Department of Theology
Dr. Patrick Jones
Assistant Professor of Theology
Dr. Patrick Jones earned his B.A. in liberal arts from St. John’s College in Annapolis, MD, his M.A. in theology from the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC, and his Ph.D. in moral theology from the Catholic University of America before joining the faculty of Franciscan University of Steubenville in 2025.
His dissertation critically examined Catholic social teaching on the nation-state and global government, drawing on the political thought of Pierre Manent as well as Russell Hittinger’s recovery of the teaching on the “three necessary societies” of family, Church, and polity. In his teaching and scholarship, he seeks to place Catholic social doctrine in dialogue with the tradition of political philosophy.
His current research focuses on the implications of questions of political regime and political form for Catholic social thought, the theological-political problem, and the impact of ancient and modern notions of self-government on contemporary Catholic approaches to democracy. His articles and book reviews have appeared in journals including Nova et Vetera, Perspectives on Political Science, The Newman Review, Lux Veritatis, and The Journal of Natural Law.
He lives in Steubenville with his wife Dr. Jessica Jones and their son.
- Ph.D., Moral Theology/Ethics with a Minor in Systematics, Catholic University of America
- M.A., Theology, Dominican House of Studies (Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception)
- B.A., Liberal Arts, St. John’s College equivalent to:
- Double Major: History of Math and Science; Philosophy.
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Minors: Classics; Comparative Literature
- THE 812 (Ph.D. seminar) “Theology and Politics at the Vatican Councils,” Fall 2026.
- THE 616 “Advanced Moral Theology.” Franciscan University of Steubenville, Summer 2026.
- THE 615 “Moral Theology.” Franciscan University of Steubenville, Spring 2026.
- THE 730 “Grace and the Virtues.” Franciscan University of Steubenville, Spring 2026.
- THE 713 “Catholic Social Doctrine.” Franciscan University of Steubenville, Fall 2025.
- THE 115 “Christian Moral Principles.” Franciscan University of Steubenville, Fall 2025, Spring 2026.
- PL-240 “Influence of Philosophy on Theology.” St. Vincent College, Spring 2025
- PL-271: “Catholic Political Thought.” St. Vincent College, Spring 2025.
- PL-215H “Ethics and Moral Philosophy.” St. Vincent College, Fall 2024.
- CORE-3400: “Loving Seminar.” St. Vincent College, Fall 2024.
- PL 271: “Catholic Political Thought.” St. Vincent College, Spring 2023.
- TH 853: “Catholic Social Ethics.” St. Vincent Seminary, Fall 2023.
- PL 272: “Philosophy of Law.” St. Vincent College, Spring 2023.
- THE 115: “Christian Moral Principles.” The Franciscan University of Steubenville, Fall 2022.
- TRS 330: “The Church and Social Issues.” The Catholic University of America, Summer 2021.
PEER REVIEWED ARTICLES AND BOOK CHAPTERS
- “Pure Democracy and the Democratic Regime in Catholic Social Doctrine.” Lux Veritatis: A Journal of Speculative Theology, Vol. 2 no. 1 (2025): 29-61
- “Pierre Manent’s ‘Science of Political Form’ and Catholic Social Teaching on the Nation.” Perspectives on Political Science, Vol. 53 no. 4 (2025): 213-222
- “Mendicant Charisms and Civic Virtue in the Thought of Leo XIII: Caritas in Veritate at the Origins of Catholic Social Doctrine.” In Moral Conversion in Scripture, Self, and Society, eds. Krijn Pansters and Anton Ten Klooster (Berlin: De Gruyter, 2024): 205-224.
- “The Good of Authority in the Theology of Matthias Joseph Scheeben,” Nova et Vetera, Vol. 20 no. 2 (2022): 69-96.
BOOK REVIEWS AND ONLINE ARTICLES
- Forthcoming: Michael J. Sweeney and Timothy Sean Quinn, “A History of Catholic Political Philosophy.” In Perspectives on Political Science.
- Forthcoming: Andrew M. Yuengert, “Catholic Social Teaching in Practice: Exploring Practical Wisdom and the Virtues Tradition.” In Nova et Vetera
- F. Russell Hittinger, “On the Dignity of Society: Catholic Social Teaching and Natural Law.” InThe Journal of Natural Law, Vol. 2 no. 1 (2026)
- Thomas P. Harmon, “The Universal Way of Salvation in the Thought of Augustine.” In Perspectives on Political Science, Vol. 53 no. 3 (2025)
- D.C. Schindler, “Retrieving Freedom: The Christian Appropriation of Classical Tradition.” In Conversatio: A Journal in the Tradition of Catholic, Benedictine, and Liberal Education, Vol. 3 (2023): 156-159.
- Thomas C. Behr, “Social Justice and Subsidiarity: Luigi Taparelli and the Origins of Modern Catholic Social Thought,” Nova et Vetera, Vol. 21 no. 3 (2023): 1101-1106.
- Michael P. Krom, “Justice and Charity: An Introduction to Aquinas’s Moral, Economic, and Political Thought,” The European Journal for the Study of Thomas Aquinas, Vol. 39 (2021): 84-85.
- “Oikonomia and History: Newman’s Critique of Henry Hart Milman and the Historicism of Ernst Troeltsch” Published in Newman Review, September 29th, 2021: https://www.newmanreview.org/2021/09/29/oikonomia-an
