Thomas More Center Visiting Speaker Series

Since its inception in 2000, the Thomas More Center for Catholic Thought and Culture has sponsored a variety of public presentations on the Rockhurst University campus by nationally-known Catholic scholars and artists.  These speakers have addressed a number of significant and relevant topics, and have contributed to the ongoing University discussion of its identity and the application of its mission values to various areas of human achievement.

September 13, 2023, 7:30 p.m.: Thomas More Center for Catholic Thought and Culture Conversations Series: Jesuit Prison Education Network, Arrupe Hall auditorium

October 12, 2023, 7:30 p.m.: Music Feeds the Soul: An Evening of Mary Lou Williams, Arrupe Hall auditorium 

November 7, 2023, 7:30 p.m.: Thomas More Center for Catholic Thought and Culture Conversations Series: Catholic Ministries to the LGBTQ+ Community, Arrupe Hall auditorium

Past events:

October 24, 2019:  Fr. Steve Katsouros, S.J., "How the Jesuits are Reinventing Education Again"

February 11, 2019:  Dr. Gregory Smith, Pew Research Center, "Catholics and Catholicism in the Changing U.S. Religious Landscape"

October 3, 2018:  The Reverend David A. Brown, Vatican Observatory, "Faith and Science in the Catholic Tradition"

September 17, 2018:  The Reverend Barton T. Geger, S.J., Boston College, "Cura Personalis:  How to Live the Jesuit Mission with Courage and Consolation"

January 29, 2016:  Vincent Rougeau, J.D., Boston College School of Law, "Global Migration, Citizenship and Catholic Social Teaching”

February 24, 2015:  John L. Allen, Jr., Boston Globe, “The Global War on Christians: Anti-Christian Persecution in Today’s World”

September 17, 2013:  Thomas Madden, St. Louis University, “The Crusades in Myth and History”

September 13, 2011:  Judith Rock, novelist, Sarasota, FL, "The Rhetoric of Mystery: God, Jesuits and 17th Century Paris"

November 15, 2010:  Rev. Terrence Dempsey, S.J., Museum of Contemporary Religious Art, St. Louis University, "Creating a Religious Environment Through Contemporary Art and Architecture"

March 24, 2011:  Lloyd Baugh, S.J., Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, "The African Face of Jesus in Film"

March 4, 2008:  Rev. Michael Joncas, University of St. Thomas, MN, "The State of American Catholic Liturgical Music in the 21st Century"

March 8, 2007:  Robert Louis Wilken, University of Virginia, "Early Christianity, Gnosticism and The DaVinci Code"

September 22, 2006:  Kevin Fitzgerald, S.J., Georgetown University, "The Ethics of Stem Cell Research"

May 2, 2005:  Kathleen A. Mahoney, Caritas Foundation, "The Future of Catholic Higher Education"

April 28, 2004:  Michael Cuneo, Fordham University, "Almost Midnight: A Story of Crime and Punishment in Southwest Missouri"

February 18, 2004:  Todd D. Whitmore, University of Notre Dame, "Catholic Social Teaching and its Applicability to Rockhurst University"

March 24, 2003:  R. Scott Appleby, University of Notre Dame, "Religious Violence in Comparative Perspective"

January 23, 2003:  Richard Gyug, Fordham University, "El Camino de Santiago: Past and Present on the Road to Compostela"

February 7, 2002:  Ron Hansen, Santa Clara University, "Religion and the Arts"

April 5, 2001:  David Tlapek, independent film producer, "The Hidden Gift: War and Faith in Sudan"

February 13, 2001:  David J. O'Brien, College of the Holy Cross, "Catholic Studies and the Renewal of American Catholicism"