William J. Byron

William J. Byron

Columnist and former president, Catholic University

The Reverend William J. Byron, S.J., a former president of Catholic University, is on leave this year from his position as research professor at the Sellinger School of Business and Management, Loyola College in Maryland to serve as president of St. Joseph's Preparatory School in Philadelphia. The “On Faith” panelist served as interim president of Loyola University , New Orleans in 2003-04 and for three years prior to that, was pastor of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Washington , D.C. From 1992 to 2000, he taught "Social Responsibilities of Business" at Georgetown University , where he was Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Ethics and served as rector of the Georgetown Jesuit Community. He was president of Catholic University for a decade (1982-92). Byron writes a syndicated bi-weekly column, Looking Around , for Catholic News Service, and is the author of a dozen books, including A Book of Quiet Prayer (2006); The Power of Principles: Ethics in the New Corporate Culture (2006) and Answers from Within: Spiritual Guidelines for Managing Setbacks in Work and Life (1998) . A founding director and past chairman of Bread for the World , Byron was also named the 1999 recipient of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities' Theodore M. Hesburgh Award for his contributions to the advancement of Catholic higher education. In that same year, he received the Council of Independent Colleges' Academic Leadership Award. Byron, who holds a doctorate in economics as well as theology degrees, served in the U.S. Army's 508 th Parachute Infantry Regiment before entering the Jesuit order in 1950. He was ordained a priest in 1961. Close.

William J. Byron

Columnist and former president, Catholic University

The Reverend William J. Byron, S.J., a former president of Catholic University, is on leave this year from his position as research professor at the Sellinger School of Business and Management, Loyola College in Maryland to serve as president of St. Joseph's Preparatory School in Philadelphia. more »

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November 28, 2006 12:30 PM

Praise More Desirable Now Than Condemnation

I've often remarked that every pope needs a good editor. Most papal encyclicals are too long and the typical papal message is often too wordy and sometimes short on clarity.

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Posted by William J. Byron | | Comments (474)




December 19, 2006 9:45 AM

Christmas Decorations Should Be A Reminder

America is a nation populated for the most part by Christians, but that is not to say America is a Christian nation. Values like love, peace, and justice--Christian values all--are not exclusively Christian values.

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Posted by William J. Byron | | Comments (119)




February 20, 2007 5:05 PM

Unloving Critics and Uncritical Lovers

Can you be critical of Israel without being anti-Semitic? Sure. It is a question of both substance and style.

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Posted by William J. Byron | | Comments (781)




May 10, 2007 9:18 AM

Revolution of the Heart

A revolution is a turnaround. Any social turnaround involves a change in shared attitudes and corresponding group behavior.

When Jesus. a social revolutionary, proclaimed that "the kingdom of God is at hand" (Mark 1:14), he added, "repent, therefore, and believe the Gospel." Repentance here--metanoia in Greek--means an attitudinal turnaround, a change of heart and mind. The fact that the kingdom has been "at hand" and not yet fully grasped for more than twenty centuries suggests the absence of the desired turnaround; the revolution is still ongoing.

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Posted by William J. Byron | | Comments (24)




November 2, 2007 2:23 PM

An Assault on the Common Good

This question is not an either or; it is a both/and. Parents and society are responsible for the health care of children. Their good health is a requirement of the common good. The fact that so many children in this country at this moment have no health insurance and no ready access to the health care they need is, in my view, an assault on the common good.

It is simplistic and simply false to say that government-sponsored or subsidized health insurance for children is socialism or socialized medicine. Those who propose a single-payer solution are not suggesting that hospitals be owned by government, nor are they saying that physicians, nurses, and other health care providers would be employees of the state. Government involvement in the provision of health insurance is not the same as government ownership and control of healthcare facilities and providers.

Parents have a right to expect assistance from their government in meeting their responsibilities to provide for the health of their children.

Posted by William J. Byron | | Comments (10)


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