Sponsored by Fairfield University’s Center for Catholic Studies, the Living Theology Workshop series presents important issues of the Church today, examined with a discerning eye by prominent University scholars.
Led by Paul Lakeland, PhD, the Aloysius P. Kelley, S.J., Professor of Catholic Studies and director of the Center for Catholic Studies, the first of three fall 2020 Living Theology Workshops is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, September 23 at 4:30 p.m. and will explore the topic of “Catholics, Jesuits, and Slavery.” This webinar is free and open to the public on a virtual platform.
Awareness has increased recently about Catholic participation in the slave economy during the colonial and young Republic periods in America, due to revelations of Georgetown selling slaves in the early 19th century to shore up the fledgling university’s finances. Yet, the scope of the Church’s involvement in general — and the history of Jesuit priests as slaveholders in particular — is not well-known. In the Living Theology Workshop discussion on Sept. 23, panelists will outline the history of Catholic slave-holding, explore the justifications offered in its defense, and respond from the perspective of the present day.
Dr. Lakeland will chair the “Catholics, Jesuits, and Slavery” discussion alongside panelists Rachelle Brunn-Bevel, PhD, associate professor of sociology and chair of the Sociology and Anthropology Department, and Clarence E. Hardy III, PhD, visiting associate professor of religious studies. Together, they will address questions such as “What does what happened back then tell us about today?” and “What about reparations?”
Moved to a virtual platform for fall 2020, webinar sessions of the Living Theology Workshop series are free, open to the public, and newly accessible to a broad geographic audience. In addition to “Catholics, Jesuits, and Slavery” on September 23, this semester’s sessions will cover “50 Years of Women at Fairfield” on October 17 and “Black Lives Matter at Fairfield” on November 11.
Registration for the “Catholics, Jesuits, and Slavery” webinar is available through the link below. For complete information on Living Theology Workshops and other programs offered through Fairfield University’s Center for Catholic Studies, please visit fairfield.edu/cs.
