CATCA 2025: Full Schedule

9:00am MST

The Soul of AI: Do Artificial Intelligence machines have souls?

Thursday February 20, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am MST

Increasingly sophisticated displays of artificial intelligence such as CHATGPT has elicited variegated responses ranging from experts decrying the need for regulation to educators embracing new possibilities for lesson planning and student learning. While many marvel at the alacrity by which AI churns out elaborate responses, AI is forcing people to ask themselves questions such as “what exactly divides humanity from machines?” This talk, designed for religious educators, delves into that question. One obvious answer is that machines don’t have souls. But is that really the case? And if so, why? Here we look at what exactly is a soul in light of Sacred Scripture as well as ancient and modern philosophy with the aim of better grasping what human-AI distinctions.

Speakers

Gerard Mclarney

Teacher, Elk Island Catholic Schools

Dr. McLarney teaches at St. Isidore Learning Center in Sherwood Park AB., and serves as a sessional instructor at St. Joseph's College, University of Alberta. His academic interests include Religious Education, World Religions, J.R.R. Tolkien, as well as Sacred Scripture. His doctorate... Read More →

Thursday February 20, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am MST
RDP Room AC222 (Arts Centre)

Religious & Moral Education (TQS 3), Early Childhood Education (Pre K-K), Division 2 (Gr 4-6), Division 4 (Gr 10-12), Division 3 (Gr 7-9), Division 1 (Gr 1-3) | Technology (TQS/LQS 2), Early Childhood Education (Pre K-K), Division 2 (Gr 4-6), Division 4 (Gr 10-12), Division 3 (Gr 7-9), Division 1 (Gr 1-3)

9:00am MST

Multi Faith/Serenity Room Thursday

Thursday February 20, 2025 9:00am - 3:20pm MST

RDP Room 2400 (Multi Faith Room)

This room is designed to allow any faith dimension to come and meditate on your faith. Do show respect to other religious groups so please be as quiet as possible in this Multi Faith Room. This room will also have some serenity activities in this room. You can attend anytime during the open hours of RDP.

Thursday February 20, 2025 9:00am - 3:20pm MST
RDP Room 2400 (Multi Faith Room)

Religious & Moral Education (TQS 3), Division 1 (Gr 1-3), Division 2 (Gr 4-6), Division 3 (Gr 7-9), Division 4 (Gr 10-12), Early Childhood Education (Pre K-K), All Divisions | Health and Wellness (TQS 3), Division 1 (Gr 1-3), Division 2 (Gr 4-6), Division 3 (Gr 7-9), Division 4 (Gr 10-12), Early Childhood Education (Pre K-K), All Divisions

10:20am MST

A Flat Earth, Dinosaurs, and the Divine: Can Religion and Science get along?

Thursday February 20, 2025 10:20am - 11:20am MST

RDP Room AC222 (Arts Centre)

Secondary students often assume that Religion and Science are inextricably at odds. Even if they can’t articulate exactly why, it is often taken for granted that a person of faith cannot embrace the scientific method and vice versa. This talk dispels caricatures of faithful flat-earthers, delves into the complex relationship between science and religion, considers seminal figures like Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Darwin, and Georges Lamaitre, and gives a framework for understanding how science and religion are not mutually exclusive.

This session dispels perduring caricatures about science and religion, explores seminal thinkers in the field like Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Darwin, and Georges Lamaitre, and gives teachers of Religious Education a framework for understanding how the respective domains of science and religion are by no means mutually exclusive.

Speakers

Gerard Mclarney

Teacher, Elk Island Catholic Schools

Thursday February 20, 2025 10:20am - 11:20am MST
RDP Room AC222 (Arts Centre)

Religious & Moral Education (TQS 3), Division 3 (Gr 7-9), Division 4 (Gr 10-12) | Science (TQS 3), Division 3 (Gr 7-9), Division 4 (Gr 10-12)

11:40am MST

Gaming, Leisure, and Aesthetics. Are Video Games a Refined Art, Noble Sport or a Superfluous Pastime?

Thursday February 20, 2025 11:40am - 12:40pm MST

RDP Room AC222 (Arts Centre)

Countless students and adults alike enjoy video games. But what exactly are they? A benign form of recreation, high art, engaging sport, or simply an egregious waste of time? Drawing on the insights of religion and philosophy, from the Bible to contemporary thinkers, this talk explores what the wisdom of the past says about the pursuit of leisure as well as aesthetics and how this applies to video games. It also seeks to provide teachers with novel ideas about how to introduce discussions on the ethics and aesthetics of video games, which students, in turn, can apply to other everyday realities such as sports, music and dance.

Speakers

Gerard Mclarney

Teacher, Elk Island Catholic Schools

Thursday February 20, 2025 11:40am - 12:40pm MST
RDP Room AC222 (Arts Centre)

Religious & Moral Education (TQS 3), Division 4 (Gr 10-12), Division 3 (Gr 7-9) | Technology (TQS/LQS 2), Division 4 (Gr 10-12), Division 3 (Gr 7-9) | Career & Technology Studies/Foundations (TQS 3), Division 4 (Gr 10-12), Division 3 (Gr 7-9)

1:00pm MST

The Christ Event and the Religions of the World: A Catholic Perspective of World Religions and the Classroom

Thursday February 20, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MST

RDP Room AC222 (Arts Centre)

Our pluriform society is home to an increasing array of view points and traditions—many of which are informed and sustained by religious conviction. Grasping the fundamentals of world religions is, arguably, paramount for citizens of the 21st century. Yet how can students be equipped for such a task?
The challenge also is particularly pressing for Catholic educators, whose faith tradition, especially since Vatican II, has sought to formulate a theology of World Religions. Moreover, the move to integrate World Religions further into the Religious Education Curriculum has created greater demand for such theological knowledge, language, and vision. This presentation seeks to provide the basic perspectives on how Catholicism views and engages other faith traditions in the 21st century--and proffers various models and analogies for how these views can be presented in the classroom.

Speakers

Gerard Mclarney

Teacher, Elk Island Catholic Schools

Thursday February 20, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm MST
RDP Room AC222 (Arts Centre)

Religious & Moral Education (TQS 3), Division 3 (Gr 7-9), Division 4 (Gr 10-12)

2:20pm MST

Why do bad things happen to good people? Approaches to the problem of evil in Religious Education

Thursday February 20, 2025 2:20pm - 3:20pm MST

RDP Room AC222 (Arts Centre)

In Oscar Wilde’s Importance of Being Earnest, we hear “The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what Fiction means.” Though a flippant remark about romance novels, the quip points us to a profound conundrum: how do we make sense of evil and the lack of justice in this world? Weighty queries such as these are among the most challenging posed by students and teachers can find themselves flat footed when asked to account for ruptures in the fabric of life. Designed for Religious Educators, this talk offers educators a variety of models and approaches supplied by the Bible as well as philosophers that can be employed in the classroom.

Speakers

Gerard Mclarney

Teacher, Elk Island Catholic Schools

Thursday February 20, 2025 2:20pm - 3:20pm MST
RDP Room AC222 (Arts Centre)

Religious & Moral Education (TQS 3), Division 3 (Gr 7-9), Division 4 (Gr 10-12)

9:00am MST

Nurturing Happiness

Friday February 21, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am MST

RDP Room 1503

Once you know the principles of lasting happiness you can apply these truths to everyday practices and teach them to your students. Discover how you and your students can nurture happiness when overwhelmed by the challenges of school and life. These happiness principles are based on anecdotal experiences and a plethora of positive psychology research. This session will illuminate helpful strategies for nurturing wellness, joy and lasting happiness. Come laugh, decompress, and learn some self-care.

Speakers

Danny Bateman

Instructor, Concordia University Edmonton

Danny is currently an instructor of pre-service teachers at Concordia University of Edmonton. As an experienced and esteemed public speaker, he delivers teaching strategies and inspiration using entertaining experiences and actionable content. He has delivered hundreds of successful... Read More →

Friday February 21, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am MST
RDP Room 1503

9:00am MST

All Who are Weary and Heavy-Laden

Friday February 21, 2025 9:00am - 11:20am MST

Sacred Heart Catholic Parish

In Matthew 11:28, Jesus says: "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." These words continue to resonate today, as many of us are weary and carrying heavy burdens. The need for spiritual rest and renewal is a key part of the Christian faith, where we are invited to take time to rest each week on the Lord's Day and each year during the season of Lent. This session will be a chance to find that moment of rest during convention, as Evergreen Catholic Schools chaplain Mike Landry will lead you through a two-hour retreat that will include scripture, stories, music, discussions and a time of silent prayer.

Speakers

Mike Landry

Although he went to church from the time he was very young, the launch of a parish youth ministry program in his teen years is what really awakened Mike Landry’s faith, making Jesus his dearest friend. For more than 27 years, Mike has sought to share the truth, beauty, and goodness... Read More →

Friday February 21, 2025 9:00am - 11:20am MST
Sacred Heart Catholic Parish

Health and Wellness (TQS 3), Early Childhood Education (Pre K-K), Division 4 (Gr 10-12), Division 3 (Gr 7-9), Division 2 (Gr 4-6), Division 1 (Gr 1-3), All Divisions | Religious & Moral Education (TQS 3), Early Childhood Education (Pre K-K), Division 4 (Gr 10-12), Division 3 (Gr 7-9), Division 2 (Gr 4-6), Division 1 (Gr 1-3), All Divisions

Outside Venues Sacred Heart Catholic Parish

9:00am MST

Multi Faith/Serenity Room Friday

Friday February 21, 2025 9:00am - 3:20pm MST

RDP Room 2400 (Multi Faith Room)

Friday February 21, 2025 9:00am - 3:20pm MST
RDP Room 2400 (Multi Faith Room)