The ivory-billed woodpecker (Campephilus principalis) was a twenty-inch-long woodpecker native to the American southeast that has been presumed extinct since the mid-20th century.
On June 5, Pope Francis named three scholars, including a Chinese critic of political equality and a leading Australian theologian, to the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.
VATICAN CITY (CNS) Pope Francis named Tracey Rowland, an Australian theologian; Justin Farrell, a U.S. sociologist; and Tongdong Bai, a Chinese philosopher, to the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.
The Vatican announced the appointments June 5.
Rowland, who was born in Ipswich, Australia, in 1963, is professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame Australia.
Long recognized as a leading scholar specializing in the thought and writings of Joseph Ratzinger, who served as Pope Bene