Sponsors of the Declaration
names W-Z






Prof Marie-Theres Wacker

Marie-Theres Wacker Dr Marie-Theres Wacker is Professor of Old Testament Studies und Theological Feminist Research at the Catholic Theological Faculty of the Wilhelms-University of Westfalen in Münster, Germany. She studied in Bonn, Jerusalem (Ecole Biblique) and Tübingen (DrTheol 1982). After various spells of lecturing in Paderborn, Münster, Cologne and Jerusalem, she obtained her present post (since 1998).
Professor Wacker has written numerous articles on scriptural feminism in lexicons, dictionaries and scientific periodicals. She edited and co-edited many publications of the series Theologische Frauenforschung in Europa.
Among her books we note especially the following: Weltordnung und Gericht. Studien zu 1 Henoch 22 (Würzburg 1982, 1985 ); (with Bernd Wacker)... verfolgt, verjagt, deportiert. Juden in Salzkotten 1933-1942 (Salzkotten 1988); (with Luise Schottroff und Silvia Schroer)Feministische Exegese. Forschungserträge zur Bibel aus der Perspektive von Frauen (Darmstadt 1995); English: Feminist Interpretation of the Bible. The Bible in Women's Perspective (Minneapolis 1998); Figurationen des Weiblichen im Hoseabuch (Freiburg 1996); Jüdische Gemeinde Salzkotten (Salzkotten 2002); Von Göttinnen, Göttern und dem einzigen Gott. Studien zum biblischen Monotheismus aus feministisch-theologischer Sicht (Münster 2004); Ester. Jüdin-Königin-Retterin (Stuttgart 2006).
Professor Wacker is leader of the work group Feministische Theologie und Genderforschung. She is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature; the European Society of Women Doing Research in Theology (ESWTR); the European Society for Theology (ET); the association of women theologians AGENDA; the network Frauenforschung NRW; the editorial board of the international theological periodical Concilium; and the advisory board of Gender.

 

Dr Michael Walsh

Dr Michael Walsh is a writer and broadcaster.  He was librarian at Heythrop College, University of London, from 1972 to 2001.  For much of his time there he also also served as reviews editor, and in his last years on the staff, as the overall editor of The Heythrop Journal. He has appeared regularly in the British, and also the US, media. For some years he had a column in The Church Times, and was television critic of The Tablet, for which he continues to write occasional pieces. Among his books are: Dictionary of Devotions(1993); Dictionary of Christian Biography (2001); The Conclave: A Sometimes Secret and Occasionally Bloody History (Canterbury Press 2003); The Secret World of Opus Dei (2004); Roman Catholicism. The Basics (2005); The Oxford Dictionary of Popes (with J N D Kelley, 2006); Pocket Dictionary of Popes (2006); New Dictionary of Saints. East and West (2007); Westminster Cardinals (2008) and The Cardinals (2010).

 

Prof Andrew Weigert

Andrew Weigert Professor Andrew Weigert studied at St. Louis University (LicPhil l959; MAEcon 1960), at Woodstock College (BATheol l964) and at the University of Minnesota (PhDSoc 1968). He started teaching at Notre Dame University in 1968, becoming Full Professor of Sociology in 1976 (till now).
Professor Weigert authored over 50 major scholarly articles. Among his books we find: Family Socialization and Adolescents: Determinants of Self-Esteem, Religiosity, Conformity and Counterculture Lifestyles (with Darwin Thomas, Viktor Gecas, and Elizabeth Roone, Boston 1974); Toward an Interpretive Sociology (with A. Blasi and F. Dasilva, Washington 1978); Sociology of Everyday Life (New York 1981); Social Psychology: A Sociological Approach through Interpretive Understanding (Notre e Dame 1983); Life and Society: A Meditation on the Social Thought of Jose Ortega y Gasset (Irvington 1983); Society and identity (Cambridge University Press 1986); Mixed Emotions (Albany 1999); Self, Interaction, and Natural Environment (Albany 1997); Religious and Secular Views on Endtime (Lewiston 2005).
Professor Weigert frequently writes book reviews for Contemporary Sociology, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Sociological Analysis and Symbolic Interaction. He takes an active part in the American Sociological Association, Midwest Sociological Association, the National Council on Family Relations, the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, and the North Central Sociological Association. He received 3 Kaneb Awards for Undergraduate Teaching (1999, 2002, 2005) and was the sole recipient of the Sheedy Award for Excellence in Teaching, University of Notre Dame, 2002.

 

Prof Michael Winter

Michael WinterProf Michael Winter studied at the School of Oriental and Asian Studies of the university of London; and the universities of Cambridge in England and Fribourg in Switzerland (DrTheol 1975).
For many years he was Dean of St. Edmund's College, Cambridge. His main publications are: St. Peter and the Popes ( 1960), Mission or Maintenance? (1972), Concordance to the Peshitta Version of Ben Sira (1975), Mission Resumed? (1978), Whatever Happened to Vatican II? (1985), The Atonement ( 1995), Misguided Morality (2002).
He is a member of Catholics for a Reformed Church, and founder member, and present chairman, of the Movement for Married Clergy.

 

Prof Jozef Wissink

Dr J M B Wissink is emeritus Professor of Practical Theology at the University of Tilburg, the Netherlands.
Among his books we find: with G.A.F. Hellemans (eds.) Towards a New Catholic Church in Advanced Modernity (Münster 2012); with Hans Crijns and others (eds.) Diaconie in beweging. Handboek Diaconiewetenschap (Kampen 2011); with J.J.C. Maas and C.J.M. Melisse (eds.) Hans van den Bosch: Een knipoog van Onze Lieve Heer. God ontmoeten in een postmoderne cultuur (2011); Begeesterd. Theologische reflecties over God, persoon en gemeenschap (Berne-Heeswijk 2011); Thomas van Aquino. De actuele betekenis van zijn theologie (Zoetermeer 2003).
From his many chapters in books and articles, here are some of the most recent ones: "Holland: Aktive Bürgerschaft: Freiwilliges Engagement in Kirche und Gesellschaft", in Eugen Baldas & Jorge Nunjo Mayer (eds.) Freiwillig etwas bewegen. Volunteer! Make a difference! Impulse aus 2001 + 10. Momentum from 2001 + 10 (Freiburg im Breisgau 2012, pp. 174-183); "Over kleine geloofsgroepen: mobiele kerken", WKO Nieuwsbrief / Werkverband Kerkelijk Opbouwwerk (Jan 2012, pp. 9-14); "Vormsel en getuigenis" in Concilium vol 37 (2012) pp. 90-95.

 

Prof Werner Wolbert

Werner Wolbert Dr Werner Wolbert was from 1984 to 1989 Professor of Moral Theology and Ethics at the Theological Faculty of Paderborn University in Germany. Since 1989 he has been Professor of Moral Theology at the University of Salzburg in Austria.
Professor Wolbert has written numerous articles for scientific magazines and published collections. Among his own books we find: Ethische Argumentation und Paränese in 1 Kor 7 (Düsseldorf 1981); Der Mensch als Mittel und Zweck. Die Idee der Menschenwürde in normativer Ethik und 'Metaethik' (Münster 1987) ; Vom Nutzen der Gerechtigkeit. Zur Diskussion um Utilitarismus und teleologische Theorie (Freiburg 1992); Du sollst nicht töten. Systematische Überlegungen zum Tötungsverbot (Freiburg 2000, 2008); Was sollen wir tun? Biblische Weisung und ethische Reflexion (Freiburg  2005); Gewissen und Verantwortung. Gesammelte Studien (Freiburg 2009); Moral in einer Kultur der Massenmedien (editor, Freiburg 1994) ; (also in Italian: Morale in una cultura di mass-media (Milan 1998).

 

Professor Lode Wostyn

Dr Lode Lucas Wostyn, born in Belgium (1937), studied Biology at the University of Louvain (BS), Theology at the study center of the CICM Missionaries in Louvain, and finished his Doctorate in Theology at the Facultés Catholiques de Lyon (1968). As a Catholic missionary priest, he became a teacher of systematic theology at San Carlos Seminary, Manila (1970-1972) and Maryhill School of Theology, Quezon City (1972-1995). He served as Dean of the school from 1989-1993. He also took up teaching assignments in other theological schools and published a number of theological studies. Some of his books are used as textbooks in MA courses of Theology in the Philippines. He took a sabbatical year at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley (JSTB) in 1993-1994. In 1995 he was assigned to Saint Louis University (SLU), where he became the director of the Institute of Philosophy and Religion (1995-2001) and Acting Dean of the College of Human Sciences (2001-02). He continued teaching some graduate courses, among them a course on Bio-Ethics in the SLU College of Medicine. He has been active in weekend pastoral work in some parishes of the Archdiocese of Manila. As a graduate of the “Care Through Touch Institute”, Berkeley (1993), he also teaches massage to groups of blind people in the Philippines.
After a one-semester sabbatical at Catholic Theological Union, Chicago (Spring 2003), he started teaching theology in several theological schools in the Manila area: Institute of Consecrated Life in Asia (ICLA), St. Vincent School of Theology (SVST), St. Andrews School of Theology and  The Institute of Formation and Religious Studies (IFRS). He was also a guest lecturer at De La Salle University and East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI). He was back in Chicago (2004) to teach two courses of theology at Catholic Theological Union. In November 2007, he returned to Maryhill School of Theology (MST) as a regular lecturer. At present, he teaches and resides at MST while remaining a member of the teaching staff in SVST.

 

Dr Aloys Wijngaards

Aloys Wijngaards Dr. Aloys E.H.M. Wijngaards Jr is Policy Advisor on Governance and Ethics at the Bank of The Netherlands. He studied Religious Studies, Theology, and Economics at Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA. In his Doctoral thesis, he focused on establishing an interdisciplinary conversation between public theology and economics.
Among his main publications are Worldly Theology: On Connecting Public Theology and Economics (Nijmegen 2012); 'Meaning of Life: Exploring the Relation between Economics and Religion' (with E.-M. Sent), in Review of Social Economy 70 (2011) 109-130; 'About the Conversation between Theologians and Economists', in International Journal of Public Theology 5 (1011) 127-142; 'Wereldse Theologie: Publieke Theologie en de Economische Wetenschap', in Tijdschrift voor Theologie 3 (2012) 249-262. In February 2012, he gave a keynote address at the Blackfriars’ Las Casas Institute at Oxford University, entitled: Recovering Economics as a Moral Science.

 

Prof Dr John Wijngaards

John WijngaardsJohn N M Wijngaards obtained the Licentiate of Sacred Scripture at the Pontifical Biblical Institute and the Doctorate of Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University (1963). His studies focused on The Formulas of the Deuteronomic Creed (dissertation, Brill, Leiden 1963). Further research resulted in The Dramatisation of Salvific History in the Deuteronomic Schools (Brill, Leiden 1969) and a 360 page Commentary on the book of Deuteronomy in the well-known Dutch series of commentaries (Roermond 1971). After a spell at the major seminary of Hyderabad, India, and later as Vicar General of the Mill Hill Missionaries in London (1976–1982), he became Director of Housetop, an international centre of adult faith formation (1982–2012). During that same period (1983–1998), he also served as part-time Professor of Sacred Scripture at the Missionary Institute London which was affiliated to Louvain Catholic University and Middlesex University.
He has written many books, including Did Christ Rule Out Women Priests? (McCrimmons 1977), Communicating the Word of God (McCrimmons 1978), Christ's Idea of Authority (Templegate 1984), Inheriting the Master's Cloak (Ave Maria Press 1985), The Gospel of John (Michael Glazier 1986), How to Make Sense of God (Sheed and Ward USA 1995), The Ordination of Women in the Catholic Church. Unmasking a Cuckoo’s Egg Tradition (Darton, Longman & Todd, London 2001), Women Deacons in the Early Church (Crossroad, New York 2002) and The Ordained Women Deacons of the Church's First Millennium (Canterbury Press, London 2012).
He wrote the 9 film scripts for the Walking on Water series on scripture, and the feature film length film script for Journey to the Centre of Love which won the Grand Prix at the International Catholic Film Festival in Warsaw (1995) and the Chris Award for Excellence at the Columbus Film Festival (1997).
John Wijngaards is a member of the Catholic Theological Association of Great Britain, the Catholic Theological Society of America and the European Society for Catholic Theology.

 

Prof Adela Yarbro Collins

Dr Adela Yarbro Collins is Professor of New Testament Criticism and Interpretation at Yale University New Haven, Connecticut, USA. She received a BA degree from Pomona College, and her MA and PhD degrees from Harvard University. In addition to her current position at Yale, Collins also held appointments at the University of Notre Dame (1985–1991) and at the University of Chicago (1991–2000).
Among her publications we find: King and Messiah as Son of God with John J Collins (Eerdmans, 2008); Antiquity and Humanity: Essays on Ancient Religion and Philosophy Presented to Hans Dieter Betz on his 70th Birthday, co-ed. (MohrSiebeck, 2001); Ancient and Modern Perspectives on the Bible and Culture: Essays in Honor of Hans Dieter Betz, ed. (Scholars Press, 1999); Cosmology and Eschatology in Jewish and Christian Apocalypticism (Brill, 1996); The Beginning of the Gospel: Probings of Mark in Context (Fortress Press, 1992); Is Mark's Gospel a Life of Jesus? The Question of Genre (Marquette University Press, 1990); The Gospel and Women: The 1987 Fred O. Francis Memorial Lectures in Religion (Chapman College, 1988); Early Christian Apocalypticism: Genre and Social Setting, ed. (1986); Feminist Perspectives on Biblical Scholarship, ed. (Scholars Press, 1985); Crisis and Catharsis: The Power of the Apocalypse (Westminster, 1984); Pentecost 2, co-author (Fortress, 1982); The Apocalypse (Michael Glazier, 1979); The Combat Myth in the Book of Revelation (Scholars Press, 1976).
Professor Yarbro Collins was the President of the Society of New Testament Studies (2010–2011) and has also served as the President of the New England Region of the Society of Biblical Literature (2004–2005). She was awarded an honorary doctorate in theology by the University of Oslo, Norway, in 1994 and a Fellowship for University Teachers by the National Endowment for the Humanities for 1995–96. Professor Yarbro Collins is a fellow of Trumbull College.

 

Prof Hans-Georg Ziebertz

Professor Hans-Georg Ziebertz studied Theology, Sociology and Pedagogics. He holds PhD’s in Theology (Nijmegen NL) and Pedagogics (Tübingen) and defended his Habilitation in Religious Education (Mainz). Ziebertz was assistant professor of Practical Theology at Nijmegen University (1990-1995), full professor of Practical Theology at Utrecht Catholic University (1995-1998) and since then he is full professor of Practical Theology / Religious Education at Würzburg University. Among others his research interests are “International Empirical Youth Research”, “Intercultural and interreligious Education”, “Religion and Modernity”, “Religion, Values and Human Rights”.
2001-2002 Professor Ziebertz was member of the International Consultation Board of Education in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Stability Pact Sarajevo/ Unesco); 2004-2005 member of the programme committee “Intercultural education in the South Caucasus Region of the Council of Europe; 2005-2011 member of the board of the National Research Programme “Religion, State and Society” of the Swiss National Fund (NFP 58); 2005-2008 member of the steering committee of TRES-network: Teaching Religion in a multicultural Europe (EU-Socrates programme); 2006-2010 president of the International Society of Empirical Research in Theology (ISERT); 2008-2012 member of the collegium theology of the German Science Foundation.
Selection of publications: V.Anthony/H.-G.Ziebertz (eds.), Religious Identity and National Heritage: Empirical-theological Perspectives, Leiden: Brill 2012; J.A.van der Ven/H.-G.Ziebertz (eds.), Tensions within and between Religions and Human Rights, Leiden: Brill 2012; I.Tucci/D.Pollack/H.-G.Ziebertz, Religiöser Pluralismus im Fokus quantitativer Religionsforschung, Wiesbaden: VS Verlag 2012; H.-G.Ziebertz/L.J.Francis (eds.), The Public Significance of Religion, Leiden: Brill 2011; H.-G. Ziebertz, (ed.), Gender in Christentum und Islam, Münster: LIT 2010; H.-G. Ziebertz/U. Riegel (eds.), Europe – secular or post-secular?,  Münster: LIT 2009.

 

Prof Antonio Gil de Zúñiga

Dr Antonio Gil de Zúñiga y Muñoz is Professor Emeritus of Spanish Philology at the University of Madrid, Spain. He obtained his licentiate in theology at the university of Salamanca and the doctorate in philosophy at Madrid. Prof Gil de Zúñiga is also a poet.
Among well-known books he published we find: Palabras para este Tiempo (Madrid 2012); Ética y fenomenología religiosa en la poética de Blas de Otero (Valencia 2011) and ¿Es posible la fraternidad humana? (Madrid 1968). He is editor and regular contributor to  Villaviciosa 616, and publishes articles in Libertarias and Vecinos Villa.