Humanae Vitae Symposium March 23-24
Benedictine College
The Symposium on the New Evangelization, the Gregorian Institute’s spring conference, examines “Humanae Vitae 50 Years Later: A Call to Self Gift” this year.
Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, will present the 7th Annual Symposium March 23-24 in Ferrell Academic Center on campus (details here).
Additionally, pre-symposium workshops by the Fellowship of Catholic University Scholars (FOCUS) are designed to equip catechists, educators, clergy, and parish leaders with practical tools for evangelization.
Pope Paul VI’s encyclical on the regulation of birth is a big topic, but the symposium has attracted a big group of presenters to tackle it. Speakers come from 24 different academic institutions, eight professional organizations, and seven diocesan offices.
The conference has been listed by the U.S. bishops as a conference of note this year.
Along with the many presentations, a major benefit of the Symposium is the time allotted for conversation, fellowship, and prayer. The conference is given continual prayer support by Eucharistic adoration, available throughout in a room in the conference building. This year a relic of St. Padre Pio will be available for veneration in the chapel, provided by presenter Pat Castle, founder of Life Runners.
The main business of the Symposium, though, is in the discussions engendered by our presenters.
Janet Smith, professor of moral theology at the Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, Mich., will tackle the thorny question, “When is it Moral to Use NFP?”
Jennifer Roback Morse of the Ruth Institute will look at Blessed Paul VI’s prophecies about “The Sexual State and the Contraceptive Ideology: the Prophetic Voice of Blessed Paul VI.
Brad Wilcox, the acclaimed sociologist from the University of Virginia will use statistics to explain “How Faith Matters for American Families.”
Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone will give a pastoral perspective of Humanae Vitae.
Other featured presenters include Dominican Father Nicanor Austriaco who will address human gene editing; and medical perspectives from Dr. Angelique Pritchett, Dr. Terese Bauer and health care professional Teresa Kenny.
Fifty years later, there are more resources, appreciation and support for Humanae Vitae than at any other time. The Gregorian Institute’s symposium immerses participants in the best and newest.
