WASHINGTON — Georgetown University scholars offer their expertise to journalists seeking interviews on a variety of subjects related to Pope Francis’s legacy, the history of the papacy, and the selection of his successor.
To request an interview, please contact Georgetown’s Office of Communications at media@georgetown.edu.
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John Carr, founder of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life
John Carr is the founder of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University. In addition to his service to the university, he also served as the director of the Department of Justice, Peace, and Human Development at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for over 20 years, Secretary for Social Concerns for the Archdiocese of Washington under Cardinal Hickey and Executive Director of the White House Conference on Families under President Carter. His expertise focuses on Catholic social teachings and the intersection of politics and religion.
Open to: TV, Radio and Print
José Casanova, senior fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs and professor emeritus in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies and Department of Sociology
José Casanova is a senior fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs and a leading scholar in the sociology of religion. Casanova’s research focuses on globalization and religion, and the dynamics of transnational religion, migration, and increasing ethno-religious and cultural diversity. His best-known work, “Public Religions in the Modern World”, surveys the roles that religions may play in the ongoing construction of modern societies. Casanova can provide expertise on Pope Francis’ pastoral style and theology, Catholicism and religious platform and the Catholic Church and globalization.
Open to: TV, Radio and Print
David J. Collins, S.J., Ruesch Family Distinguished Jesuit Scholar and associate professor of History
Prof. David J. Collins, S.J., is an intellectual historian of late medieval and early modern Europe and global catholicism. Prof. Collins entered the Society of Jesus (the Jesuit Order) in 1987 and was ordained a Catholic priest in 1998. Shortly after earning his doctorate in medieval history at Northwestern University, he returned to DC in 2004 to join the History Department at Georgetown University. Prof. Collins also recently published “The Jesuits in the United States: A Concise History”, a primer of Jesuit activities in colonial North America and the US to the present day.
Open to: TV, Radio and Print
Vanessa Corcoran, professor of medieval history in the College of Arts & Sciences.
Dr. Vanessa Corcoran is an instructor of medieval history in the College of Arts & Sciences. She has expertise in medieval religious history, devotional practices in the Catholic Church, and the significance of female saints (especially the Virgin Mary). Among her publications, Dr. Corcoran has written “The Keys to Two Marys: Popes and the Women of Scripture” as well as “Returning to His Mother’s Home: Why Pope Francis chose to be buried at Mary Major“.
Open to: TV, Radio and Print
Kim Daniels, director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life and adjunct professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies
Kim Daniels, J.D., is the director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life. In addition to her Georgetown appointment, Dr. Daniels serves as a member of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication, and served in the 2021-24 Synod on Synodality as an expert participant. She has advised Catholic leaders and institutions, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Religious Liberty, on issues related to the intersection of Catholic Church teachings with immigration, human life and dignity, religious liberty and care for creation.
Open to: TV, Radio and Print
Paul Elie, senior fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs
Paul Elie is a senior fellow with the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs and curator for the Faith and Culture series. Before joining Georgetown, he spent fifteen years as a senior editor with Farrar, Straus and Giroux in New York. His expertise is primarily with the ways religious ideas are given expression in literature, the arts, music, and culture in the broadest sense. He is the author of two books, “The Life You Save May Be Your Own: An American Pilgrimage” and “Reinventing Bach“. Elie can provide expertise on Catholicism and contemporary culture and Pope Francis’ impact on shaping the papacy as an institution.
Open to: TV, Radio and Print
Rev. David Hollenbach, S.J., Pedro Arrupe Distinguished Research Professor at the Walsh School of Foreign Service, senior fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs and an affiliated professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies
Rev. David Hollenbach, S.J., is the Pedro Arrupe Distinguished Research Professor in the Walsh School of Foreign Service; a senior fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs and an affiliated professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies. His teaching and research focus on human rights, religious and ethical responses to humanitarian crises, and religion in political life from the standpoint of Catholic social thought, theology, and the social sciences. Rev. Hollenbach is the author of numerous works, including “The Common Good and Christian Ethics” and “Human Rights in a Divided World: Catholicism as a Living Tradition”. Rev. Hollenbach can provide expertise on Catholicism and migration, Catholics in public life and politics and Catholic social thought.
Open to: TV and Radio
Andrew Prevot, Joseph and Winifred Amaturo Chair in Catholic Studies, senior fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs and professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies
Andrew Prevot is the Joseph and Winifred Amaturo Chair in Catholic Studies, senior fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, and professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies. His research examines the vital roles that Christian spirituality plays in contemporary theology, philosophy, culture, and politics, with a particular focus on Roman Catholic and Black/African American traditions. He is the author of “The Mysticism of Ordinary Life: Theology, Philosophy, and Feminism” and “Thinking Prayer: Theology and Spirituality amid the Crises of Modernity”. Prevot can provide expertise on Pope Francis’ theology and legacy.
Open to: Print
Annie Selak, instructor of feminist theology
Dr. Annie Selak is an instructor of feminist theology. With over 15 years of experience in campus ministry, she has expertise in Christian and Catholic approaches to feminist ecclesiology. Dr. Selak’s work integrates the lived experience of women with a robust vision for the church. She has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, including “Missing Voices in Amoris Laetitia: An Examination of Law, Narrative, and Possibilities for Inclusion in Roman Catholic Church Teaching” and “The Lived Experience of the Faithful.” In Pope Francis: A Vision for Mercy, Justice, Love and Care for the Earth.
Open to: TV, Radio and Print
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