FR. CHARLES MOREROD, OP
2011 recipient

Fr. Morerod entered the Dominican Order in 1983 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1988 in the city of Geneva, of his native country Switzerland. He holds the degrees of licentiate in philosophy and theology and a doctorate in theology from University of Fribourg in Switzerland, and holds a doctorate in philosophy from the Institut Catholique in Toulouse, France.

He is the author of eight books and has published over 100 hundred scholarly articles or chapters in books. Fr. Morerod's work is inspired by a wide range of theological and philosophical sources including, to name just two, his elder Dominican brother St. Thomas Aquinas, and his countryman, the noted Swiss theologian Charles Cardinal Journet. His devotion to Journet's work and legacy is particularly manifest in his ongoing and longtime editorial service to both the French and English editions of the journal Nova et Vetera, which was originally founded by Journet.

Fr. Morerod currently holds several posts to which he has been either elected or appointed. Since 2001 he has been a member of the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC); since 2005 he has been a member of the The Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue Between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches; in 2008 he was appointed to the pontifical academy of St. Thomas Aquinas. Fr. Morerod is a consultor for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and in 2009 he was appointed Secretary General of the International Theological Commission. In September of 2009 Fr. Morerod was elected Rector of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, where he has taught since 1996 and held, prior to his election as Rector, the positions of Vice-Dean of the Theology and Dean of Philosophy.

DR. ROBERT LOUIS WILKEN
2009 recipient

Dr. Robert Louis Wilken is William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor Emeritus of the History of Christianity at the University of Virginia. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and has taught at Gregorian University, Institutum Patristicum “Augustiniam,” Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Notre Dame, Fordham University, and Lutheran Theological Seminary.

Dr. Wilken is the author of 10 books, including The Spirit of Early Christian Thought: Seeking the Face of God (Yale, 2003), Remembering the Christian Past (Eerdmans, 1995), and The Christians as the Romans Saw Them (Yale, 1984). He is also the translator, along with Paul Bowers, of On the Cosmic Mystery of Jesus Christ. Selected Writings from St. Maximus the Confessor (St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2003).

Dr. Wilken is an elected fellow of the Academy of Arts and Sciences, former president of the American Academy of Religion, and former president of the North American Patristic Society.

DR. JANET E. SMITH
2008 recipient

Janet E. Smith holds the Father Michael J. McGivney Chair of Life Ethics at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. She is the author of Humanae Vitae: A Generation Later, editor ofWhy Humanae Vitae Was Right: A Reader. Her long list of published articles—-in academic journals as well as popular periodicals—-includes contributions in abortion, bioethics, feminism and women, moral philosophy, and Plato. She has taught at the University of Notre Dame and the University of Dallas as well as at Ave Maria College.

Prof. Smith has received the Haggar Teaching Award from the University of Dallas, the Prolife Person of the Year from the Diocese of Dallas, and the Cardinal Wright Award from the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars. She is serving a second term as a consultor to the Pontifical Council on the Family. Over a million copies of her talk,"Contraception: Why Not" have been distributed.

For her constant defense of the teachings of the Catholic Church in the areas of marriage and the family as well as life issues, for her constant search for truth ranging from her studies of Plato to her writings on Thomistic moral philosophy, for her readiness to serve the Church as the Church needs to be served as she now devotes her talents to the intellectual formation of priests, for all of these areas, the Aquinas Center for Theological Renewal is most honored to award the 2008 Veritas Medal to Professor Janet Smith.

AVERY CARDINAL DULLES, SJ
2007 recipient

The Aquinas Center for Theological Renewal is delighted to award Avery Cardinal Dulles, SJ, with the 2007 Veritas Medal. Cardinal Dulles’s extraordinary achievements have merited for him the title of "dean" of Catholic theologians in the United States, and he exemplifies the attributes that the Veritas Medal honors.

Cardinal Dulles is presently the Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society at Fordham University, a position he has held since 1988. Previously he taught at Woodstock College and Catholic University of America, in addition to serving as visiting professor at many other eminent universities, including the Gregorian University, the University of Notre Dame, Oxford University, and Yale University.

The author of over 750 articles on theological topics, he has published over twenty books displaying his extraordinary theological competence and range, among them Models of the Church, Models of Revelation, The Catholicity of the Church, The Craft of Theology, The Assurance of Things Hoped For, The Splendor of Faith: The Theological Vision of Pope John Paul II, The New World of Faith, and The History of Apologetics. His new book The Magisterium will appear this Spring from Sapientia Press of Ave Maria University.

He was named a Cardinal of the Catholic Church by Pope John Paul II.

GEORGE WIEGEL
2006 recipient

The Aquinas Center is pleased to announce the inaugural recipient of the Veritas Medal, Professor George Weigel. George Weigel is a Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center. He is the author of Witness to Hope: The Biography of John Paul II and most recently of God’s Choice: Pope Benedict XVI and the Future of the Catholic Church. His other books include Catholicism and the Renewal of American Democracy, The Final Revolution: The Resistance Church and the Collapse of Communism,Soul of the World: Notes on the Future of Public Catholicism, The Truth of Catholicism: Ten Controversies Explored, The Courage To Be Catholic: Crisis, Reform, and the Future of the Church, Letters to a Young Catholic, The Cube and the Cathedral: Europe, America, and Politics Without God, Tranquillitas Ordinis: The Present Failure and Future Promise of American Catholic Thought on War and Peace, among others. Click here to view all of his books.

Professor Weigel received the 2006 Veritas Medal before his keynote address to the John Paul II and the Holy Land conference on February 8, 2006.