The John Paul II Institute’s Humanum Review invites you to a lecture on “What Binds Marriage Forever: A View from Ida Görres” on Wednesday, April 22, at 6:00 p.m. in Della Ratta Auditorium, Maloney Hall.

Ida Friederike Görres (1901–1971) was a prominent Catholic writer in German-speaking Europe. In his eulogy for her, Fr. Joseph Ratzinger praised how Görres “spoke with an insightful certainty and a fearlessness about the pressing questions and tasks of the Church today.” In 2025, Bishop Erik Varden called her “a crucial voice for the present moment.”

One of the themes of Görres’ non-fiction was the nature of marriage. Her book What Binds Marriage Forever, first published in 1971, is a startlingly relevant and engaging defense of the indissolubility, in the face of its detractors. Together with Jonathan Bieler, Jennifer Bryson, who is translating Görres’ work, will present a lecture on her case for marriage.

Dr. Bryson is a Fellow in Catholic Studies at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, and Dr. Bieler is Assistant Professor of Patrology and Systematic Theology at the Institute.

The lecture will be followed by a reception.