Stephen J. Pope

EDUCATION
B.A. Gonzaga University, Philosophy & Theology, 1977.
M.A. University of Chicago, Divinity, 1983.
Ph.D. University of Chicago, 1988, Ethics and Society
Dissertation: "The Contributions of Contemporary Biological Anthropology to Recent Roman Catholic Interpretations of Love" (advisor: J. Gustafson)

BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY
Stephen J. Pope received his Ph.D. in theological ethics from the University of Chicago in 1988. He teaches courses on social ethics and theological ethics. He has written The Evolution of Altruism and the Ordering of Love (Georgetown, 1994), edited Essays on the Ethics of St. Thomas Aquinas (Georgetown, 2001), and just completed Human Evolution and Christian Ethics (Cambridge, 2007). He and his wife have three children and reside in West Roxbury, Massachusetts.

RESEARCH INTERESTS
Christian ethics and evolutionary theory
Love and justice in contemporary Christian ethics
Charity and natural law in Aquinas
Roman Catholic social teachings

TEACHING
Undergraduate: Core Level
Introduction to Christian Theology I and II
Person and Social Responsibility I and II

Undergraduate: Electives
Seminar: Faith, Peace, and Justice
Prophets and Peacemakers
Christian Social Ethics

Graduate: Masters Level
Ethics of St. Thomas Aquinas
Love and Human Nature
Science and Theological Ethics

Graduate: Doctoral Seminars
Christian Love
The Virtues
Responsibility

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES AND AWARDS
Society of Christian Ethics
Catholic Theological Society of America

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS
The Evolution of Altruism and the Ordering of Love (Georgetown University Press, 1994). Finding God in All Things: Essays in Honor of Michael J. Buckley, S.J., co-edited with Michael J. Himes (Crossroad Publishers, 1996). The Ethics of St. Thomas Aquinas, editor (Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2002). Sic et Non: Exploring Dominus Iesus, co-editor with Charles Hefling (Orbis Press, 2002). Common Calling: The Laity and The Governance of the Church, editor (Georgetown University Press, 2004), Evolution and Christian Ethics (Cambridge University Press, 2007)

PUBLICATIONS SINCE 2002
Books:
The Ethics of Aquinas, editor (Washington, D.C.:  Georgetown University Press, 2002).

Sic et Non: Exploring Dominus Iesus, co-editor with Charles Hefling (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Press, 2002)

Common Calling: The Laity and the Governance of the Church, editor (Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2004)

Articles Published in Scholarly Journals:
“Catholic Social Thought and Civic Responsibility: The Importance of the Parish for the Public Square,” The Journal for Peace and Justice Studies 12/1 (2002):1-25

“Human Evolution and Moral Responsibility: Beyond the ‘Free Will Determinism’ Conundrum,” Theoforum 38 (2002):365-389.

“The Convergence of Forgiveness and Justice: Lessons from El Salvador,” Theological Studies 64 (December 2003):812-835.

“Accountability and Sexual Abuse in the United States: Lessons for the Universal Church,” Irish Theological Quarterly 69.1 (2004):73-88.

“The Magisterium’s Arguments against ‘Same Sex Marriage:’ An Ethical Analysis and Critique,” Theological Studies 65.3 (September 2004):530-65.

Chapters and Other Contributions to Edited Books:
“The Ordering of Love: Self, Others, and Sacrifice,” for Stephen G. Post, ed., Empathy, Altruism, and Agape: Perspectives on Science and Religion (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002).

“Catholic Social Thought and the American Experience,” in Margaret O’Brien Steinfels, ed., American Catholics and Civic Engagement: A Distinctive Voice (Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2004), 26-41. Revised reprint of “Catholic Social Thought and Civic Responsibility: The Importance of the Parish for the Public Square,” The Journal for Peace and Justice Studies 12/1 (2002):1-25.

"The Old Teleology and the New: An Experiment in Conversation," with Anthony Annunziato, for The Dialogue between Science and Religion, ed. Patrick Byrne (Scranton:University of Scranton Press, 2005), 47-82.

“Introduction: The Laity and the Governance of the Church” (25 pp) for Common Calling: The Laity and the Governance of the Church, ed. Stephen J. Pope (Washington DC: Georgetown University Press, 2004), 1-22.

“Primate Sociality and Natural Law Theory: A Case Study on the Relevance of Science for Ethics,” in Robert Sussman and Audrey Chapman, eds., The Origins and Nature of Sociality  (Hawthorne, N.Y.: Aldine, 2005), 313-331.

“Natural Law in Catholic Social Teachings,” Modern Catholic Social Teaching: Commentaries and Interpretatons edited by Kenneth R. Himes, O.F.M. (Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2005), 41-71.

“Reason and Natural Law,” entry for The Oxford Handbook of Theological Ethics, ed. Gilbert Meilaender and William Werpehowski (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005), 148-67.

“Sex, Marriage, and Family Life: The Teachings of Nature,” for John Witte, Jr., ed., Family Transformed: Religion, Values, and Society in American Life (Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2005), 52-70.

“The Impact on Religious Freedom by the Legal System’s Treatment of Clerical Sexual Misconduct with Minors,” co-authored with Patricia B. Carlson, for volume on Religious Organizations in the United states: A Study of Identity, Liberty, and the Law, ed. James A. Seritella (Chicago: DePaul University Press,2006), 633-67.

Descriptions and Prescriptions: Proposed Remedies for Church in Crisis,” in Sexuality and the U.S. Catholic Church: Crisis and Renewal, Lisa Cahill, ed.(New York: Crossroad, 2006), 183-95.

Publications, Popular:
“Christ and Darwin,” Christian Century, January 2-9, 2002, 26-32.

“Apology or Excuse? Parsing the Cardinals’ Words,” Commonweal, June 1, 2002, 9-10.

“The Vatican’s Blunt Instrument,” The London Tablet, August 9, 2003, 4-5.

“Same-Sex Marriage: Threat or Aspiration?” America Magazine, December 6, 2004, 11-14.