Symposium on "Revolutionary Saint: The Theological Legacy of Oscar Romero"
Michael LeeFordham University
Peter J. CasarellaDuke Divinity School
Carmen Nanko-FernándezCatholic Theological Union
Cosponsored by the Theology Club at the University of Chicago Divinity School and Orbis Books. This program was made possible in part by a grant from the Our Sunday Visitor Institute.
Join us for a symposium of the recent book Revolutionary Saint: The Theological Legacy of Óscar Romero (Orbis Books, 2018) by Michael Lee. Copies of the book will be available for sale by the Seminary Coop Bookstore at the event.
About the book
Many years after his death in 1980, the world is still absorbing the witness of Óscar Romero, the archbishop of San Salvador, martyred for his commitment to the poor and social justice. In this work, Michael E. Lee offers a profound reflection on the theological implications of Romero’s life and ministry.
Drawing on Romero’s biography as well as his homilies and other writings, Lee considers specifically how Romero’s witness challenges Christians in the U.S. to reimagine a robust Christian spirituality that is at once a mystical encounter with God and a prophetic engagement in the struggle for justice. In light of Romero’s beatification and canonization, Lee reflects on the implications of the archbishop's recognition as a martyr and on the model of holiness he offers for the wider Church today.
Prof. Lee also gave a luncheon talk in downtown Chicago earlier on the 11th on "The Life and Legacy of Saint Oscar Romero."
Michael E. Lee is Associate Professor of Theology at Fordham University. Born in Miami of Puerto Rican parents, he holds an M.A. from the University of Chicago and a B.A., M.A., and PhD from the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of Bearing the Weight of Salvation: The Soteriology of Ignacio Ellacuría and Revolutionary Saint: The Theological Legacy of Óscar Romero.His commentary has appeared in a wide variety of venues including The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and El Faro Académico (El Salvador). He has also appeared on networks including CNN, Al-Jazeera America, ABC-NY, National Public Radio, and Radio France International.
Peter J. Casarella is Professor of Theology at Duke Divinity School. He received his PhD in Religious Studies at Yale University. Casarella previously served as professor of Systematic Theology at the University of Notre Dame and as director of the Latin American North American Church Concerns (LANACC) project in the Kellogg Institute for International Studies. Casarella has served as president of The American Cusanus Society, The Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians in the U.S. (ACHTUS), and the Academy of Catholic Theologians (ACT). He is currently serving a second five-year term on the International Roman Catholic-Baptist World Alliance Ecumenical Dialogue and served also on the Roman Catholic-World Communion of Reformed Churches Dialogue. He has authored or edited several books, including: Cuerpo de Cristo: The Hispanic Presence in the U.S. Catholic Church (1998), A World for All? Global Civil Society in Political Theory and Trinitarian Theology (2011), and most recently, Word as Bread: Language and Theology in Nicholas of Cusa (2017)
Carmen Nanko-Fernández is Professor of Hispanic Theology and Ministry at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. Her scholarship focuses on areas of Latin@ theologies, Catholic social teaching, interreligious, ecumenical and intercultural relations, im/migration, sport and theology, and the intersections between faith and popular culture with particular attention to béisbol/baseball. She has presented in a variety of academic and pastoral venues including the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. She is currently completing her book ¡El Santo! Baseball and the Canonization of Roberto Clemente, which is under contract with the Sport and Religion series of Mercer University Press. With Gary Riebe-Estrella, SVD, Carmen is co-editor of the forthcoming Fortress Press book series Disruptive Cartographers: Remapping Theology Latinamente.
