Teaching & Living the Faith: December 2008 Archives

Preaching to Young Adults

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"Clearing Away the Barriers: Preaching to Young Adults Today" is an insight and very helpful address by Dominican Father Augustine DiNoia.

 

J Augustine DiNoia.jpgThe Very Reverend J. Augustine DiNoia, O.P. is one of America's most active and respected theological minds. In April 2002, the Pope John Paul II appointed Father DiNoia to work at the Vatican as undersecretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican. The congregation oversees and promotes the doctrine on the faith and morals in the Catholic world. Until 2005, Father DiNoia served under Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

 

Raised in New York, DiNoia is a member of the  Province of St. Joseph of the Dominican friars. He earned a doctorate from Yale University in 1980. The Order of Friars Preachers granted him the master of sacred theology (S.T.M.) in 1998.

 

A gifted writer and public speaker, Father DiNoia is the author of The Diversity of Religions: A Christian Perspective (Catholic University of America Press, 1992) and the co-author of The Love That Never Ends: A Key to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (Our Sunday Visitor Press, 1996).

 

Father DiNoia taught systematic theology at the Dominican House of Studies and was an adjunct professor at the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family Studies, both in Washington. He served as executive director of the Secretariat for Doctrine and Pastoral Practices for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The Church offers a teaching on bioethics in a document released today, Dignitas Personae (the dignity of a person), addressing how we ought to orient our thinking and acting viz. the dignity of the human person. That is, how do we think about and act when it comes to life issues like IVF, stem cell research, euthanasia, etc. In an era that has a tendency to cheapen the inherent value of the person, or in fact, does cheapen human life, this is a welcomed teaching to clarify how we follow Jesus Christ especially in matters of conscience formation, respect for human dignity and science. The Church names to fundamental principles:

 

·         "The human being is to be respected and treated as a person from the moment of conception; and therefore from that same moment his rights as a person must be recognized, among which in the first place is the inviolable right of every innocent human being to life" (n. 4).

 

·         "The origin of human life has its authentic context in marriage and in the family, where it is generated through an act which expresses the reciprocal love between a man and a woman.  Procreation which is truly responsible vis-à-vis the child to be born must be the fruit of marriage" (n. 6).

 

The documentation is found here

 

The Catholic Information Service a booklet dealing with the topic of Stem Cell Research will also help clarify questions on what is possible and what is a violation of Christian ethics.

 

Likewise, there is a booklet on the Church's teaching on In Vitro Fertilization .

About the author

Paul A. Zalonski is from New Haven, CT. After years of study, work and trying to find meaning in life, he still has a sense of humor. Paul is discerning God's plan and is preparing for ordination to the priesthood. Contact Paul at paulzalonski(at)yahoo.com.

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This page is a archive of entries in the Teaching & Living the Faith category from December 2008.

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