Monsignor Richard Liddy, Ph.D.
Monsignor Richard Liddy, Ph.D., retired professor of Catholic thought and culture and former director of the Center for Catholic Studies at Seton Hall University, was recently interviewed by Institute for Communication and Religion Director Jon Radwan, Ph.D., where he spoke about his personal life, education and career.
Liddy was born in 1938 and grew up in West Orange, NJ, where he attended Seton Hall
Prep High School. He received a Bachelor of Arts at Seton Hall University before moving
to Italy to study at Gregorian University, where he earned his S.T.L. and Ph.D. degrees.
After seven years in Rome studying theology and philosophy, he returned home to teach
at Darlington Seminary, but shortly after went back to Rome to teach at the North
American College for four years. When he returned home for the second time, he became
the director of the Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall. He eventually became
a professor in the religion and Catholic studies departments, as well as serving as
the director of the Center for Catholic Studies.
Liddy also shared that he has recently finished writing a new book, Lead Kindly Light: Lonergan on Newman. The book discusses Saint John Henry Newman, a 19th-century priest, and Bernard Lonergan,
who was Liddy’s instructor during his time at Gregorian University in Rome. Liddy
stated that the influence these men had on his own life inspired him to write the
book.
“In the recent interview with Jon, I spoke about a book I recently finished writing.
Writing such a book is a significant moment in one’s autobiography, and much of the
interview linked the book with the rest of my life,” said Liddy about his interview
experience.
ICR Director Radwan shared some academic history to contextualize the interview. “When
Seton Hall began work on a new Core Curriculum in the mid-2000s, I volunteered to
help and found myself on a course design team co-led by Monsignor Dick Liddy. We worked
for over a year designing the first class at Seton Hall that would be required of
all students at the university. It was a monumental task, but Monsignor Liddy helped
us all pull together. I learned so much!” Radwan added, “Interviewing Dick 20 years
later was a genuine pleasure. I’m looking forward to the publication of his new book
so we can record another podcast together!”
To hear more about Liddy’s career, life and writings, find the interview on Seton
Hall’s YouTube or the ICR’s Podbean.
About the Institute for Communication and Religion
The Institute for Communication and Religion (ICR) is an affiliated unit within Seton
Hall University’s College of Human Development, Culture, and Media. Religious traditions
are primary drivers for social action across humanity’s full moral range, from care
through violence. Launched with THRUST funding in fall 2017, the ICR is an interdisciplinary
nexus for communication and media scholarship addressing the critical intersection
between religion and society. Guided by Nostra Aetate’s spirit of ecumenical and interreligious
cooperation, the Institute seeks to engage in public dialogue and debate, promote
academic inquiry, and support religious dimensions of creativity. Our values are Seton
Hall’s values: servant leadership, curricular innovation and intellectual excellence.
For more information, visit the Institute for Communication and Religion website.
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