CHESTERTON ACADEMY ADVISORY COUNCIL 

The purpose of the Advisory Council is to provide spiritual and intellectual support to Chesterton Academy and its faculty, students, and families.

Sr. Joseph Andrew Bogdanowicz, O.P.
Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist

Sister Joseph Andrew Bogdanowicz was one of four Dominican Sisters who, in 1997, founded a thriving new community of women religious, the Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist. She has served and continues to serve as Vicaress General, Secretary General, and Vocations Directress of the community. A well-known and popular speaker, Sister has given catechetical and vocations talks throughout the United States, Canada, and Austria. Notable among her many talks are: "Creating a Culture of Religious Vocations," given at the annual meeting of The Institute of Religious Life, Tampa, Florida, January 19, 2002; "The Genius of Women," given at Harvard University, November 6, 2002; "Wherever Eve Was, There Was Eden," given at Princeton University, February 2005; "Happiness," given at the University of St. Thomas, November 3, 2005. Sister has also given talks to the Society of Catholic Social Scientists, the Knights of Malta, and to countless seminarians and high school and college students. A tireless promoter of vocations, Sister has appeared on EWTN and her writings have been published in This Rock, Lay Witness, Dominican Torch, and The National Catholic Register.

Mary Ann Kuharski
Executive Director, ProLife Across America

Mary Ann Kuharski is President of ProLife Across America (The Billboard People) and a nationally known author and speaker. She has appeared on many local and national television and radio programs including the Phil Donohue Show. She was a founding member of and past president of Prolife Minnesota and an advisory board member for the National Committee for Adoption. Mrs. Kuharski's articles have appeared in Newsweek, Our Sunday Visitor, Christian Living, Catholic Digest, and many other periodicals. She is the author of Raising Catholic Children (Our Sunday Visitor 1991), Building a Legacy of Love (Queenship Publishing 1997), and Outnumbered! Raising 13 Kids with Humor and Prayer (Servant Books 2006). Mrs. Kuharski is a loving mother of 13 children (six of whom are adopted and several with special needs) and a grandmother of 12. She and her husband, John, live in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Fr. Mitchell Pacwa, S.J.
Host, EWTN; President, Ignatius Productions

Father received his B.A. in Philosophy and Theology from the University of Detroit, summa cum laude. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1976 with the Society of Jesus and then continued his studies. He received his Master of Divinity and S.T.B. from the Jesuit School of Theology of Loyola University, magna cum laude. At Vanderbilt University, he received his Master of Arts, Ph.D. in Old Testament. Father Pacwa has taught at the high school, university, and seminary levels. Being a well-known biblical scholar, he has lectured at hundreds of conferences and churches around the world, and has appeared and hosted international radio and television programs. He is best known for his appearances on EWTN. Father Pacwa is fluent in twelve languages and has a unique understanding of the peoples and cultures of the Middle East. Father's extensive travels throughout the Middle East, Europe, and the Holy Land has inspired him to write the "Holy Land Prayer Book," which has been published by his own apostolate, Ignatius Productions, and can be used as a prayer book guide for any pilgrim traveling to the Holy Land. Father Pacwa also has the privilege of being bi-ritual, which means he can also celebrate the Maronite Mass of the Eastern Catholic Church

Charles E. Rice
Professor Emeritus of Law, Notre Dame Law School

Charles E. Rice is Professor Emeritus of Law at the University of Notre Dame Law School. Professor Rice was born in 1931, received the B.A. degree from the College of the Holy Cross, the J.D. from Boston College Law School and the LL.M. and J.S.D. from New York University. He served in the Marine Corps and is a Lt. Col. in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve (Ret.). He practiced law in New York City and taught at New York University Law School and Fordham Law School before joining, in 1969, the faculty of law at Notre Dame. He served for eight years as State Vice-Chairman of the New York State Conservative Party. From 1981 to 1993, Professor Rice was a member of the Education Appeal Board of the U.S. Department of Education. He has served as a consultant to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and to various Congressional committees on constitutional issues and is an editor of the American Journal of Jurisprudence. He is a member of the governing boards of Franciscan University of Steubenville and the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN). He is also chairman of the Center for Law and Justice International in New Hope, Kentucky, and a director of the Thomas More Center for Law and Justice in Ann Arbor. He is an assistant coach of the Notre Dame Boxing Club. Professor Rice is the author of many scholarly articles and numerous books including Where Did I Come From? Where Am I Going? How Do I Get There? (St. Augustine's Press 2006), co-authored with Theresa Farnan. The Winning Side: Questions on Living the Culture of Life (St. Brendan's Institute 1999). Fifty Questions on the Natural Law: What it Is and Why We Need It (Ignatius Press 1993). He and his wife, Mary, have 10 children and 37 grandchildren. They reside in Mishawaka, Indiana.

Joseph M. Scheidler,
Director, Pro-Life Action League

"the Green Beret of the pro-life movement." His book on his methods of fighting abortion, CLOSED: 99 Ways to Stop Abortion, was updated in 1993, and he has produced the videos Meet the Abortion Providers and Abortion: The Inside Story, featuring former abortionists who are now telling the truth about what goes on in the abortion clinics. Mr. Scheidler also produced the definitive video on sidewalk counseling, No Greater Joy, and Face the Truth, an 11-minute video on a unique, highly visible pro-life demonstration using large graphic abortion posters to bring the truth about abortion to the American public. Mr. Scheidler is a stimulating and controversial guest on radio and TV interviews and talk shows and has appeared on more than a thousand programs including: ABC News Nightline, Donahue, Crossfire, Face the Nation, Good Morning America, MacNeil/Lehrer Report, The O'Reilly Factor and others. He has written many guest columns for newspapers such as USA Today and The Wanderer and has published articles in several national publications. Joe is a dynamic speaker on the moral dimensions of the abortion issue and the effectiveness of direct action. Nationwide, he has spoken in more than 1000 towns and cities since 1980 and has conducted on-site workshops and lectures in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Canada, and Italy. Mr. Scheidler is a recognized expert on the abortion culture, sidewalk counseling, the spiritual dimension or pro-life activism, fetal experimentation, working with the media, the responsibility of the church to fight abortion, battling the courts and the need for a return to morality. Mr. Scheidler lives in Chicago with his wife, Ann, the Executive Director of the Pro-Life Action League. They have 7 children and 15 grandchildren.

Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J. 
Founder and Editor, Ignatius Press 

He is the Founder and Editor of Ignatius Press. He is also the publisher of the influential publications Catholic World Report and Homiletic and Pastoral Review. As a Jesuit professor he founded both the St. Ignatius Institute of the University of San Francisco and Campion College. During his academic career he has taught philosophy and theology courses at several schools. Fr. Fessio wrote his dissertation on the ecclesiology of Hans Urs von Balthasar under the direction of Pope Benedict XVI (then Professor Joseph Ratzinger). He holds the degrees of B.A. and M.A. from Gonzaga University; M.A. from the Fourvière Jesuit Faculty of Theology in Lyons, France; and Ph.D. from the University of Regensburg in Germany.  In addition to his academic and publishing work, Fr. Fessio has worked as a consultant for the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and is the co-founder of Adoremus: Society for the Renewal of the Sacred Liturgy.