St. John’s University Department of Theology and Religious Studies Appoints Thomas A. Shannon, Ph.D. to the Paul E. McKeever Chair in Moral Theology

St. John’s University’s Department of Theology and Religious Studies has announced the appointment of Thomas A. Shannon, Ph.D., to the Paul E. McKeever Chair in Moral Theology. Shannon’s appointment will be made formal with a welcoming ceremony on February 8 at 3 p.m. in Belson Hall on the Queens campus. Shannon replaces Dr. Paul Lauritzen, who served as chair from 2005-2006.

Professor Emeritus, Religion and Social Ethics at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Shannon specializes in the areas of social justice and bioethics. His interest in social justice surrounds the topic of conscientious objection and the social encyclical tradition within Roman Catholicism. He has also focused on the moral standing of developments in the field of genetic engineering.

Author of several books, Shannon has focused his attention on care-based reasoning and genetic engineering. Included in his works are: The Context of Casuistry; Genetic Engineering: A Documentary History; Made in Whose Image? Genetic Engineering and Christian Ethics; American Catholic Social Teaching and A Call to Fidelity. On The Moral Theology of Charles Curran.

He earned his Master’s Degree in Sacred Theology from Boston University School of Technology and a Ph.D. from the Division of Theological and Religious Studies in 1973. Shannon holds two Bachelor’s degrees, a Bachelor of Sacred Theology from St. Joseph Seminary, Teutopolis, IL and a Bachelor of Arts from Quincy University.

In the 1991-1992 Academic Year, the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at St. John's University inaugurated the Paul E. McKeever Chair in Moral Theology. Established as a living memorial to an esteemed colleague whose breadth and depth of theological vision embraced service as a peritus at Vatican Council II, presidency of the Catholic Theological Society of America and editorship of The Long Island Catholic newspaper and The Priest magazine, this Chair continues Paul E. McKeever’s commitment to rigorous theological studies and priestly ministry.

For media inquires, please contact Elizabeth Reilly, Assistant Director of Media Relations, St. John’s University at (718) 990-5789, or e-mail inquiries to reillye@stjohns.edu.