Diverse Panel to Explore "Caritas in Veritate"
- Details
- Published on Sunday, 01 November 2009 18:06
This summer's papal encyclical on Catholic social teaching, Caritas in Veritate, was met with praise and criticism from all segments of the political spectrum. To provide perspective on the encyclical, the Ave Maria University Economics Department has gathered a panel of people from diverse backgrounds to reflect on and discuss the document.
The panel will be held Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 7 p.m. in the AMU academic building lecture hall. All are welcome.
"The document caused much comment from Catholics and non-Catholics alike," said Dr. Gabriel Martinez, chair of the Economics Department. "There were immediate attempts to paint the pope into ideological corners, to color the encyclical according to the reader's own political background. But the document is a serious one, and deserves careful attention and slow reflection."
Caritas in Veritate is the first papal encyclical on Catholic social teaching in almost 20 years. "Much has happened in the world since then," Dr. Martinez notes, "primarily a realization of the widespread influence of globalization -- and a financial crisis."
Panelists include:
- Michael Timmis, chairman of the Ave Maria University board of trustees and an expert on non-profit management.
- Patrick Quirk, an international legal scholar and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at the Ave Maria School of Law.
- Blanford Parker, a senior scholar in the field of literature and a Professor of Literature at Ave Maria University.
- Bira Rezende, an experienced businessman, diplomat, lawyer and scholar in political philosophy, and Associate Director of the Ave Maria University Institute of Business.
- Joseph Burke, an economist and assistant professor of Economics at AMU who has taught and written on Catholic social teaching for several years.
Each panelist will have about 10 minutes to speak, after which the floor will be open for questions.
Dr. Martinez provided The Ave Herald with a brief summary of the themes that will be explored by each panelist, which can be downloaded here.