This inaugural conference will be hosted by Leeds Trinity University College in conjunction with the Centre for Catholic Studies, Durham University. The first in a series of conferences to celebrate Catholic Higher Education in the UK.
The fiftieth anniversary of the beginning of the Second Vatican Council provides a unique opportunity to revisit that seminal event which had such a profound impact on the life of the Catholic Church and its mission. In particular, the Council began an engagement with the modern and secularized world through a renewed proclamation of the Gospel. Blessed John Paul II described this as the ‘new evangelization’, and in 2010, Pope Benedict XVI confirmed this priority by creating the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization.
In order to reflect on the impact of Council and deepen understanding of the New Evangelization, Leeds Trinity University College is hosting an international Catholic theological conference on 26-29 June 2012 in the city of Leeds, UK. It is being organised by Leeds Trinity in conjunction with the Centre for Catholic Studies at Durham University. This is the first in a series to celebrate Catholic Higher Education in the UK.
Francis Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago, Fernando Cardinal Filoni, Prefect for the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization, Professor Gavin D’Costa of Bristol University, Professor Tracey Rowland of the John Paul II Institute in Melbourne, Professor Susan Wood of Marquette University, Professor Mathijs Lamberigts of Leuven University, Professor Paul Murray of Durham University, Dr Richard Baawobr, Superior General of the Missionaries of Africa, and other high profile church leaders and theologians from different parts of the world will address the conference. Representatives of church, academy and society will take part in panels assessing the local and global impact of the Council and its meaning for today. There is a call for papers to encourage other scholars to contribute their perspectives on the topic in parallel sessions. There will be an opportunity to celebrate the Council and the New Evangelization at public events each evening. Mass will be celebrated daily.
Founded just after the end of Vatican II in 1966 for the purpose of training Catholic teachers, Leeds Trinity University College is now a thriving academic community which awards degrees in a range of subjects. Undergraduate programmes in Theology and Religious Studies are thriving and the Chaplaincy plays a central role in campus life. Leeds Trinity is situated on an attractive self-contained campus in Horsforth on the northern edge of Leeds, which is one of Britain’s largest and most cosmopolitan cities and a major centre for education, culture and the arts
Leeds Trinity is conveniently close to Leeds-Bradford Airport and very well connected by road and rail. This event will make use of its excellent conference facilities and accommodation, completed only in 2010. The conference begins formally on the evening of Tuesday 26 June and concludes with breakfast on Friday 29 June 2012. Evening lectures will be open to the wider public. Optional trips are being arranged on the Tuesday and Friday for those who wish to visit some of the places of importance for Christian history in the surrounding counties of Yorkshire.
Conference Costs
£275 Full Conference rate
£50 Daily Delegate rate
For further information, or to attend the event, contact Kathy Stenton, k.stenton@leedstrinity.ac.uk or +44 (0)113 2837102.