Rev. Msgr. John Radano , Ph.D.
Adjunct Professor of Systematic Theology
Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology
(973) 761-9575
Email
Rev. Msgr. John Radano, Ph.D.
Adjunct Professor of Systematic Theology
School of Theology
Monsignor John A. Radano was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark in 1965.
Appointed to the faculty of Seton Hall University, he served in the Department of
Religious Studies from 1965-1984, also as its chairman from 1977-1984, specializing
in ecumenical studies.
During these years as a faculty member at the University, his many ecumenical activities
included participation in the North American Academy of Ecumenists, with three years
(1981-83) as Membership Secretary/ Treasurer, and co-director of an Ecumenical Studies
Institute co-sponsored by Seton Hall University and Upsala College, which organized
ecumenical lecture programs at both institutions (1973-1975). In addition, he participated
in two international assemblies of the World Conference on Religion and Peace (Princeton,
New Jersey, 1979, and Nairobi, Kenya, 1984), with the responsibility of organizing
prayer sessions at those assemblies. He also served as member of the Pax Romana (a Catholic NGO) delegation at the United Nations (1975-79), and head of the delegation
(1977-79). He attended, in an NGO capacity, the first UNO world conferences on Population
(1974, Bucharest, Romania), and on Human Settlements (1976, Canada).
From 1984-2008, he served in the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
(PCPCU), Vatican City, and in 1985, Pope John Paul II appointed him as head of that
Pontifical Council’s Western Section. He participated there in a number of the Catholic
Church’s international bilateral dialogues with other world Christian communions,
including those with Lutherans, Reformed, Baptists, Mennonites, Classical Pentecostals
and Evangelicals. In 1985, the PCPCU named him liaison with the Commission on Faith
and Order of the World Council of Churches, and member, in 1988, of the Joint Working
Group between the Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches.
Monsignor Radano was honored with the publication of a Festschrift entitled Towards Unity, Ecumenical Dialogue 500 Years After the Reformation, Essays in Honor
of Monsignor John A. Radano, edited by Donald Bolen, Nicholas Jesson, and Donna Geernaert, S.C., introduction
by Cardinal Walter Kasper, New York/Mahwah: Paulist Press, and Toronto: Novalis
Publishing Company, 2017.
In 2018, Monsignor Radano was appointed by the Commission on Faith and Order, World Council of Churches, to the Editorial Advisory Board of the Faith and Order Papers Digital Edition.
Publications include:
Monsignor Radano is the Editor of the PCPCU’s Information Service (1985-2008). His articles have appeared in the New Catholic Encyclopedia (Jubilee Volume, the Wojtlya Years), the Dictionary of the Ecumenical Movement, Personenlexikon Ökumene, and in journals such as Midstream, Ecumenical Trends, The Journal of Ecumenical Studies, One in Christ, Religious Studies Review, Angelicum, Marian Studies, Catholica, Centro Pro Unione (semi-annual Bulletin), Priests and People, Messagero Cappucino and U.S. Catholic Historian. He has published numerous articles in L’Osservatore Romano and in a number of World Council of Churches publications, as well as contributing articles to books edited by others. These include
"Willebrands, the Churches of the West, and the World Council of Churches; a Roman
Catholic Assessment," in Adelbert Denaux and Peter DeMay, editors, The Ecumenical Legacy of Johannes Cardinal Willebrands (1909-2006). Leuven, Paris, Walpole, MA; Peeters, 2012, 187-209.
Msgr. Radano has also published several books. See "Scholarship" section below for
more information on these books.
Other Teaching Experience:
Monsignor Radano has served as Scholar in Residence, Spring semester, 2010, at St.
Paul Seminary School of Divinity, University of St. Thomas (St. Paul, Minnesota);
Adjunct Professor at St. Joseph Seminary, Dunwoodie, Yonkers, New York, Fall semesters
2009, 2010, 2011; “Professore Invitato” (Visiting Professor) at The Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (The Angelicum),
Rome, 2009-2010; has lectured at the University of Notre Dame (March 27-28, 2009).
Ecclesiastical Appointments:
In 1986, Pope John Paul II appointed him Papal Chaplain, and in 1993, Prelate of Honor.
In 2008, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Protonotary Apostolic Supernumerary.
Education
- Ph.D. (Systematic Theology), Aquinas Institute of Theology, Dubuque, 1971
- M.A. (Theology), University of San Francisco, 1968
- S.T.B., The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., 1965
- B.Sc. (American History), St. Peter's College, Jersey City, NJ, 1959
Scholarship
- Pope Paul VI--Ecumenical Pioneer, Ecumenical Trends 48, no. 4 (April 2019): 1-15.
- Celebrating a Century of Ecumenism, Exploring the Achievements of International Dialogue, edited by John A. Radano. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2012.
- Lutheran and Catholic Reconciliation on Justification. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009.
- The Unity of the Church as Koinonia: Ecumenical Perspectives on the 1991 Canberra Statement on Unity, Faith and Order, co-edited by Günther Gassmann and John A. Radano. Paper no.163. Geneva: WCC Publications, 1993.
Accomplishments
Lectures include:
- The Third Annual Graymoor Lecture, May 14, 2009, NYC (“Ecumenical Dialogue in the 21st Century, Some Steps Forward , and Some Continuing Concerns” A Catholic Perspective” published in Ecumenical Trends, November 2009);
- The John M. Oesterreicher Lecture, October 24, 2009, Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ (“Johannes Cardinal Willebrands 1909-2006: A Life Dedicated to Reconciliation.”); and
- The Archbishop John Ireland Lecture, April 20, 2010, St. Paul Seminary, University of St.Thomas, St. Paul, MN (“From Reformation and Counter-Reformation to Reconciliation? Approaching the Year 2017 with an Ecumenical Perspective.”).
- The Annual Ss. Cyril and Methodius Lecture, May 6, 2013, sponsored by the Byzantine Catholic Seminary, Pittsburgh, PA ("Continuing Reconciliation Between Orthodox and Catholics; Key to Ecumenical Progress in the 21st Century")
Ph.D. Dissertation Reader:
Msgr. Radano was invited by Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA, to be the third (outside) reader for the Ph.D. dissertation of Karen Jorgenson Murphy ("'On Becoming a Christian'; the Fifth Quinquennium of the International Roman Catholic-Pentecostal Dialogue in Historical-Theological Perspective"), Spring 2013.
Participation in Dialogue:
Msgr. Radano is a member of the 8th Round of the National Catholic-Reformed Dialogue, appointed by the Bishop's Committee for Ecumenical and Interfaith Affairs, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC (2012-present).