Center Fosters Airing Of Issues

It has no building, no money and no paid staff. But the most provocative think tank in Spokane is percolating along into its fourth year.

The Francis-Ignatius Center, a unique collaboration between the Jesuits at Gonzaga University and the lay Franciscans, sponsors public “dialogues” that would make the most smug flinch.

The discussion center, much like a 19th century salon, has brought some of the leading theologians, educators and professionals to the public to discuss such topics as: whether the traditional family is obsolete; the spiritual crisis in the media; and how to be human in the technosphere.

Using films and papers by people from Norman Lear to U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, it offers thoughtful, non-confrontational discussions at various sites on the Gonzaga campus.

Bill Niggemeyer, the lay Franciscan who finds speakers for the group, said it is a way to ask, “Who are we, where are going, what’s happening to us as a people?

“Our faith demands we ask questions,” he said.

The next discussion, on wisdom, will be in April.

xxxx