WHAT – An international tele-press conference that will feature a panel of prominent Catholics who will discuss issues related to the Ordinary Synod on the Family. Such topics include:
- The need for a perspective that deepens respect, compassion and sensitivity when considering the pastoral care of those with same-sex attractions;
- The consideration of changing the Catholic Church’s teachings on marriage and family life;
- How African Bishops have vowed to speak with “one voice” at the upcoming Synod and oppose any threat to the family and the values that it bears;
- The ongoing appeal to oppose the ideas put forth by Cardinal Kasper and others to change the Church’s teachings regarding the situation of divorced and civilly remarried Catholics;
The distinguished panel will draw from issues raised in six books published by Ignatius Press and a film distributed by Courage International, appropriately timed with the Synod on the Family:
- LIVING THE TRUTH IN LOVE: Pastoral Approaches to Same-Sex Attraction;
- ELEVEN CARDINALS SPEAK ON MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY: Essays From a Pastoral Viewpoint;
- GOD OR NOTHING by Cardinal Robert Sarah;
- CHRIST’S NEW HOMELAND – AFRICA: Contribution to the Synod on the Family by African Pastors;
- TEST EVERYTHING: Hold Fast to What is Good by Cardinal George Pell;
- REMAINING IN THE TRUTH OF CHRIST: Marriage and Communion in the Catholic Church
- DESIRE OF THE EVERLASTING HILLS film
Several panelists in the tele-press conference will also be participating in a Pre-Synod Conference on Friday in Rome titled Living the Truth in Love: Addressing the pastoral needs of men and women with homosexual tendencies. Information about this conference can be found here: http://www.truthandlove.com.
WHO – Panelists confirmed to participate in the tele-press conference include:
- Janet Smith, co-editor of LIVING THE TRUTH IN LOVE and the Father Michael J. McGivney Chair of Life Ethics at the Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit.
- Paul Check, executive director of Courage International, Inc., a ministry that provides support for Catholics who experience same-sex attraction.
- Father Joseph Fessio, founder and editor of Ignatius Press, which is the primary English-language publisher of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s writings and the publisher of Catholic World Report. Fr. Fessio wrote his dissertation under the direction of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI (then-Professor Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger).
- Mark Brumley, president of Ignatius Press.
- Timothy G. Lock, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist in full-time practice, working within a Catholic anthropology assessment, psychotherapy and psychological consultation.
- Jennifer Roback Morse, Ph.D., founder of the Ruth Institute, an interfaith organization that addresses the lies of the sexual revolution.
- Andrew Comiskey (M.Div.), a former homosexual and founder and director of Desert Stream/Living Waters Ministries, a multifaceted outreach to the sexually and relationally broken.
Panelists invited to participate, but not yet confirmed include:
- Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
- Cardinal George Pell, the prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy at the Vatican.
Moderating the panel will be Dr. Pia de Solenni, Associate Dean of The Augustine Institute.
WHEN – 10:00 a.m. ET Thursday, Oct. 1.
WHERE – Tele-press conference line. Register here: https://www.yourconferencecenter.com/confcenter/PinCode/Pin_Code.aspx?100866&o=UhmehcnGOYGwAq.
###
