“The Dialogue of Economics and Catholic Social Thought”

Cosponsored by the University of Chicago Ethics Club The presence of two Catholic candidates for vice-president have raised questions about Catholic social thought and American free market economics. In this symposium, an economist and a theologian consider how the Church’s teaching bears on contemporary economic questions. The questions to be explored will include: What does the Catholic social thought developed by popes from Leo XIII and Pius XI to John Paul II and Benedict XVI say about economic issues? How can economists engage the principles of Catholic Social Thought and reflect on questions such as the just wage, social solidarity and the market…
Pacem in terris After 50 Years

A Public Symposium in Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Pope John XXIII’s Encyclical on Establishing Universal Peace on Earth KEYNOTE: Roland Minnerath, Archbishop of Dijon RESPONDENTS: Mary Ann Glendon, Harvard Law School Joseph Weiler, New York University Law School Russell Hittinger, University of Tulsa On April 11, 1963, amid the global tensions of the Cold War, and shortly after the erection of the Berlin Wall, Pope John XXIII addressed his famous encyclical Pacem in terris to all people of good will. He invites them to consider the conditions for establishing universal peace on earth in truth, justice, charity, and liberty. On the 50th Anniversary of…
Toward A Moral Economy: Globalization and the Developing World

Part of the Lumen Christi Institute Program in Economics and Catholic Social Thought, a continuing exchange between research economists, bishops, and scholars, this symposium will address poverty and economic development; social, cultural, and economic integration; and emigration and its impact on developing countries. Keynote address: Peter Cardinal Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace Presentations by: Robert Lucas, University of Chicago Economics Department Luigi Zingales, University of Chicago Booth School of Business Joseph Kaboski, University of Notre Dame Economics Department Sponsored by The Lumen Christi Institute at the University of Chicago, the John U. Nef Committee on Social Thought at the University…
Jewish & Catholic Approaches to Property & Social Justice

Eduardo Peñalver (University of Chicago Law School) Joseph William Singer (Harvard Law School) REGISTRATION IS CLOSED FOR THIS EVENT 1.5 hours Ethics/Professionalism CLE credit CA, IL and NY. SCHEDULE: 5:00 PM: Registration and Refreshments 5:15 PM: Welcoming Remarks by Craig Martin (Partner, Jenner & Block) 5:20 PM: Introduction by the Hon. Thomas More Donnelly (Associate Judge, Circuit Court of Cook County) 5:25 PM: Presentation by Eduardo Peñalver (University of Chicago Law School) 5:45 PM: Presentation by Joseph William Singer (Harvard Law School) 6:05: Panel Discussion 6:25 PM: Q&A 6:55 PM: Wine and Cheese Reception Both Jewish and Catholic traditions teach that each human being is obliged to attend to the…
The Human Person, Economics & Catholic Social Thought

“The current financial crisis can make us overlook the fact that it originated in a profound human crisis: the denial of the primacy of the human person!” – Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium The human person is a contested terrain. Within the fields of Economics and Catholic Social Thought, each maintain distinct conceptions of and emphases on the human person that impact their respective diagnoses of contemporary crises and proposed solutions. Drawing together economists, bishops and scholars, this symposium will explore fundamental convergences and divergences in the conception of the human person in Economics and Catholic Social Thought. This program is part…
“Pacem in Terris after Fifty Years: Lessons for the Middle East?” at Harvard Law School

Presenter: Russell Hittinger (University of Tulsa) Respondents: Andrew Bacevich (Boston University) Habib Malik (Lebanese American University) Moderator: Mary Ann Glendon (Harvard Law School) REGISTER HERE On April 11, 1963, amid the tensions of the Cold War, and shortly after the erection of the Berlin Wall, Pope John XXIII addressed his encyclical Pacem in terris to all people of good will. He invites them to consider the conditions for establishing universal peace on earth in truth, justice, charity, and liberty. This symposium will examine the affirmations of Pacem in terris as they bear today on human rights, religious freedom, and the international political and economic…
A Crisis of Community: Catholic School Closures and Urban Neighborhoods

A book event with the authors of Lost Classroom, Lost Community: Catholic Schools’ Importance in Urban America Margaret Brinig and Nicole Stelle Garnett moderated by Fr. Tim Scully (Hackett Family Director, Institute for Educational Initiatives, University of Notre Dame) In the past two decades in the United States, more than 1,600 Catholic elementary and secondary schools have closed, and more than 4,500 charter schools—public schools that are often privately operated and freed from certain regulations—have opened, many in urban areas. With a particular emphasis on Catholic school closures, Lost Classroom, Lost Communityexamines the implications of these dramatic shifts in the urban educational landscape. More than…
Caring for our Common Home: Economics, Environment, & Catholic Social Thought

THURSDAY, MAY 19 The International House at The University of Chicago Public Symposium Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski, Archbishop of Miami Christopher Barrett, Cornell University Mary Evelyn Tucker, Yale University Michael Greenstone, The University of Chicago V. Ramanathan, The University of California, San Diego FRIDAY, MAY 20 The Hilton Chicago/Magnificent Mile Suites SESSION I: The Current State of Environmental Degradation and its Impact on the Most Vulnerable Richard Carson, The University of California, San Diego Christopher Barrett, Cornell University SESSION II: Catholic Social Teaching on the Environment Jame Schaefer, Marquette University David Cloutier, Mount St. Mary’s University Session III: Practical Responses to the Problem Geoffrey Heal, Columbia University Mark Jacobsen, The…
Early Modern Catholic Social Teaching and World Order

Free and open to the public. Cosponsored by the Center for Latin American Studies, the Early Modern and Mediterranean Worlds Workshop, and the Ethics Club at the Divinity School. Western distrust in liberal internationalism offers an opportunity for renewed theological reflection on the moral foundations of world order. After the Second World War, transitional popes and Thomistic philosophers articulated a Christian vision of supranational society to quicken the support of universal human rights. Their personalist global ethic outlines the contribution of sixteenth-century Spanish theologians who promoted a conception of world order that affirmed the basic rights of believers and nonbelievers…
Master Class on “Bishop Bartolomé de las Casas, OP: Christian Faith and Amerindian Rights”

Open to current university students and faculty. A link to the readings will be provided for registrants. This class offers an in-depth overview of the life and writings of the irrepressible friar Bishop Bartolomé de las Casas, O.P. (1484-1566), identified by friend and foe as the “Protector of the Indians.” Since youth, Las Casas was intimately bound to the old and new worlds of Europe and the Indies, traversing the Atlantic at least a half dozen times during his life. He was a Renaissance churchman par excellence, inhabiting the various duties and roles of missionary preacher, theologian, bishop, historian, political…