CPC³ Public Lectures

Presented on December 7, 2020

Marie-Claire Klassen is a PhD candidate in Moral Theology at the University of Notre Dame. Her research focuses on the Christian community in the Holy Land and their commitment to nonviolence in the context of oppression. Before beginning her PhD, Marie-Claire spent time working with NGOs in both Jerusalem and Lesotho. 

In “Fratelli Tutti” Pope Francis, reflecting on Mary, says, “In the power of the risen Lord, she wants to give birth to a new world, where all of us are brothers and sisters, where there is room for all those whom our societies discard, where justice and peace are resplendent” (#278). This lecture is an invitation to journey with Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem and consider her story in light of Christians living in the Holy Land today. This talk will combine reflection on the biblical narrative with interviews from Christian women experiencing oppression in the Holy Land. Together we will explore what Mary and the person of Christ mean to Christians living in the Holy Land today and what it might look like for us to cooperate in bringing about the world Pope Francis describes—a world characterized by inclusion, justice, and peace.

Presented on November 2, 2020

Topic Outline: Ophelia’s madness and death have inspired visual art for centuries. But what makes her image so spectacular and compelling? Considering the post-Reformation environment in which Hamlet was written, this talk suggests resonances between the play’s representation of mad Ophelia and the iconography of St. Mary Magdalene. Ophelia’s unbound hair and bawdy lute call to mind similar characteristics of the penitent disciple as she is depicted in Renaissance art. Mary Magdalene’s renunciation of material comforts and physical beauty was, for many Reformers, a fitting symbol of the Protestant attempt to return to a pared-down aesthetic of worship. In carrying over these distinctive traits of Magdalene iconography, the image of mad Ophelia implicates a broader concern in Hamlet with the material nature of repentance. Through her, Shakespeare holds a mirror up to England after the Reformation, reflecting what it was and what had been lost.

Presented on October 2, 2020

Father David Bellusci teaches at CPC and belongs to the Dominican Order founded by Saint Dominic in 1216. Father Bellusci obtained his canonical licentiate in theology and doctorate in philosophy at the Dominican University College in Ottawa. His research has focused on St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, and the Italian Renaissance/16th century Humanism.
Find out more about him at https://www.catholicpacific.ca/academics/faculty/fr-david-bellusci-o-p

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati is situated in the social and political upheaval of early-twentieth-century Italy. The Roman Catholic Church read the warning signs of atheistic Marxism; Mussolini filled Italy’s political vacuum with fascists; and Rome was still Italy’s disputed capital. The biography draws from a synopsis of selected letters and witness accounts, revealing Pier Giorgio’s increasing engagement with the world around him, shaped by his spiritual life. Pier Giorgio belonged to an upper-middle-class family and his parents transmitted fundamental values of truth, courage, and justice. Although he was deeply loved by his parents, they did not share his religious zeal. Pier Giorgio was concerned about helping the poor in the slums of Turin, the needy German students in Berlin, but especially in contributing to world peace. His spiritual maturity was expressed by making sacrifices: his friendship with a young lady offered up, bidding farewell to his best friend leaving for the Air Force, watching his sister depart once married, and his career in mining engineering abandoned. Pier Giorgio stood alone. He remained at home for the good of his parents to ensure peace and unity. He died at twenty-four years old.

Presented on February 27, 2020

Dr. David Baird, Assistant Professor of Theology at Catholic Pacific College, on the Immaculate Conception of Mary. As the title says, find out the ‘when? why? and how?’ of Catholic doctrine concerning Our Lady’s preservation from sin from the moment of her conception.

Dr. Baird’s research focuses on theology and culture, with particular interests in Christianity’s intersections with story and film. He is currently working on projects related to the early writings of G.K. Chesterton, the theology of Holy Saturday, and the theological significance of postapocalyptic zombie fiction.

Presented on November 21, 2019

The Bible cannot be read apart from its spiritual end, which is the heavenly contemplation of God in Christ. By ignoring this, contemporary biblical scholarship runs the danger of forgetting both Scripture’s final cause (the heavenly presence of God) and its divine character. It is contemplative reading that puts us in tune with the purposes of God. So, while action and contemplation together make up the Christian life, the latter has a kind of priority: contemplation (love of God) is our final end. It is the driving force that guides the active life (the life of virtue) as well as our reading of Scripture.

About Hans Boersma

Hans Boersma (PhD University of Utrecht) holds the St. Benedict Servants of Christ Chair in Ascetical Theology at Nashotah House in Wisconsin. His books include Seeing God: The Beatific Vision in Christian Tradition (Eerdmans, 2018); Scripture as Real Presence (Baker Academic, 2017); and Heavenly Participation (Eerdmans, 2011). Among Boersma’s
theological interests are Catholic thought, the church fathers, and spiritual interpretation of Scripture. Hans and his wife Linda attend Saint Matthew’s Anglican Church (ACNA) in Abbotsford, BC.

Presented on October 17, 2019

Fr. David Bellusci, O.P. has just released his book "Love Deformed, Love Transformed: A Christian Response to Sexual Addiction" (Copies are available at Holy Family Catholic Bookstore or at Amazon.ca) and he is our next CPC³ guest lecturer. On October 17, at 7pm, Fr. Bellusci will present a lecture on his book which will be responded to by CPC Academic Dean, Dr. Andrew Kaethler, and CPC student, Dominic Lindl.

Presented on April 4, 2019

Dr. Andrew Kaethler spoke on the place of "Church" in Christian life. Is it essential, part of the nature of being a Christian? Or is it merely external, and potentially something onerous, to Christian life?

Presented on March 22, 2018

This lecture will introduce a common teaching among native Elders about a genocide carried out at the founding of British Columbia through the intentional distribution of smallpox. Several native peoples lost 75 percent or more of their entire number with one year. The lecture will feature evidence from the written record supporting the Elders' teaching in the Nuxalk and Tsilhqot'in territories. It will show how this local activity fits into the larger context as BC's colonial founders caused smallpox to spread from Victoria throughout the North Pacific during 1862.

Tom Swanky, J.D., Student of the Native Elders' teaching about the founding of British Columbia, awarded an eagle feather during the Truth and Reconciliation Hearings, keynote speaker at the ceremonies where the BC Government exonerated the Chilcotin Chiefs who were hanged for defending their communities against the intentional spreading of smallpox. Canada's exoneration of the Chilcotin Chiefs in the House of Commons is now tentatively scheduled for March 26, 2018.

Panel Respondents:

- Peter Tallio, M.Ed., Nuxalk Scholar and Nuxalk Nation Health Director

- Deacon Rennie Nahanee, First Nations Ministry Coordinator, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver

"At the inception of colonial rule on Canada’s Pacific Coast, natives “universally believed” Governor Douglas used smallpox as a weapon to kill them in lieu of treaties or paying for land. Yet Canadian historians routinely dismiss this profound allegation without mention."

"In Canada’s greatest catastrophe, perhaps 100,000 B.C. natives died from smallpox during 1862/63. Before then, the First Nations were still sovereign. Afterward, British Columbia subjugated and dispossessed the depopulated First Nations through small wars billed as policing and by hanging several natives resisting colonialism."

Presented on February 22, 2018

Presented on January 25, 2018

Presented on November 28, 2017