Conference to take place on Pope John Paul II | Stephen Barry

The School of History at UCC is hosting a major international conference on the life of Pope John Paul II next Saturday.Present in Boole 4 will be a range of expert speakers from Ireland and Poland who will address various aspects of the late Pope’s career.The late Pope, who is due to be canonised next April, had a major role in some international conflicts, especially in countries under dictatorships or Communist regimes.His role in European affairs will be discussed by Tadeusz Dmochowsk of the University of Gdansk while Ciarán Ó Coigligh will discuss the Pope’s poems, plays and politics.Presentations will also examine the Pope’s effect in both Poland and Ireland, with the talk about Poland delivered by Dr. Marek Lasota, the head of the Krakow branch of the Institute of Remembrance.The conference, which will be held in the Boole 4 lecture theatre, was organised by Gabriel Doherty of the School of History, with assistance from the Polish Embassy and the MyCork organisation.Other speeches will feature talks on the moral theology of Pope John Paul II by Dr. John Murray of the Mater Dei Institute and the role of woman and womanhood in the teaching of the Polish pontiff. There will be a Q&A session after each presentation.The conference, which is free and is open to the public, is being held as part of the annual Polish Culture Festival in Cork.