CSTM Faculty News

André Brouillette, S.J., associate professor of systematic and spiritual theology, co-organized a conference on Engaging the Body in Narratives of the Soul’s Unfolding in Dublin, Ireland, from June 9–11, 2026, for the Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality and SpIRE. As part of the conference, he also presented on the theme of “Pilgrimage as Countercultural Spiritual Phenomenon.”

During the spring of 2026, Daniel J. Daly, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Moral Theology, continued his work at the intersection of theology, ethics, and healthcare. In March, he organized the conference Artificial Intelligence, Authentic Mercy: Navigating AI Ethics in Catholic Health at Boston College, which drew more than 150 participants from healthcare, academic, and ecclesial communities. The conference explored the ethical challenges and opportunities presented by artificial intelligence in healthcare and featured a keynote address by Monsignor Renzo Pegoraro, President of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

Daly also published “Collective Action and Agency in Christian Ethics,” which appeared in Markets and Other Social Structures, edited by David Cloutier and Christina McRorie (Pickwick Publications, 2026). The chapter examines questions of moral responsibility and agency within complex social and institutional structures.

In May, Daly was featured as an interviewee on Advancing Health, the podcast of the American Hospital Association, discussing the importance of responsible and ethical implementation of artificial intelligence in healthcare. He also provided commentary for national and Catholic media outlets, including USA Today and Our Sunday Visitor, on Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica humanitas, helping readers understand its significance for contemporary social and moral issues.

Rev. Brian Dunkle, S.J., associate professor of Historical Theology has published a chapter, “Ambrose of Milan: Portraying Models of Power and Poverty,” in The Pastoral Theology of the Early Church, ed. Andrew Hofer, O.P., Austin Litke, O.P., and Andrew Summerson (Catholic University of America Press, 2026), 167–186. I also gave a parish mission on "Augustine and the Restless Heart" at Star of the Sea Parish in Salisbury, MA, March 1–3.

Dr. Franklin T. Harkins, professor of Historical Theology, has published two book chapters this Spring. The first, entitled “Providence,”appears in the T&T Clark Handbook of Biblical Thomism, edited by Matthew Levering, Piotr Roszak, and Jörgen Vijgen (London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2026). The second is entitled “Moses Maimonides and Albertus Magnus on Job: A Biblical Book about the Problem of Evil?” and appears in Shared Scripture – Divided Faiths: The Medieval Jewish-Christian Encounter over the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament, edited by Frans van Liere (Leiden: Brill, 2026).

On April 13, Melissa Kelley, Associate Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling, presented on "The Vital Work of Pastoral Care" to the campus ministry personnel of St. John's University in New York.

Richard Lennan, professor of systematic theology, presented the 2026 Laishley Lecture at the London Jesuit Centre in April. The topic was “Formation for Discipleship: Engaging the Synod’s Project.” He repeated the lecture at the Loyola Institute, which is part of Trinity College, Dublin.

Cathy Mooney, Associate Professor of Church History, was a panelist with Emmy-winning filmmakers Lorena Luciano and Filippo Piscopo to discuss their new documentary Nuns vs. the Vatican, screened April 25, 2026 during the Independent Film Festival of Boston. The film concerns the clerical sexual abuse of Catholic sisters with a focus on the case of former Jesuit Marko Rupnik and the former nun Gloria Branciani.

This spring semester, Timothy W. O'Brien, S.J., Visiting Fellow, published an article of the "Modern Making of 'Ignatian Spirituality.'" O'Brien has been at the CSTM this year as a visiting postdoctoral fellow, and will begin as assistant professor of Church history in the fall semester. The article focuses on a key element of the emergence of "Ignatian spirituality" in the twentieth century: the growing emphasis on Ignatius Loyola as a mystic and the decline of earlier, more ascetical understandings of both Ignatius and his Spiritual Exercises.

Hosffman Ospino, Professor of Hispanic Ministry and Religious Education, co-edited and published A Shared Praxis Renewing Religious Education (Crossroad, 2026) with Colleen Griffith, a book honoring the life and work of BC-CSTM professor Thomas H. Groome. He was invited by the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM) to join an international theological team of experts exploring ways to live and practice synodality at the level of Catholic episcopal conferences. He was also invited by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization to represent the United States on a multiyear global project called “The Church of the Sheaves: Equipping the Saints for Mission as Gift Exchange.” Hosffman delivered the 2026 Cardinal Albert Meyer Lecture at University of Saint Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, IL. In partnership with the Boston College Roche Center for Catholic Education, he led a national summit on Hispanic parental engagement in Catholic schools. The summit presented preliminary findings from a national study conducted in 2025. A final report from the study will be released in the summer 2026. He received $2.8 million dollars to supplement the work of the Nuevo Momento initiative he oversees, this time adding resources to foster mental wellbeing of Hispanic Catholic pastoral leaders.