The Notre Dame Law Review will host a symposium that celebrates and examines the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on Religious Freedom on Thursday and Friday (Nov. 5 and 6).
Titled “Religious Liberty and the Free Society: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Dignitatis Humanae,” the symposium will open Thursday with an address from Bishop Daniel E. Flores, bishop of Brownsville, Texas. The address, open to the public, will take place at 5 p.m. in the McCartan Courtroom in the Eck Hall of Law at the University of Notre Dame.
Symposium panelists will present their works on Friday. Panelists include Thomas Berg of the University of St. Thomas School of Law, Paul Horwitz of the University of Alabama School of Law, Christopher Lund of Wayne State University Law School, Mark Movsesian and Marc DeGirolami of St. John’s University School of Law, Brett Scharffs of Brigham Young University Law School, Steven Smith of the University of San Diego School of Law, Anna Su of the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, and Richard Garnett and Phillip Muñoz of Notre Dame Law School. The panels will be moderated by Judge Richard Sullivan of the Southern District of New York.
John H. Garvey, president of the Catholic University of America, will deliver the keynote address at 3:30 p.m. Friday. The keynote, also in the McCartan Courtroom, is open to the public.
Held each fall semester, the annual symposium provides an environment for intellectual engagement and an opportunity to examine pressing legal issues. Traditionally, each participant will publish an article in the Law Review’s annual symposium issue.
This year the symposium is part of the 2015-16 Notre Dame Forum, “Faith, Freedom and the Modern World: 50 Years After Vatican II,” which commemorates the 50th anniversary of the publication of pivotal documents of the Second Vatican Council that have particular significance today. Established in 2005 by University President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., the Notre Dame Forum has featured major talks by leading authorities on complex issues related to immigration, sustainability, global health, the global marketplace, K-12 education and the role of faith in a pluralistic society.
Contact: Catherine Behan, Law School, 574-631-0467, cbehan@nd.edu; Jennifer Smith, Law School, 574-631-5351, jsmith70@nd.edu