CPC³ Lecture: "St. John Paul II and the Human Person" by Dr. Carly Henderson

This lecture was originally delivered on March 29, 2023 at Catholic Pacific College.

Description: Karol Wojtyla, who would later become St. John Paul II, was a champion of human dignity and defender of human freedom. In his incredible life, he witnessed the horrors that can be inflicted against human dignity, and discovered, through his suffering, pilgrimage of faith, and intellectual work, that only Jesus Christ ensures and protects the meaning and dignity of the human person. His insight left an enormous legacy within the Church that has only begun to be explored. To understand John Paul II’s unique approach to anthropology, we must first understand who he is, as a person, and what exactly he means when he teaches that the human person “cannot live without love” and can only discover himself by drawing near to Christ (Redemptor Hominis, no. 10).
Bio: Dr. Carly Henderson is originally from the Midwest of the United States. She earned her BA in English Literature at Saint Mary’s College at Notre Dame, IN, before switching gears and earning her MA and PhD in Theology at The Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies in Marriage and Family in Washington, DC. Her main theological interests center around Mariology, the theology of St. John Paul II, and anthropological questions concerning existence, sexual difference and feminism. She recently moved from the US to Langley, BC, with her husband, Dr. David Henderson, and their two young children, and is excited to be part of the CPC community.