Father Richard Benson, CM, PhD, STD—Moral Theology

Father Richard Benson, CM, was ordained a priest in 1978. He is a Vicentian father—a member of the Congregation of the Mission. He obtained his undergraduate degree in Philosophy from St Mary's Seminary in Penyville, MO and his Masters degrees in Divinity and Theology from De Andreis Institute of Theology in Chicago. In addition, he holds a Masters degree in human biology, a sacred theology licentiate (STL), and both a PhD and doctorate in sacred theology (STD), which he obtained from the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium in 1990. His doctoral dissertation concerned a moral analysis of human genome projects.

Father Benson is currently Academic Dean and Moral Theology Chair at St John's Seminary in Camarillo, CA; he has previously taught as an adjunct professor of human biology at St John's College Seminary in Camarillo, CA; and as an adjunct professor of bioethics at both Mount St Mary's College in Los Angeles, and De Paul University's School of Law in Chicago.