by John L. Allen Jr.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Peggy Binette or Margaret Lamb
Phone: 803.777.5400; E-mail: peggy@gwm.sc.edu
Prize-winning Vatican correspondent John Allen will be the Joseph Cardinal Bernardin lecturer at the University of South Carolina Nov. 8 - 9.
Allen, a correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter since 1997, will give the public lecture, “Live from the Vatican: Current Issues for the Church,” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 8, at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral on Sumter Street. Allen has been called “the most authoritative Vatican writer in the English language” by the London Tablet. He is a frequent guest on CNN, NPR and international media outlets for commentary. He has written three books on Vatican affairs.
On Thursday, Nov. 9, Allen will participate in a panel discussion on religion and the media at 3 p.m. in Rutledge Chapel on the university Horseshoe. Both events are free and open to the public. Brad Warthen, editorial editor for The State newspaper, will moderate the panel, which also will feature Charles Bierbauer, dean of the College of Mass Communications and Information Studies; Dr. Cecile Holmes, assistant professor of journalism; Bobbi Kennedy, vice president for education for SC-ETV; and the Very Rev. Philip Linder, dean of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral.
The Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Lectures were inaugurated in 1999 to honor the Columbia native, former University of South Carolina student and distinguished leader in the Roman Catholic Church. In his work as priest and archbishop of Chicago, he addressed the social and ethical issues of our time and left a profound legacy of service, social concern and education. The university is working to raise funds to establish the Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Chair in Ethical, Moral and Religious Studies.
This year, the lectures also honor Cardinal Bernardin’s sister, Elaine Addison, who died Sept. 23. Addison was an active member of the Bernardin Lecture Committee, helping the university to preserve the legacy of her brother.
For more information, contact Dr. Hal French, chairman of the Bernardin committee, at 803-777-2178. Visit the department of religious studies website for more information about the Bernardin lectures: www.cas.sc.edu/relg/.
