M. Shawn Copeland, professor of Catholic systematic theology at Boston College, will deliver Gonzaga University’s 38th annual Flannery Lecture at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, March 20 in the Cataldo Hall Globe Room. The lecture, titled “Toward A Mystical-Political Theology of Solidarity,” is free and open to the public.
Just over 50 years ago in a sermonic address, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., sketched a dream of human and humane living in which “justice would roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream” (Amos 5:24). King’s dream called for purposeful, hope-filled, and sustained action in construction of social justice. According to a press release, Copeland’s lecture asserts that for such action to be effective, it ought to be grounded in certain fundamentals – compassion, conversation, and solidarity. Moreover, the lecture proposes a connection between King’s notion of the beloved community and a notion of the Mystical Body of Christ.
Professor Copeland is a former president of the Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA), and a former Convener of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium, an interdisciplinary learned association of Black Catholic scholars. She has authored more than 100 publications including “Enfleshing Freedom: Body, Race and Being,” and “The Subversive Power of Love: The Vision of Henriette Delille.”
Gonzaga’s Flannery Lecture, which aims to further excellence in theological study and teaching at Gonzaga, is made possible through a gift of the late Maud and Milo Flannery of Spokane. The Flannery Lecture is delivered each year by an outstanding Catholic theologian and presented to benefit as wide an audience as possible.
