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Father McManus to Assist Archbishop in Interreligious Relations Father Dennis McManus, a professor with extensive experience in interreligious relations, will serve as assistant to Archbishop Dolan, primarily in the areas of theological work and advice, initiatives in Jewish and Muslim affairs, and in related writing, the Archbishop's Office has announced. The appointment was effective Jan. 1. In the fall, Father McManus will also take on a teaching assignment at St. Joseph's Seminary, Dunwoodie. Father McManus, a priest of the Archdiocese of Mobile, Ala., received permission from Archbishop Thomas Rodi of Mobile to be released from his full-time appointment at Georgetown University, where he was visiting professor with courses in systematic theology, interreligious studies and medieval Latin literature. He had served at Georgetown for 13 years. From 2007 to 2009 he was visiting professor at Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C., and also served in 2008 as a member of the Vatican-Jewish dialogue team. He holds a doctorate in patrology from Drew University and a master's in historical ethics from Georgetown. He received a bachelor's in classical languages and philosophy from St. Mary's College in California. Father McManus was ordained to the priesthood in 2004. He served as associate director of the Secretariat for the Liturgy at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 1997-2005. He is consultant to the USCCB Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs where he assists in Catholic-Muslim and Catholic-Jewish relations. He belongs to the USCCB dialogue with the Reformed Churches and the Vatican dialogue with Baptist Churches, and is a member of the pontifical Vox Clara Commission of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. He directed the Intercultural Forum at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, D.C., which specializes in interreligious dialogue. He held the Smilow Chair in Catholic-Jewish Relations there in 2005-2006. Father McManus was managing editor of Paulist Press' "Ancient Christian Writers" series, a patristics publication of more than 50 volumes. From 1993 to 2006 he was vice president of the Stimulus Foundation of New York, which publishes major works dealing with the Jewish-Christian dialogue. Together with Rabbi Leon Klenicki, now deceased, he was co-editor of a series from the Stimulus Foundation, "The Word Set Free: Preaching the Lectionary Free of Anti-Judaism." | |