Drawing from Pope Francis’ renewed call to be a mission-centered church and the Second Vatican Council’s teaching on the lay apostolate, this program will explore the power and potential of socially engaged lay communities. We will begin by examing the complex challenges facing the church and the world today. We will discover the need to renew our models of Christian engagement. In Pope Francis’ 2015 address to popular movements, he issued a profound call to action. “The future of humanity,” he insisted, “is fundamentally in the hands of peoples and in their ability to organize.”

Resource Person: Kevin Glauber Ahern, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Manhattan College. He obtained his PhD from Boston College in Theological Ethics. He is the past president of the International Movement of Catholic Students (IMCS-Pax Romana) and has published several books and articles including the award-winning book, Visions of Hope: Emerging Theologians and the Future of the Church (Orbis, 2012). He has taught at Boston College School of Theology and Ministry and Saint John XXIII National Seminary. He is active on the boards of several national and international Catholic social justice networks, including the Catholic Common Ground Initiative and America Media.

THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN CANCELLED, DUE TO LACK OF PARTICIPANTS