John Gehring to present Schemmel Theology Lecture Sept. 26

John Gehring will present the fourth annual Clarke University Schemmel Lecture in Theology. Gehring’s lecture, The Francis Effect: How a Radical Pope is Reforming the Catholic Church, is set for Tuesday, September 26, at 7:30 p.m. in Jansen Music Hall on the campus of Clarke University. The event is free and open to the public.

Gehring is the author of “The Francis Effect: A Radical Pope’s Challenge to the American Catholic Church.” The book will be available for purchase at the event.

John Gehring is Catholic Program Director at Faith in Public Life. According to their website, Faith in Public Life is a strategy center for the faith community advancing faith in the public square as a powerful force for justice, compassion, and the common good. Faith in Public Life has played an important role in changing the narrative about the role of faith in politics, winning major progressive policy victories, and empowering new religious leaders to fight for social justice and the common good.

Gehring’s work has been featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, USA Today, Politico, National Public Radio, and many Catholic news outlets. A former associate director for media relations at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Gehring has contributing essays in Pope Francis and The Future of Catholicism in the United States: The Challenge of Becoming a Church for the Poor, and Voting and Holiness: Catholic Perspectives on Political Participation. He is a contributing editor at Commonweal magazine and an adjunct professor of journalism at American University in Washington D.C.

Gehring is a graduate of Mount Saint Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism in New York City.

For more information, contact the Clarke University President’s Office at (563)588-6377.