Janet Elizabeth Smith (born 1950) is an American classicist and philosopher, and former professor of moral theology at the Sacred Heart Major Seminary in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

Life

Education

Smith studied

Classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

at Grinnell College, earning the B.A. degree in 1972. She also received the M.A. in Classical Languages at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

in 1975, and a Ph.D. in Classical Languages at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

in 1982. Her doctoral dissertation, under the supervision of

Timothy Barnes Timothy or Tim Barnes may refer to: * Timothy Barnes (classicist) (born 1942), British classicist * Timothy Barnes, 4th Baron Gorell (1927–2007), British businessman * Tim Barnes (politician) Timothy Kent Barnes (born December 28, 1958) is a ...

, was titled "Plato's Use of Myth as a Pedagogical Device".

Teaching positions

After completing her doctorate, Smith taught philosophy for nine years at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

in the program of Liberal Studies. She went on to teach philosophy for twelve years at the

University of Dallas The University of Dallas is a Private university, private Catholic church, Catholic university in Irving, Texas. Established in 1956, it is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The university comprises four academi ...

, where she received tenure. After a visiting professorship in life issues at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in

and simultaneously a visiting professorship in philosophy at

Ave Maria College ''Alta Velocidad Española'' (''AVE'') is a service of high-speed rail in Spain operated by Renfe, the Spanish national railway company, at speeds of up to . As of December 2021, the Spanish high-speed rail network, on part of which the AVE ...

Ypsilanti, Michigan Ypsilanti (), commonly shortened to Ypsi, is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 20,648. The city is bounded to the north by Superior Township and on the west, south, and ...

, Smith was hired by Sacred Heart Major Seminary in 2001. She held the Father Michael J. McGivney Chair in Life Issues from 2016 to 2019, the year of her retirement.

Service

Smith has served agencies of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

in various capacities, longest as a consultor to the Pontifical Council for the Family. From 1989 to 1994 Smith served the Congregation for Religious and Secular Institutes as an appointed member of an investigative commission into the publications of Sr.

Jeannine Gramick Sr Jeannine Gramick, SL ( ; born 1942) is an American Catholic religious sister and advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights. She is also a co-founder of New Ways Ministry. In 2021, Pope Francis addressed two letters to New ...

and Fr. Robert Nugent on pastoral care for homosexual persons. In 2011, she was appointed to serve the

Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, previously named the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU), is a dicastery whose origins are associated with the Second Vatican Council which met intermittently from 1962 to 1965. Po ...

as a member of the

Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

for five years. Smith has also served on the following institutional and corporate boards: *

Our Sunday Visitor Our Sunday Visitor (OSV) is a Catholic publishing company in Huntington, Indiana, which prints the American national weekly newspaper of that name, as well as numerous Catholic periodicals, religious books, pamphlets, catechetical materials, i ...

Advisory Board * Baylor University Medical Center Ethics Board * Advisory Board, The Institute for Catholic Liberal Education * Board of Advisors,

Nova et Vetera ''Nova et Vetera'' is a theological review in the tradition of Thomism which focuses on contemporary issues facing the Roman Catholic Church. Published in the Swiss region of Romandy, the main language of the journal is French. It is also publis ...

English edition * Executive Council, American Catholic Philosophical Association, 2011 * Advisory Board, Catholic Education Resource Center * Advisory Board, Thomas International Project

Honors

Smith has received two honorary degrees and several other awards for scholarship and service. * Michael A. Haggar Fellow Award, University of Dallas * Prolife Person of the Year, Catholic Diocese of Dallas * 1993 John Cardinal Wright Award, Fellowship of Catholic Scholars * Honorary doctorate in Christian ethics, Franciscan University of Steubenville * Honorary doctorate,

St. Charles Borromeo Seminary Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary is a Roman Catholic seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania that is under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The oldest Catholic institution of higher learning in the Philadelphia region, the school ...

(Philadelphia) * In 2008, Smith taught at the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity at the

University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, as the seminary's first Scholar in Residence. * 2008 Veritas Award, Aquinas Center for Theological Renewal, Ave Maria University

Speaking and media appearances

Smith is known in Catholic circles as an expert on ''

Humanae Vitae ''Humanae vitae'' (Latin: ''Of Human Life'') is an encyclical written by Pope Paul VI and dated 25 July 1968. The text was issued at a Vatican press conference on 29 July. Subtitled ''On the Regulation of Birth'', it re-affirmed the teaching of ...

'' and on Pope John Paul II's teaching on marriage and family life (" Theology of the Body"). She is a popular public speaker about Catholic teaching on sexuality and on bioethics. She has appeared on the ''Geraldo'' show, Fox News, CNN International, CNN Newsroom, and Al Jazeera and has appeared in many shows for various series on

EWTN The Eternal Word Television Network, more commonly known by its initials EWTN, is an American basic cable television network which presents around-the-clock Catholic-themed programming. It is not only the largest Catholic television network in ...

Works

Books

* (Translator/editor) ''Humanae Vitae: A Challenge to Love'' (New Hope, KY: New Hope Publications, 1987), a revised translation of

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

's encyclical ''

'' * Humanae Vitae: '' A Generation Later'', (Washington: Catholic University of America Press, 1991) * (Editor) ''Why'' Humanae Vitae ''Was Right: A Reader'', (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1993) * (Contributor) ''St. Thomas Aquinas and the Natural Law Tradition'' (Washington: Catholic University of America Press, 2004) * ''The Right to Privacy'', (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2008) * (Contributor) ''Reading John with St. Thomas Aquinas: Theological Exegesis and Speculative Theology'' (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2010) * (Co-author with Chris Kaczor) ''Life Issues, Medical Choices, Questions and Answers for Catholics'' (Cincinnati, Servant Books, 2010) * (Contributor) ''Bioethics with Liberty and Justice: Themes in the work of Joseph M. Boyle'' (New York: Springer, 2011) * (Co-editor with Fr. Paul Check) ''Living the Truth in Love: Pastoral Approaches to Same-Sex Attraction'' (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2015) * (Author) ''Self-Gift: Essays on Humanae Vitae and the Thought of John Paul II'' (Steubenville, Ohio: Emmaus Academic, 2018)

Journals

Smith's work has been published in ''The

American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly The ''American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal sponsored by the American Catholic Philosophical Association. It was founded in 1927 as ''The New Scholasticism'' and adopted its current title in 1990. The jou ...

'', ''Catholic Dossier'', ''The

Irish Theological Quarterly ''Irish Theological Quarterly'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes systematic, moral, and historical theology as well as sacred scripture. It was established by Walter McDonald and Dr. John Harty in 1906, published by ...

'', ''

The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly ''The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly'' is a peer-reviewed journal that examines ethical, philosophical, and theological questions generated by the continuing progress of modern medicine and technology. It is published by the National Catholi ...

'', ''

'', ''The Thomist'', and other publications.

Audio and video recordings

More than two million copies of her talk, ''Contraception: Why Not?'' have been distributed in CD and MP3 format. * ''Sexual Common Sense'', a twelve-talk series * ''Contraception: Why Not?'' * ''Introduction to Sexual Ethics'', (Notre Dame, IN, International Catholic University (company)) eight lectures

References

External links

Sacred Heart Major Seminary profile page

Moral Use of Natural Family Planning
(article) *
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Janet E. 21st-century American Roman Catholic theologians Women Christian theologians Anti-contraception activists 1950 births Living people University of Notre Dame faculty University of Dallas faculty Sacred Heart Major Seminary faculty University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) faculty Ave Maria University faculty