Jeffrey P. Froula, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Moral Theology / Chair of Moral Theology
Bio
Originally from Yuba City, CA (Diocese of Sacramento), Dr. Froula received his B.A. in Liberal Arts from Thomas Aquinas College, an M.A. in Theology with an Emphasis on Marriage and the Family from the International Theological Institute in Gaming, Austria, and his Ph.D. (major in Systematic Theology, minor in Moral Theology) from Ave Maria University. His scholarly interests include the theology of Thomas Aquinas, the theology of Christian perfection, and the relationship between moral and systematic theology. It has long been his dream to teach at a Catholic seminary, and he considers it an honor and a privilege to participate in the great work of forming future priests.
Conference/Workshop Presentation
“The Coherence of the Principles of Catholic Social Teaching as Developed by the Magisterium,” Development of Doctrine: Revelation, Magisterium, and Human Reason, Rochester NY, Sponsored by The Sacra Doctrina Project and Co-sponsored with St. Bernard’s Schools of Theology and Ministry, June 12, 2021.
“Hope and its Twofold Object,” Hope and Death, Ave Maria University, sponsored by the Aquinas Center, February 13, 2021.
“Revelation, Faith, and Theology in St. Thomas Aquinas,” Aquinas the Biblical Theologian, Ave Maria University, sponsored by the Aquinas Center & the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, February 7, 2019.
“Christological Continuity in Ignatius of Antioch and Thomas Aquinas,” Thomas Aquinas and the Greek Fathers, Ave Maria University, Ave Maria Florida, January 26-27, 2018.
“Nuns ‘Who Would Be Mary and Martha’: Action and Contemplation in Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity,” Mother Teresa and the Mystics: Toward a Renewal of Spiritual Theology, Ave Maria University, Ave Maria Florida, February 11, 2017.
Selected Publications
“Lessons from Humanae Vitae on Priestly Formation,” CANFP: A Quarterly Publication of the California Association of Natural Family Planning, Summer 2020.
“Hope: A Virtue for Our Time” Homiletic and Pastoral Review, Coauthored with Katie Froula, November 25, 2020.
“Lumen Fidei and the Indispensability of God’s Love for us as an Object of Faith,” Homiletic and Pastoral Review, (April 8, 2017).
“Aquinas on the Moral Neutrality of the Passion of Despair,” New Blackfriars, vol. 97 (May 2016).
“The Passions: Some Key Thomistic Distinctions,” Published in Thomas Aquinas: Teacher of Humanity, ed. John P. Hittinger and Daniel C. Wagner, (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2015).
“The Structure of the Summa: What it Reveals About Christ’s Role in the Moral Life,” Angelicum vol. 90.2 (2013).
Education
B.A. (Liberal Arts) – Thomas Aquinas College
M.A. (Theology) – International Theological Institute, Gaming, Austria
Ph.D. (Theology) – Ave Maria University
Dissertation: “Ave Crux Spes Unica: Saint Thomas Aquinas’s Teaching on Christ as the Source of Hope”
Academic Interests
The Theological Method and Thought of St. Thomas Aquinas; Catholic Social Teaching; Bioethics; The Theological Virtues