Author of Bestselling Biographies on Pope John Paul II to Be Special Guest at Ukrainian Catholic University International Symposium

World-famous philosopher and author of international bestselling biographies on Pope John Paul II George Weigel will participate in the symposium “The Church in the Twentieth Century: Challenges of Service in a Globalized World” on July 5 at the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU), the UCU press service reports.

The symposium will take place in the Conference Hall of the Faculty of Philosophy and Theology. It is organized by the Institute of Church History and the International Institute for Ethics and Contemporary Issues of the Ukrainian Catholic University.

Taking part in the symposium will be Bishop Borys Gudziak, rector of UCU, Bishop of the Paris Eparchy; Myroslav Marynovych, human rights activist, journalist, religious studies expert, vice rector for university mission; Viktor Yelensky, UCU professor, president of the Ukrainian Association for Religious Freedom; and Oleh Turiy, vice rector for research.

During his visit to UCU, George Weigel will take part in the university’s graduation ceremonies on July 6, and will give a special lecture to the participants of the philosophy summer school on “Compassion, Forgiveness, Solidarity: Universal Virtues in a Globalized World.”

In 2011, the UCU publishing house translated George Weigel’s bestseller "Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II,” which was the winner of the 14th Ukrainian Book of the Year award. The publishing house has just completed work on another one of his books, “The End and the Beginning: Pope John Paul II - The Victory of Freedom, the Last Years, the Legacy,” which will be presented as part of the symposium. The publication will be a kind of continuation and complement to the bestseller "Witness to Hope."

Director of the Institute of Church History, historian Fr. Andriy Mykhaleyko, commenting on the translation of the book "Witness to Hope," said: “This is probably the best to date biography of John Paul II. It is unique because one can read here more than what in general is available from in media; it has information about the life of the church, the pope's trips, his meetings. The author of this book tried to look behind the scenes of the church and show who Karol Wojtyla really is.”

It is important that George Weigel had direct contact with the pope. “The author mentions he had more than 10 personal meetings with John Paul II while preparing the book. He was very impressed that Karol Wojtyla never set any limitations. The pope said, ‘I say what I feel inside, and it is your responsibility to present it in the book.’ I think George Weigel did it really brilliantly. After all, the book became a bestseller and was translated into several languages​​,” said Fr. Mykhaleyko.