College of Saint Mary to Host Curtiss Lecture on Mercy

OMAHA, Neb. – Johann M. Vento, PhD, will present the 16th Annual Elden Curtiss Lecture at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 24, at College of Saint Mary. Vento will present “Mercy and the Religious ‘Other’: Finding Truth, Beauty and Goodness Across Faith Traditions” at the Gross Conference Center in Hill Macaluso Hall. The presentation will focus on how mercy relates to interfaith relationships.

Vento, professor and chair of religious studies and theology at Georgian Court University in Lakewood, NJ, teaches courses in Catholic Theology, Mercy Spirituality and Women’s and Gender Studies. She serves as president of the College Theology Society. Her primary research interests are political and feminist theology; violence, trauma and healing; and inter-religious dialogue. She has published articles in Horizons, Teaching Theology and Religion, Jnanadeepa: Pune, Journal of Religious Studies, and several edited volumes.

Thanks to the generosity of Archbishop Elden Francis Curtiss, CSM has offered an annual lecture devoted to Catholic thought and its influence on society since 2009. The lecture engages the CSM and broader communities about pertinent topics in the Catholic tradition.

Previous speakers include Sr. Maryanne Stevens, RSM, CSM president emerita; Aana Marie Vigen, PhD, professor of Christian Social Ethics at Loyola University Chicago; Sr. Terri Bednarz, RSM; Mary-Paula Cancienne, RSM, PhD; Kim Lamberty, PhD; Patricia Talone, RSM, PhD; and Sr. Helen Prejean, CSJ.

The event, free and open to the public, can also be viewed on Zoom. To register, go to CSM.edu/CurtissLecture.