FAIRFIELD, Conn.—Sacred Heart University’s Center for Catholic Studies will present six speakers discussing timely and timeless issues this spring.
Featuring nationally and internationally renowned speakers, the series will comprise four lectures at SHU’s forum in the Frank and Marisa Martire Center for the Liberal Arts, as well as one virtual event. All talks, which are free and open to the public, will begin at 7 p.m. on Wednesdays, starting Feb. 2.
The lectures are part of SHU’s Center for Catholic Studies Lecture Series , which aims to bring together cutting-edge Catholic thinkers, writers and artists whose works and thoughts unite the Catholic intellectual tradition and contemporary culture.
“These lectures highlight the breadth, intellectual heft and contemporary resonance of the Catholic intellectual tradition and of Catholic studies as a field,” said Daniel Rober, associate professor of Catholic studies at SHU.
Award-winning journalist Michael O’Loughlin will deliver the first lecture, “Uncovering Hidden Mercy: A Catholic Journalist’s Search for Stories of Compassion in the LGBTQ Community.” A correspondent for America Media, O’Loughlin is the author of Hidden Mercy: AIDS, Catholics and the Untold Stories of Compassion in the Face of Fear. He also hosts the podcast Plague: Untold Stories of AIDS and the Catholic Church.
Catholic scholar Phyllis Zagano will deliver the virtual lecture, “Women in Ministry: What About the Diaconate?” on Feb. 23. Zagano, author of Women: Icons of Christ, is senior research associate-in-residence at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY.
On March 2, SHU will present The Endowed Edward & Jacqueline Musante Endowed Lecture, “Women’s Ordination and the Synodal Church.” This live talk will feature Heidi Schlumpf, executive editor of the National Catholic Reporter, and Kate McElwee, executive director of the Women’s Ordination Conference, discussing the work of women’s ordination activists since Pope Francis called upon Catholics worldwide to consider what it means to “journey together” as people of God.
On April 6, author Phil Klay, a National Book Award winner, will deliver, “The Catholic Imagination in a Suffering World.” This U.S. Marine Corps veteran and author of the short story collection Redeployment, Klay also wrote Missionaries, which The Wall Street Journal and former President Barack Obama listed among the top books of 2020.
The series will conclude April 20 with Fr. David Tracy discussing, “The Concepts of the Infinite and of God as Infinite Love,” which will serve as SHU’s annual Jorge Bergoglio Lecture. Tracy, author of Fragments: The Existential Situation of Our Time and Filaments: Theological Profiles, is the Andrew Thomas Greeley and Grace McNichols distinguished service professor emeritus of Catholic studies at the University of Chicago Divinity School.
For more information and links to virtual lectures, visit sacredheart.edu/ccspeakerseries.
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About Sacred Heart University
As the second-largest independent Catholic university in New England, and one of the fastest-growing in the U.S., Sacred Heart University is a national leader in shaping higher education for the 21st century. SHU offers nearly 90 undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs on its Fairfield, Conn., campus. Sacred Heart also has satellites in Connecticut, Luxembourg and Ireland and offers online programs. More than 9,000 students attend the University’s nine colleges and schools: Arts & Sciences; Communication, Media & the Arts; Social Work; Computer Science & Engineering; Health Professions; the Isabelle Farrington College of Education; the Jack Welch College of Business & Technology; the Dr. Susan L. Davis, R.N., & Richard J. Henley College of Nursing; and St. Vincent’s College. Sacred Heart stands out from other Catholic institutions as it was established and led by laity. The contemporary Catholic university is rooted in the rich Catholic intellectual tradition and the liberal arts, and at the same time cultivates students to be forward thinkers who enact change—in their own lives, professions and in their communities. The Princeton Review includes SHU in its Best 387 Colleges–2022 Edition, “Best Northeastern” and Best Business Schools–2022 Edition. Sacred Heart is home to the award-winning, NPR-affiliated radio station, WSHU, a Division I athletics program and an impressive performing arts program that includes choir, band, dance and theatre. www.sacredheart.edu