Sponsored by the Center for Catholic Studies at Fairfield University, Bishop John Stowe of the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky, will present a lecture titled “A Better Kind of Politics: The Vision of Fratelli Tutti.”
FAIRFIELD, Conn. (October 27, 2022)—The 29th Annual Christopher F. Mooney, S.J., Lecture in Theology, Religion & Society will be presented by Bishop John Stowe in the Dolan School of Business Event Hall at Fairfield University on Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 7:30 p.m. This in-person event is free and open to the public, and will also be available for remote viewers. Register for the livestream at fairfield.edu/cs.
In his encyclical letter released during the global pandemic, Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis wrote about the importance of cooperation between the world’s religions, stressing the need for global fraternity in this era of globalization. “Pope Francis talks about the politics of love and the noble profession of politics and public service,” said Bishop John Stowe. “I have always believed that the Church must be political… At the same time, I also believe that the Church should be nonpartisan.”
While lamenting the missed opportunity for the human family to be united in response to the global pandemic, in his lecture, “A Better Kind of Politics: The Vision of Fratelli Tutti,” Bishop Stowe will offer hope that people of faith and people of goodwill can promote a new and better approach to politics and the common good. Bishop Stowe believes that the Catholic tradition contains all the elements for this vision—and it is even compatible with our democratic system in its ideal form—but notes that it would require individual and societal conversion: are we willing to try?
Bishop John Stowe is a Conventual Franciscan Friar and the third Bishop of Lexington since 2015. Prior to his episcopal ordination, he was the vicar provincial for the province of Our Lady of Consolation and the rector of the Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation in Carey, Ohio.
For 15 years, Bishop Stowe served in parish ministry in the Diocese of El Paso, and for eight of these years he worked as vicar general and moderator of the curia. He is a native of Lorain, Ohio, and holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and history from Saint Louis University, and a master’s of divinity and licentiate in sacred theology from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley (now part of Santa Clara University).
Within the United States College of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Bishop Stowe serves on the Administrative committee and on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development subcommittee. He contributed a chapter titled “Faithful Pastors and Fellow Pilgrims” to the recently published Priestly Ministry and the People of God: Hopes and Horizons (Orbis, 2022), edited by Richard Gaillardetz, Thomas Groome, and Richard Lennan.
Register for the 29th Annual Christopher F. Mooney, S.J., Lecture in Theology, Religion & Society lecture livestream at fairfield.edu/cs, or join us in-person at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 9 in the Dolan School of Business Event Hall, located at 1073 North Benson Road, Fairfield, CT 06824. For more information about Fairfield University’s Center for Catholic Studies, please visit fairfield.edu/cs
