Pope Francis and the Transformation of Prison Ministry
Inspired by Pope Francis’s exhortation to create a “culture of encounter,” the institute designed the lecture series Encounter. By bringing leading scholars to campus, the institute creates an opportunity for engaging conversations grounded in the Catholic social tradition, enriching faculty and students, and ensuring that the University is a locus for these ongoing conversations on matters of justice and the common good in our fragmented time.
Kevin Hargaden is the Social Theologian at the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice in Dublin, Ireland. His work focuses on the intersection of the Catholic social tradition and Irish public policy, specifically regarding housing, environmental care, and penal reform. Kevin earned his Ph.D. in Theological Ethics from the University of Aberdeen and is the author of Theological Ethics in a Neoliberal Age (Cascade: 2018) and co-author (with Ciara Murphy) of Parish as Oasis (Messenger, 2022). A frequent contributor to both academic journals and popular media like America Magazine, he is dedicated to translating complex theological frameworks into transformative social action.