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Catholic PRWire

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio (November 11, 2009) - In a move designed to strengthen Vatican dialogue with North American audiences for years to come, the Pontifical Council for Culture will host a series of conferences in the United States and Canada. The series, From Sea to Shining Sea: Faith and Culture in North America, will have its first conference at Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, December 2-4, 2009.

While much of the Franciscan University conference will consist of private meetings that lay the groundwork for future gatherings, two lectures—one on the dynamic interplay between science and religion, the other on the council itself—will be open to the general public.

On Thursday evening, December 3, Monsignor Melchor Sanchez de Toca y Alameda, undersecretary of the Pontifical Council for Culture, will present the Paul and Barbara Henkels Lecture, “The Church’s Engagement With Science After Darwin and Galileo: Overcoming Cultural Icons.” His talk will take place at 8:00 p.m. in Christ the King Chapel.

Monsignor Sanchez is responsible for all questions concerning the dialogue between science and faith for the Holy See’s Council for Culture. He writes and speaks throughout the world on the role of science and its relationship with religion, often tackling frontline issues such as human dignity and science, environmental and other scientific issues that have moral or religious overtones, and historical controversies such as the case of Galileo.

Monsignor Sanchez is on the directing committee of the Rome-based organization, Science, Theology, and Ontological Quest, which seeks to reinforce the connections between science, theology, and philosophy while recognizing science’s purpose to serve humanity.

Fluent in many languages, Monsignor Sanchez holds advanced degrees in philosophy and theology. His doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome examined the relationship between culture and religion within the Catholic Church.

Also during the conference, Mr. Richard Rouse will speak on “Engaging With Cultures in the New Evangelization: An Historic Overview of the Pontifical Council for Culture.” His talk will take place at 8:30 p.m., Wednesday, December 2, in Christ the King Chapel.

An official with the Council for Culture since 2003, Rouse serves as its point person in English-speaking countries. Rouse’s talk will explain what led to the founding of one of the newest branches of the Roman Curia, the Pontifical Council for Culture, which was established by Pope John Paul II in 1982.

The council is charged with engaging in dialogue with unbelievers and promoting the role of the faith as lived out in contemporary cultures. It seeks “to help people of all cultures become increasingly open to the Gospel so that men and women of science, letters, and the arts may know that the Church acknowledges their work as a service to truth, goodness, and beauty.”

Born in England and educated in Scotland, Rouse attended Rome’s Gregorian University where he completed a license in canon law and a diploma of specialization in matrimonial jurisprudence.

The Pontifical Council for Culture conference series will bring together leading North American Catholics for dialogue with intellectuals representing secular or non-Catholic perspectives. Over the next several years, these diverse groups will discuss topics as varied as man and his place in the world, human dignity, politics, the arts, and science.

“With this project, the Pontifical Council for Culture has begun an intentional engagement of one of the key populations within the Church, that of North America,” says Dr. Max Bonilla, vice president for Academic Affairs at Franciscan University of Steubenville and the person in North America charged with coordination of the From Sea to Shining Sea Conference series.

“The Council for Culture is very attentive to the Holy Father’s desires for the proclamation of the Gospel and the promotion of a dialogue between faith and culture throughout the world. This will provide what, with God’s blessing, will be a strong network of communication for a fruitful dialogue in this area of the world," says Dr. Bonilla.

For more information on the From Sea to Shining Sea Conference or the two public lectures, contact Franciscan University’s Office of Academic Affairs at 740-283-6228.

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