Rev. David Hollenbach, S.J. (born October 6, 1942 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, PA.) is a

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

priest, professor, author, and moral theologian currently serving as the Pedro Arrupe Distinguished Research Professor of the

Walsh School of Foreign Service The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS) is the school of international relations at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. It is considered to be one of the world's leading international affairs schools, granting degrees at both ...

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

. He is a consultant to the

Jesuit Refugee Service The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) is an international Catholic organisation with a mission to accompany, serve, and advocate on behalf of refugees and other forcibly displaced persons, that they may heal, learn, and determine their own future. Fou ...

and is the recipient of the

John Courtney Murray Award The John Courtney Murray Award is the highest honor bestowed by the Catholic Theological Society of America, named after John Courtney Murray, the great American theologian known for his work on religious liberty. Winners * 2021: Susan K. Wood, S ...

from the

Catholic Theological Society of America The Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA) is a professional association of Catholic theologians founded in 1946 to promote studies and research in theology within the Catholic tradition. Its members are primarily in the United States and C ...

in 1998.

Education, Career, and Influences

Hollenbach received his

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in physics from

St. Joseph's University Saint Joseph's University (SJU or St. Joe's) is a private Jesuit university in Philadelphia and Lower Merion, Pennsylvania. The university was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1851 as Saint Joseph's College. Saint Joseph's is the seventh olde ...

in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1964 and joined the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

upon graduation. After completing his novitiate, He earned a

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

and Licentiate in Philosophy (Ph.L.) from

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private Jesuit research university with campuses in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, and Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Mississip ...

in 1968. After serving as an instructor in philosophy at

in Washington, DC during the 1968-1969 academic year, he completed his

M.Div. For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and di ...

Woodstock College Woodstock College was a Jesuit seminary that existed from 1869 to 1974. It was the oldest Jesuit seminary in the United States. The school was located in Woodstock, Maryland, west of Baltimore, from its establishment until 1969, when it moved to ...

and was ordained a priest on June 5, 1971. After ordination he earned a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

in religious ethics from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1975. After working as a research fellow during the 1975-1976 academic year at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University, Fr. Hollenbach began his career at as a professor of moral theology at the

Weston School of Theology The Boston College School of Theology and Ministry (STM) is a Society of Jesus, Jesuit school of graduate theology at Boston College. It is an Ecclesiastical university, ecclesiastical faculty of theology that trains men and women, both lay and re ...

in Cambridge, MA. In 1991 he was appointed professor of theology at

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

and was subsequently appointed the University Chair in Human Rights and International Justice and the Director of the Center for Human Rights and International Justice at the same institution in 2005. In 2016, Hollenbach became the Pedro Arrupe Distinguished Service Professor in the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, where he currently teaches. Until November 2009, Hollenbach held several positions in the Catholic University of Eastern Africa's

Hekima University College Hekima College is a Jesuit school of theology in Nairobi, Kenya, affiliated with the Catholic University of Eastern Africa. It opened in 1984 as a seminary for Jesuits studying to be priests. Since its opening, Hekima has diversified its student ...

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. He has also taught at The Jesuit Philosophy Institute in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and the East Asian Pastoral Institute in Manila, Philippines. In 2015, he held the Cary and Ann Maguire Chair in Ethics and American History at the John W. Kluge Center for Scholars at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

. Hollenbach draws from many theologians, including

Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berbers, Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia (Roman pr ...

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wi ...

, and

Jacques Maritain Jacques Maritain (; 18 November 1882 – 28 April 1973) was a French Catholic philosopher. Raised Protestant, he was agnostic before converting to Catholicism in 1906. An author of more than 60 books, he helped to revive Thomas Aquinas fo ...

. Hollenbach is considered by many experts in Christian ethics to be the principal contributor to Economic Justice for All: Pastoral Letter on Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy.

Works

''The Common Good and Christian Ethics''

Written in 2002, this book has become one of Hollenbach's most famous works as an author. While in this book Hollenbach does look to his major influences such as Aquinas for inspiration, it mainly focuses on Hollenbach's attempt to define the "common good" and find what contrasts this good. Building on his earlier writings, Hollenbach emphasizes relationships as being the source of the common good. There are certain goods that Hollenbach states are essential for modern day democracies to be successful. These goods include mutual respect, self-determination, and individual agency. Hollenbach points out that these essential goods are completely social and depend solely on human interaction. Ultimately this book is a study on how we as humans relate with one another and what we need to do to better our relationships with one another. Some points of interest that Hollenbach discusses are racism and marginalization.

Partial bibliography

* ''Claims in Conflict: Retrieving and Renewing the Catholic Human Rights Tradition.'' (1979) * ''Nuclear Ethics: A Christian Moral Argument'' (1983) * ''Justice, Peace, and Human Rights: American Catholic Social Ethics in a Pluralistic World'' (1990) * ''Catholicism and Liberalism: Contributions to American Public Philosophy'' (With R. Bruce Douglass)(1994) * ''The Common Good and Christian Ethics'' (2002) * ''The Global Face of Public Faith: Politics, Human Rights, and Christian Ethics'' (2003) * ''Modern Catholic Social Teaching: Commentaries and Interpretations'' (2005) * ''Refugee Rights: Ethics Advocacy, and Africa'' (2008) * ''Driven from Home: Protecting the Rights of Forced Migrants'' (2010)

References

External links