October 1, 2010 - Second Annual Archdiocesan Justice Convocation - Archdiocese of Boston

October 9, 2010

Boston College High School

Braintree, MA – The Second Annual Archdiocesan Justice Convocation will take place at Boston College High School on Saturday, October 9 from 8:30 AM to 2:30 PM. The theme of the gathering will be "Charity and Justice in our Daily Lives."

The parishes of the Archdiocese have been invited to participate and the conference is open to all. In a recent letter to pastor’s inviting parishes to the convocation, Cardinal Seán O’Malley wrote,, “It is my hope that this year every parish will be able to send representatives to the event, to participate in a day of prayer, teaching, reflection, sharing and action, all focused on charity and social justice. The convocation is one of the Archdiocese’s many ongoing efforts focused on the importance of living out our Gospel faith in a way that transforms the world.”

Rev. J. Bryan Hehir, Secretary for Health and Social Service and the Montgomery Professor of the Practice of Religion and Public Life at Harvard Kennedy School of Government, will speak on “The Church’s Pastoral and Public Ministry.” His research and writing focus on ethics and foreign policy and the role of religion in world politics and in American society. He served on the faculty of Georgetown University (1984 to 1992) and the Harvard Divinity School (1993 to 2001). His writings include: "The Moral Measurement of War: A Tradition of Continuity and Change; Military Intervention and National Sovereignty; Catholicism and Democracy;" and "Social Values and Public Policy: A Contribution from a Religious Tradition."

Rev. Thomas J. Massaro, S.J., Professor of Moral Theology at the Boston College School of Ministry, will speak on “Social Justice Challenges in a Globalized World.” Fr. Massaro’s most recent book is Living Justice: Catholic Social Teaching in Action: Classroom Edition (Rowman and Littlefield, 2008). Among his six books, he has co-authored Catholic Perspectives on War and Peace (Sheed and Wallace, 2003) and authored United States Welfare Policy: A Catholic Response (Georgetown University Press, 2007). Fr. Massaro is a Jesuit priest of the New England Province who was ordained in 2003 and professed his Final Vows in the Society of Jesus in 2007. He taught for eleven years at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge before coming to Boston College in 2008 when the Boston College School of Ministry was founded. He was awarded tenure in 2003.

The conference will offer a broad spectrum of workshops on housing, social service, RENEW, and pro-life issues as well as on how parishes can establish a social justice committee. Speakers from Catholic Charities, St. Mary's Women and Children's Center, Life Resources, Labor Guild, Affordable Housing Office, the Pro Life Office and Respect Life Education, Catholic Relief Services and more will participate.

To register online and for more information, please visit www.bostoncatholic.org/JusticeConvocation or call the Office for Worship & Spiritual Life at 617-779-3640.

About the Archdiocese of Boston: The Diocese of Boston was founded on April 8, 1808 and was elevated to Archdiocese in 1875. Currently serving the needs of nearly 2 million Catholics, the Archdiocese of Boston is an ethnically diverse and spiritually enriching faith community consisting of 291 parishes, across 144 communities, educating approximately 46,000 students in its Catholic schools and 156,000 in religious education classes each year, ministering to the needs of 200,000 individuals through its pastoral and social service outreach and in support of a health care ministry that meets the needs of some 1 million patients each year. Mass is celebrated in nearly twenty different languages each week. For more information, please visit www.BostonCatholic.org.