Noted theologian S. Margaret Farley speaks at CSB Sept. 11

Noted theologian, educator and author S. Margaret Farley will present the Koch Chair in Catholic Thought and Culture fall lecture at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11 at the Gorecki Center, College of Saint Benedict.

Farley, a member of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, will speak on "Forgiveness in the Service of Justice." Her speech, which is a part of CSB's centennial speaker series, is free and open to the public.

The lecture will address key societal and interpersonal issues regarding the meaning and appropriateness of "forgiving" and "being forgiven." Farley will answer such questions as what is - or what should be - the relationship between the phenomenon of forgiveness and the demands of justice, resistance and love.

Farley is the Gilbert L. Stark Professor Emerita of Christian Ethics at Yale University Divinity School. She began her teaching career as the first full time woman faculty member at Yale Divinity School in 1971, and taught Christian ethics there until 2007.

She is also a co-founder of the All-Africa Conference: Sister to Sister along with S. Eileen Hogan. The conference is a project intended to bring together African women religious to develop strategies for responding to the pandemic of HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Farley has written more than 100 articles and chapters in books on the topics of ethical methodology, medical ethics, sexual ethics, social ethics, historical theological ethics, ethics and spirituality and HIV/AIDS.

She is the author of seven books, including a new revised edition of "Personal Commitments:  Beginning, Keeping, Changing" (originally published in 1986); "Compassionate Respect: A Feminist Approach to Medical Ethics and Other Questions " (2002); and "Just Love: A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics" (2006). The latter book earned her the 2008 Grawemeyer Award in Religion. Formal Vatican censure of "Just Love" has led to theological and popular attention to Farley's work.

The lecture is co-sponsored by the theology, philosophy and peace studies departments at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University.

The Koch Chair in Catholic Thought and Culture at the College of Saint Benedict  was established in 2002 with a gift from former CSB Board of Trustees member Barbara "Babs" Gray Koch and her husband, David Koch of Wayzata, Minn.

The intention of the Koch Chair is to provide opportunities for faculty, staff and students at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, and the general public, to gain an enriched understanding of the heritage of Catholic thought that has shaped not only the faith tradition of CSB and SJU but also the pursuit of knowledge across disciplines.