Courage International will team with the Phoenix diocese in the new
year to host an event addressing same-sex attraction and other sexual
identity issues on the forefront of Church discussion today.
“The work of Courage International, helping those with same-sex
attraction to build friendships and virtue, and helping the Church to
share the Good News of Christ in a challenging area, is essential to our
time,” said Bishop Thomas Olmstead of Phoenix, Arizona.
“I encourage all who have pastoral responsibilities to join us at the
conference in January in Phoenix. It will help you to grow in knowledge
and friendship,” the bishop said.
This year, the “Truth and Love” conference will center around the
theme of “Welcoming and accompanying our brothers and sisters with
same-sex attraction or confusion regarding sexual identity.”
The event, now in its third year, will offer presentations and
practical advice for those in a pastoral or instructive position in the
Church, including religious, clergy, lay members, and health and medical
professionals.
“So many of the current approaches to homosexuality do not include
the fuller perspective of the human person. Rather, they limit
themselves to acceptance and to the protection of the right of sexual
satisfaction,” Carmel Communications said in a press release for the
event.
For this reason, the conference will offer instruction from Catholic
experts on how the Catholic community can effectively preach about the
fullness of the human person, specifically in reference to same-sex
attraction.
The conference will also touch on the topics of Christian
anthropology, natural law, the psychology of homosexuality and chastity.
Additionally, roundtable discussions and panels will be offered, as
well as Mass celebrated by Bishop Olmstead and Archbishop Jose Gomez of
Los Angeles, California.
The speaker series at the conference will include Dr. Janet Smith,
Jason Evert, Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, Andrew Lichtenwalner, and
Courage International's executive director, Fr. Philip Bochanski.
The
event will also offer testimonials of individuals who have experienced
struggles with sexual identity, who will give instructive advice on
living chaste lives with authenticity.
Fr. Bochanski, who heads the sexual identity apostolate Courage
International, noted that the conference will “share the good news that
living chastely and finding our true identity as sons and daughters of
God is the way to real happiness and authentic relationships.”
The conference will take place from Jan. 9-11 at St. Paul Parish in Phoenix, AZ.
Registration can be found at TruthandLove.com.