The de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture, in partnership with the Ratzinger Foundation and the Benedict XVI Institute, is hosting a series of academic panels discussing “Benedict XVI’s Legacy: Unfinished Debates on Faith, Culture, and Politics,” with the first event to be held November 29, 2023, at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

The intellectual legacy of Pope Benedict XVI continues to animate discussions spanning the foundation of human rights and the nature of law to the relationship between faith and reason. To further explore the intergenerational conversation surrounding Pope Benedict’s crucial interventions on these topics, both emeritus and emerging scholars from around the world will engage six of the most influential addresses delivered by Pope Benedict during the course of his papacy.

The series launch on November 29 will feature a presentation by Mary Ann Glendon, the Learned Hand Professor of Law, emerita, at Harvard University, on the impact of Pope Benedict XVI’s 2008 speech to the United Nations. Professors Jean-Pierre Schouppe (Pontifical University of Santa Croce) and Laurent Trigeaud (Université de Paris Panthéon-Assas) will offer responses to Professor Glendon’s remarks.

The panel discussion will take place on November 29, 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Aula Magna of the Pontifical Gregorian University (Piazza della Pilotta 4).

In his introductory remarks to the conference, Rev. Professor Roberto Regoli, chair of the department of church history at the Pontifical Gregorian University, noted that "Benedict built on the foundation laid by John Paul II, who focused on the themes of anthropology and the defense of the human person, preparing the ground for a consistent teaching on politics and bioethics." (Read an excerpt of Regoli's remarks in First Things.)

Participants in the Benedict XVI Legacy Conference will also take part in the ceremony awarding the 2023 Ratzinger Prize on November 30, 2023, at the Apostolic Palace in Rome. Professors Francesc Torralba Roselló and Pablo Blanco Sarto, winners of the 2023 Ratzinger Prize, will speak on “The Legacy of Joseph Ratzinger Benedict XVI.” Advance registration required; contact fondazioneratzinger@zeroseicongressi.it for more details.

The series will continue with a conference to be held April 8–9, 2024, at the University of Notre Dame. Speaker information and registration details will be posted in February 2024 at ethicscenter.nd.edu/events/.

*Story updated 21 December 2023, adding published remarks by Rev. Roberto Regoli, and further updated on 4 January 2024, adding link to the April event page.