Veritas Series for Faith and Culture
The Veritas Lecture Series invites speakers from diverse backgrounds to explore the depth of human experience and articulate the truth – the fullness of personhood – to which we each aspire. The Catholic Intellectual Tradition welcomes and embraces this exploration as a means of seeking the common good that enhances this world we share.
This year’s series, Pilgrims of Hope, invites us to reflect on how faith and resilience guide us through pressing questions of our time. We begin with Dr. Niigaan Sinclair, who will ground us in Indigenous perspectives on hope, responsibility, and community. From there, Dr. Cory Labrecque will examine the challenges and possibilities of artificial intelligence, asking how relationality and the culture of encounter can shape our response to emerging technologies. Finally, King’s faculty members, Dr. Allyson Larkin and Dr. Benjamin Muller, will join in a dialogue on how Indigenous education offers not only the right path forward, but the necessary one. Together, these conversations extend an invitation to walk as pilgrims—seeking meaning, justice, and shared responsibility in a world that longs for hope. As part of the evening, guests will also be invited to support the wider community through a voluntary donation to St. Joe’s Café.
All lectures take place at 5:30 p.m. in the Joanne and Peter Kenny Theatre. Registration is not required, and free parking is available in the P1 lot beside Wemple. Lectures may be recorded at the discretion of the presenter(s). Guests will also be invited to support the wider community through a voluntary donation to St. Joe’s Café.
Poster for the entire series is available here.
Not the Right Thing To Do, the Only Thing To Do: How Indigenous Education Will Save the World
DR. NIIGAAN SINCLAIR
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2025
President’s Lecture (Sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph)
An award-winning writer and professor of Indigenous Studies at the University of Manitoba, Dr. Sinclair is Anishinaabe from Peguis First Nation. He was named one of Canada’s most influential people by Maclean’s (2022), hosts the podcast “Niigaan and the Lone Ranger”, and authored the bestselling Wînipêk: Visions of Canada from an Indigenous Centre, winner of the 2024 Governor General’s Award for Non-fiction. He will open the series, exploring how Indigenous education is vital for reconciliation and a more just, hopeful future.
Walking Together in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Relationality, Community, and the Culture of Encounter
DR. CORY LABRECQUE
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2025
Feast of Christ the King Lecture
Artificial Intelligence is advancing quickly, raising ethical, theological, and societal questions. Dr. Labrecque, professor of bioethics and theological ethics at Laval University and member of the Pontifical Academy for Life, examines AI’s promises and challenges—from robot companions to grief avatars—reflecting on relationality, limitation, and embodiment. This interdisciplinary discussion invites rethinking human-AI interaction through ethical and theological perspectives.
Catholic Social Responsibilities to Refugees and Migrants: A Global Research Perspective
DR. ALLYSON LARKIN AND DR. BENJAMIN MULLER
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2026
Winter Term Lecture
Dr. Muller, Professor and Interdisciplinary Scholar, and Dr. Allyson Larkin, Associate Professor and Department Chair of Social Justice and Peace Studies at King’s University College, will discuss Catholic social responsibilities towards refugees and migrants. Drawing from a global research project with over 50 universities, the Vatican, and NGOs, they will explore the Church's role in advocating for the dignity and rights of displaced persons, particularly in light of current global challenges.