Sister Helen Prejean, others to speak at biennial Catholic Social Tradition Conference
Guests including anti-death penalty advocate Sister Helen Prejean, of “Dead Man Walking” fame, and Bishop Alfred Agyenta of Ghana will deliver remarks during the upcoming Catholic Social Tradition Conference from March 23 to 25 at the University of Notre Dame.
Hosted by the Center for Social Concerns, “Justice Sown in Peace: 60 years since Pacem in Terris” will mark six decades since Pope John XXIII’s seminal encyclical on peace in truth, justice, liberty and charity.
It will also celebrate two 40-year-old milestones: the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ pastoral on war and peace, “The Challenge of Peace: God’s Promise and Our Response,” and the founding of the Center for Social Concerns by Rev. Don McNeill, C.S.C.
“This is the center’s seventh biennial Catholic Social Tradition Conference, and it’s become an important opportunity for scholars and practitioners from around the world to work together to understand and apply the Church’s social teaching to the challenges we face,” said Suzanne Shanahan, the Leo and Arlene Hawk Executive Director of the Center for Social Concerns.
Occurring on a biennial basis, the three-day conference will examine issues of justice with a particular focus on migration, racism, violence, political structures and internationalization, among other critical concerns of the day.
In addition to Bishop Agyenta, the third Indigenous bishop of the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Diocese, and Sister Prejean, guests will include Michelle Becka of Julius-Maximilians University, Marie Dennis of Pax Christi International, Bernard Prusak of King’s College and fellow educators and thought leaders from across the globe.
The Center for Social Concerns is an interdisciplinary institute dedicated to justice education and research for the common good.
For more information, visit socialconcerns.nd.edu.
Latest University News
- Theologian Gary Anderson awarded 2024 Barry Prize; Paolo Carozza, Richard Garnett and Christian Smith also honoredGary A. Anderson, the Hesburgh Professor of Catholic Thought at the University of Notre Dame, has been awarded a 2024 Barry Prize for Distinguished Intellectual Achievement from the American Academy of Sciences and Letters. The academy conferred the prize Wednesday (Oct. 23) in a ceremony at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
- In memoriam: Rev. Gustavo Gutiérrez, O.P., renowned Notre Dame theologian, father of ‘liberation theology’Rev. Gustavo Gutiérrez, O.P., professor emeritus of theology at Notre Dame and widely regarded as the “father of liberation theology,” died Tuesday (Oct. 22) in Lima, Peru. He was 96.
- New name for Institute for Social Concerns reflects expanded research, teaching and partnershipsThe University of Notre Dame’s Center for Social Concerns will now be called the Institute for Social Concerns. The name change signals its status as a scholarly unit with faculty from various departments, colleges and schools whose activities contribute to a comprehensive and multifaceted interdisciplinary mission.
- Notre Dame Forum to present ‘Fr. TED Talks’ on Catholic social tradition, featuring President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., and Dr. Jim O’ConnellHonoring the legacy of legendary University of Notre Dame President Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., the 2024-25 Notre Dame Forum will host “Fr. TED Talks: Ideas from the Catholic Social Tradition That We Find Inspiring,” a two-night festival on Oct. 28 and 29.
- ‘Great powers don’t mind their own business’: Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warns of perils of US isolationism at Notre Dame Forum eventAs part of the 2024-25 Notre Dame Forum, Condoleezza Rice, the 66th U.S. Secretary of State, the Tad and Dianne Taube Director of the Hoover Institution and a University of Notre Dame alumna, returned to campus Friday (Oct. 11) to speak to an overflow crowd of more than 1,000 people in the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center and hundreds more online.
- Architect Doug Marsh, ‘most impactful builder in Notre Dame’s history,’ to retire after 30-year University careerUniversity of Notre Dame Executive Vice President Shannon Cullinan has announced that Doug Marsh, vice president for facilities design and operations and University architect,…