The Rev. Patrick Howell is vice president for mission and ministry at the School of Theology and Ministry at Seattle University. He co-edited the book Empowering Authority: The Charisms of Episcopacy and Primacy in the Church Today. He has frequently written about Pope Benedict XVI for the Seattle Times.

Sandra Yocum is chair of religious studies at the University of Dayton who specializes in the history of theology, which is Benedict’s forte.

Mark Ellingsen is an associate professor at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta. He is the author of the article “Joseph Ratzinger: How Conservative is Benedict XVI?” in the October 2005 issue of Theology Today.

The Vatican Web site lists all of Benedict’s activities, meetings and writings.

Greg Tobin is senior adviser for communications at Seton Hall University in New Jersey and author of Holy Father: Pope Benedict XVI: Pontiff for a New Era.

The Rev. Thomas G. Guarino is a professor of systematic theology at Seton Hall University in New Jersey. He has written on the theological vision of Joseph Ratzinger.

Frank Flinn is an adjunct professor of religious studies at Washington University in St. Louis. He has served as a forensic expert on the legal definition of religion, religious organizations, religious finances and various religious controversies, and he has testified concerning Scientology and many other New Religious Movements. Flinn wrote “Scientology: The Marks of Religion,” which examines the […]

Read a Feb. 25, 2005, San Francisco Chronicle item about the state superintendent in California urging schools to drop the Narconon anti-drug education program.