Kathleen Townsend was Maryland’s first woman lieutenant governor, from 1995 to 2003, and is the author of Failing America’s Faithful: How Today’s Churches Mixed God With Politics and Lost Their Way.

M. Shawn Copeland is a professor of theology at Boston College. She researches theological and philosophical anthropology and political theology, as well as African and African-derived religious and cultural experience and African-American intellectual history. She teaches courses on theology and the body, political theology and black theology.

In 2010, a Florida pastor with just a few dozen followers attracted international media coverage when he announced plans to burn copies of the Quran on the anniversary of 9/11. By taking the bait, media outlets became complicit in advancing his hate-filled agenda, making Terry Jones a household name in the U.S. and far beyond. […]

David Scott Mathieson is the senior researcher on Myanmar/Burma in the Asia Division of Human Rights Watch.

The UNHRC focuses on refugee situations around the world. António Guterres is the U.N.’s High Commissioner for Refugees. Melissa Fleming is the commissioner’s spokeswoman, [email protected], and other representatives are listed here.

Cardinal Peter Turkson is a Catholic cardinal from Ghana and president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. He worked with Pope Francis on the writing of the encyclical and delivered several speeches in advance of its publication that are believed to give a glimpse into its contents.

Michael Peppard is an assistant professor at Fordham University in New York City.

Austen Ivereigh is a U.K.-based writer, journalist and commentator best known for his books on and with Pope Francis, and for his role in the media explaining the convictions of the Catholic Church. He is Fellow in Contemporary Church History at Campion Hall, Oxford, and a regular contributor to The Tablet, America magazine and Commonweal, […]