Monica Marcelli-Chu joined the Jesuit School of Theology as Assistant Professor of Theological Ethics in 2023. She received her Ph.D. in Theological Studies at Regis College, the Jesuit school at the University of Toronto, in 2022. She also holds an S.T.L. and M.Div. from Regis College, and a B.A. in English and History from York University. She was previously Lecturer in Religious Studies at King’s University College at Western University in London, Ontario (2019-20).
Her research areas are in the foundations of moral theology and Catholic social teaching. She dialogues between medieval theology, especially the thought of Thomas Aquinas, and contemporary moral questions. Currently, she is pursuing work in two areas: first, on the gifts of the Holy Spirit for moral action, and how this broadens conceptions of human agency; and second, on the concept of the common good in relation to integral ecology.
Monica teaches both foundational and applied topics in theological ethics, and invites students into critical conversation around texts and issues. Her teaching is informed by her ministry experience in diverse settings, and Ignatian pedagogy and formation.
- Healthcare Ethics
- Common Good and Human Rights
- Virtue, Grace, and Moral Agency
- Ecological Ethics: Theological Approaches
Articles:
- Forthcoming. “Local and Global: An Analogical Approach to God, Neighbor, and Indigenous Reconciliation in Pope Francis.” The Journal of Catholic Social Thought 21, no. 1 (2024).
- “Moved by the Spirit: Patterning the Gifts on the Passions in Aquinas.” The Thomist 86, no. 2 (2022): 273–97.
Conference Papers:
- “Turning Toward the Local and Global: Development in Catholic Social Teaching on Human, Environmental, and Common Good,” Globalization and the New World Order, Annual Lonergan Colloquium, Marquette University (March 1, 2024)
- “‘Be Like Sheep’: The Analogical and Pedagogical Relationship Between Humans and Other Animals in Aquinas,” American Academy of Religion, Animals and Religion Unit and History of Christianity Unit, San Antonio (November 18-21, 2023)
- “Prayer, Priesthood of the Faithful, and the Moral Life in Pope Francis,” Pope Francis and the Future of the Church: Prospects and Challenges for Renewal Conference, St. Mark’s College, Vancouver (May 4-6, 2023)
- “Integral Ecology, Alterity, and the Good that is Common,” Society of Christian Ethics, Chicago (January 5-8, 2023)
- “Analogy as Spiritual Exercise: Fruitful Tension in Laudato Si and Fratelli Tutti,” Life, Solidarity, Fraternity: The Consistent Ethic in Light of Fratelli Tutti, Symposium at the Bernardin Center at Catholic Theological Union, Chicago (September 17-18, 2022)
- “Getting to the Heart of Habit: Aquinas’ Use of Mean and Instinct in the Infused Virtues and Gifts,” 57th International Congress on Medieval Studies, Thomistic Philosophy Consultation, Western Michigan University (May 9-14, 2022, online)