At first blush, this may sound like inside-baseball, but it’s an appointment of significance for the U.S. church.

From Boston College: Chestnut Hill, Mass. (5-13-10) — Boston College has announced the appointment of Mark S. Massa, S.J., the Karl Rahner Professor of Theology and the director of the Curran Center for American Catholic Studies at Fordham University, as dean of the School of Theology and Ministry (STM) [formerly the Weston Jesuit School of Theology] . He succeeds founding Dean Richard Clifford, S.J., who will step down at the conclusion of the Summer Institute at the end of July. Fr. Massa is a respected theologian and scholar whose research has focused on the Catholic experience in the United States since World War II. He is also the author of six books, including the award-winning Catholics and American Culture: Fulton Sheen, Dorothy Day and the Notre Dame Football Team and Anti-Catholicism: The Last Acceptable Prejudice?

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The Rev. James Martin, S.J., is a Jesuit priest, author, editor at large at America and founder of Outreach.