Where Will the Roman Catholic Church Be Heading Under Pope Francis? (Part 2 Q&A)

In February, Pope Benedict surprised the Church and the world with his resignation. Now the Church has met and named Pope Francis as the new Pope. This is a significant window of opportunity for the Church. Does it signal a move to a more liberal and progressive Church? Will we notice any change at all on key issues -- such as controversial social issues, women in the priesthood, and a host of other questions? The speaker is a keen observer of the Roman Catholic Church. She will assess the factions and movements that have let to this pope's election. She will try to peer into the future, as to where the Church is now heading. Speaker: Rev'd Canon Erin Phillips Erin Phillips is the chaplain for Ecumenical Campus Ministry at the University of Lethbridge and Lethbridge College and the incumbent priest at the Anglican Church of the Ascension in the Coaldale Chaplain for eighteen years, Erin has also taught courses in Religious Studies, History and Sociology at the university since 1992. After doing a Masters degree at Wilfrid Laurier University where her thesis was a study of the impact of Vatican II on the Scarboro Foreign Mission Society, she did five years of doctoral work at McMaster University. There her studies centered on Karl Rahner, one of the theological architects of Vatican II. She spent a year studying theology in Germany at the Universitaet Tuebingen but has recently discovered her soul's home in Italy.