2020 Albertus Magnus Lecture

Presented online on November 12, 2020

Over the centuries we have come to learn a lot about what it means to be human from various sources including the natural and social sciences. However, our Christian theological tradition has not always kept pace, choosing instead to base much of our formal teaching on ancient and medieval concepts that no longer accurately reflect reality as we understand it today. The recent coronavirus pandemic has further challenged our assumptions of collective human invulnerability, as well as social and environmental progress, raising new questions regarding how we ought to think about what it means to be human. This lecture will explore some of the key ways we might address this question from a Christian theological perspective, beginning with the fundamental fact of our inherent “creatureliness”, vulnerability, and interconnectedness. Daniel P. Horan, OFM, PhD is the Duns Scotus Chair of Spirituality at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.