Professor Tom Shakespeare, Professor of Disability Research, will deliver the Catholic Union’s 2024 Craigmyle Lecture is on 19 November entitled ‘Make a level path for my feet: disability equality, and love’. Baroness Hollins, President of the Catholic Union, will Chair the event.
Professor Tom Shakespeare says: “In the current moment, there exists much potential for religious communities to ally with the disability rights movement in creating accessible spaces of worship, new theological approaches to disability, and shaping a new spiritual approach to disability justice. We are disabled by society, not by our bodies and therefore need to change social systems and social values, not simply try to integrate people with disabilities into existing structures”.
The Craigmyle Lecture will take place on Tuesday 19 November at Our Lady of Victories Church, High Street Kensington, London. The event is free to attend but tickets must be booked in advance as space is limited. The lecture will be followed by a drinks reception where the conversation can be continued. The event is being kindly sponsored by CCLA.
Baroness Hollins, President of the Catholic Union, says: “We are extremely grateful to Tom, a farmer of thoughts, for agreeing to deliver our flagship lecture. Creating a level path is essential for a civilised society and my heart breaks when all too often I see fissures in the system. Professor Tom is world renowned and a passionate advocate for disability justice and I look forward to his words of wisdom”.
The Craigmyle Lecture is the Catholic Union’s annual flagship lecture, giving a platform to a prominent public figure to talk about a matter of importance to Christians and wider society in this country. Some of the previous speakers have been Dame Rachel de Souza, Baroness Hollins, Lord Bird, and Sir James MacMillan. Lord Craigmyle (Donald) was a former President of the Catholic Union after whom the lecture series is named and we are delighted that the current Lord Craigmyle is a supporter of the Catholic Union.