Keynote speakers
Arcybiskup Metropolita Łódzki Kardynał Grzegorz Ryś
Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś was born on February 9, 1964 in Cracow. He entered the Higher Theological Seminary of the Archdiocese of Cracow in 1982 and was ordained a priest by Cardinal Franciszek Macharski in Wawel Cathedral on May 22, 1988. He took his degree in theology and history. After one year of pastoral work at the St. Margaret and St. Catherine’s Parish in Kęty he started his doctoral studies at the Pontifical Academy of Theology in Cracow. He received his doctorate in 1994 and was awarded habilitation in the humanities in history in 2000.
He combined his academic work with his position as head of the Department of Church History in the Middle Ages and then of the Department of Ancient and Medieval History at the Institute of History of the Faculty of History and Cultural Heritage of the Pontifical University of John Paul II (2005-2017). He is the author of nearly 50 scientific publications among which the most noteworthy are: Inkwizycja, Kraków 1997; Skandal miłosierdzia. (Inquisition, Krakow 1997; The Scandal of Mercy). Rozważania dla każdego, Kraków 2014; Jeden święty, powszechny, apostolski. (Reflections for Everyone, Krakow 2014; One Holy, Universal, Apostolic). Spotkania z historią Kościoła, Kraków 2016; Chrześcijanie wobec żydów, Kraków 2023; Duch Święty, Kraków 2024 (Encounters with Church History, Kraków 2016; Christians toward Jews, Kraków 2023; Holy Spirit, Kraków 2024).
Until his elevation to the episcopal dignity, he was successively director of the Archives of the Metropolitan Chapter in Cracow (2004-2007) and rector of the Higher Theological Seminary of the Archdiocese of Cracow (2007-2011). On July 16, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Krakow. He received the episcopal sacrament from Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz on September 28, 2011.
On September 14, 2017, he was appointed Archbishop Metropolitan of Łódź by Pope Francis. He made his ingress into the Łódź Cathedral on November 4, 2017. On June 29, 2018, he received a pallium from Pope Francis, which was solemnly imposed on him on October 5, 2018, at the Cathedral of Łódź by the Apostolic Nuncio to Poland, Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio.
He has been a member of the Permanent Council of the Polish Bishops’ Conference from 2017 to 2022 and again from 2023. Also, he serves on the Council for Ecumenism, the Council for Culture and the Protection of Cultural Heritage and the Council for the Family of the Polish Bishops’ Conference. Since 2022, he has been chairman of the Council for Religious Dialogue and chairman of the Committee for Dialogue with Judaism. In 2023, he was delegated to a team working on the concept of a commission to investigate cases of sexual abuse of minors in the Church in Poland.
On November 21, 2020, Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Grzegorz Ryś as a member of the Congregation for Bishops, and after his cardinal creation on October 4, 2023, extended his term in the Congregation for another five years. On July 9, 2023, during the Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square in Rome, Pope Francis announced his appointment as a cardinal. At the consistory on September 30, 2023, Archbishop Grzegorz Ryś received the cardinal’s biretta and the Roman titular church of St. Cyril and Methodius. On October 4, 2023 Pope Francis appointed Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś as a member of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. By papal appointment, Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś took part in the first General Assembly of the Synod on Synodality, held in Rome in October 2023.
biskup pomocniczy warszawsko-praski jacek grzybowski, uksw
Jacek Grzybowski (born in 1973), auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Warsaw-Praga, holds post-doctoral degree in philosophy, professor at the Faculty of Christian Philosophy of the UKSW in Warsaw and lecturer at the Pontifical Faculty of Theology, member of the Expert Team of the Polish Bishops’ Conference for Bioethics and the Social Council at the Polish Bishops’ Conference, author of scientific publications in the field of history of philosophy, philosophy of politics and philosophy of culture: Miecz i pastorał Filozoficzny uniwersalizm sporu o charakter władzy (2006); Jacques Maritain i nowa cywilizacja chrześcijańska (2007); Theatrum Mundi. (Sword and crosier. The Philosophical Universalism of the Dispute over the Nature of Power (2006); Jacques Maritain and the New Christian Civilization (2007); Theatrum Mundi. Kosmologia i teologia Dantego Alighieri (2009); Byt, tożsamość, naród (Cosmology and Theology of Dante Alighieri (2009); Being, Identity, Nation). Próba wyjaśnienia formuły „tożsamość narodowa” w perspektywie metafizyki (2012); Myśl filozoficznie – myśl politycznie! (An attempt to explain the formula „national identity” in the perspective of metaphysics (2012); Think philosophically – think politically!) Analiza i ocena historyczno-kulturowych racji filozofii polityki (redakcja, 2013); Uciec z krainy zapomnienia (2016); Wobec in vitro. (Analysis and Evaluation of the Historical and Cultural Rationale of Philosophy of Politics (editor, 2013); Escape from the Land of Oblivion (2016); Facing IVF). Genetyczne, moralne, filozoficzne, teologiczne i prawne aspekty zapłodnienia pozaustrojowego (redakcja, 2017); Sposób na filozofię (Genetic, Moral, Philosophical, Theological, and Legal Aspects of In vitro Fertilization (editor, 2017); How to approach philosophy). Kluczowe zagadnienia z dydaktyki przedmiotowej (współautorstwo, 2017); Szukając światła w nocy świata (2018); Zofia Józefa Zdybicka (współautorstwo, 2019), Potęga kultury, (2022). (Key Issues in Subject Didactics (co-authored, 2017); Seeking Light in the Night of the World (2018); Zofia Józefa Zdybicka (co-authored, 2019), The Power of Culture, (2022). In his teaching classes and in his works – scientific and popularization texts, speeches and radio broadcasts – he addresses the issue of philosophical inspirations and sources of contemporary cultural and civilization issues. He runs his website www.jacekgrzybowski.pl
Jerzy Sojka, ChAT
Jerzy Sojka PhD, lecturer at Chair of Historical Theology, Christian Theological Academy in Warsaw. He researches the history and theology of the Lutheran Reformation in the 16th century as well as contemporary evangelical theology, especially thought and activities of the Lutheran World Federation. He has dealt with this subjects in several dozens publications. The most important of them are books published in Polish: “Visible Word. Sacraments in the Lutheran Book of Concord” (2016) and “Becoming communio. The Lord’s Supper as nota ecclesiae in publications of the Lutheran World Federation” (2021). The latter is based on the doctoral thesis defended in 2012: “Holy Communion as nota ecclesiae in LWF-Publications”. From 2017, a member of the LWF Council. Since 2023, Chair of the LWF Council`s Committee for Ecumenical Relations and member of the LWF Executive Committee. Since 2017, member of General Synod of the Evangelical Church of Augsburg Confession, since 2023, member of the Synodical Council (General Synod Presidium) and Chair of the General Synod`s Commission for International and Ecumenical Cooperation.
Dirk Ansorge, Frankfurt/St. Georgen
Prof. Dr. Dirk Ansorge is a Catholic theologian, born in 1960 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. He studied philosophy and Catholic theology at the universities of Bochum, Jerusalem, Strasbourg, Tübingen, and Münster. For several years, Ansorge was a lecturer in theology at the Catholic Academy of the Diocese of Essen. Since 2011, he has held the chair of dogmatic theology and history of dogma at the Jesuit Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology in Frankfurt am Main. From 2014 to 2018, he was Vice-Rector of the Graduate School.
Ansorge is currently director of the Alois Kardinal Grillmeier Institute for the History of Dogma, Ecumenism, and Interreligious Dialogue. He teaches dogmatic theology and the history of dogma, with particular interests in the theology of creation, sacramental theology, Christology, and ecclesiology. He also researches the relationship between religion and politics, with a focus on the Middle East and the relationship between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In January 2023, Ansorge was elected President of the Association of Catholic Faculties, Institutes, and Departments in Germany.
Margit Eckholt, Osnabrück
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Margit Eckholt, Professor of Dogmatics with Fundamental Theology at the University of Osnabrück
Studied Catholic Theology, Romance Studies and Philosophy at the Universities of Tübingen and Poitiers, Dr. theol. 1992 at the University of Tübingen, 2000 Habilitation in Dogmatics at the Faculty of Catholic theology of the University of Tübingen, 1993-1995 Visiting Professor and Alexander-von-Humboldt Fellow at the Pontificia Universidad Católica Santiago de Chile, 2000 to 2009 Professor of Dogmatics at the Philosophical-Theological College of the Salesians of Don Bosco in Benediktbeuern, since September 2009 Professor of Dogmatics (with Fundamental Theology) at the Institute of Catholic Theology of the University of Osnabrück, director of the Institute and member of the Faculty board.
Co-chair of the project „Vatican II – Legacy and Mandate. Intercontinental Commentary: Reception and Orientations for the Life of the Church”, director of the scholarship organization ICALA- Intercambio cultural latinoamericano-alemán, member of the Synodal Way in Germany, former president of the European Society for Catholic Theology (ESCT, 2021-2023)
Myriam Wijlens, Erfurt
Prof. Dr. Myriam Wijlens is Full Professor of Canon Law at the Faculty of Catholic Theology at the University of Erfurt (Germany), since 2005. Education: Licentiate in Catholic Theology (S.T.L. – 1986) from the Catholic University of Nijmegen (now Radboud University), The Netherlands Master & Licentiate in canon law summa cum laude (MA & JCL-1988) from Saint Paul University and the University of Ottawa, Canada Doctorate in canon law magna cum laude (PhD and JCD 1990) from Saint Paul University and the University of Ottawa, Canada Habilitation with venia legendi for canon law (1997) Westfälische-Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Germany. Delegate on behalf of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Christian Unity. Appointed by pope Francis as Consultor to the Synod of Bishops (2021-2026) Appointed by Cardinal Mario Grech as Member of the Steering Group for the Synod of Bishops with the theme “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission” (2021-2024).
Michael Seewald, Muenster
Prof. Dr. Michael Seewald (born in 1987) is Professor of Dogmatic Theology and the History of Dogma at the University of Münster. His research interests include theology of the Enlightenment, theories of doctrinal development and Catholic theological conceptions of politics. Prof. Seewald, who holds both French and German citizenship, was educated at the University of Tübingen, where he received his diploma in theology and his M.A. in Philosophy and Politics (2009). He earned his Ph.D. and completed his habilitation at the University of Munich. In the academic year 2021–22, Seewald was a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study (Wissenschaftskolleg) in Berlin. Seewald is the chair of the Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics”, a long-term project funded by the Federal Government of Germany and the German Research Foundation. Michael Seewald was awarded the Karl Rahner Prize for Theological Research (2016), and he was the first theologian to be awarded the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize of the German Research Foundation (2017). Currently, he serves as the Speaker of the Cluster of Excellence „Religion and Politics”.
https://orcid.org/0009-0001-8830-752X
https://coproduced-religions.org/community/michael-seewald
BISHOP Alexandre Palma, Lisboa
Dr. Alexandre Palma Auxiliary Bishop of Lisbon (since 21 Jul 2024), theologian and university professor. He was born in Lisbon in 1978. After beginning his studies in engineering, he graduated in theology from Portuguese Catholic University (2005), where he also completed his master’s degree (2008). He later resided in Rome where he received a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University (2013). Since returning to Lisbon, he has taught at the Catholic University where he is an assistant professor (courses: Mystery of God; Christology; and Theology of Religions) and a researcher at the CITER – Research Center for Theology and Religion Studies. He is also a member of the European Society for Catholic Theology, of the journal Communio’s portuguese editorial board and of the «Seminar of young scientists» of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences. His research focuses on theological epistemology, the question of God, Christology, theology of religions and theology of space.
Alex villas boas, Lisboa
Dr. Alex Villas Boas: Principal Investigator (PI) and Executive Coordinator of CITER – Research Centre for Theology and Religious Studies at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP), in Lisbon. He is Professor of Theology and Literature in the Graduate Programme of Theology and Professor of Hermeneutics of Religious Texts in the Master of Religious Studies, both at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa. He received the „Religions Investigator Award 2022”, sponsored by the journal Religions (Q1) and MDPI, based in Basel, Switzerland. Education: Aggregation in Ethics and Theological Language from the Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC SP). Post-doctorate in Theology at the Pontificia Università Gregoriana di Roma (PUG), with a research on the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius of Loyola between Karl Rahner and Hans Urs von Balthasar. PhD in Theology from the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC Rio). Visiting Professor: Literary Studies Programme, Universidade de Aveiro (Portugal); Faculté de théologie et sciences religieuses, Université Laval (Canada); Graduate Programme in Humanities, Universidade Católica de Moçambique (UCM); Graduate Programme in History and Literary Theory, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP); Faculty of Social Sciences, Universidad Nacional Arturo Jauretche, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Editor-in-chief of Teoliteraria – Journal of Literatures and Theologies (2011-2021). He is currently Associate Editor of the theological journal Ephata.
https://ciencia.ucp.pt/en/persons/alex-villas-boas
Arcybiskup Metropolita Katowicki Adrian Galbas SAC
Invited speakers
Alberto Lo Presti, Roma
Dr. Alberto Lo Presti is an associate professor of the History of Political Doctrines at the Free University Maria SS. Assunta in Rome and, since 2023, president of the Graduate Program in Political and International Sciences (L36) at the same university. He is an ordinary member of the Italian Association for the History of Political Thought and a member of the Rome Committee of the Institute for the History of the Italian Risorgimento. He graduated with highest honors (cum laude), in Sociology from L’Università degli Studi “La Sapienza” in Rome, discussing a dissertation in Epistemology and Philosophy of Science. He received, again with highest honors (cum laude), a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy from the University of Studies “La Sapienza,” discussing a dissertation in Medieval Philosophy. Finally, he received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History of Political Thought from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas – Angelicum in Rome, with final grade Summa cum laude.
Jean Ehret, Luxembourg
Prof. Dr. Dr. Jean Ehret, Luxembourg School of Religion & Society (LSRS), Director, Professor of Theology & Spirituality; Faculty of Catholic Theology, University of Tübingen, Distinguished Visiting Professor of Theology & Literature. Address: Luxembourg School of Religion & Society
Krzysztof Piętak, Warsaw
Affiliation: Doctoral School of Humanities, University of Warsaw
Biographical note: I am in my second year of Phd studies at the Doctroral School of Humanities within the University of Warsaw. I specialize in the early history of modern philosophy and contemporary analitycal philosophy of mind. I am interested in theology, especially in the Patristic period and ancient philosophy, especially in Plato, Epicurus and Cicero.
Cirilo Borolon, Vienna
Dr. Cirilo Boloron Jr., born in the Philippines, has a rich academic background, having studied philosophy and theology in the Philippines and Austria. He continued his theological studies at the Catholic Theological Faculty, University of Vienna, where he is also currently pursuing his postdoctoral research (Habilitation). He has also shared his knowledge through teaching religious education and theology at Divine Word College of Legazpi (Philippines) and Holy Name University (Philippines). Currently, he resides in Vienna, Austria, where he actively contributes to the pastoral work for the Archdiocese of Vienna.
Radoslav Lojan, Ružomberok
doc. Dr. Radoslav Lojan, PhD., Faculty of Theology, The Catholic University in Ružomberok, (Slovakia). In 2002 doc. Lojan graduated from the Commenius University in Bratislava, Theological Institute in Kosice. In 2012 he completed his doctoral studies at Saint Paul University in Ottawa and University of Ottawa, Canada. Since 2013, Radoslav Lojan is an full time professor and since 2019 he is the Dean of the Theological Faculty, Catholic University in Ruzomberok. His research interests focus on moral theology, social work, ecumenical dialogue, palliative care and bioethics. Radoslav Lojan has experience with many project activities.
Taeha An
Taeha is a graduate student majoring in Ethics, pursuing a Master of Arts in Religion degree at Yale University. His primary research interests focus on the intersection of philosophical anthropology and ethics. Adjacent interests include ethics of memory, philosophy of history, phenomenology, and critical theory. Obtaining a BA in Theology and Religious Studies at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven contributed to his strong academic formation in continental philosophy and notable ‘Louvain theology.’ His research concerns theological and philosophical frameworks of temporality in addressing various moments of conflicts in the past within our current sociocultural and political landscape. Taeha is originally from Seoul but is now based in New Haven, Connecticut.
Patryk Zając
PhD in Philosophy, M.Th., is a Research & Teaching Associate at the University of Silesia in Katowice, a Research Fellow at the University of Vienna, and has lectured at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in the Kolloquia für Religionsphilosophie, as well as for the Czech Christian Academy in Prague. He studied theology at the Pontifical University of John Paul II in Cracow, with philosophy and psychology as minor subjects at Jagiellonian University in Cracow. His expertise lies in analytical philosophy, especially epistemology and ethics, and he is now researching for a habilitation thesis on political epistemology after the social turn in analytic philosophy. He has worked as an expert in negotiating international business contracts for major Polish companies and as a mediator in civil cases. He’s a Consultant in the Office of the Delegate of the German Bishops’ Conference for Polish-speaking Pastoral in Germany. Dr. Zając regularly publishes in “Die Tagespost” and has been featured in “Tygodnik Powszechny,” also contributing to Polish Catholic media in Germany. He is a Catholic presbyter of the Archdiocese of Łódź (Poland).
Aušra Vasiliauskaitė, Kaunas
Damian Wąsek, kraków
Urszula Pękala, Saarbrücken
Dr. Urszula Pękala holds doctorate in Fundamental Theology from the University of Freiburg and habilitation in Church History from the University of Mainz. For many years she was researcher at the Leibniz Institute for European History (IEG) in Mainz, where she realized two projects: she was the initiator and coordinator of the interdisciplinary and international research network “Struggling for Reconciliation. Interactions of Religion and Politics in the Relationship between Germany and Poland 1945-2010”; on the other hand, she has led the project “Between Theological Positions and National-Political Interests. Catholic Bishops as Actors of German-French and German-Polish Reconciliation after World War II (1945-1990)”. Currently, she is visiting professor at the Saarland University in Saarbruecken.
Urszula’s research focuses on reconciliation processes since World War II, relations of religion and politics in the 20th century Europe, and the role of interreligious dialogue in the social context. She is also member of the Scientific and Editorial Board of the intercontinental project “Vatican II: Legacy and Mandate” where she also co-coordinates the Study Group Europe.
Recently, she published the book Versöhner Europas? Die Rolle katholischer Bischöfe im deutsch-französischen und deutsch-polnischen Versöhnungsprozess (1945-1990) (Veröffentlichungen des Instituts für Europäische Geschichte, vol. 267), Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 2023, Open Access: Versöhner Europas? (vr-elibrary.de).
Josef Mikulášek, Olomouc
Dr. Josef Mikulášek holds doctorate in Fundamental Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Since 2017 he has been Assistant Professor at the Cyril and Methodius Faculty of Theology in Olomouc (Czech Republic). Mikulášek focuses his research on fundamental-ecclesiological topics and on the theology of the living Tradition of the Church. He is currently a member of the National Synodal Team of the Czech Bishops’ Conference and Coordinator of the Synodal Process in the Archdiocese of Olomouc. His publications include Chiesa come „comunità di pratica”: ecclesiologia cattolica in dialogo con Etienne Wenger, Canterano: Aracne, 2019 and Dynamická církev: promýšlení ekleziologie J. B. Metze na prahu třetího tisíciletí (A Dynamic Church: Rethinking the ecclesiology of J. B. Metz on the threshold of the third millennium), Červený Kostelec: Pavel Mervart, 2019.
