Exciting (Personal) News!

I am starting a Doctor of Theology program

Hello everyone,

Will Wright here, host and owner of Good Distinctions; I am excited to announce that I have been accepted and will soon begin the Doctor of Theology (ThD) program with Pontifex University!

From the About page of Pontifex.university:

Pontifex University is a Roman Catholic university, loyal to the Magisterium, and grounded in the Catholic intellectual tradition. We offer affordable, high-quality educational programs for credit or for personal enrichment combining online programs with optional in-residence programs, seminars, and workshops.

The Faculty bring a tremendous amount of cumulative experience and expertise while committed to orthodoxy. Many have direct connections to Holy Apostles College, University of Dallas, and other great institutions.

The Theological Doctorate program is based on the European model, so the program focuses on completing and defending a dissertation rather than taking dozens of classes. As someone who is self-motivated and keen to get into the weeds in research, I am thrilled about this!

My proposed topic, as of now, is: Defining active participation in the Sacred Liturgy with the Paschal Mystery as an interpretive key. I will be drawing from the works of Dr. David Fagerberg, Pope Benedict XVI (Ratzinger), Hans Urs von Balthasar, and many of the writers of the liturgical movement of the last century.

I fully intend to keep Good Distinctions growing without an interruption to the content that I’ve been putting out! I’ve been aiming for one episode per Monday (how awesome have these interviews been!? - many more already recorded and scheduled!) and one written article every week or two.

To give you an idea of pace, I have four interviews scheduled within the next 12 days. It has been a thrill having so many amazing scholars, authors, and professionals gladly agreeing to come on the show!

At any rate, I am hopeful that my doctoral studies and research will be a benefit to you all through Good Distinctions. Hopefully it will help me sharpen my skills, help me ask better questions, and help me find even better distinctions!

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I hope you have been appreciating the content and guests! As always, I would like to invite you to consider becoming a member of Good Distinctions by donating monthly or annually. Without your support, Good Distinctions will not be able to continue in the longterm. I do have a full-time job and a family. The channel is a sizable time commitment and is costly to maintain (software, hardware, etc. - I’ve been continually trying to increase the quality) - so I need your help! And, now, with starting my doctorate, the material concerns have come into sharper focus.

Please consider in becoming a paid subscriber to help cover the costs of running the podcast. For example, Riverside.fm which I use for video calls, recording, editing, making reels, producing transcripts, etc. is going to cost me $374.53 in May (upgrade charge from last year to be able to record more hours and at a higher quality + the normal $288/yr cost). It’s worth every penny for the capabilities that it offers and what I can pass on to you as the consumer of Good Distinctions!

I am committed to keeping the content of Good Distinctions completely free for anyone to access. But I need your help to be able to sustain this.

If you would like to contribute but do not want to do so online - please email me and let me know - gooddistinctions@gmail.com. There are plenty of other ways to support what I’m doing, whether by cash or check, Zelle, Cash app, or otherwise.