Communion for Divorced and Remarried Catholics?

Communion for Divorced and Remarried Catholics? At this year’s forum in honor of St. Joseph, head of the Holy Family, Fr. Brian Harrison, O.S., S.T.D., will speak on this topic.  It’s the now-famous proposal (promoted with particular vigor by Cardinal Walter Kasper and other German-speaking bishops) to officially relax the Church’s discipline that debars divorced and civilly remarried Catholics from receiving the Eucharist. This is without any doubt the most burning and controversial question on the agenda for the upcoming Ordinary Synod of Bishops in October 2015, dedicated to marriage and family issues!

Paragraph 52 of the Final Relatio of last year’s Extraordinary Synod raised this question (although it received less than the 2/3 majority of votes required to make it an official recommendation of the Synod). It tentatively asks whether psychological or social factors might in some cases reduce the subjective guilt for such objectively adulterous unions from the level of mortal to only venial sin (or maybe even no sin at all), thereby opening the way for such couples to receive Holy Communion. Paragraph 52 calls for “deeper study” of this question as part of the preparation for this year’s Synod.

Don’t miss Fr. Harrison’s own answer to this call, in which he will argue the case for maintaining the Church’s discipline in this matter, as recently confirmed by Pope St. John Paul II in his Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio, no. 84.

The Reverend Brian Harrison, O.S. is an Australian-born Roman Catholic priest and theologian. Harrison is a prolific writer on religious issues and an emeritus professor of theology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico (1989–2007). He is also an associate editor of Living Tradition, a publication of the Roman Theological Forum hosted by the Oblates of Wisdom in St Louis, Missouri, United States, where he currently lives at the order’s study center. Harrison was baptized in the Methodist Church and brought up in the Presbyterian Church. He spent a few years with a Lutheran mission in New Guinea, where he became a Roman Catholic in 1972. A great many articles written by Fr. Harrison may be found here.

Logistics
Click here for a registration form. Registrations must be received before Wednesday, 18 March in order to get a count to the caterer. Realistically that means the deadline to get your registration in the mail is Friday 13-March. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated. If you need help, don’t hesitate to call 314-435-8494.
The Forum is at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 7750 Carondelet Ave in Clayton, Missouri. Dinner served at 6:00 with talk to follow. Parking is free. Take a ticket as you enter the parking garage off of Carondelet or at 7777 Bonhomme. Take the orange level bridge to the hotel. The gate will be open when you leave, no charge.

Dinner Menu
House Salad, Rolls, Beef Lasagna, Chicken Marsala, Roasted Root Vegetable Medley, Layer Cake for Dessert, Coffee, Tea and Water. Cash bar available.

Communion for Divorced and Remarried Catholics?

6 PM Sunday March 22^nd in Clayton

Communion for Divorced and Remarried Catholics? At this year's forum in honor of St. Joseph, head of the Holy Family, Fr. Brian Harrison, O.S., S.T.D., will speak on this topic.  It's the now-famous proposal (promoted with particular vigor by Cardinal Walter Kasper and other German-speaking bishops) to officially relax the Church's discipline that debars divorced and civilly remarried Catholics from receiving the Eucharist. This is without any doubt the most burning and controversial question on the agenda for the upcoming Ordinary Synod of Bishops in October 2015, dedicated to marriage and family issues!

Paragraph 52 of the Final Relatio of last year's Extraordinary Synod raised this question (although it received less than the 2/3 majority of votes required to make it an official recommendation of the Synod). It tentatively asks whether psychological or social factors might in some cases reduce the subjective guilt for such objectively adulterous unions from the level of mortal to only venial sin (or maybe even no sin at all), thereby opening the way for such couples to receive Holy Communion. Paragraph 52 calls for “deeper study” of this question as part of the preparation for this year's Synod.

Don't miss Fr. Harrison's own answer to this call, in which he will argue the case for maintaining the Church's discipline in this matter, as recently confirmed by Pope St. John Paul II in his Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio, no. 84.

The Natural Desire to See God A Conversation With David Bentley Hart and Lawrence Feingold

THE NATURAL DESIRE TO SEE GOD

A Conversation With
David Bentley Hart and Lawrence Feingold

Friday, March 20^th, 2015 2 PM

Anheuser-Busch Auditorium, John Cook School of Business
Saint Louis University

Free and Open to the Public

Does every human being desire to see God? How ought we interpret the legacy of Henri de Lubac, S.J. and his assessment of St. Thomas Aquinas and his interpreters? What are the implications of these questions for the
ecclesial-cultural situation today?

David Bentley Hart, Ph.D., Danforth Visiting Professor of Theological Studies, Saint Louis University. Hart is the author of many books, including The Beauty of the Infinite: The Aesthetics of Christian Truth and The Experience of God: Being, Consciousness, and Bliss.

Lawrence Feingold, S.T.D., Associate Professor of Theology and Philosophy, Kenrick-Glennon Seminary. Feingold is the author of The Natural Desire to See God According to St. Thomas Aquinas and His Interpreters.

For questions or to confirm your attendance, please contact Dr. Randy Rosenberg at rrosenb3@slu.edu.

The Event is sponsored by the Department of Theological Studies, Saint Louis University

Lenten Day of Recollection, Saturday February 22nd

The Day of Recollection has been cancelled due to weather. It MAY be re-scheduled, stay tuned. Registration fees will be refunded.

The theme of this year’s Lenten Day of Recollection will focus on temptations in our lives. The morning conference will be given by Fr. Fadi Auro on "The Temptations of Christ and Their Meaning in the Christian Life". Credo Spiritual Advisor Fr. Brian Harrison will give the afternoon conference, on "Keeping Our Balance in a Conflicted Church", which elucidate temptations we all need to resist at a time of tension, confusion and division within the Church.
The day will begin at 10:30 AM and lunch will be served about 1 PM, after Holy Mass.
We return this year to the Chapel of St. Anselm at the Oratory of Ss. Gregory and Augustine in Creve Coeur, located on the grounds of The Abbey, at 530 Mason Rd. Coming from I-64, it is the second driveway, down the hill.

$25 per person. Lunch is included.

Registration must be received by postal mail Tuesday, February 17^th in order to give the caterer an accurate count.

Click here to download a registration form. Print it out right away and register.