St. Catherine’s Circle Advances Catholic Legal Education in Central & Eastern Europe

Last year, Notre Dame Law School initiated an annual gathering of Catholic law faculties and scholars in Central and Eastern Europe committed to developing distinctive, excellent Catholic legal education. This collaboration offers the Law School the opportunity to build networks among scholars and institutions in the region that share Notre Dame’s Catholic mission.

The group, now named St. Catherine’s Circle, held its second conference from June 12-14, hosted by the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences at Pázmány Péter Catholic University in Budapest. This year’s conference included both returning and new collaborators, including participants from the Catholic University of Croatia, the Catholic University of Ukraine, the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Poland), and Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani University in Georgia.

Notre Dame Law Professors Paolo Carozza, Nicole Stelle Garnett, Jeffrey Pojanowski, and Rev. Patrick Reidy, C.S.C., led the conference, which attracted scholars from Croatia, Georgia, Hungary, Poland, Ukraine, and the United States. Twenty scholars participated in the conference, which was funded by Notre Dame Law School and the Nanovic Institute for European studies.

The group’s shared mission has fostered strong cooperation and collaboration among the institutions. Partner universities reflect on this mission and share their experiences across diverse activities, including teaching, research, student and colleague relations, and community organization. This year the group’s discussion focused on the role the Catholic mission plays in teaching and in student formation outside the classroom.

“Our discussions, both during the sessions and in less formal settings, were deeply rewarding,” said Pojanowski. “I am excited about how much we are learning from each other, as well as the friendship and the opportunities for cooperation these gatherings create.”

The group plans to meet annually for scholarly exchange to discuss the promise, challenges, and best practices for developing excellent and distinctively Catholic legal education in the region.

Last year, the conference was held in Lublin, Poland. The organizers plan on holding next summer’s meeting in Tbilisi, Georgia, hosted by Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani University.