WASHINGTON DC: 24th May '04 --  Australian Biblical scholar and Salesian Fr. Frank Moloney received an Honorary Doctorate from St. Marys Seminary and University at Baltimore last week, in recognition of his work in biblical scholarship over many years.  Fr. Moloney is presently the Dean of the School of Theology at the Catholic University of America, Washington DC and holds the Katharine Drexel Chair of Religious Studies at the same University.

 

Frank Moloney is the author of over 30 books and a regularly sought visiting lecturer around the world.  During the Lenten season and in the wake of the release of Mel Gibson's 'The Passion of The Christ' he was invited to speak to and hold discussions on the film with the Jewish community of Washington DC.

 

Moloney's most recently published work is Mark: Storyteller, Interpreter, Evangelist (Hendrickson Publishers), an engaging reading of the Markan story that opens new vistas.  

The earliest and briefest of the four Gospels has traditionally been ascribed to a disciple named Mark. In some ages it been overshadowed by its lengthier neighbors in the New Testament, but its pages hold rich rewards for those who ask the right questions. Who was “Mark,” and what were his purposes—historical, theological, or otherwise? How does he shape his story of Jesus, and what interpretation of the origins of Christianity does that shaping reveal? More particularly, what is his understanding of his central character, Jesus of Nazareth? And finally, what abiding value does his story hold for those who read this “good news” as a key part of the charter of the Christian church in its life today? 

 

In addressing these questions, Moloney has provided, particularly in the final chapter according to Frank J. Matera, Professor of New Testament at CUA,  'the most insightful statement of Mark's accomplishment I have read'.  The book is considered likely to become a standard reference work on Mark for years to come.