The Lumen Christi Institute

A webinar discussion with Jennifer Frey (University of South Carolina), Russell Hittinger (Lumen Christi Institute), and Fr. Michael Sherwin, OP (University of Fribourg). Originally broadcast as a live webinar May 1, 2021 The president in his inaugural address quoted Augustine of Hippo’s definition of a people as “a multitude defined by the common objects of their love.” This surprising event offe...

A webinar conversation with Michelle Gonzalez Maldonado (University of Scranton), and Juan Soto (Gamaliel), moderated by Peter Casarella (Duke University). Originally delivered May 11, 2021. Part of a Lumen Christi Institute webinar series on Hispanic Theology. Latinx Theology has always had a dual focus on the beauty of the symbols of Popular Catholicism and the cry of the poor in urban settings....

A webinar conversation with Claudia Herrera (ACHTUS) and Jose Matos Auffant (St. Mary's University). Originally delivered May 4, 2021. Part of a Lumen Christi Institute webinar series on Hispanic Theology. There are complex dynamics to account for when examining the intersectionality of religious identity, social context, and the lived experience of young Latinx in the U.S. Current research shows...

A webinar lecture with Miguel Romero (Salve Regina University). Originally delivered April 27, 2021. Part of a Lumen Christi Institute webinar series on Hispanic Theology. In the 16th century, there was a subtle shift in the way the Spanish Dominican interpreters of Thomas Aquinas spoke about the anthropological and moral significance of our rational faculties. Historical and textual markers, indi...

"Globalization from the People: Fratelli Tutti and the Latino Social Teaching of Pope Francis" A webinar lecture with Prof. David Lantigua (University of Notre Dame). Delivered April 20, 2021, as part of a webinar series on Hispanic Theology, presented by the Lumen Christi Institute. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a flash point for globalization as a sign of the times, revealing the best and worst...

Language matters, and it matters much when sharing the best of our faith convictions with one another. Without language there is no communication, understanding or community. Sharing faith in the United States of America in an increasingly Hispanic church demands that we take questions associated with language seriously. Nearly fifteen million Catholics in the U.S. are Spanish-speaking immigrants....

A discussion with Judge Stephanos Bibas (3rd Circuit, Court of Appeals) and William Pizzi (University of Colorado Law School), moderated by Cook County Judge Tom Donnelly. American principles of justice and equality lead our culture to value the criminal trial as a fair hearing for the accused and vindication for the victims of crime. But the reality of the U.S. justice system falls far short of t...

A webinar lecture with Elizabeth Lev(Duquesne University). This event is co-presented by the Harvard Catholic Forum and the Lumen Christi Institute. St. Joseph was an unassuming latecomer to the history of art, but once discovered, his images evolved rapidly to serve the Catholic Church during challenging times. From model for the papacy, to symbol of marriage and fatherhood, to guide for a good d...

A webinar lecture with Fr. Thomas Esposito, O.Cist (University of Dallas). This event is cosponsored by Calvert House Catholic Center. The first recipients of St. Paul's letters did not keep their letters to themselves; as part of the organic life of the Church that Catholics call "Tradition," the letters of Paul were collected together and incorporated into the New Testament. One amazing conseque...

A panel discussion with Charles Taylor (McGill University), Patrizia Nanz (German Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management), and Jason Blakely (Pepperdine University), moderated by Fr. Patrick Gilger, SJ (New School for Social Research).  We are experiencing a crisis of democracy more powerful than anything seen in a generation: inequality continues at a galloping pace; policing i...

A webinar lecture with Fr. Mark Rotsaert, SJ, President of the Bollandist Society. This event was co-presented by the Lumen Christi Institute and the Bollandist Society. Originally broadcast as a live event March 13, 2021. In this presentation, Fr. Mark Rotsaert, SJ will look to sanctity as a gift of the Spirit and reflect on the different ways one can become a saint and the universal call to holi...

Catholic schools serve close to 62 million students globally at the preschool, primary, and secondary levels, with in addition more than 6 million students enrolled at the post-secondary level. By managing the largest non-governmental network of schools and universities in the world, the Catholic Church plays an important role in efforts to achieve SDG4, especially in low-income countries. In 2020...

Lecture with Patrick Geary (Institute for Advanced Study), delivered Feb 13, 2021. This event was co-presented by the Lumen Christi Institute and the Bollandist Society, and co-sponsored by America Media, the Collegium Institute, the Harvard Catholic Forum, the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University, the Nova Forum, the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies at USC, the Saint Benedic...

Review and lecture from a master class with Russell Hittinger, Delivered in December of 2020. The tradition of natural law is one of the foundations of Western civilization. At its heart is the conviction that there is an objective and universal justice which transcends humanity’s particular expressions of justice. It asserts that there are certain ways of behaving which are appropriate to humanit...

A lecture by Fr. John O'Malley, SJ (Georgetown University), followed by Q&A. The ideal of educating the total human person – the project that took on the name “humanism” -  became a widespread norm for education in the Christian world of early modern Europe, whence it spread to North and South America. This humanist ideal has competed for influence with other educational ideals, most especially wi...

A presentation by Quentin Wodon (International Office of Catholic Education), followed by discussion with Annie Smith (Director of Research and Data, National Catholic Education Association), Andrew Miller (Boston College), and Timothy Uhl (Superintendent, Catholic Schools for Montana). Catholic schools and universities aim to educate the whole person. Beyond strong academics, they aim to educate...

A webinar lecture with Professor Bronwen McShea (Augustine Institute; Institute on Religion and Public Life). Originally delivered on January 7, 2021. This event was co-presented by the Lumen Christi Institute and the Bollandist Society. In this talk, we will examine side by side the lives and legacies of two major saints of French Catholicism's seventeenth-century golden age.  Louise de Marillac...

A panel discussion with Kenneth Woodward (Lumen Christi Institute), Peter Wehner (Ethics and Public Policy Center), and William McCready (University of Michigan), moderated by Joseph Capizzi (Catholic University of America). Originally presented as a live web event December 16, 2020. The 2020 presidential race seemed to highlight the central role of religion in the electorate. Democrats spent heav...

A webinar lecture with John L. Allen, Jr. (Crux) The pandemic of 2020 has disrupted the sacraments and public worship, scattered communities, and put local churches into new, sometimes strained, relationships with civil authorities. The Church has also been a significant actor in the crisis, offering relief services and spiritual care on a massive scale. What does all this mean for the worldwide C...

A conversation with George Dennis O'Brien (University of Rochester) and Mark Alznauer (Northwestern University). John F. Kennedy once quipped that a Catholic would be president of the United States before a Catholic would be president of Harvard. As the Catholic president of two secular universities, Dennis O’Brien was a trailblazer. In this interview, O’Brien discusses his long career in higher e...

A webinar panel discussion with theologian, Margaret Pfeil (University of Notre Dame), and economists Bruce Weber (Oregon State), and Craig Gundersen (University of Illinois), moderated by economist Chris Barrett (Cornell University). Food insecurity has become a leading indicator of well-being in the U.S. due to the tens of millions of food insecure Americans and the accordant negative physical a...

A webinar lecture with Fr. Sam Z. Conedera, S.J. (Saint Louis University). Originally broadcast as a live web event on December 1, 2020, marking the feast day of St. Edmund Campion. This program was presented with the Bollandist Society. "The expense is reckoned, the enterprise is begun; it is of God; it cannot be withstood." With these bold words Edmund Campion, SJ, communicated to Her Majesty's...

A discussion with Professor Zena Hitz (St. John's College), moderated by Professor Jared Ortiz (Hope College). Originally broadcast as a live online event November 10, 2020. In a world where efficiency and utility are the standards by which we measure success, how do we appreciate what resists quantification? And at a moment of institutional change and instability for higher education, what do we...

"Quo Vadis: The Direction of Eastern Catholic Theology, a Pastoral Perspective for the 21st Century" A webinar lecture with Metropolitan Borys Gudziak (Archeparchy of Philadelphia, Ukrainian Catholic Church in the USA). Part of a webinar series. "Eastern Catholic Theology in Action," presented by the Lumen Christi Institute, the Godbearer Institute, and the Collegium Institute. Originally delivere...

A webinar lecture with Fr. John O'Malley, SJ. Presented by the Lumen Christi Institute, the Bollandist Society, and America Media. Originally delivered as a live webinar on November 1, 2020. Few Christian practices are as ancient and widely popular as veneration of the saints.  It is appropriate on this Feast of All Saints to review that history, consider the challenges it has faced, and reflect o...