ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS
Jimmy Akin is an internationally known author and speaker. He is a senior apologist at Catholic Answers and has more than twenty-five years of experience defending and explaining the Faith. Jimmy is a convert to the Faith and has an extensive background in the Bible, theology, philosophy, canon law, and liturgy. He is a weekly guest on the national radio program Catholic Answers Live, a regular contributor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a popular blogger and podcaster. His personal web site is JimmyAkin.com. He is also the author of Teaching with Authority, and The Bible is a Catholic Book, from Catholic Answers Press.
Henry Matthew Alt, MA, is a freelance writer with a Masters degree in English from Southern Illinois University. His writings have appeared in notable publications such as Patheos Catholic, Epic Pew, Aleteia, The National Catholic Register, and Catholic World Report. Formerly a writer and managing editor at Catholic Stand, Henry converted to Catholicism in 2011. He is a Third Degree Knight of Columbus and Benedictine Oblate of St. Meinrad Archabbey. Henry has taught college composition and literature, and shares insights on Catholic issues at ToGiveADefense.com.
Dave Armstrong is a veteran apologist, and editor or author of over fifty books who lives in southeastern Michigan with his wife, Judy, and their children. His conversion story was published in the bestselling book Surprised by Truth (Ed. Patrick Madrid, 1994). His books include The One-Minute Apologist (2007), Proving the Catholic Faith is Biblical (2015), and his most recent, The Word Set in Stone (2023), from Catholic Answers Press.
Mike Aquilina is author of more than seventy books on Catholic history, doctrine, and devotion. He is co-founder, with Scott and Kimberly Hahn, of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, based in Steubenville, Ohio. Mike serves as contributing editor of Angelus News and general editor of the Reclaiming Catholic History series published by Ave Maria Press. He has hosted eleven television series on EWTN and is past editor of New Covenant magazine and The Pittsburgh Catholic newspaper. He is also a songwriter, whose works have been recorded by Dion, Paul Simon, Van Morrison, Bruce Springsteen, Jeff Beck, Amy Grant, Carlene Carter, Peter Frampton, and many others. He has been married to Terri since 1985, and together they have six children and a rising number of grandchildren.
Fr. Matthew Mary Bartow, MFVA, is a priest with the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word, currently serving as an Assistant Chaplain at EWTN in Birmingham, Alabama. He was the former Director of Pilgrimage at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament. Fr. Matthew pursued his higher education at Mount St. Mary’s University, where he completed his BA in philosophy. He completed his Master of Sacred Theology in Sacred Scripture at Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary.
Andrew J. Boyd, STL, is Senior Programme Manager at the King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID). He previously taught at the Pontifical Beda College, Assumption University, and other institutions in Rome. His focus areas are ecclesiology, ecumenism, and interreligious dialogue, with particular interest in the diaconate and non-ordained professional ministry. He came to Rome as a Russell Berrie Fellow in Interreligious Studies and worked as Assistant Director of the John Paul II Center for Interreligious Dialogue.
Rocco Buttiglione is a distinguished scholar of political philosophy and personalism. He studied under renowned philosopher Augusto Del Noce and was a collaborator of Pope St. John Paul II, of whose philosophical anthropology he is considered an authority. Buttiglione has held positions at numerous universities, including the Instituto de Filosofia Edith Stein, the University of Rome, and the Pontifical Lateran University, where he held the John Paul II Chair for Philosophy and History of European Institutions. Buttiglione also served as Acting Rector of the International Academy of Philosophy in Liechtenstein. Author of over a dozen books and more than 130 scholarly essays, he has received honorary degrees from the Catholic University of Lublin (1994) and the Francisco Marroquín University (2005). He served as a member of the Italian Parliament for over two decades (1994–2018), holding positions as Minister for European Affairs (2001–2005), Minister of Culture (2005–2006), and Vice President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies (2008–2013), as well as a Member of the European Parliament (1999–2001). Buttiglione is a Distinguished Fellow of the Hildebrand Project, and an Ordinary Member of both the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, and the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas.
Gavin D’Costa, PhD, is Invited Professor of Interreligious Dialogue at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, Rome, and Emeritus Professor of Catholic Theology at the University of Bristol. In 1998 he was Visiting Professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome. He advises the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue and the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales. His publications include Catholic Doctrines on the Jewish People (2019), Vatican II: Catholic Doctrines on Jews and Muslims (2014), Christianity and World Religions: Disputed Questions (2009), and other books, including a volume of poetry along with four other Christian poets: Making Nothing Happen (2014).
Luis Dizon, MTS, is a PhD candidate in Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations at the University of Toronto, specializing in Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Biblical Languages, and Comparative Abrahamic Religions (especially Islam). He is a regular at the Reason & Theology podcast, and also works as a lay pastoral associate and catechist in the Archdiocese of Toronto.
Richard G. DeClue, Jr., SThD, is a systematic theologian and Professor of Theology at the Word on Fire Institute. He earned degrees in theology at Belmont Abbey College (BA) and The Catholic University of America (STB, STL, and SThD). His scholarly interests include the ecclesiology of Henri de Lubac, the debate over nature and grace, and in developing a rapprochement between Communio theology and Thomism. He has published articles in Communio, Nova et Vetera, and Evangelization & Culture, and is the author of The Mind of Benedict XVI: A Theology of Communion (Word on Fire, 2024).
Gregory J. Downs, MATS, is a novelist-turned-theologian with a history of participating in a wide variety of ecclesial ministries, especially teaching. He was previously Director of Information Services at Catholics United for the Faith. He is dedicated to defending orthodox Catholicism and to the fostering of genuine reform in the Church, but most of all to the increase of Charity, for “Charity, by which we love God and our neighbor, is in secure possession of the divine promises in all their breadth and magnitude (St. Augustine, Sermo 350, 2–3).”
R. Michael Dunnigan, JCD, JD, is Associate Professor of Canon Law at Saint Meinrad Seminary, having previously practiced both civil and canon law. His research interests include the rights of the faithful, comparative law, and doctrinal development. He is the author of Religious Liberty and the Hermeneutic of Continuity: Conservation and Development of Doctrine at Vatican II (Emmaus Road, 2023).
Robert Fastiggi, PhD, holds the Bishop Kevin M. Britt Chair of Systematic Theology and Christology at Sacred Heart Major Seminary. He is a former president of the Mariological Society of America; a member of the theological commission of the International Marian Association; a corresponding member of the Pontifical Marian Academy International; and co-editor of the 43rd edition of the English translation of the Denzinger-Hünermann Enchiridion Symbolorum, published by Ignatius Press. He also served as the executive editor of the 2009-2013 supplements to the New Catholic Encyclopedia and revised and updated the translation of Ludwig Ott’s Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma for Baronius Press in 2018. Dr. Fastiggi and his wife, Kathy, have been married since 1984 and have three adult children: Mary, Anthony and Clare.
Pedro Gabriel, MD, is a Portuguese internet journalist having received a diploma with Honors from the London School of Journalism in 2021. He is currently residing in Portugal with his wife, Claire. He is a co-founder of Where Peter Is, where he remains as one of its main contributors. He also won First Prize of the 2023 Catholic Media Awards in the category “Pope Francis” for his apologetics book The Orthodoxy of Amoris Laetitia (Resource Publications, 2022). Currently, he is taking classes in moral theology at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross. He is also a medical oncologist, a parish reader, and a published writer of Catholic novels.
Mike Lewis, MA, is a Catholic writer, editor, and podcaster, serving as editor-in-chief of Where Peter Is, a site he co-founded in 2018. A Washington, DC-area native, he holds a BA in English and Literature from the University of Maryland and an MA in Publishing from the University of Baltimore. Mike’s professional background includes work in biotechnology and medical communications, before working in the Communications Department at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and as Director of Operations at the Catholic Climate Covenant. At the USCCB, he contributed to projects such as the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, Respect Life Month, and on the reception of papal documents, closely observing U.S. responses to Pope Francis’s pontificate. His writing has appeared in America Magazine, Catholic Outlook, The Synodal Times, and Exaudi. Mike enjoys reading, lifelong learning, and spending time with his wife, Stephanie, and their four children: Stephen, Peter, Elizabeth, and Lucy.
James Likoudis, DD (h.c.), was an internationally recognized apologist, theologian, and lecturer. He was regarded as a leading authority on ecumenism, liturgy, the papacy, catechetics, family life, and the role of the laity. He earned his BA studying history and philosophy at the University of Buffalo, held a master’s degree in education from Elmira College, and was a former College Instructor in History and Government with over 20 years of teaching experience in public and private education. Dr. Likoudis converted to the Catholic Church in 1952 from Eastern Orthodoxy and wrote several books dealing with the ecclesiology of the Eastern Orthodox churches, and co-wrote the highly acclaimed book, The Pope, the Council, and the Mass, dealing with Vatican II’s reforms. In 2020, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Sacred Heart Major Seminary for his contributions to ecumenism, Catholic morality and for his defense of the Faith. He was the father of six and had 35 grandchildren and 45 great-grandchildren.
Michael Lofton, MA, is an Adjunct Professor of Magisterial Studies at Catholic Polytechnic University and a ThD Candidate with Pontifex University, writing a dissertation on the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. He is a graduate of Christendom College Graduate School of Theology where he received his Master of Arts in Theological Studies (Cum Laude) in 2018. Michael is the founder and host of Reason & Theology, where he has interviewed many of the leading figures in contemporary theology. He has also worked with Catholic Answers as an affiliate apologist and appeared on EWTN, SiriusXM Radio, and Radio Maria. He is also Founder and Director of The Maximus the Confessor Institute. His most recent book is Answering Orthodoxy from Catholic Answers Press.
Rafael Luciani, SThD, is a Venezuelan lay theologian. He is a member and a co-coordinator of the Intercontinental Seminar Group Peter & Paul and is an Expert of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on Synodality. He serves as Expert of CELAM (Latin American Episcopal Council) and Member of the Theological Advisory Team of the Presidency of CLAR (Latin American Confederation of Religious). He holds a Doctorate in Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University; and conducted postdoctoral research at the Julius Maximilians Universität. In recognition of his theological and pastoral contributions to the global Church, he was awarded an honorary Doctor Honoris Causa in Theology from the Aquinas Institute of Theology (USA). He is Full Professor at the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello in Caracas and has been Extraordinary Professor at Boston College School of Theology and Ministry. He teaches Ecclesiology, Latin American Theology, Vatican II, and Synodality in the Church.
William Masur, MS, is a husband, father, creator of the Men of Character Conference, and author of The Book of Uncomfortable Truths: A Guide to Navigating the Modern World & Forging Your Own Destiny. He is a revert Catholic who began to fall into the errors of traditionalism, but by the grace of God discovered the true teachings of The Church.
Tyler McNabb, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania. Previously, he has held an Associate Professorship at The University of Saint Joseph in Macau, China, as well as an Assistant Professorship at Houston Baptist University, and a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Macau. He is the author of several well-regarded books, including Religious Epistemology (Elements in the Philosophy of Religion). He is also the co-author of Classical Theism and Buddhism: Connecting Metaphysical and Ethical Systems (2023) and Plantingian Religious Epistemology and World Religions (2018). He is the co-editor of The Cambridge Handbook of Religious Epistemology (2023) and Philosophy and the Spiritual Life (2023).
Andrew Mioni grew up among traditionalists during his involvement with four different groups. He was raised in the Society of St. John (SSJ) and the Fraternal Society of St. Peter (FSSP), he attended a high school run by the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), and as a young adult he attended Mass with the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (ICKSP). He earned a BA in English from Kansas State University and lives with his family in upstate New York. Andrew is the co-founder of TradRecovery.com, a support network and resource center for recovering traditionalists. He is also the author of Altar Against Altar: An Analysis of Catholic Traditionalism (2024) from En Route Books.
Father Bernard Mulcahy, OP, PhD, is Associate Professor of Theology and a spiritual director at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio. He is the author of Aquinas’s Notion of Pure Nature and the Christian Integralism of Henri de Lubac: Not Everything Is Grace. He belongs to the Province of St. Joseph of the Order of Friars Preachers.
Timothy O’Malley, PhD, Professor of the Practice, is the Director of Education at the McGrath Institute for Church Life and Academic Director of the Notre Dame Center for Liturgy. He holds a concurrent appointment in the Department of Theology at the University of Notre Dame. He earned his undergraduate degree in theology and philosophy, as well as an MTS in liturgical studies, from the University of Notre Dame, and completed a doctorate in theology and education from Boston College, focusing on Augustinian liturgical formation. His research and teaching covers liturgical-sacramental theology, marriage and family, Catholic higher education, catechesis, preaching, and spirituality, adapting Romano Guardini’s approach to modern liturgical formation. O’Malley has authored nine books on liturgy, RCIA, the Eucharist, and related topics, and he is also a senior contributor and editor of the McGrath Institute’s Church Life Journal. Prof. O’Malley is married with two children and is originally from Knoxville, TN.
Emmett O’Regan, PhD, completed his doctoral thesis, “The Indefectibility of the Apostolic See: The Nature and Scope of Divine Assistance for the Ordinary Exercise of the Papal Magisterium” at the Loyola Institute, Trinity College Dublin. After graduating with First Class honors in 2006, he won the theology prize scholarship at the Institute of Theology at Queen’s University Belfast. He also won the Sean O’Riordan scholarship at the Loyola Institute, Trinity College Dublin in 2019, and the Loyola Trust PhD scholarship in 2020. His writings have appeared in publications including Nova et Vetera, Theological Studies, Vatican Insider, and the Catholic Truth Society. He is the author of Unveiling the Apocalypse: The Final Passover of the Church, and The End of the World: What Catholics Believe.
James L. Papandrea, MDiv, PhD, is an award-winning author and Professor of Church History and Historical Theology, as well as the host of the Catholic Culture Podcast, “The Way of the Fathers,” and the Theological Consultant for the EWTN Television series, The Heresies. Jim has an MDiv from Fuller Theological Seminary, and a PhD from Northwestern University in the history and theology of the early Christian Church, with secondary concentrations in New Testament interpretation and the history of the Roman Empire. He has also studied Roman history at the American Academy in Rome. He is on the faculty at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, and is a senior fellow of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology. He was named a “Springtime Ambassador” by the Springtime of Faith Foundation. Jim is also a member of multiple professional organizations, including the Academy of Catholic Theology, the North American Patristics Society, and the Society of Biblical Literature.
Adam Rasmussen, PhD, is a Religious Studies teacher at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney, Maryland. He has a PhD in Theology and Religious studies from The Catholic University of America, specializing in historical theology and early Christianity. He is the author of Genesis and Cosmos: Basil and Origen on Genesis 1 and Cosmology (Bible in Ancient Christianity 14; Brill, 2019).
Cardinal Robert Sarah was born in Guinea, West Africa. Made an Archbishop by Pope St. John Paul II and a Cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI, he was named the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments by Pope Francis in 2014. He is the author of God or Nothing, and many other books.
Steven J. Schloeder, PhD, AIA, is a theologian, architect, and author. He received the Bachelor of Architecture cum laude from Arizona State University and completed the Master in Architecture degree at the University of Bath, studying under Prof. Michael Brawne. His thesis, The Architecture of the Vatican Two Church, was published as Architecture in Communion (Ignatius Press, 1998). Schloeder received the Presidential Fellowship at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA, where he attained the PhD in theology, working under Rev. Dr. Michael Morris, OP. His architecture firm Liturgical Environs serves Catholic church projects for new build, and remodel and design.
Suan Sonna, MTS, currently serves as the Director of Apologetics for the Diocese of Bridgeport, CT. Having completed his New Testament studies at Harvard Divinity School, Suan is currently pursuing an MAR in Second Temple Judaism at Yale. He runs the YouTube channel and podcast “Intellectual Catholicism.”
Michel Therrien, STL, SThD, is the President and CEO of Preambula Group. Before founding Preambula Group, he was the President of the Institute for Pastoral Leadership and Director of Evangelization for the Diocese of Pittsburgh. He previously taught and served as Academic Dean at the Augustine Institute in Denver and at Saint Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, PA. Michel holds a BA in Theology from Gonzaga University, an MA in Theology and Christian Ministry from Franciscan University of Steubenville, a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the International Theological Institute, and a Doctorate in Fundamental Moral Theology (SThD) from the University of Fribourg. He has authored The Catholic Faith Explained (2020) and Wounded Witness (2023).
Very Reverend Canon, Francis J. Tiso, PhD, is a distinguished Catholic priest and scholar known for his work in interreligious dialogue, particularly with Tibetan Buddhism. He holds an AB from Cornell, an MDiv cum laude from Harvard, and a PhD from Columbia and Union Theological Seminary. A canon of the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Isernia, Italy, he serves as Director of the Diocesan Office of Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue, Regional Coordinator for Dialogue with Islamic Communities in Abruzzo and Molise, Diocesan Chaplain to Migrants, and Associate Pastor of Ave Gratia Plena Parish in Gallo Matese (CE). Fr. Tiso has taught Tibetan Buddhism at the Pontifical Gregorian University and is known for translating early biographies of the Tibetan yogi Milarepa, and for his research on the rainbow body phenomenon in Tibet. In 1995, he accompanied Cardinal Francis Arinze, then head of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, to a major dialogue with Buddhist leaders in Taiwan. From 2004 to 2009 he was Associate Director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs at the USCCB. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Mind and Life Europe, is a musician, and paints in acrylics and watercolors.
Laura Vander Vos is a lifelong Catholic, wife, mother of 4 (so far), sacred musician of 17 years, author, and host of the Misshappycatholic YouTube channel and podcast. She is the co-founder of TradRecovery.com, a support network and resource center for recovering traditionalists. She loves her family, their home state of Montana, studying Liturgy, and reading G.K. Chesterton.
Dr. J. Marianne Siegmund, M.A., S.T.L., S.T.D. earned her B.A. in Philosophy at Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia and her M.A. in Religious Studies at the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College in Alexandria, Virginia. After several years of teaching, she returned to graduate school, earning her Licentiate in Sacred Theology (Marriage and Family) at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. After graduate studies in philosophy at the University of Dallas and a summer immersed in further coursework at the Far Eastern National University in Vladivostok, Russia, she went to Italy for doctoral studies. Her Doctorate in Theology (Spirituality) is from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Urbe / Angelicum in Rome, Italy. Dr. Siegmund teaches and has taught at several colleges, seminaries and universities in the country. She has also lectured, delivered scholarly papers at conferences across the nation, and she has published articles in both philosophy and theology. Dr. Siegmund is a member of the Society of Catholic Social Scientists, the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, and the American Catholic Philosophical Association.
Rev. Msgr. Walter R. Oxley, STD is a priest of the Diocese of Toledo, OH. He is the pastor of Saint Mary Parish, Millersville and Saint Michael the Archangel Parish, Gibsonburg. He is also the author of 
Father John P. Cush, STD, a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn, is the Editor-in-Chief of Homiletic and Pastoral Review. Fr. Cush serves as a full-time Professor of Dogmatic and Fundamental Theology, Director of Seminarian Admissions and Recruitment, and Formation Advisor at Saint Joseph’s Seminary and College in New York. Before that, he served in parochial work and in full-time high school teaching in the Diocese of Brooklyn and had served as Academic Dean/Assistant Vice-Rector and Formation Advisor at the Pontifical North American College Rome, Italy. Fr. Cush has taught theology and Church History at the Pontifical Gregorian University, the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (the Angelicum), and the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (Santa Croce), all in Rome, Italy.
Lisette A. Arguello is a distinguished Catholic theologian, devoted wife, mother of five, and grandmother of four who has dedicated her life to exploring and sharing the profound mysteries of the faith. Residing in Houston, Texas, Lisette and her husband have been married for 45 years, nurturing a family grounded in faith and love. Her academic journey reflects a deep commitment to both intellectual rigor and spiritual formation. She earned a Doctorate in Theological Studies (Th.D.) from Pontifex University, a Master’s degree in Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville, and a Bachelor’s degree with concentration in Finance and Economics from the University of St. Thomas in Houston.
