NEW YORK—The Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education will host a pastoral conference titled “Human Sexuality in the Roman Catholic Tradition,” which will help Catholic pastoral leaders explore ways to enrich their teaching and ministry with the fullness of the Roman Catholic Church doctrine on sexuality, on Oct. 28 and 29 in the McGinley Center on the Rose Hill campus, 441 E. Fordham Road.
For more information or to register, call (203) 414-7901 or e-mail pastoral1028@fordham.edu.
The conference will address Pope John Paul II’s The Theology of the Body: Human Love in the Divine Plan (Pauline Books & Media, 1997), which establishes a theology of the body that connects human fulfillment to the emulation of Christ’s complete gift of self, and recent concerns in the American Catholic Church for nurturing a more healthy and holy understanding of sexuality as an integral part of faith. Presentations made at the conference will be collected and edited into a publication that will be available to pastoral leaders across the country.
DATE: THURSDAY, OCT. 28, AND FRIDAY, OCT. 29
TIME: ALL DAY (SEE ATTACHED SCHEDULE)
PLACE: MCGINLEY CENTER, ROSE HILL CAMPUS
441 E. FORDHAM ROAD
BRONX, NY
Geared toward Catholic pastoral leadership, the conference will include seminars that touch upon Pope John Paul II’s teaching on love, celibacy, and marriage, as well as discussion about honoring diverse life commitments and teaching adolescent celibacy. The discussions will be led by internationally recognized educators of faith and sexuality, including Sidney Callahan, Ph.D., author, professor and licensed psychologist; Fran Ferder, FSPA, and John Heagle, JCL, co-directors of Therapy and Renewal Associates (TARA), and authors of Tender Fires: The Spiritual Promise of Sexuality (Crossroad, 2002); Christine E. Gudorf, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Florida International University in Miami; and Julie A. Collins, who has taught religious studies, morality and spirituality for 30 years at Georgetown Preparatory School in Washington, D.C.
Fordham’s Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education began as a graduate institute in 1968 and was elevated to a graduate school in 1975. It trains religious and educational leaders from around the world and has a decidedly international flavor, as its students hail from 15 countries. In addition to the doctoral degree in religious education, the graduate school offers master’s degrees in religion and religious education, pastoral counseling and spiritual care, and education (religion), along with a professional diploma in religion and religious education.
Founded in 1841, Fordham is New York City’s Jesuit University, offering exceptional education distinguished by the Jesuit tradition to approximately 15,800 students in its five undergraduate colleges and its six graduate and professional schools. It has residential campuses in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Tarrytown, and the Louis Calder Center Biological Field Station in Armonk, N.Y.
10/04
Conference Schedule
October 28:
MORNING
8:45 Sign-In/Welcome and Prayer (McGinley Center Ballroom)
9:15 Keynote Address: John Cecero, S.J., Toward Christian Sexual Maturity: Growing In Wisdom, Age and Grace (McGinley Center Ballroom)
10:15 Pastoral Dialogue Response, led by Kieran Scott (McGinley Center Ballroom)
11:00 Seminar Sessions: Choose one of four interactive discussion groups:
A. Pope John Paul II on Love, Sex and Pleasure, Sidney Callahan (Rose Hill Commons 235
B. Sexual and Celibate, Gerald Blaszczak, S.J. (Rose Hill Commons 236)
C. Graceful Pleasure: Why Sex is Good for Your Marriage, Christine Gudorf (Rose Hill Commons 234)
D. Promises and Perils: Teaching Adolescent Sexuality, Julie A. Collins (Music Room)
AFTERNOON
12:15 Lunch (McGinley Center Ballroom)
1:30 Keynote Address: Fran Ferder, FSPA, and John Heagle, Tender Fires: The Spiritual Promise of
Sexuality (McGinley Center Ballroom)
2:30 Pastoral Dialogue Response, led by Harold D. Horell (McGinley Center Ballroom)
3:15 Panel Discussion: Sexual and Spiritual–Honoring Diverse Life Commitments
Interactive dialogue reflecting on the question: How do we, as Catholic Christians, live our sexuality in differing circumstances? Sidney Callahan, Fran Ferder, John Heagle, Rebecca Buchanan and Robert Parmach will lead the discussion, representing married, vowed religious, ordained, divorced and single perspectives. (McGinley Center Ballroom)
October 29:
MORNING
8:45 Welcome and Prayer (McGinley Center Ballroom)
9:15 Keynote Address: Christine Gudorf, A New Moral Discourse for Sexuality (McGinley Center Ballroom)
10:15 Pastoral Dialogue Response, led by Harold D. Horell (McGinley Center Ballroom)
11:00 Seminar Sessions: Choose one of four interactive discussion groups:
A. Always Our Children? Homosexual Persons and Catholic Pastoral Practice, Fran Ferder, FSPA, and
John Heagle, JCL (Rose Hill Commons 235)
B. Fostering Sexual Maturity Through Pastoral Care, John Cecero, S.J. (Rose Hill Commons 236)
C. Graceful Pleasure: Why Sex is Good for Your Marriage, Christine Gudorf (Rose Hill Commons 234)
D. Promises and Perils: Teaching Adolescent Sexuality, Julie A. Collins (Music Room)
AFTERNOON
12:15 Lunch (McGinley Center Ballroom)
1:30 Keynote Address: Sidney Callahan, Sexuality and Relationships in Ministry (McGinley Center Ballroom)
2:30 Pastoral Dialogue Response, led by Kieran Scott (McGinley Center Ballroom)
3:00 Closing
