WHEELING, WV, Oct. 13, 2009 — Wheeling Jesuit University’s departments of business, philosophy and political science are presenting a fall program of public lectures focusing on Pope Benedict’s Third Encyclical Letter, Caritas in Veritate or Charity in Truth.

The Monday evening lectures are open to the public. The Oct. 26 lecture brings distinguished Catholic professor of economics, the Rev. William Byron, S.J. to the podium as Father Byron addresses the topic of Political and Economic Philosophy in the Light of Catholic Social Teaching. It will be held in the National Technology Transfer Center (NTTC) auditorium.

Byron is currently professor of business and society at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, also a Jesuit school. The Oct. 26 lecture is made possible through a generous grant from BB&T Foundation and is part of the university's Institute for the Study of Capitalism and Morality curriculum.

Past president of The Catholic University of America and the University of Scranton, Byron also served as interim president of Loyola University in New Orleans in the academic year 2003-2004.

Earlier assignments include service as pastor of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Washington, DC and professor of the practice of ethics in the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University, where he also held the position of rector of the Georgetown Jesuit Community. 



A native of Pittsburgh, Father Byron grew up in Philadelphia, where he attended St. Joseph's Preparatory School. After service in the army's 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment in 1945-46, he attended Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia for three years before entering the Jesuit order in 1950. He was ordained a priest in 1961.

He holds a doctorate in economics from the University of Maryland, two theology degrees from Woodstock College, a bachelor's degree, licentiate in philosophy and a master's degree in economics from Saint Louis University. He was the 1999 recipient of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities' Theodore M. Hesburgh Award for his contributions over the years to the advancement of Catholic higher education. In that same year, he received the Council of Independent Colleges Academic Leadership Award. He holds 30 honorary degrees.

Author of 10 books and editor of two, Byron writes the bi-weekly syndicated column "Looking Around" for Catholic News Service and a monthly "What Would You Like to Know?" feature for Catholic Digest. His 1989 book, Quadrangle Considerations, won the Catholic Press Association's best book award in the education category. That same association gave its first place award in the Best Essay category to his "Structural Adjustments for a Church Working Its Way through Crisis," in the Winter 2004 issue of Church magazine.

Wheeling Jesuit professor of business, Dr. Edward Younkins and professor of philosophy, the Rev. Jim O’Brien, invite all students, faculty, researchers, administrators, staff, and community members to attend the lectures and take part in the discussion that follows.

Participants can access an online copy of the papal letter by visiting the papal Web site found at: www.vatican.va.

Each lecture in this series features a different professor addressing a portion of the Pope’s encyclical on world economic justice, followed by open discussion. The letter itself deals with the current global economic crisis and seeks to propose a promising path for the true development of all peoples of the world.

The final lecture in the series takes place at 7 p.m., Monday, Nov. 2, when The Development of Peoples and Technology will be discussed.