Welcome the stranger! with Fr. Fred Kammer, SJ, J. D.

A talk by Fr. Fred Kammer, SJ, J. D

Date: Wednesday 11 May 2022

Time: 4.00 - 5.00 PM AWST

Venue: Clune Lecture Theatre, Newman Siena Centre, 33 Williamstown Road, Doubleview, WA 6018

Followed by drinks and nibbles.

About the talk

Welcoming the Stranger!

How understandings from Scripture and Catholic Social Teaching can inform the welcoming of the migrant and refugee person.

This talk will examine the phenomena of human mobility as a social reality and in the light of understandings from Scripture and key principles from Catholic Social Teaching.

A considered Christian response which enhances the catholicity of the local church will also be offered.

About the speaker

Fr. Fred Kammer, SJ, J. D., is a priest, an attorney, and a member of the Central and Southern Province of the Jesuits. He has been director of the Jesuit Social Research Institute from March, 2009. From 2002 to 2008, he was the Provincial Superior of the New Orleans Jesuit Province, guiding their post-Katrina recovery and service to the devastated region’s poor and needy. From 1992 to 2001, he was the President/CEO of Catholic Charities USA, the nation's largest voluntary human service network. Fred has worked in a number of programs for the underprivileged, both as a lay volunteer, an attorney, an advocate, and an administrator. From 1990 to 1992, he was the Policy Advisor for Health and Welfare Issues, Department of Social Development and World Peace, U.S. Catholic Conference. Prior to that, from 1984 to 1989, he was Executive Director of Catholic Community Services of Baton Rouge, Inc. Earlier, from 1977 to 1983, he was Director of the Senior Citizens Law Project of the Atlanta Legal Aid Society. Fred is also a retreat director and author.

His first book, Doing Faithjustice: An Introduction to Catholic Social Thought, was published by Paulist Press in May, 1991 (second printing, 1992; third printing, 2005). His second book, Salted with Fire: Spirituality for the Faithjustice Journey, was published in January, 1995, again by Paulist Press, and republished in 2008 by Wipf and Stock Publishers. His newest book, Faith. Works. Wonders.--An Insider's Guide to Catholic Charities, was published in September, 2009, by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This New Orleans native received his J.D. from Yale University and M. Div. from Loyola University in Chicago. He holds honorary doctorates from Fairfield University, Gonzaga University, Creighton University, Spring Hill College, and the University of San Francisco (1999).

Areas of Expertise

• Catholic Social Teaching
• Poverty
• Non-profit sector