[Blog] Perkins in the News
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The Tablet Includes Faculty Member Frederick Aquino Working Behind the Scenes of a Vatican Process
On November 1, 2025, Pope Leo XIV declared St. John Henry Newman the 38th Doctor of the Church, naming him an example for future generations seeking to contribute to research.
Frederick D. Aquino, Professor of Systematic Theology at Perkins, was part of the team that gathered documentation for the Positio submitted by the National Institute for Newman Studies. Aquino was one of only two non-Catholic scholars on the team.
Learn more about Aquino’s work and his recounting of the event in our blog.
Read more about the official declaration from November 1, 2025.
Bridwell Library’s Elisa McCune Featured by NPR for Expertise on Rare German Bible
Elisa McCune, Special Collections and Integrative Projects Librarian at Bridwell Library, was recently featured in an NPR story about a rare German Bible discovered in South Texas. McCune earned her M.A. in the History of the Book from the University of London, where she wrote her thesis on this same Bible, originally found in her hometown of Boerne.
At Bridwell, she digitizes special collections, manages digital exhibits, and serves as production manager for Bridwell Press publications. Her deep knowledge of book history and extensive experience with rare Bibles made her an invaluable source for the NPR feature.
DMN Features Perkins Staff and GPRS Alumni Participating in Historic Vatican Visit
Anthony Elia, a member of the Bridwell Library staff, joined alumni of the SMU Graduate Program in Religious Studies (GPRS) for a private audience at the Vatican, held in conjunction with the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea.
Among the attendees were Dr. Paul Gavrilyuk (GPRS 2004); Dr. David Watson (GPRS 2005), President of Asbury Seminary; Dr. Sergei Nikolaev (GPRS 2005); Dr. Justus Hunter (GPRS 2015), Associate Professor of Church History at United Theological Seminary; and others.
The audience—an exceptional honor—opened a dialogue on Christian unity and shared traditions, including discussions about aligning the Eastern and Western dates of Easter.
It was a distinct honor to have Perkins and SMU represented in this historic gathering, which was featured in Dallas Morning News.
Perkins Professor Featured in The New York Times on Texas’ Probe of Muslim Communities
Dr. Robert Hunt was recently featured in The New York Times in a story examining Texas’ investigation into Muslim communities. In the article, Hunt emphasized that bodies like the “Islamic Tribunal” reflect the complexities of practicing religion within a secular legal system. Read the feature in The New York Times.