Find below the invitation letter of Benjamin Harnwell, founder of the Dignitatis Humanae Institute (DHI). The conference is highly recommended!!!
Dear Friends
In 2004, Rocco Buttiglione, Italian nominee for Vice President of the European Commission, was forced to withdraw from the nomination process. His nomination was rejected by the European Parliament not for anything he had ever said, but because of what, as a Catholic, he might think. This case highlights the requirement an increasingly militant secular society now places on Christians, to first divest themselves of their faith in order to be accepted into the public square. In response to this, the idea of the Dignitatis Humanae Institute was formed, to provide a support network for Christian politicians.
In 2009, European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pöttering, officially launched the European Parliament's Working Group on Human Dignity, and together with twenty-five other MEP’s adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Dignity as the Working Group’s foundational document. At the core of the Universal Declaration is the recognition that Man is made in the image and likeness of God. Therefore, every person’s life is of infinite human dignity and should be protected from conception until natural death.
Since the launch of this Working Group on Human Dignity, three other Parliamentary Working Groups have since been established, in the national parliaments of Lithuania, Romania and the UK, with a further working group due to open this month in the Italian parliament. It is a sign of the great encouragement that around the world, in a growing number of legislatures, there are Parliamentary Working Groups on Human Dignity springing up. To better support these working groups, and to more structurally advance the establishment of many more, the Dignitatis Humanae Institute has recently opened a new, International Office in Rome.
To mark its official launch, we are arranging a major conference entitled: ‘The Role of Christians in the Public Square.’ The conference, taking place in the afternoon of Friday 29 June 2012, the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, shall be followed by a reception to formally launch our international office here in Rome. The chosen themes of the conference will examine the paramount importance of human dignity, its concept and the role of the Universal Declaration of Human Dignity. Furthermore, there will be an emphasis on the experiences of Christians in the public sphere and the role of faith in politics.
In closing, we would be greatly honoured if you would consider this invitation to participate in our inaugural conference; we would be privileged to have you involved in what is a significant step in our development and would also like to show you the tangible successes we have achieved in our brief existence.
Fraternally in Christ, Benjamin Harnwell
Founder, Dignitatis Humanae Institute
Comments
Post a Comment