The Catholic Church in World Affairs

Spring 2017 Conference of Franciscan Universitys Veritas Center for

Ethics in Public Life, co-sponsored by the Society of Catholic Social
Scientists and Franciscan Universitys Political Science Department
April 28-29, 2017 at Franciscan University, Steubenville, Ohio
The Church has been increasingly concerned about international affairs as the last century featured the most
destructive wars in history; extended global conflict during the Cold War; terrible episodes of genocide; the rise
of virulent socio-political ideologies that triggered these developments; the growth of easy international
communication and movement; unparalleled levels of international commercial and trade activity; the formation
and increasing influence of international organizations led by the UN; a situation where regional conflicts have
often had global implications; a historically unprecedented stress on human rights in the international sphere;
heightened attention to the problems of development and a global disparity of wealth and resource allocation;
and the beginnings of the frightful phenomenon of global terrorism that has become a central concern in
international life today. Since early in the second half of the last century, the Churchs magisterium has
produced a number of social encyclicals that have addressed such international questions: Pacem in Terris,
Populorum Progressio, Sollicitudo rei Socialis, Centesimus Annus, Caritas in Veritate, and Laudato Si. The
Holy See has also in an active way sought to bring these teachings into the arena of international affairs and
work to influence it in line with the principles they assert by its remarkable diplomatic efforts in virtually every
country in the world and work before the UN and other international bodies. Topics dealing with many of these
areas will be explored in the presentations at the conference, including the Churchs recent role and activity at
the UN, the Holy See and treaties, the Churchs meeting of the challenges of communism and radical Islam, and
how Catholic teaching can guide the war on terror.

Conference Speakers and Their Topics:

Dr. Maurizio Ragazzi, Independent Researcher and Former Senior Council, International Law, the
World Bank - The Holy See and Treaties
Dr. Maurizio Ragazzi, an Italian national residing in Washington, D.C., with his wife, was a practicing attorney for almost 25 years.
He is now independent researcher writing on international law. He has degrees in law, theology, and canon law. His doctoral
dissertation at Oxford, on international legal obligations reflecting fundamental moral values, was published in English by Oxford
University Press in 1997 and then in Chinese in 2012. He is also the editor of two collections of essays by international scholars on
international responsibility. In the summer 2014, Ragazzi was one of the lecturers at the prestigious Hague Academy of International
Law.

Austin Ruse, President, Center for Family and Human Rights - The Catholic Church at the United
Nations
As the head of C-FAM, a New York and Washington, D.C.-based research institute focusing on international legal and social policy,
Austin Ruse has been heavily involved in U.N. social policy negotiations since his organization was founded in 1997. He has
advocated on behalf of Catholic social interests in both international and national circles, briefing members of the U.S. House and
Senate on U.N. matters, as well as briefing White House and National Security Council staff. Ruse has actively promoted the Churchs
social vision across all spectrums of media and has been a guest on national news programs such as EWTN, CNN, CBS News,
MSNBC, and Fox News. He writes a bi-weekly column for Crisis magazine, and has also contributed to Breitbart, First Things, The
Washington Times, National Review Online, Weekly Standard, Human Events, Touchstone, and TheCatholicThing.org

Dr. William Kirk Kilpatrick, author of Christianity, Islam, and Atheism: The Struggle for the Soul of the
West and professor emeritus, Boston College - The Churchs Response to Islam
A noted commentator on cultural and education issues as well as an expert on Islam, Dr. William Kirk Kilpatrick taught for 33 years
at Boston College. He is the author of several books, including Christianity, Islam, and Atheism: The Struggle for the Soul of the West
(Ignatius Press, 2012) in which he describes the way secular, multicultural societies in the West have enabled the spread of radical
Islam. His book also challenges popular notions that compare Christianity to Islam and warns that cultural jihad, rather than armed
jihad, is significant threat to both the United States and Europe. Dr. Kilpatricks articles have appeared in First Things, Policy Review,
American Educator, Catholic World Report, The National Catholic Register, World, and Investors Business Daily

Dr. Paul G Kengor, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for Vision and Values,
Grove City College - A Pope and a President: John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, and the Collapse of
Communism: The Extraordinary Untold Story of the 20th Century
An internationally known expert on the Cold War, Ronald Reagan, and Communism, Dr. Paul Kengor is a noted author, professor,
and political commentator. He is best known for his bestselling 2004 book, God and Ronald Reagan, as well as his 2012 biography,
The Communist: Frank Marshall Davis, the Untold Story of Barack Obamas Mentor. In 2015, Kengor published Takedown: From
Communists to Progressives, How the Left Has Sabotaged Family and Marriage, which has been called a shocking expose of the far
Lefts attack on the family. His forthcoming book, A Pope and a President: John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, and the Extraordinary
Untold Story of the 20th Century (April 2017) details the untold story of the partnership between Pope John Paul II and President
Ronald Reagan in bringing down communism. Kengor is a frequent contributor to MSNBC, C-SPAN, NPR, the BBC, and Fox News,
and writes regular columns for Townhall and American Spectator. He describes himself as a Pittsburgh Steelers fanatic and, along
with his wife, Susan, has eight children, two of whom are adopted.

Dr. Daniel R. Kempton, Professor of Political Science and Vice President for Academic Affairs,
Franciscan University of Steubenville - Conducting the Global War on Terror in Light of Catholic
Teaching
Dr. Daniel Kempton has worked and taught at Franciscan University since 2011, where his work has focused on the ethics of the
global war on terrorism. Prior to coming to Franciscan, Kempton was the director of the university honors program at Northern Illinois
University, where he also chaired the political science department. He has published two books, including Unity or Separation:
Center-Periphery Relations in the Former Soviet Union, which he edited with Terry D. Clark. A former academic fellow with the
Foundation for the Defense of Democracies in Israel, Kempton has written extensively on the ethical dimensions of democracies and
armed conflict. He has been published The Washington Times, Catholic World Report, and Pew Case Studies in International Affairs.
A two-time Fulbright Scholar, he holds a PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Dr. David Klocek, Director of Assessment and Evaluation, University of Virginia at Wise, formerly
Professor at the Institute of World Politics - A Return to Non-Alignment: Pope Francis Reiteration of a
Tradition
David M. Klocek is the Director of Assessment and Evaluation at the University of Virginia College at Wise, Virginia. He was vicedean of Academic Affairs at the Institute of World Politics, a graduate school of national security, from 2005 until 2012; associate
professor of political science at Madonna University in Livonia, Michigan from 2003 until 2005; and chair of the Social Science
Department at St. Marys College in Orchard Lake, Michigan, from 2000 until 2003. He earned his PhD from Georgetown University
in 2000, where he worked under Father James Schall, SJ, specializing in the political thought of Pope St. John Paul II. During the late
1980s, Klocek served as an intelligence officer in the CIA and worked on Eastern European issues. He worked briefly in the Reagan
White House, 1986-1987.

Father James Bromwich, PhD, St. Francis College (Indiana) - Whats a Human? And Why It Matters:
The Fundamental Contribution of the Church to World Affairs
Fr. James Bromwich has served as Chaplain, Ethicist, and an educator at St. Joseph Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He was founding
President of the Neri Institute, which is dedicated to promoting respect for the dignity of every human person. He was previously a
pastor of three parishes in Kentucky, and is an adjunct professor at the University of St. Francis (Indiana). He has a program on
Redeemer Radio. His books have included Every Human Matters and Toolkit for Evangelization.

Dr. Brian Scarnecchia, Professor, Ave Maria School of Law; President, International Solidarity and
Human Rights Institute - Patenting Life: The Response of Catholic Social Teaching to Efforts to Patent
Human DNA and Genetically Modified Organisms Before the World Trade Organization and the U.S.
Supreme Court
An expert in international law and bioethics, Dr. Brian Scarnecchia has been an associate professor at Ave Maria School of Law in
Naples, Florida, since 2009. The founding president of the International Solidarity and Human Rights Institute, he is the author of
Bioethics, Law and Human Life Issues: A Catholic Perspective on Marriage, Family, Contraception, Abortion, Reproductive
Technology, and Death and Dying. Aside from teaching and practicing law, Scarnecchia is the main non-government officer
representative to the United Nations on behalf of the Society of Catholic Social Scientists. He has published extensively on the
intersection of law, culture, religion, human rights and development. He taught at Franciscan University of Steubenville from 19962015.

Register online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-veritas-center-the-catholicchurch-in-world-affairs-tickets-30001247539 or at the Franciscan University

website fill in the form below, and send it with a check for $50 to: Mrs. Carrie
Libetti (Veritas Center/SCSS Conference), Office of Advancement, St. Joseph
Center, Franciscan University of Steubenville, Steubenville, Ohio 43952

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Friday, April 28, 2017 4:00 p.m. - Dr. David Klocek - A Return to Non-Alignment: Pope Francis Reiteration of a Tradition
7:30 p.m. - Dr. William Kirk Kilpatrick - The Churchs Response to Islam
Saturday, April 29, 2017 8:30 a.m. - Dr. Maurizio Ragazzi - The Holy See and Treaties
9:45 a.m. - Austin Ruse - The Catholic Church at the United Nations
11:00 a.m. - D. Brian Scarnecchia - Patenting Life: The Response of Catholic Social Teaching to Efforts to
Patent Human DNA and Genetically Modified Organizations before the World Trade Organization and the U.S.
Supreme Court
1:30 p.m. - Fr. James Bromwich - Whats a Human? and Why It Matters: The Fundamental Contribution of the
Church to World Affairs
2:45 p.m. - Dr. Paul G. Kengor - A Pope and a President: John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, and the Collapse of
CommunismThe Extraordinary Untold Story of the 20th Century
4:00 p.m. - Dr. Daniel R. Kempton - Conducting the Global War on Terror in Light of Catholic Social
Teaching
For additional information or questions, contact Mrs. Carrie Libetti: clibetti@franciscan.edu or (740)
283-6447.

The Catholic Church in World Affairs

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Send this registration form plus check or money order for $50 (registration fee) to: Mrs. Carrie

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Franciscan University of Steubenville, Steubenville, Ohio 43952