The Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government, together with the Catholic University of America's Center for the Constitution and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition and Carroll Forum for Citizenship and Public Life, cosponsored a symposium on April 9 to celebrate the nation's semiquincentennial. The symposium gathered leading scholars and public intellectuals to discuss the relationship between the Catholic intellectual tradition and the principles of the Declaration of Independence, as well as to foster reflection on how both Catholicism and the Declaration continue to influence and inform America's experiment in constitutional self-government 250 years after 1776.
All sessions were recorded and are available for viewing to ensure broad access for those who were unable to attend in person.
Endowed by Their Creator Recordings
Among the day's highlights was a virtual address by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. In his remarks, Secretary Rubio illuminated the deep historical roots of Catholicism in American life, arguing that the Catholic faith has been a defining thread in the nation’s story from its earliest days of exploration through the founding era and beyond.
Schedule of Events
10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Panel I: The Declaration and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition
Panelists: V. Bradley Lewis, Vincent Phillip Munoz, D.C. Schindler | Moderator: Michael Promisel
12:15 p.m.- 1:15 p.m.
Lunch Keynote/Fireside Chat
Robert P. George, Brandon F. McGinley
1:45 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.
Panel II: The Declaration and Constitutional Interpretation
Panelists: Kevin Walsh, Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, Charlie Capps | Moderator: Joel Alicea
3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Panel III: Catholic Social Thought and the American Experiment
Panelists: Russell Hittinger, Ken Grasso, Ryan T. Anderson | Moderator: Sarah Gustafson
Speakers
Charlie Capps
Associate Professor of Law
Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law
Arizona State University
D.C. Schindler
Professor of Metaphysics and Philosophical Anthropology
The John Paul II Institute
Justice Brett Kavanaugh
Associate Justice
Supreme Court of the United States
Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle
Judge
United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida
Ken Grasso
Professor of Political Science
Texas State University
Kevin C. Walsh
Knights of Columbus Professor of Law and the Catholic Tradition
Columbus School of Law
The Catholic University of America
Robert P. George
Director
James Madison Program
Princeton University
Russell Hittinger
Research Professor
School of Philosophy
The Catholic University of America
Ryan T. Anderson
President
Ethics and Public Policy Center
V. Bradley Lewis
Dean and Associate Professor of Philosophy
The Catholic University of America
V. Phillip Muñoz
Tocqueville Professor of Political Science
University of Notre Dame
Moderators
J. Joel Alicea
St. Robert Bellarmine Professor of Law and Director
Director of the Center for the Constitution and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition
Columbus School of Law
The Catholic University of America
Michael Promisel
Assistant Professor of Politics
The Catholic University of America
Sarah Gustafson
Assistant Professor of Politics
The Catholic University of America