Pope Benedict XVI's Visit to CUA


On Saturday, March 1, the first day of spring break, about 100 Catholic University students took part in the Sixth European Day for University Students in which they prayed the rosary, with Pope Benedict XVI presiding via satellite from Vatican City. Several media outlets, including NBC 4, FOX 5, WUSA 9, WTOP Radio, Catholic News Service, Zenit news agency, the Catholic Standard and El Pregonero covered the event.

Very Rev. David M. O’Connell, C.M., CUA president, did two interviews March 4 with WBVM-FM (Tampa, Fla.) about Catholic University’s preparations for the papal visit. On the same date, he was interviewed by The Tampa Tribune and The Florida Catholic about the papal visit. He also did an interview about the papal visit March 6 with WSRQ-AM (Sarasota, Fla.).

Zenit news agency ran an article on March 5 about the student essay contest in which CUA students were invited to write about how Catholic education has changed their life. The winner of the contest will be introduced to the pope by CUA's president.

Father O'Connell was quoted in the March 7 New York Sun and in the March 14 Washington Post about the pope’s scheduled speech at CUA on Catholic education. In the March 17 Washington Post, Father O'Connell contributed a "Letter to the Editor" in which he rebutted the March 14 Post article and predicted that the Holy Father will challenge the leaders of Catholic colleges and universities, but he will do so in a “gentle and thoughtful” manner.

In March, Father O'Connell was interviewed by various media outlets, including the New York Times and U.S. News & World Report for stories on the papal visit that will appear later.

The Baltimore Sun ran an article March 10 detailing the building of the altar, pulpit, lectern and chair designed by CUA architecture students J.P. Mikolajczyk and Ryan Mullen for the papal Mass April 17 at Nationals Park. Randall Ott, dean of the School of Architecture and Planning, also was quoted in the article. Fox News Channel aired a story about the altar fabrication on “FOX & Friends Saturday” on March 15. Several local FOX outlets picked up the story. On March 17, FOX 5 (Washington, D.C.) aired a separate story about the altar fabrication.

On March 10, FOX 5 interviewed Frank Persico, vice president of university relations, about his experience at CUA when Pope John Paul II visited the campus in 1979. The segment aired that evening. Persico was also interviewed on the same subject by VOA TV on March 18.

Lavinia Fici Pasquina, associate professor, was quoted in an April 1 Metropolitan Home article about the design and remodeling of her house.

Milton Shinberg, adjunct associate professor, was quoted in a March 8 Washington Post article about open interior spaces in homes.

A Feb. 25 Frederick (Md.) News-Post article featured six CUA graduate architecture students who presented a plan for reviving a Frederick neighborhood to a small group of residents and city employees.

Canon Law

Monsignor Thomas Green, professor, canon law, was quoted in a March 14 St. Louis Post-Dispatch article about the excommunication of three women from the Church.

English

Tobias Gregory, assistant professor, reviewed the book Why Milton Matters: A New Preface to His Writings for the March 6 issue of the London Review of Books.

History

Jerry Muller, professor, was quoted by numerous outlets in February on ethnic nationalism after he wrote an article on the subject for the March/April issue of Foreign Affairs.

Law

Marshall Breger, professor, wrote an article about Jewish social action for the March/April issue of Moment magazine.

Sarah Duggin, associate professor, was quoted in a Feb. 28 New York Times article on whether John McCain’s birth outside the United States could rule him out as a presidential candidate.

Mary Leary, visiting assistant professor, was quoted in a Feb. 24 Associated Press article about the rise of doctored photographs in child-pornography cases. The article was picked up by several media outlets around the United States.

Peter Rutledge, associate professor, was interviewed on Feb. 28 by Alaska Public Radio about the Supreme Court hearings on the punitive damages case in 1989’s Exxon Valdez oil tanker spill.

Victor Williams, clinical assistant professor, contributed an opinion piece to the March 10 National Law Journal. In the article he warns of the dangers of the current high number of unfilled government appointments.

An article titled “Usury and the Christian Right” in the forthcoming Catholic University Law Review was featured in the nationally syndicated public radio program RadioWest (KUER 90.1 Salt Lake City) on Feb. 20.

Modern Languages and Literatures

Joan T. Grimbert, professor, was featured on BBC-Wales radio on March 4. She was interviewed as an expert on the legend of Tristan and Iseult.

Music

Murry Sidlin, dean, was quoted in a March 1 Bend (Ore.) Bulletin article about the 2008 Cascade Festival of Music. Sidlin has been the festival’s artistic director since 1996.

The Washington Post reviewed the premiere of Ned Rorem's opera "Our Town" at CUA. The performance was part of the President’s Festival of the Arts Presents Wilder and Wilder (Thornton, that is…).

Nursing

Barbara Moran, assistant professor, was quoted in a March 1 Nursing for Women’s Health article about a national campaign that will provide free information on health topics that affect women.

Politics

Matthew Green, assistant professor, was quoted in a March 5 Bloomberg News article about how the election is driving the congressional agenda.

Stephen Schneck, associate professor, did several interviews about the 2008 presidential election in March. He was quoted in a March 5 Time article about how Sen. Barack Obama's campaign strategy may change after Sen. Hillary Clinton's March 4 primary victories. He was quoted in a March 18 Time online article which featured experts' reactions to Sen. Barack Obama's speech about race in America on that same day. Schneck also was quoted in a March 20 Canwest News Service (Toronto) article about Clinton's decreasing chances of winning the Democratic presidential nomination. A similar article in the National Post (Toronto) quoted Schneck on how controversies in the Obama campaign could benefit Clinton's campaign.

John Kenneth White, professor, was interviewed on XM Radio about Catholic voters on Feb. 25.

Sociology

On Feb. 28, Rev. Paul Sullins, associate professor, was interviewed on “The Drew Mariani Show” on Relevant Radio about a recent survey showing many Americans leaving the faith in which they were raised. William D’Antonio, adjunct professor, was quoted in a March 7 National Catholic Reporter story about the same survey. Rev. Sullins was interviewed on "The Drew Mariani Show" again on March 18 about his conversion to the Catholic faith.

D’Antonio was quoted in a Feb. 28 Georgia Bulletin article about the religious practices and views of young Catholics.

Theology and Religious Studies

Joseph Capizzi, associate professor, participated in an international conference titled “Close by the Incurable Sick Person and the Dying: Scientific and Ethical Aspects” on Feb. 25 in Rome. Vatican Radio and Zenit news agency covered his remarks on how conceptions of life and death change between cultures.

William Dinges, professor, was quoted in a March 7 article about the controversy at a Kansas high school in which a female referee was not allowed to officiate a boy’s basketball game. The article appeared as part of the “On Faith” online section of The Washington Post.

The December 2007 issue of Deus Caritas Est featured a profile of Brother Constant Goetschalckx, F.C., the $1 million winner of the faith-based humanitarian Opus Prize that was given at CUA in November.

Victor Nakas, associate vice president for public affairs, was quoted in a March 10 Washington Post article about changing demographics in future college enrollment.