The Lay Centre community held, on Nov. 30, the “Dies Academicus 2024,” an open day in which they welcome visitors and engage in fruitful intellectual dialogue.
Five Lay Centre residents presented topics they have been studying and discussed them with those present in the audience. This is an annual event organized by The Lay Centre to encourage our residential scholars to share the fruit of their research with our friends in Rome.
- ‘Community as a Heritage,’ by Luiza Della Giustina Da Correggio
- ‘Prevention: a way to build a safer Church,’ by Sara Staiano
- ‘The Consequences of Not Rhyming,’ by Joshua Pyle
- ‘The Catholic Church and International Law,’ by Lourdes Spossito
After the sessions, guests joined the community for lunch. The presentations were very diverse and included topics in history, culture, psychology, theology, and spirituality. The first speaker was Karina Gandur, from Russia and Lebanon.
She holds a Bachelor’s in English language and Literature, a Master’s in Theology degree in External Church Relations and an MBA in Strategic Management. She taught theological English at Saint Petersburg Theological Academy, worked as a translator and a secretary to a metropolitan; organized international patristic conferences and cultural programs around Russia for church delegations across the globe.
Now she holds a scholarship from the from Catholic Committee for Cultural Collaboration (Dicastery for the Promotion of Christian Unity) and is in her final year of a Master’s in Comparative Theology of Christian Traditions and Ecumenism at Pontifical Gregorian University.
Building bridges
“Imagine a world without bridges,” Karina Gandur said. “A bridge is a metaphor for connecting two different – or perhaps not so different – sides of the river. The two sides could represent two people or two nations.” She remembered all ongoing international conflicts in the world and other types of division between people, inviting guests to reflect on why and how to build bridges in today’s world. She also reflected on the meaning of happiness and how peace is connected to the feelings of safety, collaboration and happiness.
