Rice Lecture Will Reexamine the Topics of Human Rights and Torture
Until recently, torture has typically been associated with foreign human rights abusers and notorious government regimes. Torture, Human Rights and War on Terror, this spring’s Monsignor Charles Owen Rice Lecture, will recast questions of human rights and torture.
“In light of the war on terror, issues of torture and human rights have changed dramatically,” said Dr. Ma. Christina Astorga, director of the Center for the Study of Catholic Social Thought, which is presenting the lecture on Wednesday, March 16. “Whether it is the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib or questions regarding the authority of the U.S. President to take extreme measures for the sake of national security, the practice of torture has elevated the public debate to the domain of ethics as it relates to our own treatment of detainees and others.”
Featured speaker Dr. Mark Allman will present Who Would Jesus Kill? War, Peace and the Christian Tradition. He is an associate professor of religious and theological studies at the Center for the Study of Jewish-Christian-Muslim Relations at Merrimack College. His remarks will be followed by a response from Dr. Mark Haas, associate professor of political science at Duquesne.
Torture, Human Rights and War on Terror, which will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Power Center Ballroom, will also include the presentation of the inaugural student article award by the Center for the Study of Catholic Social Thought. The annual award is designed to create an opportunity for students to conduct serious academic research and write on global issues from the perspective of Catholic social thought. Students are provided with a bibliography, and their papers are judged by an interdisciplinary board of University faculty members.
The awardees include:
- First Place, Gerald J. Cavanaugh, M.A. Communication and Rhetorical Studies
- Second Place, Jade T. Leung, M.A. Pastoral Ministry
- Third Place, Joanne M. Sheehan, M.A. Religious Education, and
- Lauren E. Sukal, M.A. Social and Public Policy.
The Monsignor Charles Owen Rice Lecture Series is an annual event provided through funds from the McGinley Endowment.