To those who may have already gotten tickets, many airlines are being very generous about returning the fares. Please check with your airlines now to see about getting refunds.

Keep well and safe.

Dr. Joe Atkinson
Executive Director

CBA Annual Meeting

So looking forward to this:

The major presentations for the 83rd International Meeting of the CBA have been posted to the CBA website, in addition to panel presentations on Saturday and Monday evenings, the major presenters are:

  • Monday Simultaneous Sessions – Corrine Carvalho and John P. Meier
  • Monday Evening President’s Address – Gina Hens-Piazza
  • Tuesday Simultaneous Sessions – Richard Bautch and Johannes Beutler, S.J.
  • Tuesday Morning Plenary Address – Sarah Kohles, O.F.S.