Revd Dr Patrick Riordan, SJ
About
Patrick Riordan belongs to the Irish Jesuit province. He undertook graduate studies in philosophy in Munich and Innsbruck. He was awarded a doctorate in philosophy by the University of Innsbruck in 1985 for a thesis entitled 'The Senses of Justice: A Critical Reconstruction of Justice-Talk in Practical Discourse.' His M.A. studies had been at the Hochschule für Philosophie, Munich, where he submitted a Masters thesis in 1981 entitled 'Das Entstehen des Geistes. Karl Rahner’s Theorie der Selbstüberbietung.'
Patrick began his academic work in Dublin where he taught for fifteen years at the Milltown Institute for Theology and Philosophy, serving both as Dean of Philosophy, and as President. He later taught at Heythrop College, University of London, where he spent a further fifteen years.
Patrick has been visiting professor in the Philippines, at Jesuit universities in Manila, Naga, and Davao. He also spent time as visiting professor in Loyola Chicago, and as a Visiting Fellow at Boston College. He has published widely, with an emphasis on the common good and Catholic Social Thought.
Books
Human Dignity and Liberal Politics: Catholic Opportunities for the Common Good. Georgetown: Georgetown University Press, 2023.
Recovering Common Goods. Dublin: Veritas, 2017. Awarded the Centesimus Annus pro Pontifice Foundation’s international prize for ‘Economy and Society’ 2021.
Philippine Common Goods: A Good Life for All. Davao: Ateneo de Davao University Press, 2016.
Global Ethics and Global Common Goods. London: Bloomsbury, 2015.
Edited Books or Journals
Connecting Ecologies: Integrating Responses to the Global Challenge, edited by Patrick Riordan and Gavin Flood. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2024.
Guest editor, The Heythrop Journal, 65 (2024), ‘No What Without a How’: The Theology of Original Sin.
Contributions to Books
‘Common Good and Prison: Where’s the Commonality? Where’s the Good?’ in: Catholic Social Thought and Prison Ministry: Resourcing Theory and Practice, edited by Elizabeth Phillips and Férdia J Stone-Davis. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2024, 34-47.
‘Laudato Si’: Resonances, Resources, Requirements, and Responses’ in: Connecting Ecologies: Integrating Responses to the Global Challenge, edited by Patrick Riordan and Gavin Flood. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2024, 1-13.
‘Recovering the Good: The Challenge of Integral Ecology to Social and Economic Sciences’ in: Connecting Ecologies: Integrating Responses to the Global Challenge, edited by Patrick Riordan and Gavin Flood. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2024, 215-233.
‘Weltanschauung: Das Spannungsfeld zwischen Inhalt und Funktion’ in: Weltanschauung: Konturierungen eines umstrittenen Themas, edited by Winfried Löffler. Paderborn: Brill mentis, 2024, pp. 119-138.
‘The Secular is not Scary’ in The Church in Pluralist Society: Social and Political Roles, edited by Cornelius J. Casey and Fáinche Ryan, Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 2019, pp. 123-41.
Articles
‘Whose Liberty? Which Liberalism? in Studies (114) nr. 454, Summer 2025, 183-196.
‘Populism and/or People Power: The Philippine Experience’ in Tambara (Journal of Ateneo de Davao University, Mindanao) 41 (2024), 1-24.
‘Misunderstanding Aquinas on Law’ in New Blackfriars, Volume 106, Issue 3, May 2025, 243-254. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/nbf.2025.12
‘The Mission of the Spirit and the Spiritual Life’ in The Way 63.4 (2024), 21-33.
‘Original Sin in The Context of Lonergan’s Soteriology’ in The Heythrop Journal 65 (2024), 469–476.
‘A Political Philosophical Perspective on the Two Standards’ in The Way 63.1 (2024), 7-18.
‘Distinguishing Teaching and Theology: A Review Essay’. Review of Catholic Social Teaching: A Volume of Scholarly Essays. Edited by Gerard V. Bradley and E. Christian Brugger. Cambridge University Press, 2019. In: International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church. 2023.
'For The Common Good: A Review of Recent Literature' in The Heythrop Journal 62 (2021), 586-597.
‘Is Freedom of Religion a Distinct Human Right?’ in Tambara: A Journal on the Humanities and Social Sciences. 35.1 (2018) 1-22.
Published Online
2024: ‘Populism, Protest and the People’ TF 9 August 2024 20240809_1.pdf (thinkingfaith.org)
2024: ‘Is Catholic Social Teaching Communitarian?’ Is Catholic Social Teaching communitarian? | Thinking Faith: The online journal of the Jesuits in Britain Thinking Faith 9th July 2024
2024: Blog: Common Goods and AI: https://theceme.org/patrick-riordan-common-goods-and-ai/ 8th July, 2024
2024: Review of: The Political Economy of Distributism: Property, Liberty, and the Common Good, by Alexander William Salter. Washington, D.C: The Catholic University of America Press, 2023. Published online by CEME: Patrick Riordan: ‘The Political Economy of Distributism: Property, Liberty, and the Common Good’ by Alexander William Salter - Centre for Enterprise Markets and Ethics | CEME (theceme.org)
2022: ‘Bangsamoro: A Case Study in Governing for the Common Good’ in A Common Good Approach to Development: Collective Dynamics of Development Processes, edited by Mathias Nebel, Oscar Garza-Vázquez and Clemens Sedmak. Open Book Publishers, 2022, pp. 293-320. 10. Bangsamoro (openbookpublishers.com)
Book reviews:
Review of: Of Rule and Office: Plato’s Ideas of the Political. By Melissa Lane. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2023. In: The Heythrop Journal, 65.3 (2024) 333-334.
Review of: Christianity and the Nation-State: A Study in Political Theology. By Gary Chartier. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023. In Studies in Christian Ethics 37.2 (2024) 402-405
Review of: Money, Finance, Reality, Morality: A New Way to Address Old Problems. By Edward Hadas. Bradford: Ethics International Press, 2022. Pp. xix, 440. £79.99. In The Heythrop Journal 64.1 (2023) 148-149.
Review of: The Abuse of Conscience: A Century of Catholic Moral Theology. By Matthew Levering. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2021, in The Heythrop Journal 62.3 (2022) 494-495.
Review of: Faith in Democracy: Framing a Politics of Deep Diversity. By Jonathan Chaplin. London: SCM Press, 2021, in Studies in Christian Ethics 35.1 (2022) 179-82.
Lectures:
2021 D’Arcy Lectures delivered by Revd Dr Patrick Riordan, explore the concept of Common Good through the three lenses of Aristotle’s philosophy, Catholic teaching, and contemporary political liberalism.
Research Seminars:
‘No What without a How: Theological Method and the Theologies of Original Sin in Modern Catholic Thought’ in Michaelmas Term, 2023. Papers published in The Heythrop Journal 65 (2024).
‘Institutions: Love ‘em or Hate ‘em?’ in Hilary and Trinity terms, 2023.
‘Debt’ Michaelmas term 2020.
Podcasts:
2025: New Books Network: Patrick Riordan, "Human Dignity and Liberal Politics: Catholic Possibilities for the Common Good" (Georgetown UP, 2023) - New Books Network