Volume 11

Inventio is a record and a celebration. Think of this publication as a snapshot of the intellectual community of The Catholic University of America, an image of the undergraduate experience. This snapshot preserves the story of what it is to be an undergraduate at this university; it is a record of serious study. This year’s volume features a wide variety of topics and disciplines, a necessity if we are to show the true image of the undergraduate experience. This balance is one of the beauties of the liberal arts, and, as such, ought to be celebrated. At an institution such as The Catholic University of America, being well-rounded is worthy of praise; being excellent across a variety of disciplines is worthy of the highest praise. We hope that Inventio may offer this praise by celebrating some of the best work produced by undergraduates at this institution.

What makes it worthwhile to celebrate and record undergraduate work? As technological advances push back on the material benefit of human creative activity, the need to create is left unsatisfied and underdeveloped. Good writing articulates deep thinking. It expresses the contemplative disposition of the writer as they are writing. While good writing is a natural result of such times of contemplation, good writing is also an image of its author. As impressive as the product may be, it is the author who is celebrated, and it is their contemplation in writing these pieces that is recorded. Even as technology advances, the goal of highlighting members of the undergraduate community who stood out remains.

This year, we have risen to the challenge of continuing to celebrate and record undergraduate authors by launching a new online magazine in addition to our main issue. Aspectus highlights works that, while shorter than the research papers published here, show the same depth of thought. Together, Inventio 11 and the first issues of Aspectus capture not just individual aspects of the undergraduate community, but a picture of the deep thought and creative activity undergraduates have participated in over the last year.

Sincerely,

Essays

THE NAIL ON MAN’S (EMPTY) COFFIN: How AI Furthers Interior Emptiness

By Benedict Gorman

With the release of ChatGPT in 2022, language-capable artificial intelligence quickly became a topic of academic discussion. The topics raised by AI include the primacy of human intelligence, the nature of intelligence itself, and the role of thinking in man’s self-perception. This paper argues that, through a reduction of man’s perceived agency, the advent of AI will further the interior emptiness prevalent in much of modern psychopathology. Given the lack of current psychological research on AI’s effects on the human psyche, the paper extrapolates from already-present cultural forces and examines how AI fits into the emergence of what psychology refers to as the empty self. It is shown that, through the propagation of a deep misunderstanding of the nature of intelligence, the expansion of AI will result in reduced self-perceived agency and, consequently, existential distress. Utilizing a combination of psychological and philosophical exposition, this paper examines both the evidence of existential distress and the causes thereof. A brief explanation of possible solutions to this issue is given, centering around a Christological view of humanity and a refutation of materialism.

THE CHRONICLES OF CHINGGIS KHAN AND THE MONGOLS

By Mairead O’Hara

This paper addresses the problem of historiographical bias in Persian chronicles of the Mongol Empire by examining how the political positions, religious beliefs, and personal experiences of three prominent historians—Rashid al-Din, Ata-Malik Juvayni, and Minhaj-i Siraj Juzjani—shaped their portrayals of Mongol rule in Persia. The study seeks to evaluate the reliability and motivations behind these contrasting accounts and to understand how Persian chroniclers reconciled or resisted the Mongol conquest within Islamic and cultural frameworks. Using a comparative literary analysis of three primary sources—Jami’ al-Tawarikh, Tarikh-i Jahangushay, and Tabaqat-i Nasiri—alongside modern scholarship, the paper examines narrative tone, theological framing, and reported events to assess how each author reconstructed history. Rashid al-Din and Juvayni, who were both involved in the Mongol administration, wrote histories justifying and glorifying Mongol rule. Juzjani, writing as a refugee in opposition to the Mongols, depicted the empire as a manifestation of divine wrath. Such findings reveal that Persian chronicles of the empire do not merely record events but also ideological responses shaped by context and political necessity, highlighting the broader challenge historians face in distinguishing between historical fact and interpretive framing in sources produced under empire and crisis.

YOUR HOLINESS, WE HAVE A PROBLEM! WHO GETS A DECLARATION OF NULLITY AND WHO GETS IGNORED: Global Disparities in the Catholic Marriage Annulment Process and Prospective Reforms

By Francesca Thérèse Ramos

The Catholic Church proclaims marriage as an indissoluble sacramental covenant, yet it also provides a judicial process to determine when a marriage was invalid from the moment of consent. While this declaration of nullity process is theoretically available to all Catholics, access to it varies dramatically across the globe. In wealthier dioceses, well-staffed tribunals often process cases efficiently, but in many parts of Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific, faithful Catholics face long delays, prohibitive costs, or no access to a tribunal at all. This paper examines the historical development of the Church’s nullity process, the global shortage of canon lawyers, and the uneven distribution of tribunal resources that has created these disparities. Drawing on contemporary statistics and recent reforms such as Pope Francis’s Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus, it argues that the central problem facing the annulment process today is not theological disagreement but institutional capacity. When Catholics lack meaningful access to the Church’s judicial structures, sacramental justice becomes uneven in practice. Grounded in Catholic Social Teaching, this study proposes practical reforms, including diocesan partnerships, investment in canonist formation, and expanded pastoral accompaniment, to strengthen tribunal accessibility and ensure that the Church’s ministry of justice and reconciliation is available to the faithful regardless of geography or wealth.

GUILT AND RESPONSIBILITY: The Artful and Artless Voyeur in Seamus Heaney’s Late Career

By Kayla Thuel

During the first decade of his career as a poet, Seamus Heaney (1939–2013) became known for a deeply personal, down-to-earth, and nostalgic style of writing that reflected the voice and experiences of his rural Irish upbringing while the horrors of the Troubles were tearing his country and culture apart. His quick ascent to popularity, however, thrust him into the national limelight before an audience anxious for art that bore direct witness to their suffering. From 1975 onwards, beginning with the publication of North, Heaney slowly grew to accept the political side of his poetic role. In doing so, he frequently grappled with questions of responsibility and guilt in relation to himself as poet and to the broader collective, asking: to what extent are bystanders responsible in times of crisis? To what extent are those not directly involved in carrying out acts of violence still culpable? By the publication of The Spirit Level in 1996, his message to bystanders had become confidently clear: There is “No such thing / as innocent / bystanding.” We are all responsible, posits Heaney, for working actively to overcome discord through effective speech and action, without which we are nearly as guilty as the perpetrators themselves.

BEYOND THE WAGE GAP: What It Will Take to Achieve Real Economic Equality

By Josefina Prosperi

Despite significant gains in education and workforce participation, women in the United States continue to earn substantially less than men. This essay argues that the gender wage gap persists not, according to popular belief, because of individual choice, but because of long-standing structural inequalities within labor markets and social institutions. Using economic and sociological research, this essay traces the historical evolution of women’s work, examines contemporary explanations for the wage gap, and shows that factors such as unequal pay practices, limited access to high-paying careers, discriminatory promotional patterns, and the unequal burden of unpaid caregiving continue to shape women’s earnings. This essay also discusses different policies that could lead to real change, including stronger pay transparency laws, higher minimum wages, expanded career opportunities, and investment in caregiving infrastructure. This research concludes that reducing the gender wage gap is possible, and that it would not only promote fairness but also strengthen American families and the United States economy as a whole.