President of Catholic Relief Services to present lecture at Notre Dame

Author: Paul Horn

Ken Hackett and Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.

Ken Hackett, president of Catholic Relief Services, will present the Center for Social Concerns’ 2010 Rev. Bernie Clark, C.S.C. lecture, “Globally Engaging Charity in Truth,” on Sept. 23 (Thursday), at 7:15 p.m. in the Andrews Auditorium of Geddes Hall on the University of Notre Dame campus.

CRS is one of the world’s most effective and efficient relief and development agencies according to independent studies and Hackett will share best practices on relief and development efforts, situating the work of CRS in the context of recent papal encyclical which addresses the financial crisis.

“The recent release of the grim poverty statistics in the U.S. ought to serve to remind us of the desperate needs of our brothers and sisters around the world as well,” said Rev. William Lies, C.S.C., executive director of the Center for Social Concerns. “As Pope Benedict outlines in Caritas in Veritate, as Catholics we are called to be global citizens who act as a force for peace and justice to improve development globally.”

Throughout the 2010–11 academic year, the Center for Social Concerns’ courses, events and other efforts will emphasize the importance and transformative power of charity in truth. In the Catholic Social Tradition, Christian charity is a more comprehensive term that is at the heart of the gospel message and what makes justice possible.

This event is free and open to the public.