Position
Academic Background
Sample Courses   
Teaching Philosophy
Research & Interests    
Notable Academic Appointments & Awards
Publication Highlights    
            Selected Scholarly Presentations              

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Position

• Associate Professor of Theology

Academic Background        

• Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas: Rome, Italy
  • S.T.D. in Dogmatic Theology, 1991
  • S.T.L. in Dogmatic Theology, 1990
• Boston College, M.A. in Biblical Studies, 1987
• Providence College, B.A. in Theology and Philosophy, 1985

Sample Courses Taught at Providence College

• Development of Western Civilization
• Honors Development of Western Civilization
• Foundations of Theology
• Introduction to the Old Testament
• Introduction to the New Testament
• The Church in Today's World

Teaching Philosophy

A key virtue for the academy is hospitality.  Simply understood, hospitality is the extension of self in order to welcome the other by sharing and receiving intellectual resources and insights … This intellectual and moral virtue, in my opinion, is essential to the work and success of the academy.

In teaching and learning, being intellectually hospitable means being open to the different voices and idioms of others as potential agents for mutual enhancement, not just oppositional conflict.  Hospitality in the classroom includes intellectual generosity and reciprocity and it promises the possible transformation and fulfillment of both teacher and student-host and guest … And when committed relationships of mutual welcome between guests and hosts are realized, these can be moments of grace.

On a practical level, what does it mean to be a hospitable teacher?  My own experience suggests that I need to possess an empathy with students to be able to listen, receive, and grow in receptivity.  Intellectual humility is needed to accept the possibility that I might actually learn from my students.  For me this means trying to foster an encouraging classroom environment, which includes both openness and intellectual rigor in equal measure.  Creating such a space necessitates that everyone participates responsively in a community of learners.

…What I am teaching should make a difference in who I am and what I do.  This is impossible without an ongoing process of integration and efforts to 'practice what I preach' … our ongoing critical reflection and diligent efforts to work towards an educational climate of hospitality is key to the future success of Catholic higher education.

• Theology of laity in the Church
• Ancient tradition of Roman pilgrimage
• Theological and philosophical concept of Hospitality
• The theology of ecology

• Board Member, The Lay Centre at Foyer Unitas, Rome, Italy, 1992-2004
• Committee Member, Academic Formation and Curriculum Development, Joliet  Diocesan Office for the Permanent Deaconate, 1999-2003
• Regional Director, Rhodes Consultation on the Future of Church-Related Colleges, Funded by the Lilly Endowment, A National Conversation on the Challenges of Church Related Institutions of Higher Education, 1998-2003
• Committee Advisor, National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Committee on the Laity, 1997-1999
• Faculty Award for Outstanding and Commendable Achievement at the University of St. Francis, Joliet, Illinois, 1994 and 1998

Publication Highlights

Books

• A Pilgrim’s Guide to Rome and the Holy Land for the Third Millennium, with Irena Vaisvilaite, Allen, Texas: Thomas More Press, 1999
• The Vocation and Mission of the Laity, San Francisco: Catholic Scholars Press, 1994

Articles

• “Christian Hospitality in the Intellectual Community” in Christianity and the Soul of the University: Faith as a Foundation for Intellectual Community, Douglas Henry, Michael Beaty, eds., Baker Academic Press, 2006
• “The Secular Character of the Vocation and Mission of the Laity: Towards A Theology of Ecclesial Lay Ministry”, in Ordering the Baptismal Priesthood: Theologies of Lay and Ordained Ministry, Susan Wood, SCL, editor, Liturgical Press 2003.
• “Laity, Theology Of”, in the New Catholic Encyclopedia, Revised Edition, Volume 8, pp.290-293, Berard Marthaler, editor, Catholic University of America Press, 2002.
• “The Symbol of the Mandorla in Christian Art”, ARTS: The Arts in Religious and Theological Studies, September 1998.
• “Can the Laity Govern the Church?”, America, February 17, 1996.
• “Canon 207 (CIC) and Canon 399 (CCEO): A Comparative Analysis”, Logos 34 (1993)

• “Marian Feasts and Spirituality,” Notre Dame Center for Liturgy, Annual Conference, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana, June 2006
• “How is My Daily Life Vital to the Mission of the Church?” 40^th Annual Religious Education Congress, “Step Into Freedom,” Archdiocese of Los Angeles , CA, April 2006
• “Resurrection of the Body and Ecology: Eschatology, Cosmic Redemption, and an Eco-Feminist Retrieval of the Bodily Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary,” Catholic Theological Society of America Annual Conference, St. Louis , MO, June 2005
• “Beyond Tolerance: The Biblical Notion of Hospitality as the Model of Interreligious Dialogue at a Catholic University,"  College Theology Society Annual Conference, Spring Hill College, Mobile , AL, June 2005
• “The Spirituality of the Laity According to Vatican II,” 39^th Annual Religious Education Congress, “Awake to Grace,” Archdiocese of Los Angeles, CA, February 2005
• “Theology of the Laity: New Horizons and Recent Roadblocks,” College Theology Society Annual Conference, Catholic University,  Washington , D.C., June 2004

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