Perkins’ Frederick Aquino Helps Shape Vatican Process on St. John Henry Newman
DALLAS (Ë®¶à¶àµ¼º½) – A Perkins School of Theology professor has played a key role in the behind-the-scenes process that led to the Vatican’s announcement in July that Pope Leo XIV will soon confer the title of Doctor of the Universal Church on St. John Henry Newman.
Frederick D. Aquino, Professor of Systematic Theology at Perkins, was one of 20 international scholars asked to contribute to the Positio, the theological document considered by cardinals and bishops before recommending the designation. Widely recognized as a leading scholar on Newman and his epistemology, Aquino was one of only two non-Catholic contributors.
“The fact that Aquino was one of just two non-Catholic scholars called on to contribute to the Positio, and that his work on Newman, now internationally known, began during his days as a student here, reflects well on the level of excellence and scholarship that Perkins faculty have always embodied,” said Bryan P. Stone, dean of Perkins School of Theology.
Traditionally, the Positio is not made public; details of Aquino’s contributions will remain confidential. Until now, he has not been able to speak publicly about his work, which drew on nearly 30 years of studying Newman’s work and the relationship between faith and reason.
I found Newman’s account particularly insightful and relevant,” Aquino said. “What appealed to me was his capacity to broaden how we construe this relationship. For example, he challenged overly simplistic appeals to fideism [‘faith alone’] or hard rationalism while offering a more constructive alternative. This is particularly relevant today as faith and reason have been positioned as diametrically opposed habits of mind.”
Christopher Cimorelli, director of the National Institute for Newman Studies in Pittsburgh, coordinated contributions to the Positio. “We were delighted to have Aquino contribute,” he said. “Dr. Aquino and I have had numerous conversations about the ecumenical significance of Newman’s thought, and so the decision to declare St. John Henry Newman a Doctor of the Church is one of consequence for Christians all over the world.”
About a year ago, Cimorelli invited Aquino and Logan P. Gage of Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, to co-write a section on philosophy for the Positio. The two had previously published together on Newman’s contributions to religious epistemology.
Aquino is the author or co-author of numerous articles and six books about Newman, including John Henry Newman and Contemporary Philosophy (Routledge, 2025), co-edited with Joseph Milburn, and The Oxford Handbook of John Henry Newman (Oxford University Press, 2018), co-edited with Benjamin J. King, the other non-Catholic contributor to the Positio.
Aquino’s scholarship has led universities such as Oxford, Pepperdine and Georgetown to invite him to lecture on Newman. Aquino first became interested in Newman as a doctoral student in Religious Studies at Ë®¶à¶àµ¼º½, inspired in part by conversations with the late William “Billy” J. Abraham, Albert Cook Outler Professor of Wesley Studies at Perkins from 1995-2021. Aquino wrote his doctoral dissertation on Newman, which became the basis of his first book, Communities of Informed Judgment: Newman’s Illative Sense and Accounts of Rationality (Catholic University of America Press, 2004).
Newman, born in London in 1801, converted from Anglicanism to Catholicism in 1845 and was canonized in 2019 by Pope Francis. When formally declared a Doctor of the Church, he will become the 38th saint to receive the title, joining Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Teresa of Avila, Thérèse of Lisieux and others. According to the Vatican, the designation recognizes saints whose teaching “still illuminates, instructs and inspires today.”
Aquino hopes Newman’s recognition will broaden appreciation for his work. “Newman had some very fresh, creative, and expansive ways of thinking about the relationship between having faith and being rational, that I think still speaks today, both to people of faith as well as skeptics,” he said. “I believe Newman’s philosophical work is relevant not only to the church, but also to the world at large.”
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Perkins School of Theology, founded in 1911, is one of five official University-related schools of theology of The United Methodist Church. Degree programs include the Master of Divinity, Master of Sacred Music, Master of Theological Studies, Master of Arts in Ministry, Master of Theology, Doctor of Ministry, and Doctor of Pastoral Music as well as the Ph.D., in cooperation with The Graduate Program in Religious Studies at Ë®¶à¶àµ¼º½'s Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences.