Three Woodstock Theological
Center Fellows, Burghardt, Hooper, and Reese,
Publish Books This Fall
Three Woodstock Theological
Center Fellows, CONTACT:
202 687-4299
woodstock@georgetown.edu
For Immediate Release/November 6, 1996
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Woodstock Theological Center is pleased to announce that three of its senior fellows, Walter, J. Burghardt, S.J., J. Leon Hooper, S.J., and Thomas J. Reese, S.J. will have books released this fall by distinguished publishers. James L. Connor, S.J., director of the Woodstock Center says, "These three books, appearing almost simultaneously, exemplify the breadth and variety of Woodstock's programs. What they all have in common, however, is a focus which fulfills Jesuit Father General Pedro Arrupe's mandate for the Woodstock Center at its founding, namely, 'theological reflection on the human problems of the day'."
Walter J. Burghardt's new book, PREACHING THE JUST WORD, is a collection of the distinguished Beecher lectures he gave at Yale University (Yale University Press, November 1996). In this book, Father Burghardt discusses why we must apply biblical justice and not merely ethical/legal justice to matters concerning the poor, the oppressed, and the marginalized. Focusing on abused or neglected children, the AIDS-afflicted, the elderly, women, African-Americans, refugees, and prisoners on death row, he urges that we become sensitive to their problems and faithful to the responsibilities we have undertaken in our covenant with God. "This book is superb a fine combination of moral reasoning and moral passion. It is tough-minded, learned, beautifully written, and timely," remarks William Sloan Coffin.
JOHN COURTNEY MURRAY AND THE GROWTH OF TRADITION is edited by Woodstock's J. Leon Hooper and Todd D. Whitmore of the University of Notre Dame and will be published by Sheed & Ward in November. This is a volume of papers given at symposia marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of John Courtney Murray's death. This book brings together twelve of the foremost Murray scholars to plumb his work for resources to respond to today's questions about American and Catholic traditions. It combines both a refined knowledge of Murray, American Catholicism's most influential contributor to American self-understanding, and offers several clear-sighted perspectives into the ongoing and changing role that religion plays in America's political, economic, and cultural life.
INSIDE THE VATICAN: THE POLITICS AND ORGANIZATION OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH by Thomas J. Reese will be published by Harvard University Press in December. The third in Father Reese's series on the Catholic Church, the book offers a first-hand look at the people, the politics, and the organization behind the Vatican. E. J. Dionne, Jr., a columnist for The Washington Post, says, "With brilliance and clarity, Father Tom Reese shows how an institution which seems so mysterious can be understood and explained. This is an important and trailblazing book." With equal praise, Rembert G. Weakland, O.S.B., Archbishop of Milwaukee, calls Reese's book "A masterpiece of information and critique. . . . It will become the 'bible' for any reporter who attempts to unravel what is going on in the church. Only an 'insider' with a good knowledge of history could have written such an accurate treatment of such a complex subject."
The Woodstock Theological Center will sponsor a book festival to honor its distinguished authors on Tuesday, November 19, 1996, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., at the Bunn Intercultural Center Galleria at Georgetown University. The authors will be available to sign copies of their books.
The Woodstock Theological Center, located on the Georgetown University campus, is a nonprofit independent research institute sponsored by the Society of Jesus that addresses topics of social, economic, and political importance from a theological and ethical perspective.
Walter J. Burghardt, S.J., is a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center, Washington, D.C. He is founder and director of Woodstock's "Preaching the Just Word," a series of five-day retreat/workshops across the United States aimed at improving the preaching of justice issues. During a long and distinguished career, he has been the editor of Theological Studies, taught at Woodstock College, The Catholic University of America, and other institutions, been a member and officer of numerous theological societies, and written or edited more than twenty books. He was recently cited in Newsweek magazine as one of the twelve "most effective preachers" in the English-speaking world. He holds a doctorate in sacred theology from The Catholic University of America.
J. Leon Hooper, S.J., is a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center, Georgetown University. He is the author of The Ethics of Discourse: The Social Philosophy of John Courtney Murray and the editor of Religious Liberty: Catholic Struggles with Pluralism. He holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Gonzaga University, a master's degree in theological ethics from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, and a Ph.D. in religion and society from the Boston College-Andover Newton joint doctoral program.
Thomas J. Reese, S.J., is a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center, Georgetown University. He is the author of Archbishop: Inside the Power Structure of the American Catholic Church and A Flock of Shepherds: The National Conference of Catholic Bishops. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Berkeley, and a masters of divinity degree from the Jesuit School of Theology, Berkeley. He is a former associate editor of America.
