The Ninth International St. Josemaria Symposium, Faith and Society (September 19, 2018)
The 9th International St. Josemaría Symposium, held by the Catalina Mir Foundation in IFEJA (Jaén, Spain), brought together more than 500 people to speak about faith and society.
Experts from the fields of teaching, communications, theology and medicine spoke on the life of Christians in society, answering questions related to science, the millennials, journalism, social networks, and equality, among other topics.
In the opening session, some 300 people heard José Ramón Pin Arboledas, professor emeritus of IESE's Department of Organizational Management and Business Ethics, speak about freedom, and education. Lluís Foix, a columnist for the newspaper La Vanguardia, gave a presentation entitled “Public Opinion, Truth and Lies.”
A panel on Millennials and the Faith filled the auditorium with young people, to hear the experience of Isabel Berges, fashion consultant; Daniel de la Fuente Feliú, bullfighter; María Vera Imago Christi, religious, and Marius Lekker, instagrammer. Another panel addressed the topic of science at the service of society and young people.
The symposium ended with a talk by Mariano Fazio, Vicar General of Opus Dei, who spoke after participants viewed the documentary film Unity of Life in St. Josemaría. He stressed that “if we want to transform the world, we have to love it passionately.” To achieve this transformation, he pointed to the need for interior life, unity of life, a desire to influence society, and transparency.
Romana, n. 67, July-December 2018, p. 290.