Another day to remember in the life of a Rome-based Vatican correspondent. Auxiliary Bishop Robert Barron of Los Angeles is in Rome and he came to both give and receive. He gave a lecture at the Dominican-run Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas and the university conferred a Doctor Honoris Causa degree on him. The university is also called the Angelicum or Ang, given that Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church, is called “the Angelic Doctor.”
Bishop Barron’s lecture was entitled “The One Who Is, The One Who Gives: Aquinas, Derrida and the Dilemma of Divine Generosity.” He received sustained applause when he was introduced and had a standing ovation after he spoke and when the degree was conferred on him.
An estimated 600 guests were present, including students and teachers from the Angelicum and those from other universities, diplomats, Vatican officials, including two American cardinals, James Harvey and Edwin O’Brien, and people who for years have been fans of the bishop’s Word on Fire ministry.
I’ve been blessed to know Bishop Barron for years and he truly blessed everyone today with his presence and magisterial talk. EWTN was there and you will be able to see video of his time with the media had later. And, God willing, an interview for “Vatican Insider.”
Joan's Rome 