Presented at Catholic Pacific College on October 2, 2020

Description: Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati is situated in the social and political upheaval of early-twentieth-century Italy. The Roman Catholic Church read the warning signs of atheistic Marxism; Mussolini filled Italy’s political vacuum with fascists; and Rome was still Italy’s disputed capital. The biography draws from a synopsis of selected letters and witness accounts, revealing Pier Giorgio’s increasing engagement with the world around him, shaped by his spiritual life. Pier Giorgio belonged to an upper-middle-class family and his parents transmitted fundamental values of truth, courage, and justice. Although he was deeply loved by his parents, they did not share his religious zeal. Pier Giorgio was concerned about helping the poor in the slums of Turin, the needy German students in Berlin, but especially in contributing to world peace. His spiritual maturity was expressed by making sacrifices: his friendship with a young lady offered up, bidding farewell to his best friend leaving for the Air Force, watching his sister depart once married, and his career in mining engineering abandoned. Pier Giorgio stood alone. He remained at home for the good of his parents to ensure peace and unity. He died at twenty-four years old.

Bio: Father David Bellusci teaches at CPC and belongs to the Dominican Order founded by Saint Dominic in 1216. Father Bellusci obtained his canonical licentiate in theology and doctorate in philosophy at the Dominican University College in Ottawa. His research has focused on St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, and the Italian Renaissance/16th century Humanism.

Presented at Catholic Pacific College on February 27, 2020

Description: As the title says, Dr. Baird discusses the ‘when? why? and how?’ of Catholic doctrine concerning Our Lady’s preservation from sin from the moment of her conception.

Bio: Dr. Baird is Assistant Professor of Theology at Catholic Pacific College and his research focuses on theology and culture, with particular interests in Christianity’s intersections with story and film. He is currently working on projects related to the early writings of G.K. Chesterton, the theology of Holy Saturday, and the theological significance of postapocalyptic zombie fiction.

Presented at Catholic Pacific College on October 27, 2019

Fr. David Bellusci, O.P. has just released his book "Love Deformed, Love Transformed: A Christian Response to Sexual Addiction" (Copies are available at Holy Family Catholic Bookstore or at Amazon.ca) and he is our next CPC³ guest lecturer. On October 17, at 7pm, Fr. Bellusci will present a lecture on his book which will be responded to by CPC Academic Dean, Dr. Andrew Kaethler, and CPC student, Dominic Lindl.

Presented at Catholic Pacific College on April 4, 2019

Description: Dr. Andrew Kaethler spoke on the place of "Church" in Christian life. Is it essential, part of the nature of being a Christian? Or is it merely external, and potentially something onerous, to Christian life?
 
Bio: Dr. Andrew Kaethler grew up in the Lower Mainland. He received a B.A. in Christianity and Culture from TWU as well as an M.A. in Religion, Culture, and Ethics. Following his MA, Andrew spent a year running (actually sanding, spraying, and brushing) his own painting company before his wife fortunately encouraged him to pursue teaching. Surprisingly, this led Andrew and his family to Eastern Europe, Lithuania to be precise. Here at LCC International University, Andrew taught philosophy, theology, and cross-listed English/theology courses for four years and during this time discovered his love and passion for teaching. After four years and two additional children he moved to St Andrews, Scotland, where he spent four years working on a Ph.D. in systematic theology at the University of St Andrews. Although he did not golf in Scotland, he did participate in the consumption of haggis, drank a few drams of whiskey, and danced at the odd Ceilidh. It was in Scotland, the land of the fiery reformer John Knox, that Andrew and his family were received into the Catholic Church, a ‘conversion’ process that began at TWU almost twenty years earlier.

Presented at Catholic Pacific College on November 21, 2019

Description: The Bible cannot be read apart from its spiritual end, which is the heavenly contemplation of God in Christ. By ignoring this, contemporary biblical scholarship runs the danger of forgetting both Scripture’s final cause (the heavenly presence of God) and its divine character. It is contemplative reading that puts us in tune with the purposes of God. So, while action and contemplation together make up the Christian life, the latter has a kind of priority: contemplation (love of God) is our final end. It is the driving force that guides the active life (the life of virtue) as well as our reading of Scripture.
 
Bio: Hans Boersma (PhD University of Utrecht) holds the St. Benedict Servants of Christ Chair in Ascetical Theology at Nashotah House in Wisconsin. His books include Seeing God: The Beatific Vision in Christian Tradition (Eerdmans, 2018); Scripture as Real Presence (Baker Academic, 2017); and Heavenly Participation (Eerdmans, 2011). Among Boersma’s theological interests are Catholic thought, the church fathers, and spiritual interpretation of Scripture. Hans and his wife Linda attend Saint Matthew’s Anglican Church (ACNA) in Abbotsford, BC.

Presented at Trinity Western University on March 22, 2018

Description: This lecture will introduce a common teaching among native Elders about a genocide carried out at the founding of British Columbia through the intentional distribution of smallpox. Several native peoples lost 75 percent or more of their entire number with one year. The lecture will feature evidence from the written record supporting the Elders' teaching in the Nuxalk and Tsilhqot'in territories. It will show how this local activity fits into the larger context as BC's colonial founders caused smallpox to spread from Victoria throughout the North Pacific during 1862.

Bio: Tom Swanky, J.D., Student of the Native Elders' teaching about the founding of British Columbia, awarded an eagle feather during the Truth and Reconciliation Hearings, keynote speaker at the ceremonies where the BC Government exonerated the Chilcotin Chiefs who were hanged for defending their communities against the intentional spreading of smallpox. Canada's exoneration of the Chilcotin Chiefs in the House of Commons is now tentatively scheduled for March 26, 2018.
Panel Respondents:
- Peter Tallio, M.Ed., Nuxalk Scholar and Nuxalk Nation Health Director
- Deacon Rennie Nahanee, First Nations Ministry Coordinator, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver
"At the inception of colonial rule on Canada’s Pacific Coast, natives “universally believed” Governor Douglas used smallpox as a weapon to kill them in lieu of treaties or paying for land. Yet Canadian historians routinely dismiss this profound allegation without mention."
"In Canada’s greatest catastrophe, perhaps 100,000 B.C. natives died from smallpox during 1862/63. Before then, the First Nations were still sovereign. Afterward, British Columbia subjugated and dispossessed the depopulated First Nations through small wars billed as policing and by hanging several natives resisting colonialism."

Presented at Catholic Pacific College on February 22, 2018.

Presented at Catholic Pacific College on January 25, 2018

Presented at Catholic Pacific College on November 27, 2017

Presented at Trinity Western University on October 26, 2017

Archbishop Miller's lecture "Francis: A Pope for All Christians" is the founding lecture of the CPC3 Lecture Series sponsored by Catholic Pacific College.
Video Clip: The Francis Effect, Salt & Light TV, 2014