2021 Fr. Lydio F. Tomasi, C.S. Lecture on International Migration

On December 7, the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) hosted the 2021 Fr. Lydio F. Tomasi, C.S. Lecture on International Migration. Silas W. Allard delivered the lecture, “Christianity and the Law of Migration: A Dialogue in Social Responsibility.” The event also featured responses from Kristin Heyer and Raj Nadella – co-editors with Allard – of the new book Christianity and the Law of Migration (Routledge 2021).

Migration is a vital factor in the social, economic, political, legal, and theological life of people around the globe. Thus, engaging this issue from the perspectives of law and theology is essential, and such a dialogue begins with the reality that the current conditions of international migration have created enormous suffering for many migrants. This lecture and conversation between the editors of Christianity and the Law of Migration will draw on the insights of the book’s contributors to examine how thinking with and across law and theology can expand our moral imagination.

Established in 2014, the Fr. Lydio F. Tomasi, C.S. Annual Lecture on International Migration addresses a migration-related topic of pressing concern to faith communities. Fr. Tomasi, a founding member of the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS), co-directed and directed the institute from 1968 to 2001.

MODERATOR
Donald Kerwin
Executive Director
Center for Migration Studies

LECTURER
Silas W. Allard
Senior Fellow, Center for the Study of Law and Religion, Emory University
Managing Editor, Journal of Law and Religion

RESPONDENTS
Kristin Heyer
Professor and Director of Graduate Studies
Theology Department, Boston College

Raj Nadella
Samuel A. Cartledge Associate Professor of New Testament
Columbia Theological Seminary