Participants
Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R. Archbishop of Newark
Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., is the Archbishop of Newark and a prominent leader in the Catholic Church. Born on May 3, 1952, in Detroit, MI, he joined the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists) and was ordained a priest in 1978. He later served as the superior general of the Redemptorists in Rome from 1997 to 2009. In 2010, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. In 2012, Pope Benedict appointed him to serve as the sixth archbishop of Indianapolis. He was named as the sixth archbishop of Newark by Pope Francis on November 7, 2016, and was created cardinal on November 19, 2016. Known for his advocacy on immigration, social justice, and pastoral care, Cardinal Tobin is a vocal supporter of Pope Francis’ vision for a compassionate and inclusive Church. He continues to lead with a commitment to faith, service, and social responsibility.
Most Rev. Paul D. Etienne, D.D., S.T.L., Archbishop of Seattle
The Most Reverend Paul D. Etienne, D.D., S.T.L., was named archbishop of Seattle on September 3, 2019, by Pope Francis. Before that, he was the fourth archbishop for the Archdiocese of Anchorage, AK, after serving as bishop of the Diocese of Cheyenne, WY, for seven years. Archbishop Etienne was born in Tell City, IN, as one of six children. He has two brothers who are Catholic priests, as well as a sister who is a Benedictine nun. He studied at Bellarmine College in Louisville, KY; the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN; and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he earned a Licentiate of Spiritual Theology in 1995. On June 27, 1992, he was ordained a priest in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, where he served as pastor of several parishes, vocation director, and vice-rector of Bishop Simon Bruté College Seminary.
Jeanette De Melo
Jeanette De Melo is the strategic initiatives director for EWTN News. Until recently, she served as the executive director of the Catholic News Agency and the National Catholic Register and as co-host of EWTN Radio’s Register Radio. For 10 years, she was the Register’s editor-in-chief. She previously worked in diocesan communications for the New Orleans and Denver archdioceses. She holds a graduate degree from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, Italy, and a bachelor’s degree from Franciscan University in Steubenville, OH, where in 2018, she also received an honorary doctorate. She lives in the greater New Orleans area with her husband and three children.
José Manuel De Urquidi
José Manuel De Urquidi was a financial lawyer turned restaurateur and craft brewer in Monterrey, Mexico, for 15 years when he finally accepted his call to help evangelize young Latinos. His company, Juan Diego & Co, helps Catholic organizations connect with U.S. Latinos through strategy, content creation, and marketing. Juan Diego & Friends is a 501c3 with four different initiatives. One is the Juan Diego Network, which created and produced +90 podcasts and won the first OSV Innovation Challenge in 2020. The Evangelization Lab does experiments to discover ways of attracting people online to Christian community life, the Sacraments, and charity. His online evangelization led to José Manuel’s appointment as a voting delegate for the 2023-2024 Synod of Synodality. He, his wife Cecy, and their three children are based in Dallas, TX, but often return to Monterrey. He keeps looking for effective ways to bring Christ’s love to the digital continent and the people there to the Church.
Br. John Mark Falkenhain, OSB
Br. John Mark Falkenhain, OSB, is a monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey and adjunct professor of psychology at Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology. He is a licensed psychologist whose work includes teaching courses on human development, sexuality, and celibacy formation to seminarians, religious men and women, and lay degree students. Br. John Mark conducts research and writes in the areas of child sexual offense by clergy, healthy psychosocial/psychosexual adjustment of clergy and religious, and adjustment and formation issues. In recent years, Br. John Mark has been studying and presenting on community polarization and ways to contribute to a depolarized world. Br. John Mark is a fellow in human formation with Saint Luke Institute in Silver Springs, MD, and a clinician at the St. Luke Center in Louisville, KY.
William H. Johnston, Ph.D.
Dr. Johnston is a professor in the Religious Studies department of the University of Dayton, OH, a Catholic and Marianist university. Since joining the university in 2006, he has taught courses in liturgy and sacraments, the liturgical movement, theology of ministry, Vatican II, and most recently, C.S. Lewis. Among his publications is Care for the Church and Its Liturgy: A Study of Summorum Pontificum and the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite (Liturgical Press, 2013). Before coming to University of Dayton, he served in educational ministry for the Diocese of Grand Rapids, MI, the Archdiocese of Baltimore, MD, and Holy Cross Parish, in Lynchburg, VA. He has served in leadership roles for NALM (National Association for Lay Ministry), AGPIM (Association of Graduate Programs in Ministry), and NACARE (National Advisory Committee on Adult Religious Education), and for 21 years on the Advisory Board of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship’s Grants Programs. He is married with three adult children and six grandchildren.
Rev. Richard Lennan
Richard Lennan is a priest of the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle, ordained in 1983. His graduate studies were at the University of Oxford and the University of Innsbruck (Austria), where his dissertation was on Karl Rahner’s ecclesiology. From 1992-2007, Richard taught at the Catholic Institute of Sydney and was president of the Australian Catholic Theological Association (2005-07). Since 2007, Richard has taught in the United States. He is currently a professor of systematic theology in the Clough School of Theology and Ministry at Boston College, where he also chairs the Ecclesiastical Faculty. Richard’s research focuses on ecclesiology, ministry, and the theology of Karl Rahner. He has authored or edited 10 books, the latest being Tilling the Church: Theology for an Unfinished Project; as co-editor, he has just completed The Spiritual Theology of Karl Rahner. Richard was a member of the theological panel for the Plenary Council of Australia (2021-22).
Nathaniel Marx, Ph.D.
Nathaniel Marx is an associate professor of liturgical and sacramental theology at Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology, where he teaches courses on liturgy and sacraments, culture, inculturation, and interreligious dialogue. He studies the history, sociology, and theology of liturgical participation, emphasizing the virtue of authenticity and the relationship between liturgy and justice. He is the author of Authentic Liturgy: Minds in Tune with Voices and a contributor to the Pray Tell blog. He supervises the Children’s Revival of Participation at Sunday Mass, which supports efforts to invigorate liturgical participation in 13 partner parishes.
Rev. Ricky Manalo, CSP, Ph.D.
Rev. Ricky Manalo, CSP, Ph.D., is a Paulist priest, theologian, composer, and missionary. He studied composition and piano at the Manhattan School of Music and earned his doctorate from the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) in Berkeley, CA. As a composer, he is recognized as a pioneer of Asian American liturgical music. A prolific author, his works cover topics such as intercultural competence, Asian American Catholicism, liturgy, music, and the intersection of theology and the sociology of lived religion. Fr. Manalo has co-authored several statements for the U.S. Catholic Bishops and currently chairs the Advisory Committee for the Paulist Initiative on Polarization. In October 2024, he presented a report on U.S. political polarization to the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development at the Vatican. He participated as one of 70 experts in the Catholic Forum on Artificial Intelligence hosted by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. He resides at St. Paul the Apostle Church in New York City when not traveling globally.
Jennifer Newsome Martin, Ph.D.
Jennifer Newsome Martin is the John J. Cavanaugh associate professor of the humanities at University of Notre Dame and a Catholic systematic theologian with expertise in theological aesthetics. She is the author of Hans Urs von Balthasar and the Critical Appropriation of Russian Religious Thought and co-editor of An Apocalypse of Love and the second edition of the Blackwell Companion to Catholicism. Over 25 of her articles and book chapters have appeared in such venues as Modern Theology, Communio: International Catholic Review, The Newman Studies Journal, International Journal of Systematic Theology, and in several edited volumes and collections of essays. She is a series editor for the University of Notre Dame Press’ Catholic Ideas for a Secular World, Bloomsbury’s T&T Clark Explorations at the Crossroads of Theology and Aesthetics, and the Elements of the History of Theology and Philosophy series with Cambridge University Press. Professor Martin has a joint appointment in the Program of Liberal Studies (Great Books) and is the director of the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture.
J.D. Long García, senior editor at America Media
John David “J.D.” Long García is a senior editor at America Media, a multi-platform resource of social analysis and spiritual renewal founded by the Jesuits in 1909. J.D. coordinates the magazine’s op-ed team and covers the growing number of U.S. Catholics with Latin American roots. Born in the Dominican Republic, J.D.’s bilingual and bicultural upbringing informs his work. He is a past president of the Catholic Media Association.
Amy Uelman, sJD
Amy Uelmen is the director for mission and ministry at Georgetown Law School, where she also serves as a lecturer in religion and professional life, a special advisor to the dean, and a senior research fellow with the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs. In addition to research in Catholic social thought and the law, her current focus for teaching and scholarship is fostering pedagogical practices and communication skills to address religious and political polarization in a variety of settings. She teaches a Georgetown Law seminar on “Religion, Morality, and Contested Claims for Justice” and is a co-author of Five Steps to Healing Polarization in the Classroom (New City Press 2018). Her Bachelor of Arts in American studies, Juris Doctor, and Doctor of Juridical Science are from Georgetown University, and she holds an MA in Theology from Fordham University. As a longtime member of the Focolare Movement, her passions also include ecumenism, inter-religious dialogue, and especially fostering and learning from Jewish-Christian dialogue settings. From 2001-2011, she served as the founding director of Fordham’s Institute on Religion, Law and Lawyer’s Work. She currently serves on the board of directors for Focolare Media and the Board of the Initiative on Restorative Justice and Healing at the University of St. Thomas School of Law.
FR. R. AARON WESSMAN
Fr. R. Aaron Wessman is the vicar general (1st vice-president) and director of formation for the Glenmary Home Missioners. He has a Ph.D. from the Catholic University of Louvain in Systematic Theology and is a guest lecturer at Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology. Fr. Aaron serves on the Editorial Board for Review for Religious and the Advisory Board for the Conference of Major Superiors of Men Religious (CMSM). He gives lectures and publishes regularly on the theme of Christianity and polarization. He is the author of The Church’s Mission in a Polarized World, New City Press. He serves two prison systems in the Cincinnati, OH, region.