Newman and Controversies in Catholicism

Dr. Luca Tuninetti is full professor of epistemology at the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome. Born in Lovere, near Bergamo, Dr. Tuninetti earned his undergraduate degree in philosophy from the University of Genoa and his doctorate in philosophy at Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich. His former teaching positions include posts as a philosophy lecturer at Passau University in Germany, the Pontifical Gregorian University and Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, and at the University of Genoa in northern Italy. Dr. Tuninetti has also worked at the Pontifical Council for the Laity and is currently a member of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas. While his academic research and teaching concentrates primarily on the history of Christian thought and on questions of epistemology and logic, Dr. Tuninetti is the editor of the volume John Henry Newman: un cristiano che interroga la modernità (2009) and has published a number of scholarly articles on Newman’s thought, such as “Il contributo di Newman all’epistemologia” (2010) and “La epistemología de Newman entre internismo y externismo” (2014).

Father Robert A. Sirico is the president and co-founder of the Acton Institute. Fr. Sirico serves as the pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus parish in Grand Rapids. His writings on religious, political, economic, and social matters are published in a variety of journals, including: the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the London Financial Times, the Washington Times, the Detroit News, and National Review. Fr. Sirico is often called upon by members of the broadcast media for statements regarding economics, civil rights, and issues of religious concern, and has provided commentary for CNN, ABC, the BBC, NPR, and CBS' 60 Minutes, among others. In his recent book, Defending the Free Market: The Moral Case for a Free Economy, Fr. Sirico shows how a free economy is the best way to meet society’s material needs. Father Sirico holds dual Italian and American citizenship. (more)

Dr. Samuel Gregg is director of research at the Acton Institute. He has written and spoken extensively on questions of political economy, economic history, ethics in finance, and natural law theory. He has an MA in political philosophy from the University of Melbourne, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in moral philosophy and political economy from the University of Oxford. He is the author of several books, including Morality, Law, and Public Policy (2000), Economic Thinking for the Theologically Minded (2001), On Ordered Liberty (2003), his prize-winning The Commercial Society (2007), 

Dr. Sergio Belardinelli is a tenured professor of sociology of cultural processes in the department of political and social sciences at the University of Bologna. He was a member of Italy’s National Committee for Bioethics From 2002-06, and he served as an executive board member of the Italian Institute for Germanic Studies from 2011-15. Dr. Belardinelli’s is a widely published and acclaimed author. Among his  latest works are, L’altro Illuminismo. Politica, religione e funzione pubblica della verità (Rubbettino 2010); Sillabario per la tarda modernità (Cantagalli 2012); L’ordine di Babele. Le culture tra pluralismo e identità (Rubbettino 2018); and L’alba di un nuovo mondo (Il Mulino 2019), co-authored with Angelo Panebianco.