Walter Cardinal Kasper will be giving the 2013 Terrence Keeley Vatican Lecture entitled, “The Origins of Vatican II” on Wednesday, April 24th at 5:00 p.m. in the Hesburgh Library Auditorium. He will also participate in the conference The Theology of Cardinal Walter Kasper: A Celebration of his Life and Work sponsored by the Department of Theology.
Born in Germany in 1933, Cardinal Kasper served as bishop of Rottenburg-Stuttgart from 1989 until his appointment as president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. He was elevated to cardinal in 2001. Pope John Paul II appointed Cardinal Walter Kasper as president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity in 2001, which includes the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews. A noted theologian, highly regarded author, and former professor of dogmatic theology at the University of Tubingen, Cardinal Kasper brought his theological skills to the work of the Commission, as is evident in his essays and addresses on Christian-Jewish Relations. He retired as President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity in 2010.