Dr. William Newton

Dr. William Newton

Professor of Theology Department Chair, Theology

wnewton@franciscan.edu

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Overview

William Newton worked for ten years in scientific research before turning to the study of theology. From 2005 to 2012 he was assistant professor of Theology at the International Theological Institute in Trumau, near Vienna, Austria. He is an associate member of faculty at Maryvale Institute in Birmingham, U.K., and founding member of the Aquinas Institute of Ireland. Dr. Newton has his PhD from the John Paul II Institute in Australia, a STL from the Leuven (Belgium), and a MTS from the International Theological Institute.  From 2013 to 2017 he was chair of faculty at Franciscan University’s Gaming semester abroad program.  He has published in numerous journals including: Anthropotes, Josephinum Journal of Theology, The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, The Linacre Quarterly, The New Oxford Review, Homiletic and Pastoral Review, Inside the Vatican, Journal of the International Academy of Marital Spirituality, Crisis Magazine, The Furrow and The Catechetical Review (formerly The Sower). He is the author of an introduction to Catholic social teaching entitled, A Civilization of Love: The Catholic Vision for Human Society (Gracewing, 2011). He is originally from England. He and his wife Claire have five children.

Education
  • John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family, Melbourne, Australia (2005 – 2008)
    • PhD in Theology. Thesis title: “Gaudium et Spes 22 §1: a commentary from the theology of St. Thomas Aquinas.”
  • Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium (2011 – 2012)
    • Licentiate in Sacred Theology (and Master of Arts in Advanced Studies in Theology and Religion) (magna cum laude). Dissertation title: “An Evaluation of the Contribution of Martin Rhonheimer to the Debate on the Moral Status of Craniotomy.”
  • International Theological Institute, Gaming, Austria (2002 – 2005)
    • Masters in Theological Studies (summa cum laude).
    • Dissertation title: “The universal significance of the evangelical counsels.”
  • University College London and Imperial College London (1991 – 1992)
    • Masters of Science in Remote Sensing (with distinction).
    • Dissertation title: “Approaches to automatic change detection of forests using optical satellite imagery.”
  • International Language Institute, Cairo (1990)
    • Teaching English as a Foreign Language Certification.
    • I taught English in Moscow from December 1990 to June 1991.
  • School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (1987 – 1990)
    • Bachelor of Arts in Geography with Special Reference to Africa and Asia (1st class honours).
    • Dissertation title: “A study of small scale private industry in Hubei Province, China” (included two months field work in China).
  • St. John the Baptist R.C. School, Woking, England (1981 – 1986)
    • 3 Advanced Level certificates (Geography A, Biology B, Physics B) and 13 Ordinary Level certificates.
    • School captain 1985-1986.

Select Publications
  • Civilization of Love: The Catholic Vision for Human Society. Leominster: Gracewing Publishing, 2011.
  • “What God Has Joined: The Biblical Foundations for Traditional Christian Sexual Morality. CreateSpace. 2015

Book Chapters:

  • “The Theology of the Body and Contraception: Two Irreconcilable Concepts of the Human Person” in A Pure Heart Create for Me, edited R. Colquhoun, Oxford: Family Publications, 2009.
  • “John Paul II’s Veritatis Splendor: ‘Teacher What Good Must I Do To Enter The Kingdom of Heaven (Mt 19:16)’” in John Paul II: Access All Areas (published April 2014).

Articles:

  • “John Paul II and Gaudium et Spes 22: his use of the text and his involvement in its authorship,” Anthropotes, Autumn 2009. Republished in the Josephinum Journal of Theology, July 2010.
  • “Caritas in Veritate: Pope Benedict’s Blue Print for Development,” The Sower, Spring 2010.
  • “The Spiritual Meaning of Caritas in Veritate” Pastoral Review, January 2010. Republished in Consortio, June 2010.
  • “Relativism: The Erosion of Human Rights,” ZENIT, 24 February 2010.
  • “The Church: The True Friend of Democracy,” Pastoral Review, July 2010.
  • “Same Sex Unions: Making the Distinctions,” The Sower, August 2010.
  • “God, the King, and the Trial of Thomas More,” ZENIT, September 2010.
  • “Technology as Ideology,” Inside the Vatican, October 2010.
  • “Leo XIII on the rosary and society,” Catholic Herald, October 2010.
  • The Sacrament of Marriage and Marital Spirituality (course book for module), Maryvale Institute (in house publication), 2011.
  • “Catholic Doctrine, Science, and Scientism,” The Pastoral Review, January 2011.
  • “Condoms and AIDS,” entry for Encyclopaedia For Catholic Social Thought, Scarecrow Press, 2011.
  • “The Contribution of Matthias Scheeben to the Theology of Marriage,” Journal of the International Academy of Marital Spirituality, February 2011.
  • “Beauty will save the World,” Latin Mass Magazine, February 2011 (reprinted, Consortio, March 2013).
  • “Dominus Iesus: Ten Years On,” Homiletic and Pastoral Review, February 2011.
  • “Condoms and HIV: The State of the Debate,” Linacre Quarterly, February 2011.
  • “Priestesses? Why Not? A Guide for Catechists,” The Sower, October 2011.
  • Letter to editor concerning condom’s and AIDS, Linacre Quarterly, accepted September 2011.
  • “Avoiding cooperation with evil: keeping your nose clean in a dirty world,” Homiletic and Pastoral Review, September 2012.
  • “Has The True Sense of Marriage Been Lost?” Inside the Vatican, November 2011.
  • “Usury and Catholic Social Teaching: The Elephant in the Room,” The Pastoral Review, January 2012.
  • “Two Trials, One Truth: Benedict XVI on Church and State,” The Furrow, January 2012.
  • “Benedict XVI and G. K. Chesterton on the connection between Christian dogma and social reform,” The Chesterton Review, June 2012.
  • “The Gift of Infallibility,” The Sower, October 2012.
  • “Theology professor discusses the family’s role in the new evangelization,” interview by Emily Stimpson, Our Sunday Visitor, 7 July 2012, Volume 101, Issue 13.
  • “Benedict XVI and the link between life issues and social issues,” National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, January 2013.
  • “The role of the Christian Family in the Brave New World,” The Sower, April 2013.
  • “Theology and Philosophy: In Praise of the Handmaid,” Faith Magazine, accepted July/August 2013.
  • “Same-sex ‘marriage’ and confusion over the nature of the State,” The New Oxford Review, July/August 2013.
  • “A Foreign View of the HHS Mandate,” Crisis Magazine, August 2013.
  • “The side effects of the Pill: Why the Church has so much to say about Contraception,” Homiletic and Pastoral Review, March 2014.
  • “A case of mistaken identity: fifth way and intelligent design,” New Blackfriars, April 2014.
  • “Sr Simplice’s Dilemma: When a Lie is a Lie,” Pastoral Review, scheduled January 2014.
  • “St. Thomas and Abortion,” Faith Magazine, scheduled March 2014.
  • “Advice to an atheist’s daughter: Exposing the Delusion of The God Delusion”, The Sower, March 2014.
  • “Some Comments on Recent Suggestions Concerning the Admission of Divorced and Remarried Catholics to Holy Communion,” The Latin Mass Magazine, accepted for Fall 2014 edition.
  • “The legacy of John Paul II’s vision for marriage and family,” Homiletic and Pastoral Review, November 2014.
  • “A match made in heaven: the doctrine of the Eucharist and Aristotelian Metaphysics,” Faith Magazine, January 2015.
  • “Religious Freedom, Slavery, Usury: Three Challenges to the Hermeneutic of Continuity,” Homiletic and Pastoral Review, January 2015.
  • “Dawkins on religion and morality,” The Sower (online), January 2015.
  • “Contraception and Abortion: Fruits of the same rotten tree?” The Linacre Quarterly, May 2015.
  • “Cooperating with God in the Sacraments,” Catechetical Review, Fall 2015.
  • “In reluctant defence of the Inland Revenue Service: On the Morality of Levying Tax,” Heythrop Journal, September 2015.
  • “Reflections on the Catholic Understanding of Marriage after the Irish Referendum,” Latin Mass Magazine, September 2015.
  • “Parents as Primary Educators,” Homiletic and Pastoral Review, February 2016.
  • “A brief tour of arguments for the immateriality of the mind,” Faith Magazine, May 2016.
  • “Aquinas and the Life of the Councils,” Downside Review, accepted February 2016.
  • “Natural Law and Pluralism,” Humanities Across the Borders (Slovakia), December 2016.
  • “And Scripture cannot be broken: why we must say that Scripture is wholly inerrant,” Latin Mass Magazine, March 2016.
  • “Thoughts on the Ecclesial Vocation of Women,” Homiletic and Pastoral Review, December 2016.
  • “Deaconesses?”, Latin Mass Magazine, Fall 2016.
  • “Seven Keys for Unlocking the Word: How to Help Catechumens to Understand the Bible,” Catechetical Review, accepted November 2016.
  • “A Modest Proposal,” Faith Magazine, accepted for June 2017.
  • “Martyrdom and Us,” Homiletic and Pastoral Review, accepted December 2016.