Catholic Charities is pleased to announce the inauguration of
its Margaret Bigham Driscoll Annual Speaker Series
Voices of Hope
“Audacity to Believe: The Witness of a Political Prisoner ”
October 1, 2008 at 7:00 pm
First Unitarian Church (306 N. Aurora St., Ithaca)
2008 Speaker: Sheila Cassidy
A physician, psychotherapist and writer, Sheila Cassidy is best known as the young doctor who was imprisoned and tortured for treating a wounded revolutionary in Pinochet’s Chile. Upon her release and return to England, she became an outspoken advocate for human rights and the author of the international bestseller, Audacity to Believe”.
Working in Hospices and as a Psychotherapist, she has campaigned for better palliative care for the dying and been involved in work with victims of torture.
Born and bred a Roman Catholic, she still holds to a deep belief in God and the essential nature of prayer, while admitting that her relationship with 'institutional religion' is an ambivalent one.
Among her publications are Good Friday People and, most recently, Made for Laughter.
Co-sponsors as of August: Area Congregations Together, Tikkun V’Or, Ithaca Catholic Worker, the Center for Transformative Action (formerly know as CRESP), Pax Christi Upstate New York and Pax Christi Elmira.
$10 Donation requested
Proceeds from this event provide funding to sustain and grow our Justice and Peace Ministry Program in its efforts to promote collaboration among religious congregations and community groups in addressing the systemic causes of poverty, war and injustice.
A reception with light refreshments will follow the program.
Margaret Bigham Driscoll Justice and Peace Memorial Fund
In 2007, Catholic Charities established the Margaret Bigham Driscoll Justice and Peace Memorial Fund. This fund sponsors Voices of Hope -- an annual event in which a nationally known person speaks to a social justice issue of current concern, from a faith perspective.