Clergy, religious and lay Catholics to provide insight on new pontiff

Contact: Lisa Wheeler, 770-591-0045; Kevin Wandra, 404-788-1276 

ATLANTA, March 13, 2013 /Christian Newswire/ -- Prominent Catholic experts are available to discuss the election of Pope Francis (Jorge Bergoglio). It's a historic moment for the Catholic Church, as Pope Francis is the first Pope to come from the Americas and the first Jesuit. A sampling of experts (some of which are in Rome) available to discuss the election of Pope Francis include:

• Jesuit Father Joseph Fessio, founder and editor of Ignatius Press, the primary English-language publisher of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's writings and the publisher of Catholic World Report;
   
• Mark Brumley, president and CEO of Ignatius Press, and author of "How Not to Share Your Faith"
   
• Russell Shaw is a widely published author and journalist who has written twenty books, including Nothing to Hide: Secrecy, Communication, and Communion in the Catholic Church. Shaw directed media relations for the US Bishops Conference for 18 years. His latest book, American Church: The Remarkable Rise, Meteoric Fall and Uncertain Future of Catholicism in America is out this month.
   
• Dr. James Hitchcock, noted historian and longtime professor at St. Louis University in St. Louis, Mo. Dr. Hitchcock is currently in Rome. He has written numerous books, including The Supreme Court and Religion in American Life; The Recovery of the Sacred; and Catholicism and Modernity: Confrontation or Capitulation? His most recent book is titled History of the Catholic Church, and is the definitive guide on the Church in the third millennium -- the longest-enduring institution in the world;
   
• Carl Olson, editor of CatholicWorldReport.com and author of The Da Vinci Hoax and Will Catholics Be Left Behind? Olson is a popular blogger on all things Catholic.
   
• Ann Carey, author of the soon-to-be-published Sisters in Crisis Revisited: From Unraveling to Renewal and Reform (May 2013), in which she examines the crisis among women's religious orders in the United States, most specifically the continuing doctrinal confusion that has come under the scrutiny of the Vatican.
   
• Colleen Carroll Campbell, author, print and broadcast journalist, and former presidential speechwriter. She writes an op-ed column on religion, politics, and women's issues for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, blogs on those subjects for The New York Times and The Washington Post; and comments about them on such networks as FOX News, CNN, and PBS. Her most recent book is My Sisters, the Saints.
   
• Dr. Pia de Solenni, cultural commentator and expert on the Church's position on issues related to gender, same-sex marriage and the celibate priesthood;
   
• Fr. Robert Gahl, Associate Professor of Ethics in the School of Philosophy of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, Italy.
   
• Fr. Roger Landry (currently in Rome) is an expert on many aspects of the Catholic Church including Vatican developments, papal writings, and encyclicals. He can speak on how this new pontificate may impact the controversial topics that impact the Church in the view of the media, including the Church's sex abuse response, the role of women in the Church, to the demographic shifts in Catholicism, etc.
   
• Fr. Dwight Longenecker is a married Catholic priest. He has written over fifteen books and booklets on Catholic spirituality, apologetics and prayer and has authored hundreds of articles, which have been published in newspapers, magazines, websites and journals in the USA and the UK. His popular blog published at the Catholic portal at Patheos is called Standing on My Head.
   
• Mother Assumpta Long, Prioress General of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in Ann Arbor. Her community was formed in 1997 and in the last 16 years the Community has grown from four Sisters to over 115.
   
• And more

Contact Lisa Wheeler (770-591-0045) or LWheeler@CarmelCommunications.com) or Kevin Wandra (404-788-1276) or KWandra@CarmelCommunications.com) of Carmel Communications to schedule interviews.