January 24, 2008
Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Ph.D., archbishop emeritus of Washington, will visit St. Mary’s University on Feb. 4 as part of the 2007-2008 Lin Great Speaker Series, which this year addresses the issue of whether it is possible to respect religious traditions while supporting a peaceful solution in the Holy Land.
The theme for this year’s Lin series is “Interfaith Dialogue: A Pathway to Peace.” St. Mary’s has invited eminent representatives of the three religions with traditions dating back millennia into the Holy Land to address the religious and theological issues that seem to frustrate attempts to establish a viable peace in that land.
The series started Nov. 7 with a presentation by Rabbi Jack Bemporad, D.D., director of the Center for Interreligious Understanding and professor of interreligious studies at the Vatican’s Angelicum University.
On March 5 Jamal Badawi, Ph.D., board member of the Islamic Society of North America and professor emeritus at St. Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, will address the campus.
A special feature of this year’s Lin series is a March 18 moderated panel of St. Mary’s students and alumni from various faith traditions who will respond to the issues raised in the three lectures. All lectures will be at 7 p.m. in the University Center, Conference Room A.
Since 1990, St. Mary’s University has offered the Lin Great Speakers Series to the public as a community service. The series is made possible by an endowment established in the memory of Shu Chi Lin by his widow, Mrs. Chang Le-Chiao, and his son, Vincent Lin, Ph.D., an alumnus and current member of the St. Mary’s University Board of Trustees. The series is designed to attract visionaries to St. Mary’s each year.