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.
- ‘Do we need to build bridges?,’ by Karina Gandur
- ‘Community as a Heritage,’ by Luiza Della Giustina Da Correggio
- ‘The Consequences of Not Rhyming,’ by Joshua Pyle
- ‘Prevention: a way to build a safer Church,’ by Sara Staiano
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 fifth speaker was Lourdes Spossito, from Argentina.
She is a lawyer, graduate in Canon Law and is studyng a Master in International Affairs. Lourdes has experience in diferent fields of work in Canon Law, such as causes of Saints and marital annulment. In the last years, she has worked as the private assistant of the Bishop President of the Argentine Bishop’s Conference.
Currently, she is a professor of Canon Law at the Argentine Catholic University and is a Lay Centre “Vatican Fellow”, working as a volunteer at the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
In her view, the Catholic Church plays a significant role in the international community. “Each year, we observe its participation in international organizations and conferences, the accreditation of ambassadors to the Holy See, and the daily work of the Dicasteries of the Roman Curia and Apostolic Nuncios in various countries,” she noted.
This fact leads us to question the principles that guide the Church’s actions in the international arena, as well as its legitimacy and the means it employs, she noted. In this context, she considers essential to explore the contributions of Pope Francis’ magisterium to international law and its impact on international relations.
Photos: Biagio Tamarazzo