In January, the St. John Paul II Institute of Culture invites Angelicum students to take part in a six-lecture intensive course devoted to the social teaching of the great pope and a former student of our university. Join us to explore crucial ideas of Catholic Social Teaching with Sr. Helen Alford OP – one of the most renowned specialists in the field, the dean of Angelicum’s Social Science Faculty and President of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.
The course is open to all Angelicum students wishing to attend.
Register at: [email protected]
Course schedule:
Monday, 8 January 2024, 8.30-10.15 Aula 15
Wednesday, 10 January 2024, 8.30-10.15 Aula 9
Friday, 12 January 2024, 10.30-12.15 Aula 9
Monday, 15 January 2024, 8.30-10.15 Aula 15
Wednesday, 17 January 2024, 8.30-10.15 Aula 9
Friday, 19 January 2024, 10.30-12:15 Aula 9
The course will be continued in the second semester.
Course description:
Among the vast written output of Pope Saint John Paul II, his social teaching must be counted as one of its more important elements. In this course, we will look at his social teaching in the context of the prior development of the Church’s effort to bring the light of the Gospel into the modern world, allowing students thereby to uncover his specific contribution and the continued relevance of his thought. John Paul II understood social teaching to be part of moral theology, not of philosophy or, even less, of social sciences (such a sociology, economics or political science), so the consequences of his theological orientation towards social teaching will be given special attention.
In the first part of the course (6 lectures in the first semester), Prof. Helen Alford will look at the prior development of Catholic Social Teaching before Pope John Paul II, and present the first three of his social encyclicals.
In the second part of the course (6 lectures in the second semester), Prof. Michał Gierycz will present the novelty of John Paul II’s social teaching, along with a further social encyclical; using other material produced by John Paul II, he will also look at the Pope’s thought on other key social issues such as human rights, the family and the nation. Overall, the course will help students understand the importance of John Paul II’s teaching in the tradition of the Church, as well as what this teaching can still give us today.
