Intellectual Formation

Upcoming Events


Thursday, March 14  |  12pm CT  |  Online via Zoom

A Faith and a Calling: Embracing Excellence and Service in the Law

Catholic social teaching offers a rich framework and philosophy for all who work for conflict resolution and justice. In this lecture and discussion, Vincent Rougeau will engage with core tenets of Catholic social teaching and our conceptions of community, justice and the common good.

Speaker:  Vincent Rougeau, President, College of the Holy Cross

About Vincent D. Rougeau

Vincent D. Rougeau leads the nation’s only undergraduate Jesuit liberal arts college and is a passionate advocate for an inclusive, mission-driven education. Under his leadership and in collaboration with faculty, staff, alums and students, Holy Cross has advanced Aspire, its new strategic vision for the future. This comprehensive plan guides the institution’s efforts to build on its long-standing excellence and ensure that the College continues to serve and prepare all its students for the wider world. As president, his early focus includes investing in student, faculty and staff experience, strengthening shared governance with faculty, administration and the Board of Trustees, and deepening partnerships across the City of Worcester.

Rougeau, a nationally respected expert in legal education and Catholic social thought, became the 33rd president of the College of the Holy Cross in July 2021. Rougeau previously served as dean of the Boston College Law School and the inaugural director of the Boston College Forum on Racial Justice in America. Prior to his role at Boston College, Rougeau was a tenured professor of law at Notre Dame Law School, and served as their associate dean for Academic Affairs from 1999-2002.

Rougeau has written extensively on law and religion with a particular focus on Catholic social teaching and the law. His book “Christians in the American Empire: Faith and Citizenship in the New World Order” was released by Oxford University Press in 2008. His research considers the relationships among religious identity, citizenship and membership in highly mobile and increasingly multicultural democratic societies. He served as senior fellow at the Centre for Theology and Community in London, where he researched broad-based community organizing, immigration and citizenship in the United Kingdom as part of the Just Communities Project.

He is past president of the Association of American Law Schools, and previously served on the Council of the Boston Bar Association. He currently serves on the boards of Newton-Wellesley Hospital, GBH, Boston Lyric Opera and Commonweal Magazine. 

He received his A.B. magna cum laude from Brown University in 1985, and his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1988, where he served as articles editor of the Harvard Human Rights Journal. He and his wife, Robin Kornegay-Rougeau, M.D. are proud parents to Christian, Alexander and Vincent (V.J.).


Friday, April 26  |  12pm CT  |  In-Person

CLG Speaker Series: Sr. Helen Prejean
The Journey Of The Catholic Church To Recognize The Death Penalty As A Pro Life Issue

Speaker:  Sr. Helen Prejean

Location:  University Club of Chicago, 76 E. Monroe, Chicago



The below resources are from the Catholic Lawyers Guild’s Intellectual Formation Events. For more information, please contact Michael Ripani at admin@clgchicago.org.


Laudato Si: Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment and human ecology.

  • “The human environment and the natural environment deteriorate together; we cannot adequately combat environmental degradation unless we attend to causes related to human and social degradation…we have to realize that a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.” (p. 33)
  • “The establishment of a legal framework which can set clear boundaries and ensure the protection of ecosystems has become indispensable; otherwise, the new power structures based on the techno-economic paradigm may overwhelm not only our politics but also freedom and justice.” (p. 39)
  • “Whether in the administration of the state, the various levels of civil society, or relationships between individuals themselves, lack of respect for the law is becoming more common. Laws may be well framed yet remain a dead letter. Can we hope, then, that in such cases, legislation and regulations dealing with the environment will really prove effective?” (p. 107)
  • “There is a nobility in the duty to care for creation through little daily actions…We must not think that these efforts are not going to change the world. They benefit society, often unbeknown to us, for they call forth a goodness which, albeit unseen, inevitably tends to spread. Furthermore, such actions can restore our sense of self-esteem; they can enable us to live more fully and to feel that life on earth is worthwhile.” (p. 154 – 155).

Sustainability Tips | Recommended by the Union of Concerned Scientists

  1. Switch to a car with better fuel economy.
  2. Make your house more airtight.
  3. Buy and use a programmable thermostat.
  4. Eat less meat, especially beef.
  5. Use power strips in your home office and home.
  6. Upgrade your refrigerator and air conditioner, especially if they are more than five years old.
  7. Get an electricity monitor from your local hardware store (or borrow one from many local libraries) to see where the energy hogs are in your home.
  8. Change those light bulbs. New LED light bulbs can give the same light for 15 percent the electricity.
  9. Wash clothes in cold water – they get just as clean with today’s detergents.
  10. Buy less stuff. Reduce, re-use, and recycle—it’s not just about pollution, but the strategy will lower your emissions too and help combat global warming.