Breakfast with Bishop back with precautions
Columbus Catholic Bishop Robert Brennan stood at the top of the escalator, greeting guests as they entered the second floor of the Renaissance Columbus Downtown Hotel to see him speak.
Brennan, the 12th bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus, stood between Catholic Social Services CEO and President Rachel Lustig and Joe Miller, the organization’s board chairman, prior to the Breakfast with the Bishop event Friday.
The event is hosted annually and features a keynote speaker and then the bishop responding to the speaker.
This year’s keynote speaker was the Rev. Michael Rozier, assistant professor at Saint Louis University in the department of health management and policy.
Rozier discussed social determinants of health, which he likes to refer to as social determinants of human dignity.
After Rozier talked about reversing poverty and how the Catholic church can play a large role in that, Brennan thanked him for inspiring those assembled and said his words would impact many local conversations.
“As we look at the reality of the last 18 months or so, it’s not just about COVID,” Brennan said, adding that the world is politically fractured, too.
Breakfast with the Bishop is intended to raise awareness and support for the work of Catholic Social Services and its 13 programs, Miller said during the event. It raises money through sponsors and individual ticket sales for the event.
About 400 people were in attendance this year, with COVID-19 protocols in place.
Brennan encouraged people to remember that everyone is created in the image of God.
“When things end up being cast in political terms ... something gets lost,” Brennan said. “What is constant is that sense of human dignity, and that’s at the core of who we are.” dking@dispatch.com @Danaeking