Bishop Flanagan Lecture at Holy Cross

WORCESTER, Mass. – The annual Bishop Bernard J. Flanagan Lecture on Religion and Public Affairs will take place on Thursday, Jan. 31, at 7:30 p.m. in the Rehm Library of Smith Hall. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Rev. J. Bryan Hehir, president of Catholic Charities USA, will give this year's lecture, titled "The Church and Public Life: A Pastoral Question."

For over 20 years, Hehir served as director of the Office of Social Development and World Peace for the United States Catholic Bishops. From 1999 through 2001, he served as professor of the Practice in Religion and Society and chair of the Executive Committee of Harvard Divinity School. Recipient of a "Genius" Grant from the MacArthur Foundation, Hehir is among the nation's most distinguished scholars in the ethics of public policy. In 1995, Holy Cross awarded Hehir an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree.

The Bishop Flanagan Lecture series was started in 1991 in an effort to build a relationship between the Diocese of Worcester and Holy Cross on social justice and peace issues. It is named in honor of the late Bishop of Worcester, a member of the Holy Cross Class of 1928, who was known for his lifelong dedication to peace, social justice and ecumenism.

It is sponsored by the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture.