Fall 2014 Aquinas Visiting Scholar: Dr. Gerard Mannion is the Joseph and Winifred Amaturo Chair in Catholic Studies at Georgetown University. He is also a Senior Research Fellow of the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs, Co-Director of the Church and World Program and heads the ‘Church and the Ecumenical Future’ project. He was educated at King’s College, Cambridge University and New College, Oxford University (where he took his DPhil. in Theology and Philosophy). An Irish citizen, passionate about social justice, rugby union and music, he has authored, co-authored and edited some sixteen books and numerous articles and chapters elsewhere in the fields of ecclesiology, ethics and public theology, as well as in other aspects of systematic theology and philosophy.
Additionally, Dr. Mannion has also served as an adviser to various NGOs and charities including the Theological Reference Group of CAFOD, the Social Justice Commission, the Religious Studies Board of the UK Bishops’ Conference, the committee of the Catholic Theological Association of Great Britain and the Queen’s Foundation Working Party on Authority and Governance in the Roman Catholic Church.
Spring 2014 Aquinas Visiting Scholar: Rev. Fr. Peter A. Spichtig, OP is Secretary of the Swiss Bishops’ Liturgy Commission; Director of the Swiss German-speaking Liturgical Institute; Co-editor of the journal “Gottesdienst und praxis Gottesdienst”; Officer of the St. Luke Society for Art and Church; Regular contributor, Swiss Radio and Television. Fr. Spichtig’s primary area of research is theological aesthetics and liturgical space. His other interests include the intersection of liturgical theology and pastoral praxis, catechesis and Christian initiation, and post-Vatican II sacramental practices.
In addition, Fr. Spichtig brings with him familiarity with current debates around the translation of official liturgical texts in the German speaking world. A pastoral liturgist involved in ecumenical work, Fr. Spichtig is a musician and fluent in Swiss-German, German, French and English.
Fall/Winter 2013 Aquinas Visiting Scholar: Dr. Claudio Monge, a member of the Dominican Order of Preachers since 1993, was born in Saluzzo, Italy, and has resided in Istambul, Turkey since the beginning 2004. Professor Monge holds a PhD in Comparative Theology of Religions from the Strasbourg Catholic University in France, as well as a master’s degree in Ottoman-Turkish Language and Civilization, and bachelor’s degrees in philosophy and theology. His professional interests include theologies of dialogue, hospitality and interreligious practice, especially among the three Abrahamic faiths.
Professor Monge has served as President of URT (Union of Religious in Turkey) from 2008-2011, a member of CRME (Ecumenical Committee of CCEE and CEC for Islam in Europe) from 2005-2010, a Member of Dominican General Secretary for Interfaith Dialogue since 2001, Invited Professor of Theology of Religions in Fribourg University (Switzerland) since 2007, and Invited Professor to Bologna Theological Faculty (Italy) since 2007. Dr. Monge is currently residing in Toronto, serving as the Aquinas Visiting Scholar at St. Michael’s College and working with the Dominican Institute of Toronto.