3/9/01--On Saturday, March 17, Boston College Law School will host the Boston Catholic Law Students Conference on its Newton campus. The Conference, scheduled to begin at 12pm and run until 5pm, will include a Saint Patrick's Day liturgy celebrated by Father William Leahy, S.J., the President of Boston College, as well as lunch, lectures and discussion of Catholic teaching with relevance for the law.

"I'm extremely pleased that we've been able to coordinate such an important event here at Boston College," said BCLS Dean John H. Garvey. "This will give local law students the chance to share their views on the Church and the legal profession, as well as to promote some cooperation and community between area schools."

The Conference was designed to bring Catholic law students from the various Boston-area schools together. Following a number of discussions with Dean Garvey about the need for such an effort, BCLS 3L student Mike Marcucci, President of the St. Thomas More Society, contacted student leaders at area law schools to propose the conference. They were excited by the idea, and planning for the event moved along quickly, including the selection of the speakers. "We wanted to bring in students from different schools who have a lot in common," Marcucci says. "We also hope that this conference will lead to cooperation between students at Harvard, BU, Northeastern, Suffolk, New England, Southern New England & BC law schools. It would be great if we could work together, both on bringing speakers to campus, running service programs and contributing to the spiritual life on our various campuses. Catholic teaching has a lot to offer the law but it is hard to find opportunities to hear this teaching presented in a legal context for an audience of legal specialists."

Marcucci and his fellow organizers hope that the conference becomes an annual event. He points out that BC is the only Catholic law school in Massachusetts. "We are uniquely positioned to lead on issues of Catholic intellectual life," he says.

There are currently seven lectures scheduled for Saturday afternoon. Dean Garvey will speak about conflicting religious and legal obligations, in "Public Servant of Two Masters." Dwight Duncan, Associate Professor at Southern New England School of Law will speak about bioethics, and what constitutes at human being and human consciousness according to the Catholic Church and the legal community. BCLS Professor Thomas Kohler, an expert in American and German Labor Law, will discuss how globalization and technology have changed the nature of the workplace, and the Church's economic doctrine that eschews the radical materialism of both Marx and Adam Smith. BCLS Professor Jim Repetti will discuss Catholic teaching and its relevance to tax policy, an economic issue that is infused with concerns about justice and morality. BCLS Professor Scott Fitzgibbon will discuss "The Catholic Lawyer and Affiliational Wisdom," based on his work with the theories of affiliation presented by Aristotle. Harvard Professor Charles Donahue will speak on "Reflections on the Lillies of the Field," considering some of the more radical statements in the Sermon on the Mount. And BCLS Visiting Professor Patrick Brennan will speak on "The Affinities of Law & Religion."

Admission to the conference is free. For more information, please email Mike Marcucci at marcuccm@bc.edu, or call the St. Thomas More Society at (617) 552-8842.