Spring 2026 Perspectives Faculty Updates
Akiba Lerner
Akiba Lerner published a chapter entitled "Hope in Judaism," which is now available in The Oxford Compendium of Hope. On April 19, he gave a talk on "Pedagogy, Judaism, and Film" as part of the Frankel Institute's 'Judaism and Film Symposium' at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Earlier this year, he also gave a talk on Antisemitism and Anti-Zionism to the Philosophy department’s Café Socrates.
Ana María Pineda, RSM
Ana Maria Pineda, RSM was interviewed for the Diocese of San Jose's official magazine The Valley Catholic. She appeared on the front cover and was the feature story for the Spring edition: "Touching the Wounds of Christ."
Along with attending the Romero Conference at Notre Dame University in March, Ana Maria made a stop in Chicago at the Catholic Theological Union (CTU) where she met with students enrolled in the Oscar Romero Scholars Program that she began 30 years ago to offer Hispanic and Latino/a lay men and women full-tuition scholarships for professional graduate degrees in theology. At the gathering, she shared the history of the program's development and her personal work on the life and legacy of Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador.
Aside from the fact that CTU is her Alma Mater, Ana Maria was proud to claim that Pope Leo who also studied there was almost her classmate. He graduated 2 years before her arrival. She had the opportunity to take a photo taken by a bronze bust of Pope Leo recently installed in the lobby of CTU.
Later that month, Ana Maria gave a virtual presentation at Seton Hall on the 49th anniversary of the death of Rutilio Grande, S.J. of El Salvador. It was entitled " Blessed Rutilio Grande, S.J., Legacy and Memory of a Jesuit Martyr."
Lastly, at a recent meeting of the Sisters of Mercy held in Belmont, North Carolina, Ana Maria was recognized by her community for her many contributions to the Latino/a ministry and theology in the United States.
Aron Tillema
Aron Tillema’s chapter, "Between Debasement and Praise," in the Jonah volume of Themes and Issues in Biblical Studies recently appeared online. The physical volume will come out in 2027.
The department is saying farewell to Aron this spring, as he has accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Hebrew Bible at Moravian University School of Theology, starting Fall 2026. We wish him well in this new adventure!
Bryson White
Bryson White presented a chapter entitled "Disappearing Bodies: Materiality, Carceral Amnesia, and the Damned of God,” at the Jesuit School of Theology in March. The chapter is part of his current book project. Bryson was also interviewed by a student from his Winter quarter course on Religion and Mass Incarceration in the US for an article in the Santa Clara, “Black History is Not Past Tense.”
Cathleen Chopra-McGowan
Cathleen Chopra-McGowan gave a talk on March 21 at St. Martin Parish titled, “Presence and Absence: Women in the Hebrew Bible.” The talk was part of the Markey Center’s ongoing workshop series, Hear Their Voices, Heed Their Wisdom: Women of the Catholic Tradition. The talk was great fun, and the audience included a most unusual member: a baby goat!
Chris Tirres
Chris Tirres participated in an online roundtable at the University of Delaware celebrating the work of Dr. Monica A. Coleman, a leading process theologian and professor of Africana Studies. The conversation was centered around the applicability of Alfred North Whitehead’s ‘metaphysics of becoming’ to contemporary liberation theologies. Chris was also recently featured in the Called to Lead podcast Series, which is sponsored by SCU’s Markey Center for Leadership and Ministry. In this episode, Chris spoke with Dr. John Rinaldo discussing “Latino Ministry, Liberation, and the Wisdom of Lived Faith.” Also, Chris participated in a dynamic Conversation on Truth, Justice, Radical Hope, and the Soul of Democracy with distinguished author, scholar, and activist Cornel West on May 22 as part of the 2025-26 Compelling Conversations Series.
Claudia Moutray
Claudia Moutray presented her paper "Debunking the Myths of Gender-Affirming Healthcare: A Narrative Inquiry Investigation Regarding the Christian Response," as part of the Queer Theologies: Disrupting Gender Binaries in Christian Contexts panel at the SCU Queer Scholarship Conference on May 14.
Daniel Morgan
In December, Daniel Morgan travelled to Marseille to present a paper at a workshop organized by the EHESS (École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales) entitled "South Asia and the Neighboring World in the Mughal Period: Intellectual and Material Exchanges." The paper examined how and why a short Arabic apotropaic text (Hizb al-Bahr, or Litany of the Ocean) produced by a 13th century Maghribi Sufi became an integral part of the ritual life of Sufi orders in late-Mughal and colonial India.
David DeCosse
David DeCosse, along with Bishop Oscar Cantú of San Jose and Bill O'Neill, SJ, wrote the article "On Immigration, Americans Must Examine their Conscience: Catholic Tradition can Help." It appeared on May 12, 2026, in the National Catholic Reporter. David also published an article in the March 2026 issue of Theological Studies called "Conscience, Catholicism, and Right-Wing Authoritarian Populism”.
David Gray
During the Spring 2026 quarter, David Gray published two articles in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion. They are entitled “Tsongkhapa’s Life and Times” and “Tsongkhapa’s Works and Teachings.” He also is continuing his work translating a Tibetan text on Body Mandala meditation practices.
Elyse Raby
Elyse Raby participated in the panel discussion "Leading with Our Jesuit Values in Challenging Times." In this panel discussion, faculty experts spoke about constitutional law, ethics, religious studies, political science, and international relations, and considered ways we as a university might serve in this moment, drawing upon our scholarly expertise, our nearly 500-year-old Jesuit mission, and the needs and resilience within our own community. Elyse was also featured in a story that aired several times on May 25 on KPIX about the Pope’s encyclical. Not only did she speak wisely and well, she also beat out the vice-president to get in both the first word and the last word.
Gene Schlesinger
On April 23, Gene Schlesinger served as a panelist for a webinar hosted by The Episcopal Church discussing a proposed full communion agreement by The Episcopal Church and the United Methodist Church. His fellow panelists included members of the TEC-UMC dialogue, the Episcopal Bishop of Iowa, and the Episcopal Bishop of Colombia. Gene addressed the history of ecumenism and questions about the ministry of bishops. About 300 people participated in the webinar.
Gene also appeared as a guest on the Called to Lead podcast, sponsored by the Markey Center, drawing from his background in pastoral ministry and liturgical theology. He reflected on what the Church’s worship is calling us to do—not only within the walls of the church, but in the world beyond it.
On April 8, Gene presented a chapter from his book in progress at the JST's Faculty Research Colloquium, which focused on the theological underpinnings of the antifascist activity of French Jesuits during the Vichy period.
Jean Soto
Jean Soto published an article entitled “Green Sex,” which she wrote based on her SCU course, Theology, Sex and Relationships, TESP 119B. It appears in the most recent Journal of Catholic Higher Education online at Villanova University.
Nicholas Hayes-Mota
In January, Nicholas Hayes-Mota was awarded a Fellowship at Georgetown's Initiative for Catholic Social Thought and Public Life. As a Fellow, Nicholas contributed to the Initiative's programming and events, and worked with the Initiative to hone his public voice through popular writing. On April 21, he was the featured speaker for a Latino Leaders dinner in Washington, D.C. on "Latino Politics in a New Moment," sponsored by the Initiative.
Nicholas has been featured in a number of media outlets. Over Christmas break, he was quoted in a New York Times piece on Pope Leo XIV's Christmas address: “Pope Leo Makes Christmas Call for Dialogue to Address World’s Conflicts.” In April and May, he appeared in two articles on the public tensions between Pope Leo and President Trump (New York Times and USA Today), as well as a USA Today piece on the first year of Pope Leo's papacy and another on the pope's (then) forthcoming AI encyclical. In May, he was also a featured guest on the Commonweal podcast, speaking on "Catholicism and Community Organizing."
Nicholas also served as a section editor in the recently published Handbook on Religious Toleration in Comparative Perspective (Springer), writing the introductions and overseeing editorial revisions for Sections 2 ("Toleration and the State") and 4 ("Toleration Today"). The Handbook integrated primary texts with original scholarly articles to consider toleration from a comparative historical and interdisciplinary perspective. It also examined how it has been intellectually conceptualized and institutionally instantiated in diverse religious traditions and political regimes across time and place.
Nicholas was involved in a number of events surrounding Pope Leo XIV's new encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, which was released on May 25. He was both a planning team member and featured panelist for the School of Engineering-sponsored panel on the encyclical, "Magnificent Humanity," held the day after its publication. Subsequently, he was a featured guest on the Faith at the Frontiers podcast to discuss the encyclical, and featured again on a June 4th virtual panel sponsored by the UK-based Centre for Catholic Social Thought and Practice.
Paul Schutz
Paul Schutz’s book, A Theology of Flourishing, was awarded the 2026 Gold Medal in the Theology category of the Illumination Awards. Since 2013, the Illumination Awards have recognized outstanding publications and creative works in Christian theology and spirituality. Paul and his book were also featured in a Santa Clara Magazine story, “Though Shalt Flourish.”
Sarita Tamoyo-Moraga
Sarita Tamayo-Moraga had two papers published in the journal Buddhist-Christian Studies (Vol. 45): "Proceeding in the Way of Zen and the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises: Ruben Habito's Legacy," and "Response to a Panel: 'Reflecting on Buddhist-Christian Double Belonging: A 2024 Update."
Vicky Gonzalez
Vicky Gonzalez, RS Academic Dept. Manager, will be honored for her 35 years of service at SCU at the Staff Recognition event on June 15th. She has reached that milestone after working for 7 years at the Counseling Psychology & Education Graduate Department and 28 years at Religious Studies.