Covenant News

Palmberg, Sundholm to Attend Justice Conference

CHICAGO, IL (March 1, 2005) - Glenn R. Palmberg, president of the Evangelical Covenant Church, and Jim Sundholm, director of Covenant World Relief, are among a number of international church leaders invited to participate in The Call to Justice Conference March 16-18 in Vatican City in Rome. The initial contact came in an invitation to Sundholm to present a paper at the conference.

Participants are scheduled to begin the conference with an audience with Pope John Paul II. However, the audience will be contingent on the health of the Pope at the time the conference begins. A Vatican spokesperson today described the Pope's condition as improving following surgery last week to insert a breathing tube.

Revisiting the Vatican II Papal Council statement on justice issued 40 years ago, this conference will explore the relationship between issues of justice and "the vocation to be a fully human being." Five plenary speakers will address themes such as "The Call to Justice and the Political Order," "The Call to Justice in the Economic Order," and "The Role of the Family in the Social Order." Presenters will include Rubens Ricupero, former Director General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development; Callistro Madavo, special advisor to the president of the World Bank; Helen M. Alvare, associate professor of law at the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law; Cardinal Claudio Hummes, archbishop of Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Andrea Riccardi, founder of the Community of St. Egidio.

In addition to the plenary speakers, there will be scholars and practitioners from 30 countries presenting and responding to more than 60 papers that fall within three broad categories: theological reflection, exploration of the church's mission in the social order, and examination of contemporary economic, political and social issues.

"One of the reasons we were invited," said Palmberg, "is because of the Covenant's strong sense of justice growing out of biblical authority within an authentic evangelical faith. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to engage with leaders of other church bodies on issues of common, biblical concern. The invitation to Jim is an important recognition not only of his own gifts, but also of the work the Covenant is doing through Covenant World Relief, the Paul Carlson Partnership, and other ministries."

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