St. Paul’s Lay Committee on
CONTEMPORARY SPIRITUAL-&-PUBLIC CONCERNS
The Committee on Contemporary Spiritual-&-Public Concerns (the CSPC Committee) of St. Paul Parish in Cambridge, MA, was formed by lay Catholics who wished to explore public issues with a spiritual dimension, in respectful collaboration with all our neighbors.
Established in May, 2005, the CSPC Committee has a twofold mission: to serve as a public voice for Catholic laity, pursuant to the commission of the Second Vatican Council, and to engage all sectors of the public in a dialogue that stresses both faith and reason. The CSPC Committee emphasizes dialogue and discernment, and does this by hosting a broad spectrum of speakers, lay and clerical, Catholic and non-Catholic, with professional lectures and penetrating discussions.
Some of our speakers from the past three years include:
• Richard Parker, Lecturer in Public Policy and Senior Fellow of the Shorenstein Center at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, discussed his book, John Kenneth Galbraith: His Life, His Politics, His Economics;
• Rev. Raymond G. Helmick, S.J., Professor of Conflict Resolution & Track II Diplomat, Boston College, gave the lecture "Seeing the Image of God in Others: Key to the Transformation of Conflicts;"
• James Carroll, Boston Globe columnist and award-winning author, read from his forthcoming book, Practicing Catholic;
• Hilary Rantisi, Director of the Middle East Initiative at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, gave the lecture “Realities & Challenges Facing Christian and Muslim Palestinians;”
• George S. Weigel, who holds the William E. Simon Chair in Catholic Studies and is a Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, DC, gave the lecture “Europe’s Civilizational Crisis, and What It Means for the Rest of Us.”
Plans are underway for our 2008-2009 Lecture Series. Notices for upcoming speakers and other events will be posted here as soon as each is finalized.
All CSPC events are hosted at:
Saint Paul Parish
Harvard Square
Cambridge, MA