Faith, Hope and the Option for the Poor in the Time of COVID
Mar 4
Zoom Event
Mar 4
Zoom Event| Thursday, Mar. 4 | 7:00 PM | Register |
The 2021 Spring Endowed Lecture Series is focused on “Spirituality, Ethics and Health Care.” COVID-19 has rapidly changed the way we live and the way we respond spiritually and ethically to those in need. This series will look at questions of Catholic bioethics in light of the pandemic, global health and human rights, spirituality and the option for the poor, and human dignity in light of racial disparities in health care.
The Center for Spirituality is pleased to welcome Paul Farmer, MD, PhD and Jennie Weiss Block, OP, DMin for this virtual lecture.
Medical anthropologist and physician Paul Farmer has dedicated his life to improving health care for the world’s poorest people. He is co-founder and chief strategist of Partners In Health (PIH), an international non-profit organization that, since 1987, has provided direct health care services and undertaken research and advocacy activities on behalf of those who are sick and living in poverty. Farmer holds an MD and PhD from Harvard University. He is the Kolokotrones University Professor and the Chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is also Chief of the Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston. His most recent book is Fevers, Feuds, and Diamonds: Ebola and the Ravages of History.
Jennie Weiss Block is a Dominican laywoman and a practical theologian. She has served as chief advisor to Dr. Paul Farmer since 2009 and was his chief of staff in his role as United Nations Deputy Special Envoy under President Bill Clinton. In her current role as chief advisor, Block provides strategic guidance in policy analysis and development, humanitarian disaster management, disability rights, foreign aid effectiveness, poverty reduction, and global health equity, and serves as liaison with international NGOs, foundations and philanthropists. Block has an MBA, an MA in theology, and a doctorate of ministry from Barry University. Her most recent book is Paul Farmer: Servant to the Poor in the Liturgical Press’ People of God series, which won a Catholic Press Association Award.
Founded in 1984 with generous support from the Sisters of the Holy Cross, the Center for Spirituality offers programs that promote the engagement between faith and reason and the connection between mind, body, and spirit. For more about the Center and our offerings, including links to videos of past lectures, please visit https://www.saintmarys.edu/spiritual-life/center-for-spirituality.