Michael Severance

Michael Severance earned his B.A. in philosophy and humane letters from the University of San Francisco, where he also studied at the university's St. Ignatius Institute, a great books program. He then pursued his linguistic studies in Salamanca, Spain where he obtained his Advanced Diploma in Spanish from Spain's Ministry of Education before obtaining his M.A. in Philosophy and Modern Languages from the University of Oxford. While living in Italy, Michael has worked in various professional capacities in religious journalism, public relations, marketing, fundraising, as well as property redevelopment and management. As Istituto Acton's Operations Manager, Michael is responsible for helping to organize international conferences, increase private funding, as well as expand networking opportunities and relations among European businesses, media and religious communities, while managing the day-to-day operations of the Rome office.

Posts by Michael Severance

Daniel Hannan’s Caveat to America

Daniel Hannan, a British Member of the European Parliament, issued a strong warning to conservative Americans worried about their country’s future in a speech he delivered at the CPAC rally last week in Washington. Continue Reading...

Vatican Releases Note on Global Financial Reform

This morning the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace issued a bold statement advising how to bring order to the global financial crisis. I was in attendance at the much anticipated press conference that was organized to debrief reporters on the statement’s content. Continue Reading...

Pope Benedict Greets Acton Institute

Pope Benedict XVI warmly greeted a group of 23 Acton Institute staff and supporters on pilgrimage at his Castel Gandolfo summer palace this past Sunday, September 18. During the traditional Sunday Angelus audience inside the papal summer palace courtyard, Benedict delivered an inspiring talk on Christ’s parable of the workers in the vineyard — a most appropriate Christian teaching upon which the Acton Institute often reflects and articulates during its economics seminars to religious students and business professionals throughout the world. Continue Reading...

Free Economies Must Grow On Solid Principles

The Acton Institute captured the attention of the Italian secular press when advocating a Judeo-Christian, value-based economic model to ensure continued free and healthy economic growth in Asia. The press was eager to interview the conference speakers who articulated this perspective at the Institute’s international conference held at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University last May 18: “Family-Enterprise, Market Economies, and Poverty: The Asian Transformation” . Continue Reading...

Rev. Sirico: Change thinking on poverty

Last week in Rome the Acton Institute presented a promotional video for the PovertyCure initiative before an international audience of businessmen, scholars, journalists, graduate students and missionaries in attendance at the Institute’s May 18 development economics conference: “Family-Enterprise, Market Economies, and Poverty: The Asian Transformation.” Continue Reading...

China’s Growing Pains in the Free Market

RomeReports, a television news agency focusing on the Vatican, covered the Acton Institute’s Rome conference on May 18: Family-Enterprise, Market Economies, and Poverty: The Asian Transformation. The following RomeReports video is an excellent overview of some of the obstacles that China still faces if it expects to sustain its current economic success. Continue Reading...