Baltimore Speakers List

2008 Speaker Line-up

	Fr. David Engo OFM Cap. is a Capuchin Franciscan Priest from the Province of St. Augustine. He is currently a pastoral assistant at St. John the Evangelist parish in Philadelphia, PA. Fr. Engo has worked in youth evangelization for twenty years, as a high school chaplain, a hospital chaplain, a popular preacher of parish missions and the Forty-hours Devotion, as well as a pastoral associate. He has been actively involved with Capuchin Youth and Family Ministries Retreat Center, Youth 2000, Worship His Awesome Majesty, and Together in Christ. He has also been actively involved in the Right to Life movement, founding a chapter of Teens For Life and participating in Operation Rescue. Most recently, Father Engo has been featured in the internationally acclaimed DVD Fishers of Men, by the U.S. Bishop's Conference.
	Fr. Jerry Francik is Director of Vocations for the Archdiocese of Baltimore. He earned his B.A. in Mass Communication from Towson State University with a Minor in Music, his Bachelor of Sacred Theology and Master of Divinity from St. Mary Seminary and University and his MA in Christian Spirituality with a Certificate in Spiritual Direction from Creighton University. Fr. Francik has served at All Saints Parish, Northwest; St. Joseph Parish, Texas; and at the Msgr. O'Dwyer Retreat House as Retreat Director for schools and parishes providing retreats for Young People and Young Adults. In 2000 he left Mount St. Mary's College and Seminary where he was Chaplain and Director of Campus Ministry, to serve in the Vocation Office. In addition to his ministry in the Vocation Office he works as a Spiritual Director.
	Dr. Peter Kreeft is a Catholic apologist for Christianity, professor of philosophy at Boston College and The King’s College, and author of over 45 books including Fundamentals of the Faith, Everything you Ever Wanted to Know about Heaven, and Back to Virtue. His ideas draw heavily from religious and philosophical tradition, especially Thomas Aquinas, Socrates, G.K. Chesterton and C.S. Lewis. Kreeft is especially known for his writings on Socratic logic, the sea, angels, Pascal, and Heaven, as well as his work on the Problem of Evil for which he was interviewed by Lee Strobel in his bestseller, The Case for Faith. His essay "The Apple Argument Against Abortion" is influential in pro-life movements.
	Most Rev. W. Francis Malooly Western Vicar Titular Bishop of Flumenzer - Archdiocese of Baltimore Bishop W. Francis Malooly was ordained an Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of Baltimore at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen on March 1, 2001. Cardinal William H. Keeler, Archbishop of Baltimore, appointed him at that time to the concurrent position of Western Vicar for the 38 parishes and six missions in Allegany, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett, Howard, and Washington counties in Maryland. He retains appointments as Moderator of the Curia and Vicar General. Bishop Malooly was born in Baltimore, Maryland on January 18, 1944. He attended elementary school at St. Ursula in nearby Parkville. Responding early to a call to the priesthood, he attended secondary and undergraduate school at St. Charles in Catonsville (now closed), followed by seminary training at St. Mary (Paca Street, now closed) and St. Mary, Roland Park (now St. Mary's Seminary & University). He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Baltimore by his uncle, the late Bishop T. Austin Murphy, at the St. Ursula parish church on May 9, 1970. Parish assignments included appointments as Associate Pastor at St. Joseph, Texas in 1970 and St. Anthony of Padua, Baltimore in 1976. He was Associate Administrator, then Administrator, at the CYO Retreat House (now Monsignor O'Dwyer Retreat House) in Sparks, Maryland from 1981-1984. In 1984, Bishop Malooly became Director of Clergy Personnel for the Archdiocese of Baltimore. He was appointed Chancellor and Vicar General in 1989. In 1990 he was named Prelate of Honor to the Holy Father with title of Monsignor. He is a member of the Knights of Malta. In April of 1999, he was awarded the President's Medal by St. Mary's Seminary & University for his long service to the school and to the people, priests, and bishops of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. In 2006 he received the Cardinal Shehan Award given by the Archdiocesan Youth Office. On May 21, 2006 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters by Mount Saint Mary's University, Emmitsburg, Maryland. He presently serves on the Board of Trustees of Good Samaritan Hospital, St. Mary's Seminary and University, and Mount St. Mary's University.
	Barbara Nicolosi has an MA in Television and Film from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. She is an adjunct professor of screenwriting at Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, CA. Ms. Nicolosi is the founding director of Act One, Inc, a non-profit training and formation program for Hollywood writers and executives. Now in its sixth year, Act One keynotes artistry, professionalism, ethics and Christian spirituality. A screenwriter herself, Ms. Nicolosi wrote The Work, a full-length feature set during the Spanish Civil War, for IMMI Pictures in Hollywood and is co-writing Myriam with Benedict Fitzgerald (The Passion of the Christ) for a Beverly Hills production company. Ms. Nicolosi was Director of Project Development at Paulist Productions in Los Angeles for 2 years. From 1996 to 1999, she was the coordinator of Open Call, a fellowship and formation organization for Catholics in the entertainment industry. She has been a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts, and a judge for the Humanitas Prize. Ms. Nicolosi is the co-editor with Spencer Lewerenz of the 2005 Baker Books publication, Behind the Screen: Hollywood Insiders on Faith, Film, and Culture. Her articles have appeared in many periodicals including Liguorian, Christian Single, Cahtolic Parent, Religion Teachers Journal, Leaves, Christianity and the Arts, Catholic Answer and Canticle. Ms. Nicolosi has been featured in a variety of mainstream media including CBS, NPR, Newsweek and The New York Times. She is on the executive committee of the City of the Angels Film Festival and the board of Catholics in Media. She frequently addresses writers' conferences on screenwriting and the arts.
	Most Rev. Edwin Frederick O'Brien 15th Archbishop of Baltimore Motto: Pastores Dabo Vobis "I will give you shepherds" -Jeremiah 3:15 Edwin Frederick O'Brien was born April 8, 1939 in the Bronx, New York, son of Edwin Frederick O'Brien, Sr. and Mary Winifred O'Brien. He was one of three children, including brothers Ken and Tom (now both deceased). He attended St. Joseph's Seminary, Dunwoodie, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1961, a Master of Divinity in 1964, and a Master of Arts degree in 1965. He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of New York on May 29, 1965 by Francis Cardinal Spellman. His first assignment was as a civilian chaplain at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. He would later be commissioned to become a military chaplain and in 1970, he officially became an Army Chaplain with the rank of Captain, serving with the 82nd Airborne Division. >From 1971 to 1972, he served a tour of duty in Vietnam with the 173rd Airborne Brigade and 1st Cavalry Brigade. From a base of operations in the middle of a jungle, he and a Protestant minister flew by helicopter to defensive outposts where they would provide for the spiritual needs of the soldiers. In 1973, he left the military and began his doctoral studies at Rome's Angelicum University. While preparing for his doctorate in sacred theology, Archbishop O'Brien was a graduate student at the Pontifical North American College. He studied moral theology and completed his doctoral dissertation, entitled The Origin and Development of Moral Principles in the Writings of Paul Ramsey, in 1976. He returned to continue his service to the Archdiocese of New York, serving as vice-chancellor for the Archdiocese and associate pastor at St. Patrick's Cathedral. In 1979 he coordinated Pope John Paul II's visit to New York and for two years served as communications director for the Archdiocese. In 1986, he was elevated to Monsignor and served two terms as rector of St. Joseph's Seminary from 1985-1989 and 1994-1997. From 1990-1994, he served as rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome. On February 6, 1996, he was named Auxiliary Bishop of New York and bishop of the titular see of Thizica. He was consecrated by Cardinal John O'Connor at St. Patrick's Cathedral on March 25, 1996. On April 7 of the following year, he was named co-adjutor bishop for the Archdiocese for the Military Services and on August 12, 1997, he succeeded as archbishop. The Archdiocese for the Military Services serves 1.5 million Catholics including all U.S. Armed Forces and their families as well as 170 Veterans Administration hospitals and U.S. Government employees overseas. From September 2005 to June 2006, he served as the Holy See's coordinator for the Papal Visitation of Seminaries and Houses of Priestly Formation and this spring was appointed a member of the Congregation for Catholic Education and Seminaries. On July 12, 2007, his appointment as Archbishop of Baltimore by Pope Benedict XVI was announced. He succeeded Cardinal William H. Keeler, who served as the 14th Archbishop of the nation's oldest diocese from 1989-2007, whose resignation was accepted having reached the age limit.
	Matthew Pinto is the founder and president of Ascension Press and Luminous Media, a co-founder of CatholicExchange.com and Envoy Magazine, and a best-selling author of a variety of works including Did Adam and Eve have Belly Buttons?, the creator of the Friendly Defenders Catholic Flash Cards, co-editor of the Amazing Grace Series, and co-author of A Guide to the Passion: 100 Questions About the Passion of the Christ. He has appeared on numerous television and radio programs explaining and defending the Catholic Faith, and has conducted seminars on a variety of Catholic issues throughout the country. Matt and his wife, Maryanne, live in Pennsylvania, and are the parents of four boys. For more information about Matt and his company, visit www.ascensionpress.com.
	James B. Stenson is a writer and educational consultant based in Boston. He was co-founder of The Heights School in Washington, DC, and a founder and headmaster of Northridge Preparatory School in suburban Chicago. Using his twenty years of experience with families, he has written Upbringing, Lifeline, Anchor, Compass, Father: the Family Protector and other works for parents. His books have been translated into ten languages. He has lectured to groups throughout the United States, Canada, England, Ireland, Australia, Singapore, and other countries. His website, which presents practical advice for parents, is www.parentleadership.com. He has also worked as an editor with Science Books: A Quarterly Review, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, publishers of Science magazine, as an editor with Arthur D. Little Corporation, a management and technical consulting firm and as a consultant for the National Endowment for the Humanities, Washington, DC.
	Dr. Elizabeth Kreeft Turcic received her Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from Regent University. She holds an MA in Psychology with a Concentration in Marriage and Family Studies from Boston University and a BA from Boston College. She has worked with a variety of children, adolescents and families with different mental health concerns, including trauma, personality disorders, substance abuse and eating disorders. Her research interests include the integration of faith and clinical practice, trauma recovery, sibling relationships, and Catholic responses to same sex attraction. Dr. Turcic has been married for five years and has one child.