Richard R. Gaillardetz is the Joseph Professor of Catholic Systematic Theology at Boston College. He is also the author of By What Authority? A Primer on Scripture, the Magisterium, and the Sense of the Faithful (Liturgical Press, 2003).

Stephen M. Colecchi, D. Min., Director, USCCB Office for International Justice and Peace, holds a master of arts in religion from Yale University and a doctor of ministry degree from St. Mary’s Seminary and University. He has written numerous articles on Catholic social teaching, social justice, political responsibility, jubilee and the infusion of Catholic social […]

Cathy Cleaver Ruse is Senior Fellow, Legal Studies at the Family Research Council. Her professional experience spans the fields of communication, public policy and law. She has appeared on PBS’s Firing Line and CNN’s Crossfire. She has published scholarly legal articles on constitutional issues and has filed “friend of the court” briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court. She […]

Mark E. Chopko is an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown Law and an expert on church-state relations. He has been a member of the Board of Scholars of the DePaul Law School’s Center for Church-State Studies, the American Corporate Counsel Association and the National Council of Churches Religious Liberty Committee. He is the author […]

Alejandro Aguilera, Assistant Director, USCCB Secretariat for Hispanic Affairs, is co-author of the series Prophets of Hope, St. Mary’s Press, and contributing editor of Liturgia y Canción, Oregon Catholic Press. He is a board member of the National Catholic Network for Hispanic Youth and Young Adult Ministry, the National Association of Catechists Working with Hispanics, and the […]

The Rev. Stephen Sundborg is president of Seattle University. He was in Vatican City 25 years ago and witnessed the announcement of the new pope at his first appearance.

Sally Vance-Trembath is a lecturer at Santa Clara University. Her areas of expertise include the pope and the Catholic Church today.

The Rev. Thomas P. Rausch is a professor of theology at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. A Catholic priest, Rausch is the author of Authority and Leadership in the Church: Past Directions and Future Possibilities.

Dennis Martin is an associate professor of theological history at Loyola University in Chicago and an expert on papal history and Pope John Paul II’s life, history and writings.