The core purpose of the Dear Brothers and Sisters Conference is to intellectually explore the thematic social issues that have been addressed by modern Catholic social thought by assembling some of the most respected experts in Catholic social ethics. In order to garner original and creative insights of the topics, we are posing to the scholars, “If you were Pope, what social issue would you address with an encyclical and what would you prescribe?” Some of the issues we hope would be addressed include: ecology, capital punishment, immigration/globalization, gender and race, peace, and human and economic development. The primary audiences would be the general undergraduate population and all faculty on campuses that seek to integrate Catholic social teaching into their courses or have a more thorough understanding of social action intellectualism as part of Catholic identity. The conference will run March 24, 2011, through March 26, 2011.
Speakers will include:
- Cardinal Peter Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
- Fr. Kenneth R. Himes, O.F.M., Associate Professor, Department of Theology, Boston College
- Fr. David Hollenbach, S.J., University Chair in Human Rights and International Justice,
- Department of Theology, Boston College
- Sr. Dawn Nothwehr, O.S.F., Professor of Catholic Theological Ethics, Catholic Theological Union
For more information and the schedule of events, visit the conference website.
Cosponsored by the Center for Social Concerns; Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities; Catholic Relief Services; Catholic Social Tradition Minor; Center for the Study of Religion and Society; College of Arts & Letters, Henkels Lecture Series, Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts; Cushwa Center for American Catholicism; Department of Theology; Institute for Latino Studies; Kellogg Institute for International Studies; Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies; National Center for the Laity; Office of Sustainability; and Poverty Studies Interdisciplinary Minor