Can Catholic Social Thought make a difference in shaping globalization as it affects the economic, political, ecological, technological, cultural and religious spheres of the 21st century? William Ryan will explore the present crisis of globalization and the future hope that Catholic social thought might offer. In 2005 Ryan and John Coleman, SJ, co-edited Globalization and Catholic Social Thought: Present Crisis, Future Hope (2005, Novalis). Sixteen international authors, including Bryan Hehir, Gregory Baum and Mary Evelyn Tucker, concluded that if Catholic Social Teaching was wisely, courageously, and effectively able to adapt itself to become an agent of change more attuned to globalization, it could contribute to creating a more just world.
William F. Ryan
William Ryan, SJ, is the founding director of the Center of Concern in Washington, DC, an international organization that studies issues relating to development, justice, and peace from a Christian perspective. He is a former Jesuit provincial and past General Secretary of the Canadian Conference of the Catholic Bishops. Currently, he is coordinator of the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Social Justice in Ottawa, Ontario, and adviser to the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) where he attempts to integrate religious faith and culture into the current development paradigm for poor countries.
This lecture is co-sponsored by the Ignatian lecture fund, which is endowed by the Upper Canada Province of the English-speaking Jesuits of Canada and the Waterloo Catholic District School Board.