Panel to Explore Debate in the Catholic Church

NEW YORK—Examining how the Catholic Church responds to disagreement among its members, Fordham University’s Center on Religion and Culture will host a panel discussion, titled “Can We Talk? Dialogue and Debate in the Catholic Church,” on Monday, Sept. 19, at 5:30 p.m. in the Leon Lowenstein Center on the Lincoln Center campus. The event is free and open to the public.

DATE:     MONDAY, SEPT. 19

TIME:     5:30 P.M. to 7:30 P.M.

PLACE:  12TH FLOOR LOUNGE
LEON LOWENSTEIN CENTER
LINCOLN CENTER CAMPUS
113 WEST 60th STREET, NEW YORK, NY

Peter Steinfels, co-director of the Center on Religion and Culture and the author of A People Adrift: The Crisis of the Roman Catholic Church in America, will moderate a panel featuring Bishop Joseph Sullivan of the Diocese of Brooklyn; Leslie Tentler, Ph.D., professor of history at Catholic University of America; Joseph Koterski, S.J., Ph.D., professor of philosophy at Fordham University; and Geoffrey Boisi, chairman and senior partner at Roundtable Investment Partners.  Panelists will discuss the role of criticism and debate in the modern church, the importance of frank public discussion and the costs of repressing disagreements.

The Fordham Center on Religion and Culture explores questions arising at the intersection of religious faith and contemporary culture. Strategically located at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center campus, the center provides a forum for national dialogue, drawing on New York City’s extraordinary cultural and religious diversity and the city’s unique place as a center of intellectual life, the media, the visual and performing arts, and international diplomatic and humanitarian activities. The center’s co-directors are Peter Steinfels, author and New York Times religion columnist, and Margaret O’Brien Steinfels, journalist-in-residence at Fordham University and former editor of Commonweal  magazine.