FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Regis College and Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation
co-sponsor
Word of God: Light of Love - A Symposium on "Verbum Domini”

Toronto, February 14, 2011 – Regis College and Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation will co-sponsor Word of God: Light of Love - A Symposium on "Verbum Domini," the Post Synodal Exhortation on the Word of God on Thursday March 31 and Friday April 1, 2011. The symposium, which is offered at no cost, will be conducted at Regis College, the Jesuit School of Theology in the University of Toronto.

The symposium explores Pope Benedict XVI’s Apostolic Exhortation, Verbum Domini, the results of the October 2008 General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in Rome, which was dedicated to “The Word of God in the Life and the Mission of the Church.” The exhortation is the most important document on the bible in 45 years.

Leading church figures and theologians will address Verbum Domini as both a scholarly work and a popular teaching instrument. Presenters will include Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, the Most Reverend Terrence Prendergast, SJ, Archbishop of Ottawa, the Most Reverend Ronald Fabbro, CSB, Bishop of London and Mr. Carl Anderson, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus. The Most Reverend Thomas Collins, Archbishop of Toronto will lead a closing “Lectio Divina” for the participants. Theologians from Regis College, the Faculty of Theology of the University of St. Michael’s College, Saint Augustine’s Seminary and Wycliffe College will participate in panels and lead workshops. Several volumes of the Heritage Edition of the St. John’s Bible will be exhibited throughout the symposium.

A complete schedule and registration form is available at RegisCollege.ca/VerbumDomini

For more information about the program and presenters or to pre-register for Word of God: Light of Love please visit RegisCollege.ca/VerbumDomini, please email [email protected] or call 416-922-5474 x238. Seating is limited; the Symposium is presented free of charge.

Highlights of Program Schedule

Thursday, March 31, 2011
19:30 Opening Keynote Address: His Eminence Donald Cardinal Wuerl

Friday, April 1, 2011
09:45 Plenary Session: His Grace, Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, SJ
11:00 Panel Discussions

1)  “Verbum Domini” in Critical Exchange – The Word, Exegetes and Theologians

Professor Michael Kolarcik, SJ,  (moderator), Regis College
Professor Gill Goulding, CJ, Regis College
Professor Scott Lewis, SJ, Regis College

Professor Joseph Mangina, Wycliffe College

2) “Verbum Domini” in Teaching– The Word for Teachers, Catechists and Witnesses

Rev. Thomas Rosica, CSB (moderator), Salt + Light Catholic Media Foundation
Bishop Ronald Fabbro, CSB, Diocese of London
Professor Margaret Lavin, Regis College
Professor Gilles Mongeau, SJ, Regis College    

12:00 Eucharistic Liturgy: Bishop Ronald Fabbro, CSB, will preside and preach
13:00 Buffet Luncheon hosted by the Israeli Government Tourist Office
14:00 Plenary Session: Mr. Carl A. Anderson, Supreme Knight, Knights of Columbus
15:15 Workshops
The Word and Prayer, Professor Charles Anang, St. Augustine’s Seminary
The Word & the Holy Land, Professor Anne Anderson, CSJ, University of St. Michael’s College
The Word and Moral Theology, Professor John Berkman, Regis College
Illuminating the Word in the St. John’s Bible, Professor Gordon Rixon, SJ, Regis College

16:00 Concluding Prayer: Lectio Divina with His Grace, Archbishop Thomas Collins


About His Eminence Donald Cardinal Wuerl
Cardinal Donald Wuerl is the Archbishop of Washington and was elevated to the College of Cardinals in 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI.  He is known nationally for his catechetical and teaching ministry and for his efforts on behalf of Catholic education. He serves on numerous national and international bodies and is chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, chancellor of The Catholic University of America, chairman of the board of the Pope John Paul II Cultural Foundation and also of The Papal Foundation. He is chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine and a member of the USCCB Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis. He is the author of numerous articles and books, including the best-selling catechisms, The Teaching of Christ and The Catholic Way. His most recent book, The Mass, was published in January 2011.

The Cardinal is also active in community activities, joining with civic and business leaders to promote education, service to the poor, pastoral assistance to refugees and immigrants as well as interfaith understanding.  Cardinal Wuerl was an episcopal  delegate at the 2008 Synod on the Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church.

About Mr. Carl A. Anderson
As Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, Carl A. Anderson is the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of the world’s largest Catholic family fraternal service organization, which has more than 1.8 million members. Mr. Anderson was the only Catholic layman from North America to serve as an auditor at the World Synods of Bishops in 2001, 2005 and 2008.

Mr. Anderson has had a distinguished career as a public servant and educator. From 1983 to 1987, he served in various positions of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, including special assistant to the President and acting director of the White House Office of Public Liaison. Following his service at the White House, Mr. Anderson served for nearly a decade as a member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.  From 1983 to 1998, Mr. Anderson taught as a visiting professor of family law at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome. In 1988, became the founding vice president and first dean of the Washington, D.C., section of this graduate school of theology now located at The Catholic University of America.  Mr. Anderson is the author of the New York Times bestseller, A Civilization of Love: What Every Catholic Can Do To Transform The World; co-author (with Msgr. Eduardo Chávez) of Our Lady of Guadalupe: Mother of the Civilization of Love, also a New York Times bestseller; co-editor (with Livio Melina) of The Way of Love: Reflections on Pope Benedict XVI's Encyclical Deus Caritas Est; (with José Granados) Called to Love: Approaching John Paul II’s Theology of the Body; and Beyond a House Divided: The Moral Consensus Ignored by Washington, Wall Street & the Media.  He has recently co-authored with Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB, a book of Biblical Reflections for Daily Life, to be published later this year by Doubleday.

About Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation
Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation, founded in 2003 in Canada, and born on the wings of World Youth Day 2002, utilizes the power and popularity of television, radio, Internet and other social communication media, as a powerful response to Pope John Paul II’s call to embrace technology to share the Gospel message and teachings of the Church with the world.  It’s award-winning digital television programming has become Canada’s first national Catholic Television network, offering a variety of television and radio programs, event coverage, series, documentaries and other hope-filled content.  Salt + Light broadcasts in English, French, Italian and Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin).  Salt and Light founding President and CEO, Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB, was the English language Media Attaché of the 2008 Synod of Bishops on the Life and Mission of the Church.

For more information contact:
Rev. Thomas Rosica, CSB, CEO
Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation
114 Richmond Street East
Toronto, ON, M5C 1P1, Canada
Telephone: (416) 971-5353
www.saltandlighttv.org

About Regis College
Regis College is the Jesuit College at the University of Toronto and one of the founding members of the Toronto School of Theology. The college offers post-baccalaureate and graduate programs in theology each year to about 260 students from over thirty countries. Known for its integration of academic research, spirituality and action for justice, the college was founded in 1930 and moved recently to the corner of Queen’s Park Crescent East and Wellesley Street West.

For more information contact:
Gordon Rixon, SJ, Dean
Regis College
100 Wellesely Street West
Toronto, ON, M5S 2Z5, Canada
Telephone: (416) 922-5474 x225
www.RegisCollege.ca