De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

St Pope John Paul II’s  Theology of the Body  is receiving ever greater attention, as more and more people are seeing and experiencing its ability to enrich lives. St. Mary's University, Twickenham are holding a conference which aims to offer educators and other formators an opportunity to learn how this rich and beautiful teaching can be effectively transmitted in the classroom, the parish, at home and in our culture. Delegates will receive information, ideas and tools on how to appropriately convey and integrate the Theology of the Body within Catholic education and in one’s field of responsibility – helping formators become better equipped and empowered to communicate this teaching clearly and confidently. Keynote Speaker:  Bishop John Keenan of Paisley   Who is this conference for? Educators and Teachers Catechists and Youth Ministers Parents Priests and Religious It may also be of interest to: Those interested in the New Evangelisation ...

If I am asked to do a talk anywhere, it is usually about sex. I think this is because there is so little information avaliable to young Catholics regarding human sexuality and the Church's teaching regarding it. The thing is, what the Church teaches in this regard is so affirming, so positive, so powerful and life changing, that there is a great hunger for it. If you want to know more, there could be no greater opportunity than this symposium which is coming up in January in London: Picture by Joseph Shaw, LMS Chairman. Choose Life, Choose Love | St Patrick's Roman Catholic Church Theology of the Body Symposium, London, 13 th  – 17 th  January 2016   St Patrick's Church in Soho, London, is delighted to be hosting a  Theology of the Body Symposium  to explore the Church's teachings concerning human identity and sexuality. The Symposium, which is part of the 'Choose Life, Choose Love' series, will take place between 13 th  – 17 th ...

This is the stark warning given by Mgr Michel Schooyans. Mgr Schooyans is a leading Vatican scholar, a professor at Louvain and an acclaimed academic and writer. He has a doctorate in philosophy and theology and is a priest of the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels . At an address given recently at the Catholic University he has presented a particularly clear and lucid exposition of Catholic teaching regarding human sexuality which demonstrates some of the serious consequences for society sexual immorality results in. You may well note much of what he speaks about is recognisable in our society today, societies which are asking themselves serious questions about how best to deal with the issues that are clear consequences of the separation of the procreative and unitive ends of the sexual act, which is intrinsic to the use of contraception. Mgr Schooyans notes that once the unity between the two ends is broken, both ends are pursued in separation from the other, with disastr...

I was greatly heartened to read the pastoral letter from the Bishop of Shrewsbury, read out on the Feast of The Holy Family on December 28th. It presents a wonderful synthesis of Church teaching on family and asks that we look deeper at the gifts that the Church presents to us in this regard and reflect how we can engage more deeply with Church teaching. I have hi lighted some of the bits that really caught my eye: My dear brothers and sisters, I write to you today in the light of the Child born for us, the Saviour who was given to us within the love and unity of a human family. On this Feast of the Holy Family, as we celebrate the holiness of family life and begin a “Year for Vocations” in the Diocese, I want to reflect on the “Vocation and Mission of the Family.” This is the title Pope Francis has given to the Synod of Bishops to take place in the New Year. It will be a year for Catholics across the world to reaffirm our faith in God’s plan for the family, and to do so a...

Have you heard about this? The Choose Life, Choose Love Conference on Catholic marriage and family life was held at St Patrick's Church in Soho in March 2014. Speakers at the two day event included Jonathon Doyle, Founder and Director of CHOICEZ Media in Australia, and testimonies from married couples present. It might be appropriate to refresh our memories about this event as we approach the synod. In addition, there were talks from Sr. Renee Mirkes OSF, PhD on exploring the themes of Humanae Vitae and the Domino Theory and John Henry Weston entitled "In the Service of, Men are called to Greatness". Sr. Renee is the director of the Center for NaProEthics [the ethics division of the Pope Paul VI Institute, Omaha, NE]. You can watch videos of all the talks here .

Jennifer Lawrence is a really famous and very beautiful actress. Someone has hacked into her home computer and stolen some images there of her naked and spread them around the internet. OK so I'm a little behind the times with this post, but honestly, I've been so busy! If you were cynical, you might consider I was fishing for google hits with the title; I'll be honest, the idea may have crossed my mind. However, I do think this is issue is oxygen that will facilitate discussion of a really difficult and thorny modern problem. And if a few people come across this post and read it while searching for naked pictures of Jennifer, could they conceivably find it helpful? It is also an issue that was brought to the front of my mind at Buckfast on Monday when Cardinal Pell addressed the prevalence, invasive nature, an insidious effect of internet pornography in our lives and on our society. This has long been a concern of mine not least because the availability of image...