Ellacuría Initiative to Offer Multiple Events

Upcoming events will focus on migration, immigration and refugees and mark the 40th anniversary of the assassination of St. Oscar Romero.
The University of Scranton’s Ellacuría Initiative will host events in March to mark the 40th anniversary of the assassination of St. Oscar Romero.
The University of Scranton’s Ellacuría Initiative will host events in March to mark the 40th anniversary of the assassination of St. Oscar Romero.

The University of Scranton’s Ellacuría Initiative, formerly named Education for Justice, will host events on campus during the spring semester to inform and reflect on issues concerning migration, immigration and refugees and to mark the 40th anniversary of the assassination of St. Oscar Romero. The events are free of charge and open to the public.

On Thursday, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m. in the Pearn Auditorium of Brennan Hall, Benedictine Sister Makrina Finlay, O.S.B., from St. Scholastika Abbey in Dinklage, Germany, will discuss the current migrant crisis in Europe, with particular attention to church asylum. Students from theology professor Michael Azar’s travel course in Germany who visited Sr. Makrina will host a panel discussion with her at the talk. The event is sponsored by The Ellacuría Initiative and the Department of Theology and Religious Studies.

On Wednesday, Mar. 4, at 6:30 p.m. in the Moskovitz Theater of the DeNaples Center, the University will host a screening of the 2018 documentary “On Her Shoulders,” which tells the story of Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad, a survivor of the Yazidi genocide and ISIS sex slavery. The film will be introduced by Nafiya and Jamileh Naso, Iraqi Yazidis, who at an early age fled their home with their family and spent eight years in a Syrian refugee camp before immigrating to Winnipeg, Canada. The sisters co-founded the Canadian Yazidi Association and together they work to support the refugee community in Canada while advocating for government policy and support. University of Scranton occupational therapy graduate students Emma and Susannah Ilseman, of Naperville, Illinois, received an OED grant to organize the event, which is sponsored by the Office of Equity and Diversity and The Ellacuría Initiative.

To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the assassination of St. Oscar Romero in El Salvador, the film “Romero” will be shown on Tuesday, Mar. 10, at 7 p.m. in the Moskovitz Theater of the DeNaples Center. The film depicts Father Romero’s peaceful protest and advocacy for the people of El Salvador during the civil war in the 1970s and 1980s. Theology professor Will Cohen, Ph.D., will introduce the film and lead discussion immediately following the screening. The event is sponsored by The Ellacuría Initiative and the Department of Theology and Religious Studies.

On Mar. 24, the University will celebrate a Mass at 12:05 p.m. in Madonna della Strada Chapel to commemorate St. Romero’s death, celebrate his life, and contemplate how we may continue his work. The Mass is sponsored by Campus Ministries and The Ellacuría Initiative.

For further information, contact English and theatre professor Teresa Grettano, Ph.D., director of The Ellacuría Initiative, at 570-941-6480.

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