Richard J. Westley Papers

Fonds

Identifier: RJW

Staff Only

Scope and Content

Handouts, programs, and related papers from workshops and retreats conducted by Richard J. Westley, 1968-2006; Westley's newsletter "In the Meantime" on a CD-ROM; and records of talks organized by Westley and given by Father Leo Mahon in Chicago concerning his work in San Miguelito Mission, Panama, liberation theology, and the Church after the Second Vatican Council.

Dates

Creation: 1968-2006

Language of Materials

English.

Background

Richard J. (Dick) Westley finished his Ph.D. at the University of Toronto in 1954. From 1954 until 1968 he taught at Barat College. From 1968 until his retirement in 1999 he taught at Loyola University of Chicago as a Professor of Philosophy and also as a faculty member of the university's Institute of Pastoral Studies, where his work concerned a vision for the Church and its mission after the Second Vatican Council. Author of nine books, he conducted workshops and retreats throughout the Untied States and lectured on religious and moral issues. He produced a monthly pastoral newsletter called "In the Meantime" for the Thomas More Association.

Westley also organized events at which Fr. Leo Mahon gave talks. Fr. Mahon, a priest in the Archdiocese of Chicago, served as a missionary in Panama, where he helped to develop base communities associated with liberation theology.