John J. Fitzgerald

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Associate Professor
Theology and Religious Studies
St. John's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Ph.D., The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, Moral Theology/EthicsJ.D., The University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, INA.B., Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, Philosophy

Dr. Fitzgerald’s areas of specialty are ethics, with particular attention to fundamental and health care issues, and philosophy of religion/philosophical theology.  In his teaching and research, he strives to bring Catholic theology into dialogue with other worldviews (notably Jewish, Buddhist, and secular perspectives) and disciplines (including philosophy, psychology, and law).  He is the author of The Seductiveness of Virtue: Abraham Joshua Heschel and John Paul II on Morality and Personal Fulfillment (reprint ed., T&T Clark, 2018) and co-editor (with Ashley John Moyse) of Treating the Body in Medicine and Religion: Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Perspectives (Routledge, 2019).  He has published articles in various journals as well, and St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences presented him with Faculty Recognition Awards for his research output from 2014-15 and 2016-17.  He is a registered attorney in New York and New Jersey.

Books

The Seductiveness of Virtue: Abraham Joshua Heschel and John Paul II on Morality and Personal Fulfillment, reprint ed. (T&T Clark, 2018).  Description and reviews available here.

Edited Books

Treating the Body in Medicine and Religion: Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Perspectives, co-edited with Ashley John Moyse (Routledge, 2019).  Description and reviews available here.

Peer-Reviewed Articles and Book Chapters

“Healthy Legacies?  Moses Maimonides and Thomas Aquinas on Caring for Others and Ourselves.”  In Treating the Body in Medicine and Religion, 99-136. 

“Introduction” (with Ashley John Moyse).  In Treating the Body in Medicine and Religion, 1-8. 

“A Considerably Common Morality: Catholic Ethics and Secular Principlism in Dialogue.”  Christian Bioethics 25.1 (2019): 86-127.

“No Woe to You Lawyers: A Virtue-Based Approach to Happiness within the Legal Profession.”  Journal of Moral Theology 4.2 (2015): 89-120.

“Christian Witness on Abortion: The Examples of Paul Ramsey and Stanley Hauerwas.”  Studies in Christian Ethics 27.4 (2014): 431-452.

“Can Philosophy of Religion Be Pastoral?  The Problem of Evil and the Ethics of Comforting the Sick.”  Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health 16.4 (2014): 239-260.

“Together Again, Naturally?  Pope Benedict XVI and the Fourteenth Dalai Lama on Our Environmental Responsibility.”  Journal of Catholic Social Thought 11.2 (2014): 465-500.

“Timeless Troubles: The Challenge of Prophecy to the Eternity Solution to the Foreknowledge/Freedom Dilemma.”  Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association 82 (2008): 203-215.

“Today’s Catholic Law Schools in Theory and Practice: Are We Preserving Our Identity?”  Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics, and Public Policy 15.1: 245-306.

Book Reviews

Daniel P. Scheid, The Cosmic Common Good: Religious Grounds for Ecological Ethics (Oxford University Press, 2016).  In Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics 38.1 (2018): 197-198.

Charles C. Camosy, Beyond the Abortion Wars: A Way Forward for a New Generation (Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 2015).  In Studies in Christian Ethics 29.4 (2016): 489-492.

James T. Bretzke, S.J., Handbook of Roman Catholic Moral Terms (Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2013). In Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics 35.2 (2015): 221-222.

Cathleen Kaveny, Law’s Virtues: Fostering Autonomy and Solidarity in American Society (Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2012).  In Journal of Law and Religion 30.2 (2015): 339-342.

Nicanor Pier Giorgio Austriaco, O.P., Biomedicine and Beatitude: An Introduction to Catholic Bioethics (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 2011).  In Reviews in Religion & Theology 21.4 (2014): 463-466.

Alan L. Berger and David Patterson with David P. Gushee, John T. Pawlikowski, and John K. Roth, Jewish-Christian Dialogue: Drawing Honey from the Rock (St. Paul, MN: Paragon House, 2008).  In Studies in American Jewish Literature 30 (2011): 114-118.

Conference Proceedings

“Bioethics/Healthcare—Topic Session.”  Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America 73 (2018): 92-93.

Works in Progress

Through the Dimming Glass: Evaluating Religious Beliefs (book manuscript on issues in philosophy of religion and philosophical theology)

"On the Variety (and Unity) of Virtues in Sport" (article drawing from philosophical ethics and moral theology)

“A Virtue-Based Approach to Happiness within the Legal Profession.”  Conference on Integrating Positive Psychology into Legal Education.  Suffolk Law School in Boston, MA.  June 2019 (forthcoming). 

“Breakfast with an Author” session for my book The Seductiveness of Virtue.  Society of Christian Ethics, Annual Meeting.  Portland, OR.  January 2018.

“No Woe to You Lawyers: Justice and Charity as Paths to Attorney Happiness (and Implications for Contemporary Catholic Ethicists).”  American Academy of Religion, Annual Mid-Atlantic Regional Meeting.  New Brunswick, NJ.  March 2017.

“On the Potential for Dialogue between Catholic Moral Theology and Secular Principlism.”  Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity, Annual Conference.  Trinity International University in Deerfield, IL.  June 2016.

“On the Variety (and Unity) of Virtues in Sport.”  Conference was entitled “Sports as Virtue: Exploring the Theology of Leisure” (co-sponsored by the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Culture).  St. John’s University in Queens, NY.  February 2015. 

Panelist response at “Encounter and Mercy: A Conference on Restorative Justice.”  The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.  November 2014.

“Healthy Legacies?  Moses Maimonides and Thomas Aquinas on Caring for Ourselves and Others.”  Program on Medicine and Religion, Third Annual Conference (co-sponsored by the University of Chicago and others).  Chicago, IL.  March 2014.

“The Seductiveness of Virtue: Abraham Joshua Heschel and John Paul II on Morality and Personal Fulfillment.”  Junior Faculty Research Colloquium.  St. John’s University in Queens, NY.  October 2013.

“A Sign of the Divine?  Cultural Interpretations of the Marian Phenomena at Fátima.”  Catholic Theological Society of America, Annual Convention (presented to the Mary in Global and Contemporary Perspective Interest Group).  Miami, FL.  June 2013.

“Together Again, Naturally?  Pope Benedict XVI and the Fourteenth Dalai Lama on Our Environmental Responsibility.”  Southeastern Conference for the Study of Religion (American Academy of Religion, Southeast Region), Annual Meeting.  Greenville, SC.  March 2013.  

“Can Philosophy of Religion Be Pastoral?  The Problem of Evil and Caring for the Sick.”  Program on Medicine and Religion, Inaugural National Conference (co-sponsored by the University of Chicago and others).  Chicago, IL.  May 2012.

“An Augmented Problem of Evil: The Question of Divinely Ordained Genocide in the Old Testament.”  Society of Christian Philosophers, Annual Central Regional Meeting.  Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, OK.  April 2009.

“Christian Witness on Abortion: The Examples of Paul Ramsey and Stanley Hauerwas.”  American Academy of Religion, Annual Mid-Atlantic Regional Meeting.  Baltimore, MD.  March 2009.

"Timeless Troubles: The Challenge of Prophecy to the Eternity Solution to the Foreknowledge/Freedom Dilemma.”  American Catholic Philosophical Association, Annual Meeting.  Omaha, NE. November 2008. 

THE 1000c/HON 1050c: “Perspectives on Christianity: A Catholic Approach”

THE 2300: “Introduction to Catholic Moral Theology”

THE 3300/HON 3300: “Moral Theology of Health Care”

THE 3910: “Faith and Reason in Theology”

THE 170 (graduate-level): “Fundamental Moral Theology”