John Paul II Center for Theology & Environmental Studies sponsors lecture by famed theologian
The John Paul II Center for Theology & Environmental Studies at Saint Joseph’s College will present a lecture by Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete, a leading Catholic theologian and national director of the lay ecclesial movement Communion and Liberation, on Tuesday, Nov. 7 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland at 7 p.m. Albacete will speak on the cultural significance of Pope John Paul II’s distinctive environmental legacy.
John Paul II’s 26-year papacy began at the height of the environmental movement in the 1970s, says Dr. Connie Lasher, director of The John Paul II Center and theology professor at Saint Joseph’s College. According to Lasher, the late Pope was an outdoorsman who loved hiking and skiing, a poet who loved the beauty of nature, and a global leader who professed the urgency of environmental responsibility.
“Monsignor Albacete is a dynamic, entertaining speaker, who is in great demand as a lecturer in this country and in Europe,” adds Lasher. “He is tremendously excited about The John Paul II Center, and we’re honored that he accepted our invitation to deliver this inaugural lecture.”
A friend of the late Pope, Lorenzo Albacete is a trained physicist and author of God at the Ritz: An Attraction to Infinity. He has taught at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute in Washington, D.C., and St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, N.Y. From 1996 to 1997, he served as President of the Catholic University of Puerto Rico. He is a columnist for the Italian weekly Tempi, has written for The New Yorker, and has been Advisor on Hispanic Affairs to the U.S. National Council of Catholic Bishops. He is also a columnist for The New York Times and was interviewed about Pope John Paul II for the PBS Frontline program, “John Paul II: The Millennial Pope.”
Msgr. Albacete holds a degree in Space Science and Applied Physics, as well as a master’s degree in Sacred Theology from The Catholic University of America. He holds a doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas in Rome. He resides in Yonkers, N.Y.
The free public lecture is the first of the annual Karol Wojtyla Distinguished Lecture series sponsored by the John Paul II Center at Saint Joseph’s College.
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