Holy Cross Presidential Colloquia to Examine 'Moral Reflection in Jesuit Education'

WORCESTER, Mass. – Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J., president of the College of the Holy Cross will give a lecture titled "Moral Reflection in Jesuit Education and Scholarship" on April 14 at 4:30 p.m. in the College’s Rehm Library. Suzanne Kirschner, of the psychology department, and Sahar Bazzaz, of the history department, will serve as respondents. Thomas Lawler, professor emeritus in the English department, will be the moderator. For additional information on the talk, which is free and open to the public, please contact Pat Hinchliffe at 508-793-3869.

Fr. McFarland’s précis for the talk: "Moral reflection, guidance, and education have been a part of the Jesuit apostolate from the beginning. While Jesuits do not have their own methodology or positions on moral issues apart from the Catholic Church, there are several common characteristics of Jesuit moral inquiry, relating to its foundations, its principles and its focus, that I will discuss in this talk. These characteristics remain important in Jesuit education today. Therefore, understanding them can help us in our work here at Holy Cross."

McFarland is marking his fifth year as president of the College of the Holy Cross, the oldest Catholic college in New England with an enrollment of 2,700 exclusively undergraduate students.

This presentation is the sixth and final part of the "Presidential Colloquia: Jesuit Liberal Arts Education and the Engaging of Cultures," a year-long series of presentations and discussions sponsored by the President’s Office and Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture. Each event has focused on a particular moment in Jesuit history and its connection to Jesuit educational aims today. In addition to facilitating an exchange of views, the colloquia also aims to further explore the principles of today’s Holy Cross education within its Catholic and Jesuit traditions.