13th Annual Canterbury Medal Dinner to Honor Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, OFM Cap.

  The Becket Fund
Cordially Invites You to
Its Thirteenth Annual Dinner
Awarding the Canterbury Medal to

His Excellency Charles J. Chaput, Archbishop of Denver

Thursday, May 7, 2009
The Metropolitan Club
One East 60th Street
New York City
Reception at 6:30pm, Dinner to Follow
Black Tie 

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty is proud to announce it will award its highest honor, the Canterbury Medal, to Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver, at the Becket Fund’s 15th Anniversary Dinner in Manhattan, on May 7, 2009.

Each year, the Becket Fund awards the Canterbury Medal to the person who has "most resolutely refused to render to Ceasar that which is God's." Past Canterbury Medalists include Nobel Peace Prize recipient Elie Wiesel, Prison Fellowship founder Charles Colson, Gov. and Mrs. Mitt Romney, financiers Foster Friess and Ted Forstmann, and former Ambassador to the Vatican James R. Nicholson.

 “We are especially proud to add Archbishop Chaput to this distinguished list,” says Becket Fund president Kevin “Seamus” Hasson. “He is neither shy nor soft-spoken when he believes religious liberty in general or his Roman Catholic faith are in jeopardy.  It is we who are honored by his acceptance of our medal.”

The Archbishop's book, Render Unto Caesar, as well as his prominent interventions in the public square have made important contributions to religious liberty and the national political discourse. His bold words have been cited and debated by leading commentators across political and religious lines.

As CNN reporter and legendary Vatican journalist John Allen notes, Archbishop Chaput writes not just for Catholics "but for anyone who cares about the state of America's soul." The Archbishop insists that American democracy depends on an engaged citizenry – people of character, including religious believers, fighting for their beliefs in the public square – respectfully but vigorously, and without apology.

Archbishop Chaput is a former two-term member of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a tenure which included missions to China and Turkey. A member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi tribe, he is the first Native American archbishop.

See coverage of last year's award in the U.S. News and World Report.

Order Archbishop Chaput's best-seller book, Render Unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life.

Click here to see Archbishop Chaput's biography on the Denver Archdiocese's website.

To purchase a table or tickets, contact Ashley Samelson at asamelson@becketfund.org.

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