Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies

Conference

"Torture, Conscience and the Catholic Moral Tradition"

Mar. 19, 2009

Part 1: Catholic Social Teaching and the Use of Torture (1:15 - 3:15 PM)

Part 2: Peacebuilding and Torture (3:45 - 5:30 PM)

Part 3 - The Question of Accountability in the Use of Torture (7:00 - 9:00 PM)

The Catholic Leadership Council of the National Religious Coalition against Torture, the Life Cycle Institute (IPR) and the Center for International Social Development of the Catholic University of America organized a conference on the decisions of conscience by Catholics in the public square regarding the use of torture. 

The three panels featured expert theologians, academics, and military personnel, including Doug Cassel (Director, Center on Civil and Human Rights at Notre Dame University), Josh Casteel (former U.S. army interrogator), Steve Colecchi (Director of the Office of International Justice and Peace, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops), Maryann Cusimano Love (Associate Professor of International Politics, The Catholic University of America), Mary Fabri (Senior Director, Torture Treatment Services & International Training, Heartland Alliance Marjorie Kovler Center), Colonel Patrick Lang (former Defense Intelligence Officer for the Middle East and Director for the Human Intelligence Collection), George Lopez (Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, Notre Dame University), Margaret O’Brien Steinfels (Co-Director of the Center on Religion and Culture, Fordham University), and General Anthony Taguba (Chief Investigator of Abu Ghraib).

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Interview 

"The Common Good"

Audio:  Part 1   Part 2   Part 3

Dave Gibson of The National Institute for the Renewal of the Priesthood sits down to talk to Dr. Stephen Schneck, the Director of the Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies, The Catholic University of America. In Part 1 and 2, Dr. Schneck discusses the common good, what it really means and why it matters. In Part 3, Dr. Schneck continues his examination of the common good by discussing some of the ways individuals and groups promote the common good in society and some specific challenges they run into.

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Panel Symposium

“The Obama Administration and the Catholic Social Agenda”

Thursday, Jan. 29, 2009, 4:00 - 6:00 PM

How will the administration of President Barack Obama address issues of importance to the Catholic Church, such as poverty, peace, immigration, life issues, environmental stewardship and globalization? A panel of experts, moderated by William Barbieri, associate dean and Associate Professor in CUA’s School of Theology and Religious Studies, explore these and similar topics; panelists included John Langan, S.J., Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Professor of Catholic Social Thought at Georgetown University; Maryann Cusimano Love, IPR fellow and Associate Professor of Politics at CUA; John Steinbruner, Professor and Director of the Center of International and Security Studies at the University of Maryland; and Leslie Tentler, IPR Fellow and Professor of History at CUA. Dr. Stephen Schneck, Director of the IPR and Associate Professor of Politics at CUA, introduced the panel.

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Panel Symposium

“The Catholic Vote 2008”

Oct. 22, 2008

Hosted by the Life Cycle Institute, this meeting of Life Cycle Fellows and outside experts examined the Catholic vote in the context of the current national election.

The moderator was Professor Sandra Hanson, IPR & Department of Sociology, CUA. Speakers were Professor Mark Rozell, School of Public Policy, George Mason University; Dr. Gregory Smith, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life; and Professor John White, IPR & Department of Politics, CUA. Respondents were Dr. William D'Antonio, IPR, and Michael Sean Winters, Author of Left at the Altar: How the Democrats Lost the Catholics and How the Catholics Can Save the Democrats. The colloquium was hosted at the McGiveny Auditorium, CUA Campus.

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