Center for Spirituality Announces Fall Lecture Series

August 24, 2016 (Notre Dame, Ind.) — The Center for Spirituality (CFS) at Saint Mary’s College proudly announces the Fall 2016 Endowed Lecture Series titled, "Faith, Hope, and Dialogue in Public Life.” The two lectures in the series are free and open to the public.

Monday, September 19, 7:30 p.m., Vander Vennet Theatre, Student Center
Faithful Citizenship and the Message of Pope Francis: Directions and Dangers for American Catholics

John Carr
Director, Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life
Georgetown University

Mr. Carr served for more than 20 years as director of the U.S. Catholic Bishops' Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development, providing guidance for the U.S. bishops’ public policy and advocacy initiatives. He founded the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life in 2013. Carr is also the Washington correspondent of America magazine and its "Washington Front" columnist. 

Tuesday, September 27, 7:30 p.m., Vander Vennet Theatre, Student Center
Can We Talk?
Catholics, Politics, and the Search for Common Ground

Julie Hanlon Rubio, PhD
Professor, Christian Ethics
Department of Theological Studies
Saint Louis University 

Dr. Hanlon Rubio has taught at Saint Louis University since 1999. Her research brings Catholic social teaching into dialogue with theological analysis of sex, gender, marriage and family. She is the author of several books, including the recently released Hope for Common Ground: Mediating the Personal and the Political in a Divided Church. Dr. Rubio has a longstanding interest in bridging divides between liberals and conservatives in ecclesial and public life.

“We have rights and responsibilities to participate in public life and to do so through respectful dialogue,” explained Arlene F. Montevecchio, Director of the Center for Spirituality.  “In the words of Pope Francis, ‘Through dialogue it is always possible to get closer to the truth, which is a gift from God, and to enrich one another.’”

Every year CFS invites world-renowned scholars to Saint Mary’s College to share their wisdom on contemporary religious issues, and to address broader issues of how faith and reason interact. The Saint Mary’s College Annual Endowed Lecture Series Fund sponsors the lectures. Click for more information on CFS and the lectures, or please call (574) 284-4636.

About Saint Mary's College: Celebrating over 175 years of empowering women to make a difference in the world, Saint Mary’s College is recognized as a pioneer and continued force in the education of women. A Catholic, liberal arts institution in Notre Dame, Indiana, the College offers more than 50 undergraduate academic programs and also offers co-educational master’s degrees.