Can the Catholic Church Tolerate an Educated Laity:
The holiness of democracy in the Catholic Church

Guest Speaker: Ted Schmidt

Ted Schmidt is the former editor of the Catholic New Times the author of
Journeys to the Heart of Catholicism

“The Roman Catholic Church is a lay movement served by clergy.
With the advance in education, lay people are demanding that their voice
be heeded, honoured and respected. This is Good News for the whole Church.”

Dante Lenardon Hall, Room 112
Tuesday, March 9, 2010 @ 7:00 p.m.

Courage in the Darkness: Women, Hope & the Power for Change

Guest Speaker: Stephanie Nolen

The International Women’s Day Lecture of The Sophia Series

Stephanie Nolen is the South Asia correspondent for the Globe and Mail.  She has reported from more than 40 countries around the world. She is a four-time winner of the National Newspaper Award for coverage that has taken her from war zones to AIDS clinics to camel races, and a three-time winner of the Amnesty International Media Award. In 2008, she ended a six-year assignment based in Johannesburg, in which she had a particular mandate to cover the impact of the HIV-AIDS pandemic across Africa -- one of only two reporters in the world media with that assignment. Her best-selling book 28 Stories of AIDS in Africa has been published in 14 countries and six languages. It won the 2007 PEN ‘Courage’ Award and was nominated for the 2007 Governor-General’s Award for Non-Fiction. Today she is based in New Delhi, where she is learning Hindi, her sixth language.

The event will feature a display by Art for AIDS International, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds and awareness for those most affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Brescia College at the University of Western Ontario, in the Auditorium
Thursday, March 11, 2010 @ 7:30 p.m.

Sponsored by The Circle Women’s Centre at Brescia University College

Muted and Maligned Voices: Public Justice and the Canadian Churches

Guest Speaker: Joe Gunn

Executive Director of Citizens for Public Justice

Joe’s extensive work experience stretches over the continent. Born in Toronto, he earned a Master’s Degree from a prairie university. In Latin America, Joe worked in refugee camps and served as a Country Director for Canadian Save the Children. At the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops for over ten years, Joe developed policy and coordinated work in areas of social justice, missions, and Aboriginal peoples. He served as the founding vice-chair of KAIROS - Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives, and has been active in the Canadian Council of Churches’ Commission for Justice and Peace as well as the churches’ ecumenical health care initiative. Joe has coordinated the Make Poverty History campaign and engaged in research, public speaking and advocacy on national and international issues.

Refreshments and discussion will follow the talk.

King’s University College, Wemple Student Lounge
Thursday, March 18, 2010 @ 1 p.m.